When it comes to K-pop groups with innovative concepts, many fans probably think of NCT or aespa, but today we would like to introduce you to tripleS! The young girl group has an unusual concept where fans have the power to make decisions. And it works! tripleS attracted attention even before its debut and achieved high chart positions early on.
If you would like to get to know tripleS a little better, now is your chance! We'll explain what makes the girl group special and summarize their successes for you:
- Concept
- Story
- All members and units
The name “tripleS” stands for “The Idol of All Possibilities”. (“The idol of unlimited possibilities”) And the letter “S” stands for “Social, Sonyo, Seoul”.
Concept
Before we introduce you to the members or talk about their activities, we would like to first explain the concept. It will help you understand tripleS better:
The MODHAUS label set itself the goal of creating a unique K-pop group and founded the first "decentralized" idol group tripleS. But what exactly does that actually mean?
In traditional K-pop groups, there is a fixed line-up and management holds the reins when it comes to group activities, song selection and promotional strategies. tripleS takes a bold step away from this model and introduces a flexible system where members rotate between different roles within the group. This includes participation in the main group, sub-units and even individual activities. This flexibility allows each member to showcase their individual talents on different platforms.
The fans are at the heart of this concept!
Fans are no longer passive observers, but are actively involved in decisions. They actually have an influence on which members debut in which subunit and even choose the title song of the albums. This participation creates a very special relationship between tripleS and the fans. It increases the feeling of connection.
How exactly can fans make decisions?
tripleS fans can vote via a voting process called “Gravity,” which takes place within the Cosmo app.
Gravity
There are always new “gravity” voting procedures in which a specific topic can always be voted on. Each lasts a few days. Sometimes it's over in just two days and sometimes fans have a whole week to cast their vote. For example, in the first Gravity, also called “Grand Gravity,” fans voted on which members should debut in the first two subunits. In the second Gravity ("Event Gravity - Choose the main song") they chose the title song for the first full album. So there are always new Gravity's when new decisions are made.
To actively participate in a Gravity vote, fans use COMO, a voting token, as currency.
Objects
COMO are acquired by purchasing and collecting “Objects,” unique photocards available digitally through the Cosmo app or physically in stores. An item purchased digitally becomes an NFT, which creates a COMO. This token gives fans valuable voting rights that influence tripleS's upcoming group activities.
Cosmo-App
The Cosmo app, also known as "Cosmo: the Gate", was founded on August 8, 2022. It serves as a platform for fans to actively shape tripleS's future activities through the use of COMO tokens.
NFT
The COMO tokens are NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). While NFTs offer unique opportunities for engagement and ownership in the digital world, they also come with potential downsides. The main concern is the environmental impact, as NFT transactions often consume significant amounts of energy due to the blockchain technology on which they are based.
tripleS's NFT objects are characterized by their commitment to environmental sustainability, distinguishing themselves from the environmental issues associated with typical NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). tripleS NFT objects work on the Polygon blockchain. In contrast to the systems that are otherwise used, this one uses significantly less energy and therefore contributes to a lower carbon footprint.
In addition, a fixed price was set for the objects. They cannot be resold at higher prices, so there are no unnecessary transactions that contribute to environmental impact.
As already mentioned, the objects are not only available to buy digitally, but also physically. The physical objects must first be scanned with the app before they become NFTs. If you just want to collect the photo cards, you don't necessarily have to take part in the NFT process.
Story
Now that you know the concept of tripleS, we would like to take you through the girl group's short but exciting history!
The then-unknown music label MODHAUS announced on February 18, 2022 that they would be launching the world's first girl group with fan participation and would reveal the first members in the first half of the year. The group is said to have a total of 24 members and would therefore be even larger than the boy band NCT, which currently has 20 members. With NCT Tokyo, NCT will once again claim the title of the largest K-pop group, but tripleS will be the largest K-pop girl group.
The unusual concept attracted attention even back then. So there were definitely quite a few K-Pop fans who were eagerly watching how the first eight members were introduced from May to September 2022: Yoon Seoyeon, Jeong Hyerin, Lee Jiwoo, Kim Chaeyeon, Kim Yooyeon, Kim Soomin, Kim Nakyoung, and Gong Yubin.
On September 16th, MODHAUS announced that tripleS was preparing for its debut and would form two subunits called “Acid Angel from Asia” and “+(KR)ystal Eyes”. This is where the first fans came into play for the first time!
From September 21st to 25th, they were able to take part in a “Gravity” voting process in the Cosmo app. With their votes, they determined which of the eight members should debut in which unit.
“Acid Angel from Asia” was the first tripleS unit to debut!
The unit consists of Jeong Hyerin, Kim Yooyeon, Kim Nakyoung and Gong Yubin. They released their first mini album “Access” including the title track “Generation” on October 28, 2022. The album reached number nine on the Korean Circle Charts and topped the iTunes US K-POP Album Chart! The girl group was finally able to show their music for the first time, and it was enthusiastically received!
From November to January, MODHAUS revealed four more members: Kaede, Seo Dahyun, Kotone and Kwak Yeonji.
In November, the label announced that tripleS would present an album with the entire group in early 2023.
In a new voting process in December, fans were able to vote for eight different songs and decide which should be the title track for the tripleS album. They chose “Rising.”
About two months later, on February 13, 2023, the tripleS album “Assemble” was released. 10 of the 12 members were involved. Kotone and Kwak Yeonji, who only officially joined in January, were not there. Like the album “Acess”, “Assemble” also successfully placed in the top 10 of the Circle Charts.
