Rising boy band blends winter and summer in a bold seasonal twist, showcasing diverse charms with double main tracks
Rising boy band Close Your Eyes is back with a new album just three months after its debut, bringing a refreshing mix of summer heat and winter chill with a playful twist.
The band’s second EP “Snowy Summer” dropped Wednesday, featuring four tracks, including the double main tracks “Snowy Summer” and “Paint Candy.” While its debut song “All My Poetry” leaned into a soft, lyrical charm, this release adds a splash of mischievous energy and youthful confidence.
“‘Paint Candy’ is a total shift from the emotional style we showed in our debut. It’s got a much hipper vibe,” explained leader Jeon Minwook. “It’s a New Jack Swing-style track with strong beats and a powerful performance to match.”
He added, “‘Snowy Summer’ is still easy-listening, but much more playful and bright. The contrast between snow and summer gives the track a unique identity that I think will stand out among all the music being released.”
On “Paint Candy,” member Ma Jingxiang shared, “The rhythm made me want to move the moment I heard it. The choreography is amazing too. It’s my favorite track.”
While Jeon and Jang Yeojun had taken part in rap-making and choreography for the debut, this time member Kenshin contributed to creating the choreography for “Paint Candy.”
“I suggested the chorus choreography for ‘Paint Candy,’ and it ended up being selected— I was so happy,” Kenshin said.
Jang added on to help Kenshin, who is still learning Korean, “The bouncing rhythm really reflects Kenshin’s style. His choreography brings the song’s mood to life.”
Song Seungho noted that the charm of the new songs lies in their playful spirit. “During recording, the director told me to sing like I was teasing another member. I really tried to capture that playful tone.”
The group shared how much fun they had shooting the music video for “Snowy Summer,” which tells a quirky story of the members dying in ridiculous ways and becoming ghosts just before Christmas.
“I remember shooting the scene where I fall out of a window and crash into Ma Jingxiang below,” said Seo Kyoungbae with a laugh. “We had fake shattered glass scattered around that was actually made of sugar, and when I told him, he tried to eat it.”
Jang recalled shooting a group dance scene. “It was our first time dancing with professional dancers on set, and the choreography looked so dynamic.”
Formed through the JTBC survival show “Project 7” in 2024, the seven-member group debuted this April with the album “Eternalt.” The album topped music charts upon release and sold over 310,000 copies in its first week, earning them the sixth highest first-week sales of all time for a K-pop boy group debut album as of that Tuesday.
“We felt a strong sense of responsibility. We made a quick comeback because we wanted to show fans even better music and performances,” said Jeon.
Though Close Your Eyes has mainly focused on boyish charm in the two albums released so far, the members said they are open to exploring a variety of styles in the future.
“We’ve mainly shown a youthful and bright concept in our main tracks, but our B-side ‘To The Woods’ had a sexy and intense vibe that fans loved. I’d love to try something like that again,” said Jang.
“This album is more diverse than our first, and we all worked really hard on it. Now all that’s left is to bring it to life on stage — and we’ll do our best,” concluded Seo.
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