Chaeyoung of legendary girl group TWICE has just released her first solo album, breaking out of the K-Pop mold to discover her unique sound, style, and colors with Lil Fantasy Vol. 1. TWICE has topped the billboard charts, sold out stadiums nationwide, and most recently, became the first K-Pop girl group to headline Lollapalooza in Chicago.
However, Chaeyoung has spent the last few years slowly working on her solo album alongside Japanese band Gliico, and other producers. With writing, producing, and composing credits on nearly every song, you can feel the passion Chaeyoung had for this project, that it is authentically her. ONCEโs (the name of TWICEโs fanbase), have been anticipating the album for over a year with snippets and photos from recordings that have been shared on social media.
With her dreamy vocals and harmonies with indie r&b inspired rhythm, the album takes on a different sound than TWICE or its other solo members have taken before. The opening song Avocado (Ft. Gliico), sets a clear tone for the album with easy listening and heart felt lyrics. Flowing into Band-Aid, she asks โcan you be my band-aidโ, which she described to TMRW magazine as both โcute yet kind of melancholy at the same timeโ. The songs take inspiration from artists like The Marias, Clairo, and other similar alternative, bedroom pop artists, but have her own distinct character in them.
In BF, she sings about her struggles with keeping friendships despite her busy career, calling some of her dolls and stuffed animals she collects her own best friends. Throughout the album, it’s clear to see just how much Chaeyoung dedicated to every song in the album, even pushing the album release from April to September to make sure it was everything she wanted.
Different from traditional K-Pop EPโs (mini albums in the K-Pop community), Chaeyoung had her title track Shoot (Firecracker) as the third song in the album. Mixing contemporary, danceable K-Pop with her own sound of bubbly bedroom pop, it’s the perfect title track to her blooming soloist career.
Much of the theme of Lil Fantasy Vol. 1 comes from her own drawings and art style. The album versions included her own drawings on paper posters you could color, and even a Canvas Version that gave fans a coloring book of her art and crayons to color their own photobook. Her drawings were the basis of her music videos for both Avocado and Shoot (Firecracker), creating a surreal moment for both new and longtime fans alike who have seen and admired her art on social media.
Lil Fantasy Vol. 1 is easily one of the best K-Pop releases this year. Chaeyoung was a part of every step, recordings, release schedule, album editions, and more. . Though TWICE is well known for their involvement in song writing and creative direction, Chaeyoung is paving the way for more artists to be involved in composing and producing their own music. Even if you hear K-Pop and think loud music and crazy dances, Chaeyoung is a fresh breath of air showing a new side of K-Pop idols not often shown.