DAVIDE K-POP

Get ready, EverAfter! The global super rookies, UNIS, have made their comeback with their second mini-album, ‘SWICY’! An abbreviation for ‘UNiverse Is Started, U&I Story,’ UNIS, comprised of members from across the globe, have already made a significant impact on the K-Pop scene.
Their debut saw them ranking impressively on both domestic and international charts, and their trophy cabinet is already filling up with accolades from the 2024 Hayllu Entertainment Awards, The Fact Music Awards, the TikTok Awards, the KGMA (for Tend of the Year), and MAMA (for Woman). Their unique charm has also translated into sold-out fan meetings in Japan and a successful fan concert in the Philippines.

Now, UNIS is back to showcase their irreplaceable and unique ‘SWICY’ colour with this new release. The 2nd Mini Album, aptly titled ‘SWICY,’ features a total of five exciting tracks, embodying a concept that’s ‘Sometimes Sweet, Sometimes Spicy!’ Through the honest and candid language of Real Gen-Z, the eight members of UNIS present a variety of ‘SWICY Recipes’ in their music. Drawing on the global fascination with K-food, UNIS introduces a fresh direction with the trendy term ‘SWICY’ – a combination of Sweet & Spicy that’s been buzzing amongst celebrities and influencers worldwide. This album truly captures UNIS’s own ‘SWICY’ through melodies that resonate with diverse emotions and lyrics that are both fun and relatable.

I had the incredible opportunity to sit down with the members of UNIS for an exclusive interview, both in writing and on video, to delve deeper into their comeback, the ‘SWICY’ album, and all the exciting things they’ve been up to. We also got to witness their playful side as they enjoyed a round of the mini-game ‘GUESS WHO?’, and they even shared a special greeting message just for their beloved EverAfter!

Let’s uncover all the details about UNIS’s new era and their ‘SWICY’ journey and get to know the group better!

Davide: Hello UNIS! I’m Davide, thank you for taking the time for this interview. How are you all doing today? It must be busy with the new album out! Could you please introduce yourselves one by one to our readers? Including a fun fact or something unique about yourselves that EverAfter might not know yet.
HYEONJU: Hello, I am HYEONJU with short hair.
NANA: Hello, I am NANA with bang again.
GEHLEE: Everyone! I’m GEHLEE, UNIS’ princess! I have a collection of flowers that I’ve received in the past that I preserved to keep forever
KOTOKO: I am KOTOKO who is addicted to shopping.
YUNHA: Hello, I am YUNHA, in charge of eye smiles at UNIS! I am a dog pretending to be a human.
ELISIA: Hello I am ELISIA, I recently started to use perfumes and makeup.
YOONA: Hello, I am sweetie YOONA. There’s a hat on the clothes with a fork, and I call that hat an Onigiri hat.
SEOWON: Hello, I am SEOWON! I am good at making Scone. 

Davide: Your group name, UNIS, is very interesting, can you please tell us the origin of it?
HYEONJU: UNIS is an abbreviation for UNiverse Is Started and U&I Story and is a name that carries the meaning of writing our story together that started in the universe.

Davide: Your new album, ‘SWICY’, has been highly anticipated. Can you tell us about the overall concept and message you’re conveying through this album? and let’s also talk about the main track, ‘SWICY’!
ELISIA: From this album, I wanted to show UNIS’s youth and energy. We are going to show sweet and spicy charms and hope all the people use the word ‘SWICY’.

Davide: Let’s talk about the other tracks too, besides the title track. What other song would you recommend for first-time listeners and why?
GEHLEE: I highly recommend ‘Good Feeling’ because I love it so much; it’s my personal favourite from our whole album! It starts off strong from the intro itself and in my opinion, it only gets better from there!
YUNHA: I will recommend ‘SWICY’! This song is filled with our UNIS’s cute appearances, so even those who are listening to it for the first time will be able to enjoy it.

