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cignature, in their true signature style, made a smashing comeback with their fourth mini-album, Us in the Summer, on August 29. The seven-member girl group, which consists of Chaesol, Jeewon, Seline, Chloe, Belle, Semi, and Dohee, debuted on February 4, 2020, and is already back with their fourth album release.
Us in the Summer is a sunny and frisky four-track package composed of Smooth Sailing (title track), Mess With My Mind, Little Me, and Sorry So Sorry. cignature's physical album comes in two versions: Early Summer and Late Summer.
The seven-member girl group talks about myriad things in their latest album, ranging from youth and the new experiences they encounter, like the first tryst with love, whirlwind summer romance, heartbreak, and finding your inner self.
Speaking about the album, cignature's Chaesol reminisced in a press statement:
“‘Us in the Summer’ album is so precious as it is drawn with memories of hot and happy days that we can show you the refreshing feeling and bright energy of summer. More than anything, we will show the best stage by thinking of the fans who love us now and the fans who will love us in the future.”
In an exclusive interview with SK POP's Anwaya Mane, cignature talks about Us in the Summer, their desire to win a music show this year, and a heartfelt message for Indian SIGNFANs.
cignature talks about how they view romance and the best compliment they have received for Us in the Summer
Q) Hello cignature! Thank you so much for taking out time to speak with me. Hope you are doing well.
cignature: Hello, cignature! Thanks for doing this. I hope you're all doing well!
Q) Congratulations on the success of your fourth mini-album Us in the Summer. What is the best piece of compliment you have received for your album so far?
Seline: In this album, I was in charge of the verse parts of all the songs for the first time. The recording of this album went remarkably well this time in my opinion, and I was delighted because all the members and staff complimented me so much that my voice came out beautifully. Thank you for congratulating us on the album release.
Dohee: The best compliment was from a fan who said, “I feel good when watching cignature's performance because your chemistry is so good!” While preparing this album, we paid the most attention to this part, and I felt happy to receive this compliment because our fans recognized it.
Q) Us in the Summer packs in a lot of elements - the refreshing feeling of summer, youth, love, and finding one’s inner self. Can you take us through the creative process of making the album?
Seline: This album is our first seasonal album. In line with the title Us in the Summer, we worked on the album with the hope that those who listen to it will reminisce about the brightest summer days with us.
Jeewon: We were inspired by listening to the song over and over again, and we thought it would be good to express the image of fresh first love, so we worked on it while enjoying our moments, hoping our album could portray scenes from youth. We had fun working on it, and the album was expressed just as well as we intended.
Q) From an innocent crush to loving oneself, love is a recurring theme in all the songs from Us in the Summer. As artists and young women, how do you view love and romance in today’s times and why is it important to address the different facets of love?
Chaesol: I often think that it is a bit difficult to express love purely in today's society. However, the essence of self-love and the beginning of pure love cannot be changed, and we tried to capture various shapes of love in a cute way through this album.
Jeewon: I think that modern expressions of love, unlike in the past, are often worded around a lot or are sometimes not expressed properly as people intended. However, even when expressing love, it is difficult to convey the emotion to the fullest, so we tried to convey various aspects of love as much as possible. Until the day that our modern society is filled with love, cignature plans to express love in more diverse ways, so please stay tuned.
Q) Do you have a personal favorite song or lyric from Us in the Summer and why does it resonate so deeply with you?
Chaesol: My favorite song is Mess With My Mind. The lyrics portray one telling a friend about last night, and no matter how many times one tries to get a hold of oneself, one can’t seem to get the lover or person of interest out of the head. Just like the English title, Mess With My Mind, I could resonate with the confused state of one’s head. It's a song that's easy to listen to, so I hope you'll give it a listen too.
Dohee: My favorite song is the title song, Smooth Sailing. I like the one part in the lyrics the most; “With only you, I feel like the whole world’s mine.” It is my favorite part because it expresses the heart of a girl in love in the cutest and prettiest way.
Q) Going forward, what kind of genres or themes do you want to explore or experiment with and which artists do you want to collaborate with?
Dohee: Our members really enjoy Hip-Hop music, so we would like to give the hip-hop genre a try. It looks like so much fun. We’d love to collaborate with whoever wishes to. We’re always open!
Chloe: I agree with Dohee. Since the members enjoy listening to Hip-Hop, I would like to collaborate with someone doing the Hip-Hop genre mainly. If the song matches our voice and mood, we would like to try other genres as well.
Q) cignature has already won the “Blooming Star Award” at the 2023 Hanteo Music Awards. Do you feel the pressure to lead the next generation of girl groups in the K-pop industry?
Semi: Honestly, we're feeling a bit of pressure. However, if we continue to work hard as we currently do and show gradual progress, we will get good results. As we have received this valuable award, we will strive to show even more progress.
Chloe: By receiving the "Blooming Star award", we feel like there certainly is a sense of pressure to grow further and better in the future. We believe that we will ‘bloom’ perfectly if we continue our hard work and build our own success. Please stay tuned for our progress.
Q) You debuted on February 4, 2020, and shortly after that, the pandemic brought the world to a standstill. Was it a difficult experience back then and how did the members overcome it?
Semi: It was very disappointing that we couldn't meet our fans in person. I think I overcame it by frequently posting photos, writing on SNS or official cafes, and seeing comments from fans. Even now, during our hiatus, we communicate with our fans live or share messages on the fan cafe, and that is how we communicate with them and gain strength.
Jeewon: It was a time when I desperately realized the importance of the stage and the fans, as things that we’ve taken for granted were so incredibly limited. However, we were able to endure the pandemic all because of the reassurance from our fans who protected us like a fence. And even now, thanks to our fans, we can easily overcome various challenges. As they always give us infinite support and love, we are able to push through any difficult times while thinking about how to repay and what kind of good sides we can show them.
Q) As a young and talented girl group, what are your collective goals for the future and how do you want fans to remember cignature’s music?
Semi: Our goal is to promote for a long time and meet our SIGNFANs more often. We also hope to win first place on a music show while continuing to promote consistently with much effort.
Seline: I hope that cignature will be remembered as a group that is always full of energy and the chemistry among the members stands out first when we perform on stage.
Q) Finally, do you have any plans on touring India in the near future and any message you would like to convey to your Indian SIGNFANs?
Chaesol: Whenever we can, we would like to meet our SIGNFANs in India. Please always take care of your health. We will work harder to see you soon. Thank you.
Chloe: First of all, we are so grateful and want to express our love for SIGNFANs in India. We also really want to visit India. In order to achieve that, we will work hard to meet our SIGNFANs in India. We’ll visit you soon, so please wait for us. Love you all.
Notably, cignature's lead track, Smooth Sailing has clocked 5.2 million views on YouTube so far.
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