KEYVITUP Talks K-Pop’s Next Wave with Next Wave Magazine

On April 8th, boy group KEYVITUP (키빗업) made their debut with their first EP, KEYVITUP. The album consists of five tracks, including the title track of the same name, and marks the beginning of their journey together as a group. 

KEYVITUP is the first boy group to debut under iNKODE Entertainment, a new company founded by K-Pop icon Kim Jae-Joong. The five members—TAEHWAN, HYUNMIN, SENA, JAEIN, and RUKIA—are entering into the saturated industry with a strong artistic vision and sound, and a clear goal: to have their music act as a key to open doors to the world and serve as an awakening signal. Following their official debut, Next Wave Magazine spoke with the five young new stars about what their debut means to them, where they hope to head, their upcoming U.S. debut at KCON LA, and more. 

How would each of you describe KEYVITUP?

HYUNMIN : I’ve expressed it as a phrase: keep it up. As it is the sentence that gave birth to our team name, I believe it best captures our motto of constantly growing and proving ourselves. 

TAEHWAN : I would say paint. Just like how various colors have their own unique hues and characteristics, but create a new kind of beauty when mixed together, I think that process really resembles our team.

SENA : I think it’s key. Since it is our core keyword, concept, and a symbolic word that proves our presence, I believe it represents us best.

JAEIN : I would say freedom. We don’t trap ourselves in a fixed mold; instead, we naturally reveal our individual personalities in every aspect—from music to performance—while maintaining harmony.

RUKIA : I think it’s freshness. There is freshness in our musical color, but I also feel that each member’s personality comes across as unique and new. I hope that same sense of freshness reaches everyone who watches us.

Here at Next Wave Magazine, we focus on artists that are shaping what comes next. What does being part of the “next wave” of K-Pop mean to you?

To be part of the “Next Wave” means following the current flow while simultaneously creating a new one within it. Just like our team name implies, we want to carve out new waves with our “KEY” and grow by showing our “VITALITY” (VIT) within that space.

Do you feel any pressure to represent this new generation of artists? How do you navigate that? 

Rather than feeling pressure, we try to focus entirely on the music and performances we show you. We believe that if we stay focused on delivering better music, titles like “representing a generation” will naturally follow.

Your debut EP, KEYVITUP, blends old school hip hop to modern elements. What drew you to that sound for your first release?

The whole team is very interested in trendy music, but at the same time, we put a lot of thought into the “roots” of K-Pop idol music. In the process of exploring what kind of music we could offer, we ended up blending old-school vibes with modern elements. Thankfully, some listeners reacted by calling it “Classic K-Pop,” and we are so happy that the message we wanted to convey was understood.

Title track “KEYVITUP” reinterprets boom-bap, but in your own distinct style. How did you approach making something nostalgic feel fresh?

We usually enjoy listening to hip-hop, so the sound was familiar to us, and thankfully, our company brought us an amazing beat. By melting our group’s identity—confidence and growth—into the lyrics and adding a modern K-Pop feel, we were able to create a sound that is uniquely KEYVITUP.

Each track on the EP carries strong themes of ambition and identity. Was there a central message you wanted listeners to take away?

The central message of the entire album is confidence. Through the flow of “You are the best,” “We are the best,” and “We will be the best,” we wanted to show our ambition while also delivering positive energy to our listeners.

If you had to introduce a new listener to KEYVITUP with just one track from the EP, which would it be and why?

We’d recommend “BEST ONE.” It’s the song that first introduced our group to the world, and since all of us participated in writing the lyrics to capture our message of self-confidence, it’s a track we definitely want everyone to hear.

How do you hope to connect with fans across different cultures and languages?

Connecting through music is our number one goal. We believe music has an energy that transcends language barriers. We want to show music that represents us and share deeper connections through it. We also want to understand the messages fans send us in various languages, so we are working hard on studying English, Japanese, Chinese, and more.

What can fans anticipate for your debut U.S. performance at this year’s KCON LA?

In addition to our debut song, we are preparing a special performance that can only be seen at KCON. We are practicing intensely to show our unique confidence and energy on that stage.

With how your music emphasizes individuality, how do you each personally express your unique personality within the group? 

We tend to express our individualities through facial expressions and gestures on stage. We are always contemplating how to best bring out the emotions and characteristics of the music and dance when we perform.

When you think about the “next wave” of K-Pop, what kind of artist do you aspire to become within that movement?  

We are looking for ways to grow as the next wave by considering what only we can do within the current K-Pop scene. If we continue to focus on what we can uniquely express, we believe our goal of becoming icons of current-generation K-Pop will eventually be achieved.

If you could choose a color to represent KEYVITUP as a group, what would you choose, and why?

RED and GREEN. We want to show a professional side on stage and our natural, authentic selves off stage. Just like how the ON/OFF modes of a machine are often represented by Red and Green, we feel those colors perfectly represent our duality.

KEYVITUP Debut EP Tracklist:

1) BEST ONE

2) KEYVITUP

3) LEGENDARY

4) SHOW ME SOMETHING

5) POLAROID

Keep up with KEYVITUP:

Instagram: @keyvitup_inkode

TikTok: @keyvitup_inkode

X (formerly Twitter): @KEYVITUP_inkode

YouTube: @KEYVITUP

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5t5DHjgbcPnJGZJyz3YCnv

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/keyvitup/1886049095