‘It feels surreal to be called a K-pop idol, I still can’t wrap my head around it,’ Filipino-Argentinian member Chanty says
Lapillus, MLD Entertainment’s newest girl group, made their highly-anticipated debut on Monday, June 20, with the release of their single “Hit Ya!”
And while they admit to feeling pressured – given the success of their sister group MOMOLAND and the cutthroat K-pop industry, in general – Lapillus said that they’re more than eager to make a mark of their own.
In an exclusive press conference with the Philippine media, leader Shana explained that their group name is derived from a Latin word. “[It means] a special stone or like a jewel that shines different colors depending on the direction of the light,” she said.
For the 19-year-old previous contestant of Girls Planet 999, these “different colors” of the members is also one of the charming points of their group. “We’re so diverse. We come from different backgrounds and speak many languages. Each member has a different color and style, and because of that, we’re able to create a different vibe and concept,” she continued.
Aside from Shana who came from Japan, Lapillus is composed of Filipino-Argentinian Chanty, Chinese-American Yue, and South Korean members Bessie, Seowon, and Haeun.
This might be one of their assets now, but the group admits that these language and cultural differences were some of the challenges they had to face during their training period. “We have trouble communicating with each other. It wasn’t easy getting close [with each other] before as we are now…. It was one of the things that we had a hard time with,” they said.
The Lapillus members trained for various durations (the longest spent more than two years as a trainee while the shortest started training in December 2021), but all of them are astounded to be finally making their debut as a K-pop idol.
“It feels surreal to be called a K-pop idol, I still can’t wrap my head around it,” Chanty said. “I’m grateful and blessed that I’ve been given this opportunity. I’m hoping that me being able to do this…will inspire, hopefully, the young girls out there to be confident and pursue their dreams.”
In their debut single “Hit Ya!,” the members assured their fans that they’ll wow them with their strong performance. “We want to share the message to the world to find your own color, have confidence, dream, and shine your light to the world,” they said.
They might have just made their debut, but Lapillus is already setting their eyes on being a global group – from trying as many concepts as they can to possibly incorporating their native languages in future tracks. “We have this desire to go global, and meet our global fans. We really have this goal to go for a global platform,” Chanty shared.
For their parting message, the members gave a shout out to their Filipino fans. “Our Filipino fans are super positive and supportive of our content, always cheering [for] us. So we’re thankful for that,” Blessie said. – Rappler.com