8 Things To Know About KISS OF LIFE, The Rising K-pop Girl Group Making Waves With “Igloo” And “Sticky”

Like their name, KISS OF LIFE is “breathing a new life into the music industry”.

kiss of life Natty Julie Belle Haneul — Photo: Tpgimages

By Penny Wong - published 22 Nov 2024

K-pop girl group KISS OF LIFE are on the rise, especially after the drop of their most recent album Lose Yourself, which houses hits such as “Get Loud” and “Igloo”—the latter having gone viral for its addictive choreography. KISS OF LIFE, sometimes abbreviated into “KIOF”, has four members, namely, Natty, Julie, Belle, and Haneul.

Those who have heard their music or seen videos of KIOF would likely have been intrigued by them. After all, the group has been straying away from the cutesy K-pop concepts and fearlessly giving the fans what they want: spicy dance moves and slightly risqué outfits (case in point: twerking and swimsuits in “Sticky”).

In light of their growing fanbase, KISS OF LIFE will perform in Singapore on 28 December 2024 as part of the Yuewen Music Festival. The line-up for the three-day festival also includes Billkin, Win Metawin, ITZY, and Red Velvet’s Irene and Seulgi. Read all about the up-and-coming K-pop girl group ahead.

1. Their most popular songs to date are “Midas Touch” and “Sticky”

“Midas Touch” is currently KISS OF LIFE’s most streamed track on Spotify, with numbers hitting above the 100 million mark thanks to its femme fatale concept and lyrics.

“Sticky”, on the other hand, was the song of the summer in 2024. After its release on 1 July 2024, the song made it to #87 on Billboard’s Global 200. In Korea itself, the song climbed its way up to the 9th place on Melon’s TOP 10 rankings.

2. They’ve won multiple awards despite humble beginnings

You may or may not have heard of the term “nugu” in K-pop. Derived from the Korean word “누구” (“nugu”), which means “who”, this term is used in the K-pop context to refer to groups that aren’t well known. While there are no objective criteria as to what makes a group “nugu”, often it has to do with low album sales and debuting under a small company.

KISS OF LIFE debuted in July 2023 under S2 Entertainment, a relatively small entertainment and record label in South Korea. The group was debatably considered “nugu” by netizens in the early days, doing dance challenges in the streets as part of their promotions.

However, the group has since broken the “nugu” allegations after demonstrating their growing popularity during award season. KISS OF LIFE was nominated for Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Best New Female Artist at the 2023 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA). They also won the title of Rookie of the Year at the 2024 Korean Music Awards, and New Wave Star at the 2024 Seoul Music Awards.

3. Natty almost debuted in Twice and Fromis 9

Natty is no doubt a familiar face in the K-pop scene. Fans of TWICE and Fromis 9 may know Natty from her pre-debut days. Natty, whose real name is Anatchaya Suputhipong, is Thai and born on 30 May 2022. When she was 13, she participated in the Korean Mnet idol survival show called Sixteen, but failed to make the final line-up in the debut group, TWICE.

Following her first idol survival show, Natty went on to compete in another idol survival programme called Idol School. She was placed 13th on the last episode and did not debut in the nine-membered girl group, Fromis 9.

Currently, the Thai singer is arguably the most popular in KIOF, even featuring on Jay Park’s “Taxi Blurr” and performing with him during Waterbomb in Korea.

4. Their creative director was a contestant in an idol survival show with Natty

KISS OF LIFE’s creative director is Lee Hae In, who was a participant in Idol School just like Natty. Both Natty and Lee Hae In did not debut in the final group, Fromis 9, but remained friends even after the show. After Lee Hae In joined S2 Entertainment and was part of a project to form a girl group, she reached out to Natty and offered her a spot.

Lee Hae In was also a contestant in the first ever season of Produce 101. Despite not debuting in the final team, I.O.I, she proved to be a talented singer, dancer, and leader, and had a short run as an idol in I.B.I—a group that comprised of 5 contestants from Produce 101 who were well-loved but did not make the final cut for I.O.I.

5. Julie was born in Hawaii

Julie Han, leader and main rapper of the group, was born in Hawaii on 29 March 2000. As such, the American singer speaks fluent English, just like her two teammates, Natty and Belle.

Prior to training in S2 Entertainment and debuting in KIOF, Julie was a trainee in The Black Label for a few years. The Black Label houses major artistes such as Jeon Somi, Zion.T, and Taeyang.

6. Belle composed songs for Le Sserafim and (G)I-DLE’s Miyeon

Like Julie, Belle also has ties to America—she was born in Seattle on 20 March 2004. Belle, whose Korean name is Shim Hye Won, comes from a musical family. Her father is a South Korean singer named Shim Shin.

Before being in KIOF, Belle worked as a songwriter, and composed songs such as Le Sserafim’s “Unforgiven”, (G)I-DLE Miyeon’s “Softly’ and “Charging”, as well as KISS OF LIFE’s “Te Quiero”, among many others.

7. Haneul was born in 2005

Haneul is the youngest of the group and was born on 25 May 2005 in Korea. Besides singing and dancing, she plays the guitar and showcased her skills on It’s Live B-side.

She was also the president and vice president of her school all throughout her educational journey, with the exception of sixth grade.

8. Natty and Julie have been attending fashion events

Slowly but steadily, KISS OF LIFE members are permeating the fashion space. Natty and Julie were at The Sound of Prada in Seoul in October of 2024.

Natty was also invited to attend the launch of the Gucci 2024 fall/winter collection in Korea, at the Gucci Cheongdam flagship store in Gangnam, Seoul.