At the end of March, the 13th member “Nien” was introduced, and on April 14th the fourteenth member “Park Sohyun”. On April 10th, tripleS also announced their fandom name “WAV” on social media. “WAV” is an abbreviation for “Waveform Audio File Format”. The fans chose the name themselves because, as always, they were asked for their opinion on this important decision.
On May 4th, the second subunit “+(KR)ystal Eyes” finally debuted, which fans have been waiting for since September 2022.
It consists of four members Kim Soomin, Lee Jiwoo, Yoon Seoyeon and Kim Chaeyeon. In fact, a fifth member was involved in the album, which is called “Aesthetic”. The fourteenth member Park Sohyun co-produced the sound “Touch”. The album contains six tracks including “Touch” and the title track “Cherry Talk”.
The music video came out a day later than planned. MODHAUS said in a statement that "restrictive forces" prevented +(KR)ystal Eyes from performing on music shows. That's why the unit was originally only seen in the show “M Countdown”.
Fans suspected that the "restrictive forces" were the label "Blockberry Creative", which until recently had the girl group Loona under contract. MODHAUS had signed a contract in March with four of the former Loona members - Heejin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul & Choerry. At the time, the members and Blockberry Creative were still involved in legal disputes and the label prevented Heejin and the others from appearing in shows. Since tripleS is also owned by MODHAUS, fans assume that Blockberry Creative also boycotted the young girl group for that reason.
In the meantime, tripleS can be seen in music shows again. For example, “+(KR)ystal Eyes” finally appeared in “THE SHOW” at the end of June, almost two months after the release of “Aesthetic”. By then, the group had uploaded various performance videos to their YouTube account.
From April 21st - 30th, fans were able to take part in a voting process again. This time they determined the lineup of two new subunits called “LOVElution” and “EVOLution”, which are scheduled to debut in the second half of 2023.
The day before, two new members were also announced who would be part of these two units. But they were only revealed in July: Xinyu and Mayu.
Both units have eight members each, so all 16 current members are in one of the units!
On June 6th, a single called “Cherry Gene” was uploaded. It is a successful mashup of the two songs “Cherry Talk” and “Generation”. “Acid Eyes” is named as the artist. The name is a combination of the units “Acid Angels from Asia” and “+(KR)ystal Eyes”, the units that sang the two songs.
tripleS is a groundbreaking girl group that is already redefining the norms of fan engagement and group dynamics. It offers a new perspective on how fans can interact with their favorite artists. Although the debut was less than a year ago, tripleS has already presented several different units with different combinations of members. We are excited to see what combinations await us!
But the story goes on! Some of the members of tripleS decided to challenge themselves and take part in the survival show "Queendom Puzzle".
In the show, 28 idols who have already debuted compete against each other in order to ultimately debut in the seven-member project group “EL7Z UP”. Two of the candidates are Jiwoo and Seoyeon. Unfortunately, Soyeon was eliminated in episode 7, which aired on July 25th. Jiwoo is still there and is one of the top 14 who will show their talent one last time in the final on August 15th!
Luckily, Seoyeon doesn't have to mourn for long, because her new unit LOVElution will debut with the album “ↀ” on August 17th. Since she is no longer busy with Queendom Puzzle, Seoyeon can now fully concentrate on LOVElution and wave to the fans from the stage again in just a few days!
What is certain is that both Jiwoo and Seoyeon gained new fans through the show and drew attention to tripleS. We keep our fingers crossed for Jiwoo!
All members and units
It's difficult to keep track of all the members and units, so we've summarized them all here for you:
| Name | Birthday | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Yoon Seoyeon | 06.08.2003 | +(KR)ystal Eyes , LOVElution |
| Jeong Hyerin | 12.04.2007 | Acid Angel from Asia , LOVElution |
| Lee Jiwoo | 24.10.2005 | +(KR)ystal Eyes , EVOlution |
| Kim Chaeyeon | 04.12.2004 | +(KR)ystal Eyes , EVOlution |
| Kim Yooyeon | 09.02.2001 | Acid Angel from Asia , EVOlution |
| Kim Soomin | 03.10.2007 | +(KR)ystal Eyes , EVOlution |
| Kim Nakyoung | 13.10.2002 | Acid Angel from Asia , EVOlution |
| Gong Yubin | 03.02.2005 | Acid Angel from Asia , LOVElution |
| Kaede | 20.12.2005 | LOVElution |
| Seo Dahyun | 08.01.2003 | LOVElution |
| Kotone | 10.03.2004 | EVOlution |
| Kwak Yeonji | 08.01.2008 | EVOlution |
| Nien | 02.06.2003 | LOVElution |
| Park Sohyun | 13.10.2002 | LOVElution |
| Xinyu | 25.05.2002 | LOVElution |
| Mayu | 12.05.2002 | EVOlution |
Acid Angel from Asia: Jeong Hyerin, Kim Yooyeon, Kim Nakyoung & Gong Yubin.
+(KR)ystal Eyes: Kim Soomin, Lee Jiwoo, Yoon Seoyeon & Kim Chaeyeon.
LOVElution: Yoon Seoyeon, Jeong Hyerin, Gong Yubin, Kaede, Seo Dahyun, Nien, Park Sohyun & Xinyu.
EVOlution: Lee Jiwoo, Kim Chaeyeon, Kim Yooyeon, Kim Soomin, Kim Nakyoung, Kotone, Kwak Yeonji & Mayu.
Pre-Debut
Many of the members have been active in the entertainment industry long before their debut. Some have previously appeared in survival shows such as Girls Planet 999 and My Teenage Girl, others already have acting experience, have hosted children's shows or been active as child models. Kim Chaeyeon was even in two other girl groups before tripleS: Busters and CutieL.
Are you looking forward to meeting the remaining eight members soon?
Sources: NME, mod-haus.com, triples.fandom.com
