Q&A: Hip-Hop Meets Rock With K-Pop Group ARrC’s New Single Album ‘CTRL+ALT+SKIID’
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY GIONA CIACCO ☆
ADDING A ROCK TWIST TO THEIR SIGNATURE HIP-HOP SOUND—K-pop boy group ARrC makes its third comeback of 2025 with new single album CTRL+ALT+SKIID, available now. The release offers two fresh tracks to listeners, “SKIID” and “WoW (Way of Winning),” both of which further the group’s mission to convey a positive message to fans.
ARrC, standing for “Always Remember the Real Connection,” is a multinational boy group based in South Korea. Its seven members, Hyunmin, the group leader and main rapper, Kien, Choi Han, Andy, Rioto, Doha, and Jibeen, hail from Brazil, Vietnam, the United States, Japan, and South Korea, earning them global support from fans.
Since debuting in August of 2024, they’ve released 3 EPs and 2 singles, were named Billboard’s “K-POP Rookie Of The Month” in July 2025, performed at KCON 2025 in Japan, held their first Japan fan meeting, and have received two separate male rookie awards.
CTRL+ALT+SKIID’s first song, “SKIID,” utilizes digital metaphors that encourage listeners to move forward despite the sometimes mundane repetition of everyday life. Reaching nearly 9 million views in its first 7 days, the song’s music video mixes two concepts: a sleek, black-and-white theme that showcases the group’s dance skills and visuals, and a colorful urban concept, featuring the members working various average jobs, including an office worker and a restaurant server. The song itself holds a quick rhythm driven by piano riffs and an upbeat snare, accompanied by the group's strong vocals and punchy rap.
The second track of the single album, “WoW (Way of Winning),” is a collab with Moon Sua and Siyoon, main rappers of K-pop girl-group Billlie. The two members serve not only as rappers, but also as vocalists and lyricists for the track. Combining a groovy hip-hop beat with clean vocals, blended harmonies and rhythmic raps, you can’t help but dance along to the song’s fun vibes, especially the live version. Similar to “SKIID,” “WoW” carries the message of pushing forward, but this time encourages you to do so while uplifting those around you. With lyrics like “we can do anything standing back to back,” the song mirrors the relationship among ARrCs members and between the two groups. With both ARrC and Billlie under “Mystic Story Entertainment,” the boys have expressed a continued gratitude for Billlie’s members and their helpful guidance as seniors since trainee days.
ARrC sat down with Luna to chat about CTRL+ALT+SKIID, their musical identity and hopes for future releases.
LUNA: How does “SKIID” differ from your past releases?
ARrC (CHOI HAN): I think there's a clear difference in genre. Our previous songs were mainly hip-hop, but this time we blended hip-hop with rock, which allowed us to create a fresh and new sound.
LUNA: The “SKIID” music video reached nearly 9 million views in its first week. How does it feel to achieve such a high number of views in this short amount of time?
ARrC (DOHA): In this music video, I think Gen Z can really relate to the various part-time jobs, such as working at a Korean BBQ restaurant or collecting shopping carts at a grocery store. It reflects the idea of discovering something new amidst a repetitive daily routine and getting back up again even after you slip and fall, which is the message behind "SKIID." I'm happy that so many people connected with it.
LUNA: Do you have any fun stories or behind-the-scenes from shooting the “SKIID” music video?
ARrC (HYUNMIN): Actually, I want to talk about ANDY's outfit. ANDY, do you want to explain?
ARrC (ANDY): So basically, I had an outfit where I wore a crop top, and that was the first time I wore a crop top. So during the performance video, you can see my stomach a lot, which I think is a funny behind-the-scenes story. While we were monitoring our video, you could see my stomach very clearly, so at first I was a little embarrassed. But then everyone said it looked pretty cool, so that's the fun story we had.
LUNA: CTRL+ALT+SKIID features a collab with Billlie members MOON SUA and SIYOON called “WoW (Way of Winning).” How was it working with your seniors? Did they give you any advice?
ARrC (JIBEEN): We were very grateful to work with our seniors, MOON SUA and SIYOON of Billlie, on our song "WoW (Way of Winning)." While preparing for "SKIID" and "WoW (Way of Winning)," we really learned how to fully enjoy performing on stage. I had many thoughts about ways to express the songs and have fun on stage, but our seniors gave us such helpful feedback and advice, so I think we were able to do amazing performances for both songs.
LUNA: "SKIID"’s lyrics talk about disconnection. How do you stay connected as a team?
ARrC (ANDY): I think a way we stay connected as a team is by doing everything together. We're always together, and we came together for our dreams and goals, and I think that's something that really helps us stay connected. The message of our songs is usually positive; this time, for the song "SKIID," we really talked about the reality of life and how things can get repetitive. It's always the same some days, like you have to go to work and sleep, so we talked about the reality of that. But it's really important that in that reality, and even when you reach an obstacle, there's always a way to get over it, and I think that's the message we thought about, which keeps us connected as well.
LUNA: You’re known to switch between genres. How do you play with genre and still maintain a signature ARrC sound?
ARrC (DOHA): We try to incorporate a positive message while adding our style based on hip-hop and mixing it with other genres, which is how we maintain our signature ARrC sound.
LUNA: HYUNMIN and CHOI HAN contributed to songwriting for the HOPE EP. Did you two or any other members work on the production of CTRL+ALT+SKIID?
ARrC (HYUNMIN): Well, actually, we didn't participate in producing this time, but our member RIOTO participated in the choreography. He made the intro part of our title track, "SKIID," so you can check it out on our music video, performance videos, and stages. We're also planning to show our production contents as soon as possible. We're working on it and making a lot of songs and writing lyrics because we're rappers. Hopefully, we can show our work to our listeners soon.
LUNA: Do you have any genres you’d like to try in the future?
ARrC (CHOI HAN): I want to try rock. I'd love to perform on top of the explosive drum beats and cool bass sounds. Imagining it, I can already see how well it will suit ARrC's color, and I'm sure we will be able to mix it with our hip-hop style, creating a new genre. It definitely will be a new challenge for us.
LUNA: You debuted a little over a year ago. What are some things you’ve learned in that first year?
ARrC (DOHA): For the past year, since our debut, I think our teamwork and chemistry as a group have really improved. Other than our growth in our appearances, I think we can really understand each other and care for one another well. For example, sometimes another person says exactly what I'm thinking at the same time as I say it, coincidentally. It actually happens quite often.
LUNA: Any final message to your fans?
ARrC (HYUNMIN): First of all, thank you! We released our second single album, CTRL+ALT+SKIID, and we're grateful that everyone likes our songs and gets their peace of mind with our songs and lyrics. I think that's the coolest part as an idol, when people get influenced by our music. We're really looking forward to meeting more ARrCer [fandom] worldwide. We'll try our best to spread more positive messages with our music, so please look forward to it. Thank you, ARrCer, for everything.
ARrC’s new single album CTRL+ALT+SKIID is out now on all streaming platforms. The physical album can be purchased on various websites, including Music Plaza, ktown4u, and EVERLINE.
