INTERVIEW

KEYVEATZ ISN’T INTERESTED IN FITTING INTO A BOX—With five members who each bring their own tastes, personalities and musical influences to the table, Keyveatz isn’t looking to be just another group that fits a certain image. NEWY, SON JUONE, KANG YESEUL, KIM YUNA and UM JIONE each have their own ideas about what makes an artist stand out, and they want to bring those different perspectives together to create something that feels entirely their own. For them, being part of a group doesn’t mean leaving their individuality behind. It means finding ways to let those differences shine while building something that could only come from the five of them.

That freedom has given the members room to experiment and get more involved in shaping their identity as artists. Whether it’s working on their own choreography, finding ways to bring out each member’s strengths in their solo and unit tracks or drawing inspiration from hip-hop and underground culture, they’re interested in exploring what feels right to them rather than following a set of rules. Of course, bringing together five different personalities means finding a balance between what makes each member unique and what makes them Keyveatz. But that’s part of what excites them about the process: there’s still so much they can discover by working together.

And they’re nowhere near ready to settle in just one direction. From KIM YUNA’s interest in collaborating with artists who bring completely different perspectives to UM JIONE’s dream of creating an entire album with the other members, everyone has ideas they hope to bring to life. SON JUONE, meanwhile, wants to leave room for the group to keep evolving, while NEWY and KANG YESEUL are just as interested in seeing how far they can push their creativity. Rather than putting pressure on themselves to define exactly who Keyveatz is right now, they’re giving themselves room to grow, experiment and figure it out along the way.

Read Luna’s conversation with Keyveatz below.

LUNA: Your new mixtape, A1ㄱ (A1 GO), represents the beginning of something—the first letter, first number and first character in the Korean alphabet. What does “beginning” mean to each of you at this point in your journey as Keyveatz?

NEWY: To me, a beginning is all about ambition. I feel like whenever I start something new, I need to have that drive and desire to achieve something in order to really go for it.

SON JUONE: To me, a beginning feels like the first page of a story with no ending written yet. There's still so much we want to show and so much we have to learn, so I hope we can keep building our own story through all the different experiences ahead of us!

LUNA: The name “Keyveatz” suggests both unlocking something and creating your own rhythm. How did you arrive at that name, and what did you want it to communicate about the five of you?

NEWY: I really love the word "key" in our group name. To me, it represents our hope of becoming a key player in the music scene.

UM JIONE: My favorite part of the meaning behind "Keyveatz" is the idea of "creating something of our own." Since that idea comes at the very end of the explanation of our name, I feel like it really completes the definition of who we are. As we keep learning and experiencing new things, I want us to keep trying new and exciting things and shape our future with a rhythm that's uniquely ours, just like our name suggests.

LUNA: A1ㄱ (A1 GO) introduces Keyveatz through separate voices before bringing those identities together. Was that structure intentional in showing that the group was formed by five artists first, rather than five members filling one role?

SON JUONE: Yes! Rather than being a group that fits into a predefined mold, we wanted to show how five artists with their own unique colors and personalities come together to create Keyveatz. I hope everyone looks forward to seeing the synergy that comes from five completely different individuals coming together!

KANG YESEUL: Exactly. We also wanted to communicate that message visually through our music video, where the members start out separately and gradually come together to form one crew.

LUNA: Your individual tracks give each member space to show her own sound and personality. How did you approach making sure those individual identities could exist without losing the feeling of Keyveatz as a collective?

NEWY: Keyveatz is a group full of individuality, and each of us has a really distinct style. While working on our solo and unit tracks, we spent a lot of time thinking about how to best bring out each member's unique personality and strengths.

SON JUONE: Since every member has a different musical style and personality, we really wanted to make sure those individual qualities could shine through. At the same time, I think it was important that when all five of us came together, it still felt distinctly like Keyveatz!

LUNA: You’ve emphasized that Keyveatz isn’t built around one fixed concept. Does that give you more freedom creatively, or does it make it harder to know when something feels distinctly “Keyveatz?”

