“Have you heard about Billlie?” This septet asks charmingly in the track “the rumor” off their debut EP, “the Billage of perception: chapter one”. Maybe yes. Maybe not. Tsuki’s incredible dancing in her “Gingamingayo” fancam drew attention in the K-pop community, that’s for sure. So let me ask: are you ready to fall in love with their music?
THE DEBUT
Billie debuted on November 10, 2021 with their first EP, “the Billage of perception: chapter one”. They originally debuted as a sextet, not a septet. Member Sheon (bottom row center in image above) was added right after the debut. You may know Sheon as Suyeon from Mnet’s Girls Planet 999 if you watched the show.
The title track was “RING X RING”. Something interesting about Billlie’s music is that they often interpolate nursery rhymes/children’s songs into their tracks in a way that really WORKS. It’s not obvious at the first listen like some K-pop songs (ex. Cherry Bullet’s “Hands Up” sampling “Fur Elise”) but really adds to the song. Think of Red Velvet’s “Feel My Rhythm” sampling Bach’s “Air on A G-String”: that sounded well incorporated to me.
Another thing about Billlie’s discography is that they’re not afraid to experiment. Their music is experimental, but the albums pretty much always have got something for everyone. The songs are very diverse: lots of R&B and jazz, a ballad or two, the whole shebang. The girls are have great vocals, rapping ability, and strong dance skills as well.
“RING X RING” as a debut sounds very J-rock to me: it sounds like something a J-pop girl group would perhaps put out and if looking for something similar, perhaps Kep1er’s Japanese track “Wing Wing” may work? I still haven’t found another K-pop song like “RING X RING” personally though.
The debut EP is up there as one of my favorite debut EPs of 4th generation K-pop, at least. Opening with the divisive J-rock inspired “RING X RING” with a splash, we whirl into the hip-hop based “fl!pping a coin” that would be perfect for getting the crowd hyped at a concert someday. Next is the jazzy ballad “FLOWERLD”, reminiscent of Red Velvet’s tracks “Eyes Locked, Hands Locked” or “Remember Forever”. It is the group’s first fan song to Belllie’ve, their fanbase. (Cute name but so hard to spell correctly!) The follow up is “the eleventh day”, a brassy R&B bop with old school hip hop touches and great harmonization. I can see myself slow dancing to this. Then comes the opening notes of “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and c’mon, “everybody’s gotta know this”, Billlie themselves say in the hauntingly beautiful song “everybody’s got a $ecret”. And just as you wonder if you listened to Billlie “for real”, “the rumor” begins to spread as pure, infectious joy in your ears. I’m listening to it right now and going “That’s her!” and “nananana” on repeat in my head right now. And they end it all with a head banging “That’s Billlie!” and it’s over. Though not for long.
THE WINTER COMEBACK
On December 14th, 2021, Billlie came back with a promoted winter single, “snowy night”. Despite being a single release, the song was promoted on all music shows and had a music video plus choreography.
Speaking of which, it was announced that Sheon (Girls Planet 999 Suyeon) would be added to Billlie and she officially debuted in a seven person version of “RING X RING” on November 27th. I feel like Sheon is pretty lucky in the grand scheme of K-pop. She supposedly trained with the group bugAboo (they are disbanded now) but left the company before they debuted. In Girls Planet 999, she got the Planet Pass (given by mentors to one eliminated trainee, allowing them to return) and finished at 10th place, just one place below the debut group, Kep1er. Additionally, she got to debut before Kep1er (debut January 3, 2022) despite not making it into the group. And Billlie is not a temporary group on a 2.5 year contract. Billlie is doing well now in my opinion and Sheon fits in with the group so that’s that.
Back to “snowy night”. I have always liked holiday releases by K-pop groups as I love holiday music. I sometimes start listening to stuff like “Jingle Bell Rock” even in the summer if I’m bored. Holiday releases are smart as they have the potential to get quite popular, actually. EXO’s “Miracles In December” and “Universe” EPs as well as Girls’ Generation TaeTiSeo (TTS) “Dear Santa” album are good examples of this. Jazzy songs like “snowy night” are good to listen to on a cold winter night, you know? So add it to your Christmas K-pop playlist!
“GINGAMINGAYO”: RISING STARS
Comeback time was back and on February 23rd, 2022, Billlie came back with their second EP, titled “the collective soul and unconscious: chapter one”. The title track was “GingaMingaYo (the strange world)” and you should know by now that Billlie songs are certainly different from the norm. Yet, as always, they have their own norm. That is, the interpolation of a classic tune. Can you guess what song it was this time?
