K-pop group Dreamcatcher on rock defining their sound, finally winning a music show and what they do to protect the planet
- The girl group’s latest EP, Apocalypse: Follow Us, has topped the iTunes’ top albums chart in 21 countries, including the US, Brazil, Germany and Indonesia
- The group discuss how rock has ‘become a genre that defines’ them, their global appeal and finally winning a Korean music show – 1,924 days after their debut
By Dong Sun-hwa
Dreamcatcher have, since their debut in 2014, stood out in the K-pop universe for dabbling in a music genre that girl groups rarely do: rock. Most of their hits, like “Deja Vu” (2019) and “Scream” (2020), incorporate elements of rock and contain messages not often heard in K-pop.
In “Scream”, the members – Jiu, Sua, Siyeon, Handong, Yoohyeon, Dami and Gahyeon – criticise foul-mouthed people and on “Vision” – the lead single of new EP Apocalypse: Follow Us – they address environmental problems.
Siyeon donates money to an institution dedicated to saving dolphins, while Dami tries her best not to use plastic spoons and chopsticks.
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Since its release, Apocalypse: Follow Us has been making waves at home and beyond, topping the iTunes’ top albums chart in 21 countries including the US, Brazil, Germany and Indonesia. The music video for “Vision” passed 10 million hits on YouTube in two days.
“Our fresh mini-album also offers ‘Some Love’, which highlights our bright side,” Yoohyeon adds. “I am particularly fond of Dami’s part.”
Sua picks “Fairy Tale” as one of her favourites, saying, “I love it so much that I [play] it over and over again. It is an introduction to our EP.”
Dreamcatcher are one of the most internationally popular K-pop acts, with more than 1.6 million subscribers on their official YouTube channel. Asked about their global appeal, Gahyeon says their international fans seem to like how their music fuses rock and other genres.
Dreamcatcher members choose “Scream”, “Deja Vu” and “You And I” as the songs they recommend to those who want to get a glimpse of the group’s music style.
“I think a lot of people began viewing us in a new light after we released ‘Scream’,” Sua says. “Its performance looks the coolest in my eyes, too. I watched it over and over again.”
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Jiu adds: “I would pick ‘Deja Vu’. It sounds quite soft in the beginning, so when I first heard it, I thought it would be challenging to dance to it. But we pulled it off and it seems many of our followers have found its performance appealing.”
The singers explain why they have a penchant for rock songs.
“Rock was not a common genre at the time when we were about to debut, so we wanted to experiment with something new and blaze a new trail,” Sua says. “And the sound of rock is so impactful. Now, it has become a genre that defines our musical identity. We actually had to change our vocal style so that we could make a rock sound with our voice.”
Handong agrees, saying, “My voice was mostly soft and velvety in the past, but it now has a different sound.”
“We do love rock, but in the future, we want to try other genres like reggae and hip-hop and mix them with rock,” Gahyeon says.
Six months ago, Dreamcatcher reached a pivotal point in their career when they won a Korean music show for the first time since their debut. It took them 1,924 days to achieve the feat – a record among K-pop acts.
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“When I first heard the news, I could hardly breathe,” Gahyeon recalls. “I did not shed tears on stage for some reason, but as soon as I walked off the stage, I could not stop crying.”
Yoohyeon says: “We thought we might just have to walk our own path without caring about our rank or performance on different charts, but we finally made it.”
“I think it would be difficult for other singers to break our record,” Dami says. “I mean, 1,924 days is really a long time.”