NEWY: Since we're not tied to a specific concept or mold, we actually feel much freer on stage. We even created the entire choreography ourselves for some tracks. I think one of our biggest strengths is having that level of creative freedom to design our performances and express ourselves exactly how we want.

KIM YUNA: I think not having a fixed concept creates a more open and free-spirited atmosphere within Keyveatz. The biggest advantage is that we can experiment with different things without limiting ourselves to a particular genre or image.

LUNA: As a new group, there’s naturally going to be pressure to establish an identity quickly. How do you balance that pressure with giving yourselves time to experiment and figure things out?

NEWY: As a new group, we definitely want to show people who we are as quickly as possible. But more than anything, I think it's important to show our own distinct tastes and preferences. That's why we spend a lot of time visualizing and developing ideas for things like our outfits and performances.

SON JUONE: Of course, as a new group, we want to establish our own identity as soon as possible. But rather than seeing that as pressure, I see it as a sign that we still have so much to show. We want to keep learning, experimenting and discovering our own style through different performances and experiences!

KANG YESEUL: Whenever I have free time, I find myself thinking deeply about how I can become a better version of myself and how we can grow as a group. There are definitely moments when I feel pressure, but I try to see even that pressure as a positive sign that we're growing in the right direction.

LUNA: With AOMG’s history in hip-hop and underground culture, you’re entering a space that already has a strong identity. What parts of that history do you feel connected to, and what do you want to reinterpret in your own way?

NEWY: What I connect with most about AOMG is its culture of staying true to your identity and expressing yourself freely, rather than following others' standards. That's something that really resonates with us. Keyveatz wants to embrace that same freedom, drawing inspiration from hip-hop and underground culture while reinterpreting those influences in our own way and style. Our goal is to develop a sound and identity that's so distinctive that, even when we blend different genres, people can immediately recognize it as Keyveatz.

LUNA: The idea of “new wave” can mean a lot of things. What’s something happening in culture right now that you think deserves more attention?

NEWY: To me, "new wave" is about a culture where people freely express their own tastes and individuality instead of simply following existing trends or standards. Especially in music and fashion, I feel like the boundaries between traditional genres and styles are becoming more blurred, and people are finding their own ways to create things based on what they genuinely love. As part of that movement, we want Keyveatz to be a group that isn't afraid to take a different path, try new things and build an identity that's entirely our own.

LUNA: You’ve said you’re discovering Keyveatz through experience. What’s something you want to throw yourselves into next simply because you have no idea what it will turn into?

KIM YUNA: I'd love to collaborate with artists or people I never would have imagined working with before. I'm really curious to see what could come out of bringing together people with completely different styles and perspectives. I think those unexpected combinations could reveal a whole new side of Keyveatz that even we haven't discovered yet.

UM JIONE: I'd love for us to create an entire album on our own, from start to finish, just the five of us. As we did with our mixtape, I'd want to keep things raw and open to different genres so we could try everything we've ever wanted to do. I'm curious to see how far we can take it, and I think bringing together our individual tastes and personalities could lead to something really exciting and unique.

LUNA: A lot of new artists are introduced with a clear idea of who they’re supposed to be. Keyveatz seems to be taking the opposite approach by letting that identity develop over time. What do you think is worth leaving unknown at this stage?

SON JUONE: I want to keep our future as Keyveatz open to possibilities. I don't want to define us by just one image right now. We still have so many sides of ourselves we haven't shown yet, and I want us to keep discovering new parts of our identity as we grow and gain more experience.

KIM YUNA: I don't want to put any limits on what we're capable of showing. Whether it's our music, style or how we perform on stage, I'd rather keep those possibilities open for now. I want us to keep trying different things and see just how far we can go.

KANG YESEUL: I want us to always keep our possibilities open so we can explore everything we want to try. While staying true to Keyveatz's core identity, I want us to keep experimenting and push beyond the musical and visual styles we build around it.