When the K-pop girl group Rocket Punch (@official_rcpc_)made a dynamic debut in 2019, its six members promised to refresh listeners’ day-to-day monotony with a vibrant musical “punch” to shake things up. Their first act – dropping their first mini-album PINK PUNCH. With the first era in motion, the group introduced a creative notion that would become an ongoing theme, with several eras centering on a color-coded punch.
In the years that followed, Rocket Punch would release two other variations to their world known as, BLUE PUNCH and RED PUNCH, which concocted a memorable mixture of pop music influences. Having gone through three variations of colors, the group eventually dropped a successful single album that deviated from the Punch series – Ring Ring. The single went on to be a solid hit for Rocket Punch, and essentially, reinvigorated their desire to tell another Punch story in 2022.
Now, the confident women of Rocket Punch are back in the form of YELLOW PUNCH, which the group says is an evolved, more mature version of the performers they were just three years ago. Having sold nearly 100,000 albums in total and earning over 50 million views on YouTube so far – Rocket Punch has finally discovered the fruits of sticking to artistic individuality.
With the release of YELLOW PUNCH and its title track/music video for “CHIQUITA” out now, we spoke to the members of Rocket Punch to celebrate another solid comeback.
This officially marks the first return to your colorful punch series, and I love the vivid sense of storytelling that you follow! What would you say YELLOW PUNCH delivers that some of your other albums haven’t shown before?
Yeonhee: As our ‘rest’ period is quite long, it’s easy to see how we have improved in each album that we release, and you should be able to feel it more this time! And you should be able to feel our confidence as well.
Suyun: I think people would be able to see how Rocket Punch has matured more. We’ve always improved in each of our albums but this time it’s a bit different, so to say… if you listen to the album and watch our performances, I think you’ll be able to understand what I wanted to say!
On the other side of that – how does YELLOW PUNCH line up with some of the others and actually fit in the long-running series you’ve created?
Sohee: I think it’s the brightness. I think that the reason why Rocket Punch keeps going on with the bright color series is because we can express the brightness of those colors.
Dahyun: YELLOW PUNCH is similar to the previous series in two points: how in the performance, as in you can see us having fun on the stage and gain energy from it, and also how we love our fans!
Your last release took a break from your colorful punch concept – why would you say this release feels like the appropriate time to return to that idea?
Yeonhee: I think it’s because this time we get a great song that fits us, which makes us able to prepare and come up with this.
Suyun: I think YELLOW PUNCH came to fruition because there is something that we want to show through the color series.
The title track “CHIQUITA” is a fun 80’s disco sound that brings a nice uptempo charge to this new era, and ultimately, the retro resurgence as a whole! What are your favorite things about exploring retro concepts?
Yunkyoung: I like Kpop senior’s songs, and so I watch their performance often and being able to express a retro concept in our own color like this feels amazing! Also, it’s great as people in different age brackets would be able to listen to it.
Dahyun: After our previous album Ring Ring, we’re back with this ‘newtro’ concept, and I like how we can show our own unique color, it’s also so fun and refreshing because we can wear clothing style that we’ve never tried before while expressing the songs.
If you were going to choose a feeling that you hope fans will experience while listening to YELLOW PUNCH (both new and returning fans) what do you hope is the primary emotion they takeaway?
Juri: I hope that Ketchy can feel our confidence, love themselves, and gain strength!!
Suyun: As we were preparing for this album, we’ve grown a lot in terms of musicality, us as an artist, and us as a person. As we’ve worked hard to prepare for this album, I hope that people who listen to our album would also grow into ‘a better version of me’.
Your releases continue to show growth in streaming and in sales, which proves that your fans are responding positively to your art over the years! What hopes do you have when it comes to growth for Rocket Punch?
Yeonhee: Actually this time, along with our growth as an artist and in musicality, I feel like I’ve grown more as a person, and I get to know more about myself. As we grow more, won’t people see that too? Also, I hope that people would gain positive energy from our own never-depleting energy.
Yunkyoung: I hope that people can see that we’re not a group that can only do one kind of concept, but a group that can pull off many concepts with our own color.
The new release immediately introduced a fun, themed world with a Rocket Punch fashion show that was totally impressive! What were some of the initial visions you had for this era when you decided on a visual concept?
Sohee: I use models and famous girl group senior performances as a reference, then I would compare it to CHIQUITA’s concept to practice my pose and gestures.
Dahyun: The first thing I thought of was us doing the model walk, and I was looking forward to it because we can show our confidence. As on the runway, the models will show their charms one by one, I thought that Rocket Punch would fit it as well.
With fashion in mind, what are some of your favorite items at the moment – whether it’s for everyday comfort or even luxury?
Juri: I like many things, but in the spring and summertime I like wearing one-pieces!
Suyun: Personally I don’t really pay attention that much to style, and I just wear what I want to each day. I think I personally wear more casual outfits!
Rocket Punch’s new mini-album YELLOW PUNCH is out now!