Soyou, formerly of SISTAR, made a grand comeback with her second mini-album, Summer Recipe. A year and three months after her first mini-album, Day & Night, Soyou returns with a refreshing mix of genres, perfect for summer.
The mini-album’s title track, “ALOHA,” features Bora, Soyou‘s former groupmate in SISTAR. It’s a dance-pop song where Soyou’s refreshing vocals blend with lyrics that cheerfully greet the listener “hello,” just as the title suggests. The collaboration with Bora adds a celebratory mood to the song, reminding fans of the iconic summer vibes SISTAR was known for.
When asked about the similarity this new song has to SISTAR’s vibes, Soyou replied, “For ‘ALOHA,’ many people seem to think of SISTAR, and I can’t fill in the roles of the four members alone, but I wanted to try. It wasn’t initially planned for Bora to do this song with me, but when I heard her rap flow, I thought she was the only one who could pull it off. So she listened to it and gladly agreed to feature. There are also some dance moves that pay homage to the past.”
Summer Recipe is more than just a collection of songs; it’s Soyou‘s personal recipe for the season. She explained, “It means I created a special recipe to cool down the hot summer. I tried to make it diverse.”
Soyou put in plenty of effort to prepare for this album. She exercised regularly to maintain a toned figure. She shared, “In my last single album, I lost a lot of weight, even muscles. This time, I had to gain back what I lost, so I exercised diligently. To give a healthy impression, I got a tan after a long time. Especially for summer songs, there’s exposure, so I worked hard to show a toned figure.”
Soyou talks SISTAR, Waterbomb
Soyou also addressed the pressure of being called the ‘Summer Queen’ during SISTAR’s activities. She said, “I’m grateful, and it’s a pleasant burden. But I want to be a singer who’s remembered in all seasons, so I’ll strive for that. I think the energy SISTAR had was well suited for summer.“
While fans are eager for a SISTAR reunion, Soyou has stated that aligning schedules is challenging as all members are actively pursuing solo careers. However, she expressed a strong desire to repay their fans and hopes for a real reunion someday. She said, “When I meet with the members, we talk about it. We wonder when it would be good for us to reunite, but it’s hard for me to give a specific answer alone. Since we’re active in our respective places, aligning schedules is challenging. We don’t want to burden each other. We talked about setting a time and making it a gift for our fans, but it’s not easy. Still, I hope we can reunite someday.”
Soyou also addressed the shift in her image over time, “At some point, I think it shifted to ballads. It’s great, but lately, I haven’t received many offers to do events like Waterbomb. A few days ago, I attended one event and had so much fun. With this album, I want to sweep away Waterbomb next year. I want to let the officials know I’m ready.” — K-Pop News Writer
Featured Image: Soyou dazzled in the concept photos for her EP. Source: Twitter/Soyou’s official Twitter account.