Davide: How does ‘SWICY’ differ from your previous albums like ‘WE UNIS’? What new aspects of UNIS can fans expect to see in this new work? I will be honest, from your past work I really like songs like CURIOS and Dopamine (UNIS ver).
ELISIA: Firstly thank you so much for appreciating our songs, we worked so hard on practicing those~ but! unlike the previous songs, Swicy highlights the natural youthfulness and energy each member has in a unique way! ‘Swicy’ is a word I think can be projected in so many ways and I feel that the members got to portray ‘Swicy’ successfully in their own style!
YOONA: ‘WE UNIS’ and ‘CURIOUS’ had charismatic concepts like Superwoman and Gen-Z Princess, so I hope you look forward to refreshing, sweet, and cute concepts this time!

Davide: With the release of ‘SWICY’, are there any specific regions you’d like to visit to perform your fans?
KOTOKO: I want to visit America. I want to see New York’s night view. But also I want to feel American EverAfters’ energy too!
SEOWON: I want to go to America. America is the biggest music market, so I want to show UNIS’s songs and performances. 

Davide: UNIS debuted about a year ago, looking back on your journey to now, what are your most significant milestones and challenges?
GEHLEE: All the moments with EverAfter are special. I know how hard and strongly they support us. I can’t ever forget when I met EverAfter in my hometown, Philippine. I felt their huge, sweet heart and that motivated me to work hard.
YOONA: There are many moments, but the debut day. I can never forget my first debut performance as UNIS. I was nervous showcasing in front of the audience, and shy feeling toward fans’ reaction.
SEOWON: I remember the debut showcase too. All the members were waiting for it, and many fans stood with us. I did super good because I must show to all my fans and audiences.

Davide: Who are some of the artists, both in and outside of K-pop, who inspire you and your music?
HYEONJU: It’s BINI. During our Philippine concert we did BINI’s cover so I had to monitor them. Through monitoring we could make great performance.
NANA: I love Komatsu Nana since I was a little kid, and I have watched all her movies and dramas.
GEHLEE: All the UNIS members have really been looking up to our senior idols like Jennie and aespa lately! And outside of K-pop, Sabrina Carpenter has been the apple of my eye with all her charm and witty songwriting.
KOTOKO: Japanese artist, Perfume. I wanted to be an artist just like Perfume.
YUNHA: I like Dua Lipa. When I was contemplating my dream of becoming a singer, I became convinced after watching Dua Lipa’s performance, and even now, when I’m having a hard time, I feel like I’m recovering when I listen to Dua Lipa’s songs. She is the most important and precious artist to me.
ELISIA: Ariana Grande and Kim Sejeong! Both are such well-rounded artists, and they inspire me a lot because of how passionate they are in doing every single project they have!
YOONA: Me, Twice. I want to be an artist like Twice, receiving all love and support globally. 
SEOWON: It’s not an artist, but I think I was inspired by Dream Pâtissier while preparing this album. The word “swish” is related to food. The lyrics of this album also include food, and the styling is also related to cooking. I think I looked up Dream Pâtissier a lot to express that concept well.

Davide: If given the opportunity, which artist would you dream of collaborating with, either from South Korea or internationally?
KOTOKO: If I have a change, it would be with IU! She can cover diverse genres, and I really admire it! So, I wish to do a performance with her. 
SEOWON: I love Charlie Puth, so if I have an opportunity, I will loved to do a collaboration! 

Davide: If you could go back in time and give advice to your pre-debut self, what would you say?
NANA: I will say “Things go on so do not stop working hard!”
YUNHA: “If you believe in yourself and think what you are thinking is right, then do it!”

Davide: Do you have a special message for your fans, EverAfter?
ELISIA: I don’t think words can describe how thankful we are to have you guys! You all just keep motivating us to do better every time. We love you all so much!
GEHLEE: We are really really grateful, just like Elisia said, we know how much you guys support us and we are always looking at your posts about us and we are seeing a lot of good feedback on our album we are really delighted about that! We would like to thank all of you for the support, because we work very hard for all of you, you are always in our thoughts and we just love you all so much! Thank you!

Davide: That’s all for today! Thank you so many girls, you are doing such a great job and you should be proud of yourself! I hope to see you live soon!

Make sure to support UNIS in their amazing journey and stream SWICY on your favourite streaming platform!