CCM Finally Succeeds Again with The SEEYA

On paper, Core Contents Media’s new girl group, The SEEYA, shouldn’t work. At a time when CCM is still swathed in scandal from T-ara and reeling from the loss almost losing its second most successful act, Davichi, why would the deranged Kim Kwang Soo decide to not only reboot one of the most controversial acts in the agency’s history, SeeYa, but to name said rebooted group, The SEEYA? The whole thing sounds like a hot mess waiting to happen, but surprisingly, it’s not. The SEEYA made their debut last week with their first single, “Be With You”, and low and behold, it’s actually pretty good — and so is the group.
Produced by Duble Sidekick, who was behind SISTAR’s chart-topper “Loving U”, “Be With You” is a melancholy dance ballad with lashings of hip-hop thanks to a guest appearance from phlegm-voiced SPEED rapper Taewoon. Although it doesn’t sound like any specific T-ara track, the rap-ballad style and cheap electronica definitely recalls elements of their earlier work, which alone makes me an instant fan.
The SEEYA’s musical style and dark concept stand out for all the right reasons, so they need to stick with it for a while and not attempt any of the crazy concept changes or publicity stunts that CCM is known for. Right now, the best option for CCM is to leave the drama at the door and just spotlight The SEEYA’s talent and natural charisma over everything else. The group currently has a unique spot on the girl group ladder because they don’t quite fit into the typical idol dance-pop mold, nor are they your standard balladeers or vocal act. If they build upon this, they could end up finding a lot of success. “Be With You” is already off to a strong start, floating around in the top thirty of the Instiz iChart since its release. That’s a hell of a lot better than how CCM’s last two groups –SPEED and Gangkiz– did with their debut tracks.
Kim Kwang Soo, please don’t screw this one up. Let the fact that you actually called this awesome quartet “The SEEYA” be the extent of your damage, and cause them no further harm from this point forward.