Here's What To Know About Kep1er, The K-Pop Group Dropping Bop After Bop
"Wa Da Da" is taking over the charts.
Kep1er may have only just debuted, but they’re already taking the K-pop industry by storm. After releasing their debut EP, First Impact, along with their lead single “WA DA DA,” on Jan. 3, Kep1er made history by achieving the highest first-day sales of any girl group debut album in Hanteo history. They also became the fastest girl group to achieve two music show wins after coming in first place on music programs like Mnet’s M Countdown and KBS2’s Music Bank. Since they’re new to the K-pop scene, you may still be wondering how many members there are and what their full backstory is. I’m here to help you get to know them better.
Who is in Kep1er?
The most important thing you should know about Kep1er is they’re made of nine talented members: Kim Chae-hyun, Huening Bahiyyih, Choi Yu-jin, Kim Da-yeon, Seo Young-eun, Kang Ye-seo, Hikaru Ezaki, Mashiro Sakamoto, and Shen Xiaoting. Also, not all of the girls are Korean. Mashiro and Hikaru are actually Japanese, and Xiaoting is Chinese, making Kep1er a multinational group. The members’ ages range from 16 to 25 years old. Yujin, born in 1996, is the oldest, while Yeseo, born in 2006, is the youngest.
How did the members of Kep1er meet?
The girls appeared on the reality competition show Girls Planet 999 from August to October 2021, and they competed against a number of other contestants in order to earn one of the highly-coveted spots in Kep1er. The band is named after the German astronomer Johannes Kepler, a reference to the group’s origins on Girls Planet 999. Because fans tuned into the show each week to see if their favorites made it through to the next round, they already formed a connection with Kep1er even before they debuted.
When did Kep1er debut?
After months of teasers, Kep1er finally debuted under Wake One and Swing Entertainment on Jan. 3. Their debut EP, First Impact, features six tracks, including their lead single “WA DA DA,” which has gone viral with K-pop fans due to the song’s infectious beat and catchy lyrics. As of Jan. 18, the song has amassed over 10 million Spotify streams. Its music video has also achieved nearly 40 million views on YouTube.
If you’ve had “WA DA DA” stuck in your head since it came out, listen to the rest of Kep1er’s First Impact EP on Spotify.
