Weeekly is a seven-member kpop girl group who debuted on the thirtieth of June, 2020, under Play M Entertainment.
I've recently been obsessed with Weeekly, and I've been meaning to talk about them for a while now! I'll begin with briefly discussing this calendar I made for the group. Then, I'll dive into my reviews of the tracks on their debut album!
Weeekly Calendar
I've always wanted to make a calendar based on the members of Weeekly! Not only do they have representative days of the week, but they also have representative colors and planets. (Well, more like celestial bodies.)
Here's a little key for each member's color and celestial body:
- Soojin: pink, Sun
- Monday: blue, Moon
- Jihan: red, Mars
- Jiyoon: yellow, Mercury
- Soeun: light blue, Jupiter
- Zoa: white, Venus
- Jaehee: purple, Saturn
I organized the members by their representative days, and I'm sure you can deduce whose day is whose. I was debating whether to write the members' actual names or just the days of the week, but it made more sense to use their names to go along with their photos.
Also, I looked up if any Daileees (Weeekly fans) have made Weeekly calendars or if the group has an official calendar themselves, but surprisingly there isn't one? Either I didn't dig deep enough, or Play M Entertainment is missing out on a perfectly fitting product to market for the group! (Though in all honesty, I'm not sure how many people actually use physical calendars nowadays.)
All in all, I'm really satisfied with the outcome of the calendar, (even though I didn't include anywhere to write the month.) I would love to hear what you think of it!
Weeekly's Concept
If I had to describe Weeekly's discography in one word, it'd be "Teenager." Many of the members are teenagers themselves, and their songs don't stray away from sharing the teenager experience. Whether it's the playful freedom of youth or the frustration that comes with emotions, Weeekly's music truly radiates teen crush kpop!
I'd also like to add that I'm absolutely in love with Weeekly's concept. Many fourth-generation kpop groups, especially girl groups, have been strutting into the industry with very dark concepts, which has ultimately dulled out recent kpop music. Weeekly's vibrant, upbeat concept has been so refreshing to see! In addition, their music has shown some great potential for kpop music-wise.
Weeekly's concept also creates a great way to show off the group's chemistry. Darker concepts can split members apart into their own individual characters, whereas carefree, playful concepts can give members a lot of room to just have fun with each other, and I absolutely love it! One of the biggest things that attracts me to a kpop group is when they have an insanely strong bond, and you can easily see how strong Weeekly's bond is. It's just incredible how their chemistry jumps out in their music. Without a doubt, they're one of my favorite kpop groups.
Album Review
I'll now be reviewing each track from Weeekly's debut mini album! (I was considering reviewing all three of their albums, but I figured that'd be a bit too lengthy.) Feel free to listen to the album as your read my reviews.
Notice:
1. I'm not an expert in music, nor am I very talented in music. I'm just a music-lover.
2. I like to go pretty in-depth with my reviews. I try no to.
Weeekly's first mini album: "We Are"!
This is a great introduction to the group, and in my opinion, this is one of the greatest debuts in kpop. It establishes Weeekly's youthful, colorful sound with some really great tracks.
1. Weeekly Day
The mini album begins with a short intro song, which sounds like a fun, nostalgic song you'd hear playing in the beginning of a children's show. Its melody is insanely catchy, and I love the old-sounding kpop instrumental, with its shimmering sparkles and cheery tamberines. At first, I was disappointed at how short it was, but it's actually very charming and starts the album off with a fun, exciting tune!
2. Universe
Beginning with a familiar saxophone sample, (it's been used in SECRET NUMBER's "Who Dis?" and DONGKIZ's "LUPIN") this song introduces itself as a very playful track. It sounds as if the members are chattering in a classroom while the teacher's gone, and just as the lyrics depict, it feels like a merry-go-around as the members bounce off of each other.
Quality-wise, this song is a little strange. The vocals aren't very well mixed, and the instrumental's a lot louder than the vocals, which is something I really dislike about some songs. But there are also these layered synths in some sections, the kind that you'd hear in a LOONA song, and they actually add a nice touch to the track! This is definitely one of the least memorable tracks on the album, but I enjoy how quirky and fun it is.
3. Tag Me
Now, we have their debut song, which is easily one of my favorite debuts in kpop! The moment the members started chanting in the intro, I fell immediately in love with this song. It's just so lively, so energetic, and so bubbly!
The chorus itself is a masterpiece, and I was so glad that it wasn't an instrumental chorus. I love the little squeal that starts it off, transitioning into one of the catchiest melodies in fourth-generation kpop. I love how the chorus is just as playful as the actual game Tag. The way the members tease the listener with their "nanana"s adds so much charm to this song.
The lyrics are also very well written. They speak about owning your individuality and not letting anyone stop you from being yourself. This song was just a genius way to establish Weeekly's concept, and it very quickly attracted fans.
4. Hello
Now, we're moving on to "Hello", which sounds exactly like a Twice song. More specifically, it sounds like Twice's "Heart Shaker", especially with the electric guitar bouncing in the background.
But it's absolutely not a bad thing that the two songs sound similar! I love both songs, and I love Weeekly brought back Twice's iconic bright sound from 2016-17. There's even a rap section between Zoa and Jaehee in the second verse, and it sounds like a classic Dahyun-Chaeyoung rap, where the two girls bounce off of each other.
Though I will say, this song isn't the most extraordinary or revolutionary. It's catchy, the vocals are beautiful, it's a fun listen, but it doesn't stand out much compared to the other tracks.
5. Reality
This track, similarly to "Universe", begins with a very similar sound. In fact, whenever I hear this song begin, I think of Cignature's "ARISONG", which begins with the same bell sound. But the bell definitely fits Weeekly's concept a lot better, since this entire album (and their concept as a whole) is based on teenagers and school life.
This song sounds similar to "Weeekly Day" but this is a lot slower and passionate. Right after the bell, these heavenly, heavenly synths are introduced, along with Jiyoon's light voice. In fact, all of the members are singing rather lightly, very softly and delicately, like they're just sitting in the park, watching the sun set after a long day of school. The song as a whole is very pretty, very memorable, and pretty much a perfect end to the album. It makes you want to listen to the album all over again.
Side rant: The absolute highlight of the song is Monday's "so beautiful" in the middle of the second verse. It truly embodies the song's message, being entirely enveloped in the present and not wanting time to pass, longing for more moments of fantasy. Her voice is just so powerful, so warm, and I can't help but think of oranges and strawberries whenever I hear her voice. She's probably my favorite female vocalist in fourth-generation kpop (so far at least.)
Final Thoughts
I personally think this is a perfect debut album, and a perfect album in general. I've listened to their two other albums, and while they have some really great tracks, this album is probably my favorite out of the three! I listen to this album daily, and I just fall in love with it more and more.
I'm really excited to see where Weeekly ends up in the future. They're all so talented, presenting such a refreshing, pristine concept, and their songs are just getting better. I'm so glad they're doing well both in South Korea and internationally.
If you made it to the end here, I applaud you, and I deeply thank you. I absolutely love music and sharing my thoughts on music, so I'm glad you took time out of your day to consider my thoughts. I'm looking forward to writing more reviews in the future, (but probably not as lengthy, don't worry.)
Lastly, I'd like to thank yon9hee for inspiring most of this chapter's layout. Be sure to check out her graphics and music suggestions!