(Hint: Ee-i-ee-i-o)
Do you know it yet? If not, you may need to listen to the song and watch the music video:
If you haven’t gotten it yet, here’s the big reveal: drumroll please.
It’s “Old MacDonald Had A Farm”! I was initially skeptical of this because I was like “no offense, but how can you make “Old MacDonald” sound K-pop?” Happy to be proven wrong, though!
Anyway, let’s get into the mini album released this time around. “the collective soul and unconscious: chapter one” has five songs (including “GingaMingaYo”) and it’s worth checking out!
This EP opens up with the punchy “GingaMingaYo (a strange world)”, with a strong buildup and a powerful, driving chorus. While experimental, it feels a bit more mainstream K-pop than “RING X RING” (good for those who found the debut song a bit polarizing.) Exciting stuff! Next is the synth filled R&B song “a sign-anonymous” (unless you were interrupted by an ad like I was, sadly.) This song is gorgeous (sounds very Red Velvet) with its zingy instrumental that sounds great in a pair of high quality headphones. Then comes the short (only 2:50) and sweet “overlap (1/1)” where the girls deliver deep vocals reminiscent of the BVNDIT girls’ work. The adlibs are artfully rendered through another fullfilling R&B track. If you liked NMIXX’s “Cool (Your rainbow)” like I do then this may be a favorite for you. Oh boy. “Once again, it is that time,” Billlie say in the (gasp, only 2:24) fan favorite track, “M◐◑N palace”. Time for me to call this my favorite song in the album, that’s what. The telephone and voicemail sound effects are used creatively in this track. The EP wraps itself up with a sugary burst of classic pop nostalgia with “believe”. This touching song was written by the Billlie members for Belllie’ves.
So, was it super effective? Even if the attack hitting your Pokémon was not very effective, this is not the end. There is still time. I’m still convinced that in time, you, too, will cheer along when Billlie do their official greeting: “Belllie’ve you! Hello, we are Billlie!”
If you liked the first two EPs, there is more. They released a soundtrack called “what is your B?” on March 1st, 2022. This consists of special remixed instrumentals of all the songs from the first and second EP. I know some of us are a bit tired of remixes, but these are really worth checking out. These instrumental remix versions sound great as background music even if you haven’t heard the original songs.
A personal favorite of mine from these jazzed up remixes is the new version of “the rumor” from the first EP. There is no vocals, just instrumentals and jazz going wild.
Also, something to note here is that this comeback was a very important part of Billlie’s developing popularity. Here’s the thing about Billlie that many of you may actually know about. When Billlie ask “Have you heard about Billlie?” in “the rumor”, here’s your answer. And that is Tsuki’s viral fancam when performing “GingaMingaYo”.
Fancam virality is not a new thing by any means, but it is a chance of a lifetime for underrated and even mid tier groups (in terms of popularity). Pretty much everyone knows how EXID’s Hani went viral performing their song “Up & Down” and how that saved EXID from disbandment. Another famous story is of 2PM Junho’s “My House” fancam. While 2PM were- and still are- a popular group, Junho’s fancam brought “My House” back on the music charts and caused a resurgence in 2PM’s popularity and promotions (such as their “My House” performance on MMTG Renaissance and their eventual comeback in 2021 with “Make It”, which even sounded similar to “My House” sonically.)
THE THIRD COMEBACK
On August 31, 2022, Billlie came back with their 3rd EP, “the Billage of Perception: chapter two” with its lead single, “RING Ma Bell (what a wonderful world)”. And no, “RING Ma Bell” may share a title with the iconic Girl’s Day track “Ring My Bell”, but the songs could be considered two worlds apart. Billlie themselves have noticed the similarity in titles and released a dance cover of “Ring My Bell” on M2!
So, Billlie have always been experimental and bold enough to try new things with their music, and this comeback is no exception. This time, they ventured into rock music. By rock, I don’t mean pop rock style tracks like SEVENTEEN’s “Rock With You” or Choi Ye Na’s “Hate Rodrigo”, but a song complete with fierce guitar and drum solos and powerful adlibs. To me, “RING Ma Bell (what a wonderful world)” is like the kind of music you’d see K-bands like DAY6, ONEWE, or Rolling Quartz would put out. So it’s rock music with choreography too, to boot! Here’s the MV:
How was it? Personally, “RING Ma Bell” is my favorite title track of theirs. I want to see more rock concepts by K-pop groups in general (though I listen to a lot of K-bands with great music as well). If you liked this song, I’d recommend you check out “Montage” by ONEWE or “Blaze” by Rolling Quartz. (killer guitar solos, everybody!)
