2021 was a memorable year for fromis_9 and flovers. We reached new achievements, explored new social media platforms, and shared more moments together. With the transfer of management to Pledis Entertainment under HYBE Labels, fromis_9 embarks on a new beginning to showcase their countless charms and to continue their promise to become the best girl group ever for flovers. But before we set off on an exciting new journey this year with fromis_9, let’s go back and talk about the unforgettable 2021 moments we all have kept in our hearts.
Comebacks
9 Way Ticket
With the pandemic restricting us from traveling, fromis_9 invited us on a virtual trip through 9 Way Ticket. The single album came with three songs which embodies and captures the imaginary travel concept. Starting with “Airplane Mode”, it gives the feeling of excitement before the trip. In their “Airplane Mode” Special Video, the girls excitedly prepare for their trip by packing their clothes together. The next song is their title track “WE GO”, which expresses the happy feeling and moments during a trip. They end the album with “Promise”, a sentimental song about the lingering feelings after a trip.
9 Way Ticket received many achievements both in physical and digital sales. The single album had a record breaking first week album sales with 35,403 copies, and it sold a total of 58,032 copies. The bright and refreshing title track “WE GO” charted for 18 weeks on Gaon Digital Chart, the longest streak for any fromis_9 song. 9 Way Ticket also surpassed 20 million streams on MelOn, the largest music streaming app in South Korea. This was also a first for any fromis_9 album.
Talk & Talk
Signaling the start of a new journey under Pledis Entertainment, fromis_9 released a special single album Talk & Talk. The song exemplifies the youthful feeling of excitement of having a never-ending heart-fluttering conversation with someone special through its upbeat and cheerful melodies accompanied by bright synths.
Within just four months after the 9 Way Ticket promotion period ended, the sudden comeback announcement was something that nobody expected. After all, they never had more than one comeback in a year since 2018. Nevertheless, flovers were still ready to show love and support towards the girls as the limited edition special single album was sold out at 23,000 copies.
Talk & Talk may be the most memorable comeback for both fromis_9 and flovers. The nine girls were awarded their 1st music show win, thanks to their ever-growing popularity, and effective teamwork done by flovers.
1st Win
7th of September 2021 – a day which we will never forget as fromis_9 finally won in a music show after 1,323 days since their debut. It was an emotional day as memories of their journey throughout the past four years flashed back through their minds. Watching the encore stage, we’re sure flovers were emotional and proud to see fromis_9 achieve the much awaited and deserved accomplishment.
The girls expressed their feelings of gratitude to flovers, who have been supporting them ever since, to their staff, who have been working non-stop to let our girls shine even brighter every day, and to each other, who have been working so hard together towards their dream. In similar fashion, flovers flocked onto social media to show their gratitude and appreciation towards the girls as we also knew the difficult times and hardships they needed to overcome.
Just like Jisun said in Channel_9 Ep.11, the 1st win felt like they’d finally come to the actual starting line, signaling a new start of a journey that reaches for even greater heights than ever before. Now standing at the starting line, fromis_9 is now ready to move forward as idols and as individuals to become the best girl group ever for flovers. With the new year and comeback rolling in, we cannot wait to see fromis_9 take on more music show wins!
Original Content
CHANNEL_9
Our favorite fromis_9 YouTube series came back with a BANG! In this new season, the nine girls expressed how they would like to share entertaining content that hasn’t been done before, while keeping memories they can cherish with flovers. Each member shared content ideas and concepts that they want to do in their most loved show. With improved production and a more passionate team, Channel_9 has leveled up in entertainment, surprising both fromis_9 and flovers.
The 20 episodes that were released in 2021 consisted of 6 content ideas from the girls and a couple of episodes prepared by the staff.
- Jjak – Jiwon’s suggestion was to create a spin-off of Jjak, a previously famous Korean dating program. The girls were divided into pairs and one trio, and they did activities to show their chemistry together.
- Mafiarity Report – A mind game prepared by Jisun. In the most Jisun-like fashion, she sent a detailed proposal to their staff about her idea where the girls had to predict their members’ actions while playing a game.
- Camping_9 – In their brainstorming episode, Nagyung shared her desire to go on a camping trip with her members, and it came true in this episode! They spend their time preparing their camping site then unwind in the evening, sharing a sentimental moment together as they talk about their first music show win.
- Worldwide Scholarship Quiz – Planned by fromis_9’s brain Baek Jiheon, the nine girls transformed into students and underwent a series of tests that challenged their intelligence, virtue and health.
