Lightsum returns as performance queens with first EP ‘Into the Light’

Eight-piece girl group Lightsum returned to the stage Tuesday with the act’s first EP “Into the Light,” ready to set the stage on fire with their upgraded performances.

Lightsum, consisting of members Sangah, Chowon, Huiyeon, Nayoung, Yugeong, Hina, Jian and Juhyeon, conducted a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, several hours before dropping the album.

Having debuted in July 2021 under Cube Entertainment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the group’s first in-person media event, during which the members expressed excitement at their first concert with a live audience this year.

“The pandemic social distancing has been alleviated and we’re now able to hold a concert in the presence of our fans,” Nayoung said. “We’re looking forward to performing to the cheers of our fans.”

The act’s first album, “Into the Light,” marked the girls’ return to the music scene in over seven months since dropping their second single, “Light a Wish,” in October.

“The album spells out the emotions we face right now in a candid and bold attitude. Please look into our message that the album carries,” Nayoung said.

A five-track package, the EP is fronted by titular track “Alive,” which shows the members finding new light in their mundane everyday lives after discovering someone special.

“Coming in Lightsum’s signature lovely sound, the song holds a magical power that will make the listener feel like falling in love the instant they hear it,” Yujeong said.

The singers all turn into high school students for the music video, dressed in preppy looks and boast a vivacious energy as they showcase powerful group dances.

“We made new attempts in terms of acting,” Juhyeon said. “Each member has their own unique character, so it would add to the fun in trying to catch what role each member plays in the video.”

With “Alive,” the band stressed that they’ll be showcasing an upgraded performance. The choreography also includes the act’s first dance break.

“We hope to show our performance is different. As we trained for ‘Alive,’ we agreed that (the band’s previous title track) ‘Vivace’ was more difficult than our debut song ‘Vanilla,’ but that ‘Alive’ was even incomparable (to ‘Vivace’),” Juhyeon said. “We wondered whether we’d actually be able master it, but we did. We realized we’re strong enough, and we had worked hard for it.”

Indeed the members practiced together at least three hours every single day for the performances, Huiyeon said.

Piping in, Sangah said, “the group practice only lasted at least three hours in the evening, and in the morning we focused on our individual training. So, every day, the members went through around eight hours of practicing.”

The album also included sidetracks “I,” “Good News,” “Q” and “Bye Bye Love,” through which Lightsum has put their multifaceted charms and colors on full display.

“As it’s our first mini album, we cautiously prepared each song so we best portrayed the various genres,” Jian said.

“If with ‘Vanilla,’ we had aimed to show our more mature side than ‘Vivace,’ with ‘Alive,’ we hope to demonstrate that we’re more honest and bolder,” Chowon said.

Lightsum’s goal with this comeback is to win more public acknowledgement, she added.

“What we want more than good chart scores and rankings is to play more of our music to our fans, Sumit, and for more people to hear our music and remember Lightsum,” Chowon said.

Asked who their role model was, the band selected their label-mate (G)I-dle.

“We respect how they always lead a new trend and attempt diverse concepts. Like (G)I-dle, we hope Lightsum could make our name known through our own unique color,” Chowon said.

By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)