Let’s talk about their 3rd EP. So, “the Billage of Perception: chapter two” has six tracks including the title “RING Ma Bell”. (Yay, more Billlie music!) The songs and their lyrics have connections to their lore. Again, the album has a variety of genres including rock, R&B, and pop to name some.
The mini album opens up with heavy synths and Moon Sua’s voice saying, “I say I don’t know what’s right.” That’s right, this is “my B = the Birth of emotion”, a fun song with a catchy chorus (“by by by me, my my B, bye bye me”). Ooh, I’m so hyped. Next, we kick into the soulful R&B track “B’rave — a song for Matilda”. It really makes me “feel a different way”, as they say, with the gorgeous vocal layering and harmonization. It’s got a punchy rap with a part that reminds me of the alien in aespa’s remake of S.E.S’s “Dreams Come True,” if you know what I mean? You’ll get it if you listen to the song.
(Interrupted by an ad, oof.)
Title track time, baby! “RING Ma Bell” (you know it) opens up with a sizzling insertion of the guitar’s amp before our favorite guitars kick in with a rush of adrenaline. This song’s got me “feeling so fresh”, it’s really something I’d like to see more in K-pop. The guitar in the background got me bopping my head so fiercely that I’m worried my headphones will rip out of my laptop at this rate. And we’re moving on to the honeyed vocals of “$un palace (Stroop effect)”. This song and “M◐◑N palace” from the previous EP really do sit at the same lunch table. The adlibs are simply stunning and you’ve got to listen to it. Then it’s the flavorful acoustic guitar laden “Mcguffins- who’s the Joker”. The prechorus sounds simply heavenly. The song integrates both the major and the minor keys well, it reminds me of iKON’s “I’m OK” in that regard. Last song is the sweet guitar ballad with an impactful chorus: “B@ck 2 where We Belong”. It’s the quintessential fan song for Belllie’ve on every single one of their EPs so far. If you like aespa’s “Life’s Too Short”, then this’d be right up your alley. (Ironically, both these songs have opposite meanings.) And that’s a wrap for the 3rd EP!
Kinda off topic, but does anyone know what’s up with Billlie and “Mc”? We had “GingaMingaYo” interpolate “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” and now the track “Mcguffins — who’s the Joker”, so… maybe their producers or agency staff like McDonald’s?
I don’t know, help me out here, guys.
But Billlie should collaborate with McDonald’s someday. It’s not new, other K-pop groups like BTS and NewJeans have done it!
If this EP was enjoyable for you, they’ve got the special remix album with instrumentals once again! The EP has the same title, except the original soundtrack is called “the end of the world and the awakening”.
I like all the instrumentals, but one I listen to a lot is the “RING Ma Bell” remixed instrumental (linked below):
This sounds so good snuggled in an armchair on a cold night nursing a cup of hot coffee.
“EUNOIA” AND THE FIRST WIN
On March 28, 2023, Billlie returned with their 4th EP called “the Billage of Perception: chapter three.” The title song was “Eunoia”. This era was different from Billlie’s previous eras as they maintained their existing lore yet tried something new: the school concept.
The school concept is not uncommon in K-pop: many groups have done it. Some famous examples are EXO’s “Growl” (which popularized this concept), BTS’s “Boy In Luv”, GFRIEND’s “Rough”, and Weeekly’s “After School”, to name a few. Billlie did well with this concept, maintaining an air of mystery in the music video aligning with their lore. The song “Eunoia” has a retro sound that is characteristic of self-produced soloist Youha’s music, especially songs like “Island” and “Abbitipsy”, which makes sense because she helped make “Eunoia”.
For those unaware, this is the connection between Youha and Billlie. Both Billlie’s Moon Sua and Youha are former trainees of YG Entertainment. In fact, they were even in the same predebut team along with fromis_9’s Seoyeon and soloist ROYA. This team was called Future 2NE1 and they were revealed to the public by YG Entertainment in 2012 as the possible next girl group after 2NE1. They ended up not debuting, and none of the girls are still at YG Entertainment now.
Anyway, Youha is a self produced soloist who writes and produces her own music. She’s also produced for LOONA and VICTON, and now she worked with Billlie for “Eunoia”! (Please check out Youha’s music as it is really good, “Abbitipsy” is my favorite song by her.)
“B@ck 2 Where We Belong” with Billlie, of course. (Did you get the joke?) So here is the music video for “Eunoia”:
This comeback was also when Billlie got their first music show win. A first win is a major milestone for pretty much all K-pop groups other than those who debuted within the last few years at the Big 4 agencies (SM, JYP, YG, HYBE). They won on April 4th, 2023 at “The Show”, one year and five months after their debut! Check out their acceptance speeches and encore:
Time for the main part of this comeback: listening to the EP.
