Ex-LOONA member Chuu, (G)I-DLE’s Yuqi, Choi Yena and more cover KARA’s ‘Step’

Several K-pop singers, including former LOONA member Chuu and (G)I-DLE‘s Yuqi, have teamed up for a special cover of KARA’s hit 2011 single ‘Step’.

• READ MORE: From rookies on the rise to raved-about reunions, here’s a look back at K-pop in 2022

On December 31 at MBC’s year-end Gayo Daejejeon music festival, five K-pop idols born in 1999 – the Year of the Rabbit in the lunar calendar – collaborated on a special performance ringing in 2023. They include ex-LOONA member Chuu, (G)I-DLE’s Yuqi, soloist and former IZ*ONE member Choi Yena, Weki Meki’s Choi Yoo-jung and OH MY GIRL’s Arin.

The group took to the stage for a faithful rendition of KARA’s hit single ‘Step’, which was released in 2011, also a Year of the Rabbit. The song had been part of the girl group’s fourth studio album of the same name.

“Step it up, step it up, it’s beginning again / I’m going to outrun by speeding up my tempo again / Just step it up, step it up, for everyone to see / Turn up the volume baby, my baby,” they sing while dancing to the upbeat choreography, closing the performance with a rabbit ear pose.

The performance was one of several collaborations and covers aired during the Gayo Daejejeon music festival. Other notable performances include Kep1er and TEMPEST’s cover of SEVENTEEN’s ‘Pretty U’, IVE’s cover of Girls’ Generation’s ‘Lion Heart’ and Billlie’s collaboration with label head and singer Yoon Jong-shin on his past hits ‘Rebirth’ and ‘Highway Romance’.

The ‘Step’ collaboration also notably marked Chuu’s first televised performance since her removal from girl group LOONA late last year. The singer had been absent for most of the group’s activities in 2022 before Blockberry Creative announced her “expulsion” from the group. At the time, the agency alleged that her removal had been influenced by Chuu’s “violent language and misuse of power toward our staff”. The singer later took to her personal Instagram account to say she hadn’t “done anything that would be shameful to my fans”.

The post Ex-LOONA member Chuu, (G)I-DLE’s Yuqi, Choi Yena and more cover KARA’s ‘Step’ appeared first on NME.