- Pajama Challenge – With a lot of people staying home due to the pandemic, Channel_9 staff prepared a pajama challenge where fromis_9 played games using household items. Who knew using kitchen utensils and tissue rolls would be entertaining?
- Full of Passion Commercial_9 – fromis_9’s creativity was put to the test! Divided into three groups, they were tasked to make commercials for chocolate, lactobacilli and a vitamin drink. With the collaborative efforts of each team, they created extraordinary commercials that can only be seen on Channel_9.
- fashion_9 for 2041 – Seoyeon proposed a makeover episode and this was realized by creating a lookbook that will be trendy again in 20 years. With a “Newtro” theme, they were given a snake belt, hand warmers and a world cup t-shirt for their lookbook challenge.
- Running_9 – Chaeyoung suggested a spin-off of the hit Korean variety show Running Man and Running_9 did not disappoint. The mafias needed to find the hidden treasure without getting caught by the police. With Hayoung on the police team, every mafia took cautious steps as they find clues to find the hidden treasure.
from 2 Meals
Inspired by the Korean TV show Three Meals a Day, from 2 Meals was a welcome surprise to flovers. Dropping unexpectedly after “WE GO” promotions, the reality series served as a closing chapter to 9 Way Ticket, when fromis_9 would finally leave the virtual world and embark on a real trip. Across four episodes, the cameras followed the members around as they spent a day cooking, eating and playing in the countryside. From digging potatoes to twerking for all to see, from 2 Meals was a collection of amusing and heartwarming moments, the only possible outcome when the girls are left to be themselves.
Jisun ASMR
On April 30th, our resident ASMR artist, Jisun, returned, starting first with a standing microphone in which she whispered mouth sounds into our ears whilst circling around it. 2021 let us meet a new segment called ASMR Radio Live, “A Comfortable Night, I’m Jisun”, where Jisun reads letters and live comments sent by flovers, and gives advice and words of encouragement. The series has also introduced a new microphone, the Blue Yeti – one of Jisun’s favorites, which she used to lull us to sleep while we hear bubble and foam sounds with rain trickling down faintly touching our ears.
Aside from these, Jisun never failed to bring us new ASMR content such as sounds produced from ice and water, eating snacks, wood objects, and items that go along well with autumn such as dalgona, dry flowers, and letters. Jisun also treated us to an ear massage and cleaning, a continuation of the ear treatment she gave us two years ago. To commemorate yet another great year for the series, Jisun ended with a video reading our comments as a year-end ceremony.
HoneY_log
HoneY_log came to flovers as a surprise gift from Jiheon on her birthday with the purpose of showing her daily school life – a side of her which we have been curious about. Our maknae has uploaded a set of interesting videos such as student GRWM (Getting Ready With Me), a going to and from school video, the legendary 5-hour study with me, and behind-the-scenes video and CSAT journey showcase to finish the 2021 series. Aside from being a dispenser of Jiheon’s cute scenes, HoneY_log has also served as a proof of our maknae’s dedication and commitment towards accomplishing her goal in academics; that is, to graduate high school and sit down for CSAT.
Rommantic Day
Just like the previous year, Saerom prepared another Rommantic Day video to celebrate her birthday in 2021. In her birthday V LIVE, she expressed regret that she couldn’t get the video done on time, but when it was finally published, flovers understood why. Our Captain uploaded her third Rommantic Day video, a 25-minute vlog which contained clips of her memories throughout the year 2020. She shared with us moments of her celebrating the members’ birthdays, their promotion period for “Feel Good (SECRET CODE)”, and even her intimate moments with her family and friends.
Saerom uploaded her fourth Rommantic Day video after their “WE GO” promotions ended. In this video, she shared her own behind-the-scenes content of their promotion period that showed her affection to her members and the bond they share with their staff. Every video is a glimpse of the world through Saerom’s eyes. She makes sure we view it from her perspective through her video editing which was done with so much thought and care. We look forward to what Rommantic Day has in store for us next!
OST/Song Remake
Jiwon – Cloud
On July 2nd, Jiwon posted on their official Instagram account and asked what flovers’ have been up to. In her hashtags, she shared that she’s been watching Racket Boys and invited flovers to watch with her. Little did we know that she was already giving us a spoiler of her solo project! A week after her Instagram post, fromis_9’s main vocalist greeted us as the upcoming OST singer for Racket Boys.
Jiwon’s powerful and emotional vocals expressed the fluttering feelings of first love, capturing the romantic atmosphere of the drama. In the “Cloud” OST Recording Behind, the song producer showered her with compliments. With the preparation and professionalism displayed by the main vocalist during the song recording, the producer said that Jiwon was one of the best singers he has worked with and that she was very passionate about music. She was also given the opportunity to perform her song at the 16th Seoul International Drama Awards 2021.
