Kiss of Life is the debut extended play (EP) by South Korean girl group Kiss of Life. It was released on July 5, 2023, through S2 Entertainment. The EP contains six tracks, including the lead single "Shhh".
Julie explained that "Kiss of Life, which is our group's name and the title of our EP, refers to the mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration method. Like the name, we plan on revitalizing and bringing fresh life to the K-pop scene”.[1]
Natty was a contestant on the South Korean reality survival shows Sixteen and Idol School, which led to the formation of Twice and Fromis 9, where she finished in 11th and 13th place respectively. In both shows, she made it to the final episode, but was ultimately not chosen for the final line-up of the groups.[2]Belle was known as both the daughter of Korean veteran singer Shim Shin and for taking part in composing and writing songs for several artists such as Le Sserafim, Purple Kiss, and Miyeon.[3] She also participated on the background vocals of various songs.[4]
On July 12, 2022, Natty signed an exclusive contract with S2 Entertainment.[5] In December 2022, Natty featured in a British documentary about K-pop trainees along with Julie, Belle, and two other unknown trainees. On December 27, 2022, S2 Entertainment announced they were preparing to launch a new girl group in 2023.[6]
On June 12, 2023, another teaser was released, announcing the group's debut on July 5, 2023, with their first EP Kiss of Life.[7]
Beginning with "Sugarcoat" by Natty on June 18, 2023, solo music videos of "Countdown" by Belle, "Kitty Cat" by Julie, and "Play Love Games" by Haneul were released in the following days.[8][9][10] On June 27, 2023, the music video of a B-side of the EP, "Bye My Neverland", which connects all of the solos' music videos, was released[11] along with the music video teaser for the lead single "Shhh" on July 3, 2023.[12]
Lee Seung-won from IZM gave the album 4.5 stars out of five, writing that "Rather than being very fresh or sophisticated, it is a solid and heavy appearance. "'Kiss Of Life" fulfills its function as a debut album almost perfectly with its high level of completion and clear self-introduction, paving the way for the group to move forward evenly. The appearance of a new name is always welcome, and the backbone of K-pop has become even stronger."[13]
^Ko, Seung-ah (June 7, 2023). 심신 딸, 걸그룹 키스 오브 라이프로 데뷔…르세라핌 곡 작업도 참여 [Shim Shin's daughter debuts with girl group Kiss of Life...Participated in the work of Le Sserafim's song.]. News1 (in Korean). Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via Naver.
^Lee, Su-hyeon (June 7, 2023). 키스오브라이프 벨=가수 심신 딸…메인보컬로 데뷔 [Kiss of Life Belle = Singer Shim Shin's daughter... Debut as the main vocalist.]. Top Star News (in Korean). Retrieved July 8, 2023.
^Kim, Min-ji. '식스틴' 출신 나띠, S2엔터와 전속계약 체결 [공식] [Natty, a former 'Sixteen', signs an exclusive contract with S2 Entertainment [Official]]. News1 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2022-07-12 – via Naver.
^Noh, Han-bin (June 12, 2023). 걸그룹 키스오브라이프, 7월 5일 데뷔 확정…4인 4색 매력 [Girl group Kiss of Life confirmed to debut on July 5th... Four of us, four different charms.]. MyDaily (in Korean). Retrieved July 5, 2023 – via Naver.
^Myeong, Hee-sook (June 22, 2023). 키스오브라이프 하늘, 톡톡 튀는 인플루언서로 변신 '막내美' [Kiss of Life Haneul, transformed into a pop-up influencer 'The Youngest Beauty'.]. Xports News (in Korean). Retrieved July 6, 2023 – via Naver.
^Kim, Min-ji (July 4, 2023). '데뷔 D-1' 키스오브라이프, 신곡 '쉿' MV 티저 공개 ["Debut D-1" Kiss of Life releases MV teaser for new song "Shhh".]. News1 (in Korean). Retrieved July 5, 2023 – via Naver.
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