Billlie’s 4th mini album, “the Billage of Perception: chapter three” has six songs including “Eunoia” in, once again, a variety of genres. One thing I noticed in this EP is that there is a lot of retro sounds, from synths to guitars to drums. Let’s get in to it!
The release opens up with the stylish synths and hip hop instrumental of “enchanted night — white night”. The song is so sleek and smooth, the chorus reminds me of “All Night” by G(I)-DLE. As Moon Sua says in the track, “I can’t define” this track. And the song sees itself out with an “Ooh!” Next comes (is that Chung Ha’s “Play”? The intro sure sounds like it) the song “lionheart (the real me)”. This song is very powerful and bold and sounds so much like a Chung Ha song. Some verses sound Latin music influenced, this is going to be stuck in my head all day (like a lion, like a like a lion…) It’s got some hip hop undertones too. “Hey!” says the next song “Eunoia”, a song full of onomatopoeias. Tsuki stole my heart with “heartbeat! heartbeat!” and the “tiki taka” reminds me of Hyuna&Dawn’s song “PING PONG” with its “tiki taka ta!” R.I.P. Hyuna&Dawn. And now we’re in to “various and precious (moment of inertia)”, a soft and comforting bop with a very ’80s instrumental. And it’s all for the fans! International Belllie’ves are lucky hearing that “you make us various, ’cause you are so special.” Plus, that instrumental breakdown was everything. I felt like I was hearing Wonder Girls Yeeun’s amazing keyboard solo when they performed “I Feel You” at “Yu Huiyeol’s Sketchbook”. Great stuff.
(Cue the commercial break. Two more tracks left to go, folks! I’ll link Yeeun’s performance after this review.)
Next, it’s “extra-ordinary”. What a funky bop, I’m tapping my toes to this rhythm. Love that laugh at the beginning. (Remember TXT Hueningkai’s maniacal laugh in “Frost”?) “Yeah, yeah, okay”, Billlie. This song is one heck of a banger. It’s so sleek and the buildup is so good. It sounds like a retro song that TWICE would do, you know? Something like “Cruel” or “F.I.L.A”, perhaps. I kind of heard Sana’s voice in this chorus. And we have the last track, “nevertheless”. I’ve read the “Nevertheless” Webtoon before, so another coincidence in regards to titles. This R&B song sounds smooth as silk, honestly. It’s just in line with EXO Baekhyun’s entire discography. This song really is “so crazy”. No, Billlie’s entire discography has “got me going crazy”. That abrupt ending? I’ll certainly be replaying this again and again.
As I mentioned earlier, here is the Wonder Girls performance at “Yu Huiyeol’s Sketchbook” where they performed their hits “Nobody” and “Tell Me” as well as their then-new song “I Feel You” from the album “Reboot”. The members play incredible instrument solos while singing and dancing live.
THE REMAKES AND FIRST JAPANESE RELEASE
Thought it was over, didn’t you? Well, not yet. You see, Mystic Story (Billlie’s agency) CEO is a singer named Yoon Jong-shin. He had many hit songs in the ’90s and 2000s. In 2022, he released a single remake album where he collaborated with Billlie in remaking his songs “Patbingsu” and “Highway Romance”. This single album was called “track by YOON: Patbingsu”.
Before we check out the remakes, here are the original songs by Yoon Jong-shin:
How were the originals? Now here’s the remake versions:
“track by YOON: patbingsu” single album cover:
“Patbingsu” music video!
Despite being an older song, I love the revamped instrumental. Rather than the guitar and harmonica in the original, the modified soundtrack fits so well with Billlie’s sound. Like, you could listen to “Eunoia” and then “Patbingsu” and it’d transition so well!
“Highway Romance” sticks to the classics: the instrumental isn’t THAT different. But that makes sense, as “Highway Romance” seems pretty famous and well known. I love the new raps added to the song: rather than feeling shoehorned in, they make lyrical sense and the rappers of Billlie (Moon Sua and Siyoon) can pull it off, you know?
Billlie’s most recent activity has been their Japanese debut on May 17th, 2023. In this EP (though it seems more like a single album to me), they released Japanese versions of “GingaMingaYo (the strange world)” and “everybody’s got a $ecret”. I won’t be reviewing these releases because I have already reviewed the Korean versions, but I’ll post the album cover because it looks really cool:
That’s all and I hope you enjoyed my review of Billlie’s discography. I’m so ready for them to announce their next comeback and I hope they go on a world tour someday!
Also, I just reread the article for editing purposes and gosh, I’ve made it so obvious that Moon Sua is my bias. Sheon and Tsuki are my bias wreckers, though I love all the members of Billlie. Who’s yours?