Hayoung, Jiwon and Seoyeon – Star
Cyworld BGM 2021 is a project by Cyworld Jet and Superman C&M where they remake famous songs that were popular in South Korea back in 2000’s. They chose 20 artists to perform these songs, and one of their chosen artists was fromis_9 Hayoung, Jiwon and Seoyeon! Our three vocalists sang their version of “Star” by Youme, an OST for the Korean movie 200 Pounds Beauty back in 2006. They were able to convey the sad yet comforting song through the mix of their soft, powerful and sentimental vocals.
Shadow Beauty
Lee Nagyung is the second fromis_9 member to challenge herself in the acting scene. Her first project is KakaoTV’s web drama Shadow Beauty, wherein she portrayed two characters, Genie and Sun Mijin. During the web drama’s press conference, director Bang Soo In shared how Nagyung was the only main cast member to be casted through auditions. As if it was fate, they found who they were looking for on the last day of auditions, when the last actress to walk in was none other than Nagyung.
Despite the challenge of taking a double role, Nagyung was able to portray both characters effectively. Her performance was amazing for a rookie actress and it was definitely beyond the expectations of every flover. We are so proud of Nagyung and we hope to see more from her in the future!
Shows and Radio Appearances
Throughout the year, fromis_9 appeared on numerous variety and radio shows, providing many memorable moments. The year opened with cooking master Jisun winning on the TV show Crazy Recipe Adventure, creating a Thai Noodle dish that won the hearts of the judges, becoming the first girl group member to win on the show. Later on in the year, fromis_9 made an appearance on Immortal Songs 2, where they performed a beautiful rendition of “I Don’t Know Yet What Love Is” originally by Lee Ji Yeon. While they didn’t win the episode, their performance captured the hearts of all who watched, displaying their talent for everyone at home.
Radio shows on Naver NOW, as well as others such as Day6’s Kiss the Radio and DinDin’s Music High, also provided flovers with moments to remember. Whether it be; Hayoung becoming a crow; Jiheon fangirling over being in the same room as Seulgi; Nagyung talking about her babies (her fish tank); the infamous Sakuranbo challenge; or the cross-group interactions that led to new friends. fromis_9 loves appearing on radio shows, and there is no doubt that there will be many more appearances in 2022.
Online shows were also a gold mine of content for fromis_9. One of the most unforgettable pieces of fromis_9 content was the Mafia Dance on dingo global DGG, which contained: a crying Hayoung; a completely incorrect detective Gyuri; a flawless Mafia performance; and other moments that will live in the memory of flovers forever. Jisun and Jiheon also appeared on an episode of MMTG, where Jiheon practiced for her exams while Jisun provided some questionable ASMR. fromis_9 were also able to participate in a couple of online Military concerts, which then led to an in-person Military concert, their first in a very, very long time. Here’s to more in-person concerts for fromis_9 in 2022!
Social Media Presence
#WeGoChallenge and #TalknTalkChallenge
Dance challenges became a trend during the past year. When a group comes back with a new song, they choose a point dance of their choreography and invite other artists to dance along with them. For fromis_9, they began doing dance challenges when they released “WE GO”. After Hayoung came up with the idea and suggested it to their company, fromis_9 started recording dance challenges with other artists and entertainers they interacted with during their promotion period. The same trend was carried on when they came back with “Talk & Talk”. Amongst all the dance challenges they made, Jiheon’s “WE GO” and “Talk & Talk” dance challenge videos with her schoolmates stood out among the rest.
TikTok
On August 19, 2021, fromis_9 opened their official TikTok account. Since then, they have been creating TikTok clips, from the latest video trends to their own dance challenges. As of writing, there are four videos that have reached over 2 million views. They are as follows (listed chronologically):
- fromis_9 – Buffering Challenge
- Gyuri and Chaeyoung – “You Can Really Dance” Challenge
- fromis_9 – Try Not To Laugh Challenge
- Saerom and Nagyung – Zoom Challenge
Weverse
After fromis_9’s management transfer to Pledis Entertainment, they were given the opportunity to open their own artist page on Weverse. It is a social media application created by HYBE Corporation where fans and artists can communicate with one another. Upon registering in the app, fans can leave messages to their artist and enjoy exclusive Weverse content. fromis_9 members have been very active and responsive to flovers, allowing us to develop a closer relationship with one another.
Links to shows and videos can be found on fromispedia.
Writers: Bruno, Ivan, JJ and Mitch
Designer: Adam
Editors: Adam, Bruno, Mitch
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