Latest subunit 'EVOLution', of award-winning K-Pop group 'tripleS', talks debut album and individual auditions
tripleS is one of the most talked about K-Pop groups of the year, as evidenced by their recent Best New Female Artist win at the 2023 MAMA Awards in Seoul.
The group, whose final lineup number will be 24, currently has 16 members and multiple subunits.
Explaining the unique group concept, member JiWoo explains, "We operate as a fan-collaborative girl group, and the formation of our subunits is determined through fan votes. When fans buy a photo card known as Objekt, it comes with a corresponding voting currency called Como. Through a voting system named Gravity, fans use their Como to cast votes. Gravity is carried out in various ways, and that is the subunit system of tripleS."
The most recent subunit, tripleS EVOLution, released their first album in October with the title track, "Invincible".
The eight-track album features synth and city-pop tracks that have grown the tripleS overall discography to an impressive 39 tracks, including remixes, in their year since their debut.
EVOLution is the latest subunit to debut since the first unit, Acid Angel from Asia (AAA), debuted in October 2022.
The group gained attention from fans for their sound which has become unique within the fifth generation of K-Pop.
Due to the fan-collaborative unit process of tripleS, some members of EVOLution have already debuted in other units. While others, like member Mayu, made her official debut with this unit in October.
When asked which song from another unit they would like to perform, Mayu says, "I choose the song, "Generation" to redo. When I was cast to be a part of the group, a subunit called AAA had already made its debut, and it felt like I was seeing a celebrity. I saw the song, "Generation" being performed on stage while I was still a student."
The group’s debut process became a way for fans to have a say in group activities.
"When the members first heard about the system of tripleS that we've previously mentioned, we found it quite novel. After several Gravity events and promotional activities, more fans became interested in the concept and participated actively. Now we are used to the system, and we also feel very thankful for all the promotion activities we were able to participate in," ChaeYeon says.
On top of the album release, the members of EVOLution are preparing for an overseas tour in Australia while subunit LOVElution is currently touring the US after the success of their title track, "Girls’ Capitalism".
"This will be my first time visiting Australia, and it will be my first time performing overseas, so I'm excited and nervous at the same time. The first goal is to successfully complete our show without any issues, especially for our eagerly awaiting Australian fans," JiWoo says.
With only 16 of 24 members announced so far, the next subunit name has already been decided by fans. It will be a Ballad unit called Aria.
The members of tripleS EVOLution say they are excited about the future, and they hope everyone listening to their songs will not lose confidence and will keep their motivation up.