Several K-pop artists, including former LOONA member Chuu and Yuqi from (G)I-DLE, teamed up for a special cover of KARA’s 2011 hit single “Step”.
On December 31, at the MBC Gayo Daejejeon Music Festival at the end of the year, five K-pop idols born in 1999 — the year of the Rabbit according to the lunar calendar — performed together at a special performance that will begin in 2023. Among them are former LOONA member Chu (Yuqi from G)I—DLE, lead singer and former IZ*ONE member Choi Yen, Choi Yoo Jung from Weki Meki and Arin from OH MY GIRL.
The band took to the stage for an accurate performance of KARA’s hit “Step”, which was released in 2011, also in the year of the Rabbit. The song was included in the fourth studio album of the same name by the female group.
“Speed up, speed up, it all starts again / I’m going to overtake by speeding up the pace again / Just speed up, speed up so everyone can see / Turn up the volume, baby, my baby,” they sing, dancing to a cheerful choreography, ending the performance with a rabbit ear pose.
The performance was one of several joint projects and covers performed during the Gayo Daejejeon Music Festival. Other notable performances include Kep1er and TEMPEST’s cover of SEVENTEEN’s “Pretty U”, IVE’s cover of Girls’ Generation’s “Lion Heart”, and Billy’s collaboration with label head and singer Yoon Jung Shin on his past hits “Rebirth” and “Highway Romance”.
The “Step” collaboration was also Chu’s first appearance on television since her departure from the girl group LOONA at the end of last year. The singer was absent from most of the group’s events in 2022 before Blockberry Creative announced her “exclusion” from the group. At the time, the agency claimed that her removal was influenced by “Chu’s violent expressions and abuse of power towards our employees.” Later, the singer went to her personal Instagram account to say that she “didn’t do anything that would be shameful for my fans.”
