Co-ed Group, CHECKMATE Makes Their Grand Debut, With First Single, "DRUM"

In the late 90s, co-ed group was something that was quite common in the K-pop scene as there were several successful groups that provided joy to people’s ears with a beautiful harmony that was made by the male and female members.

However, with the substantial growth of boy group idols and girl group idols, co-ed became a rare thing to see in the K-pop industry. A representative group at the moment would be KARD and a project group that Korea’s top MC, Yoo JaeSuk made called, “Ssak3” which brought back nostalgic memories to Korean listeners through their music.

 

And today(Sept. 21, 2020), in the midst of this romantic autumn in Korea, a new five-member co-ed group, CHECKMATE(YongSeok, SiEun, Suri, Nason and SeungDae)  made its debut and released their first single album, “DRUM.”

“We are all just so glad and joyful that we get to be on stage with what we have prepared for! I hope that listeners will love our song.”
Leader SiEun

"DRUM" is a Moombathon-based EDM track added with an addictive melody. The exciting rhythm, mixed with synth, and rhythmical marching band sound is a perfect mixture for music that you can groove on.

 

“It’s a reggae-house track that speaks of love, comparing it to a drum.
Suri

CHECKMATE has captivated South American and European fans with various cover videos prior to their debut and the anticipation from the global fans are certainly being paid with their debut release.

 

"Even before our debut, many of the fans from Brazil have sent out an enormous amount of love to us and we would more than love to visit Brazil when things get better and perform a live stage in front of them and meet them!”
Nason

 

Hitmaker, ‘Razer’s music producer, ‘Stardust’ and ‘Anna Timgren,’ participated in the composition, and ‘Danke,’ a popular lyricist wrote the lyrics and boasted a solid production team from their debut album.

 

“The fact that we were able to perform itself gave me a sense of relief and we are all grateful to everyone who had been supporting us and had been helping us become a group!”
Noah

 

In particular, Razer, the main composer of "DRUM," who created several hits for INFINITE and Lovelyz, said, "When producing this album, we mainly focused on converging five different voices into one thick color," adding, "We focused on creating a unique and special atmosphere for the group by actively utilizing the Marching band sound and Latin rhythm."

 

The music video for "Drum" was directed by Hong WonKi, the master of K-pop music videos. It catches the eye with its colorful camera moves and trendy production.

 

“At this moment of a pandemic, it is hard to meet our fans in person, however, we are preparing a ton of great content where we can communicate with our fans online, so we hope that they look forward to it!”
YongSeok

Will the group “Checkmate” the listeners’ ears? Watch the MV below and share your thoughts!