Every year of K-pop is filled with surprises, but 2023 in particular really delivered some big events, from the arrival of Boynextdoor and BabyMonster to the success of Fifty Fifty and their sudden implosion with their label, ATTRAKT. Yet adding even further to the surprises of 2023 was the revelation of Kiss of Life, the K-pop girl group from S2 Entertainment. They spent a whopping three weeks filming for their debut videos in Hungary, and it was well worth the effort. So let’s examine when exactly Julie, Natty, Belle, and Haneul made their debut as Kiss of Life, including their first album and songs, and why it was such a unique and effective start to their K-pop careers together.
Kiss of Life Debuted on July 5, 2023 with the Lead Single “쉿 (Shhh)”
Kiss of Life debuted on July 5, 2023 with the self-titled first mini-album Kiss of Life and the lead single “쉿 (Shhh).” The mini-album contained six songs in total, with four of them being solos for the four individual members, respectively. The songs on Kiss of Life are as follows: “쉿 (Shhh),” “안녕,네버랜드 (Bye My Neverland),” “Sugarcoat (NATTY Solo),” “Countdown (BELLE Solo),” “Kitty Cat (JULIE Solo),” and “Play Love Games (HANEUL Solo).” Notably, every song on the album received a music video, with the MV for “쉿 (Shhh)” arriving on the day of their debut and each other song’s MV having been released individually as prerelease songs.
These videos were filmed in Hungary, and if you watch each one, it tells the individual stories of the members’ struggles as they eventually join together and, well, face even more struggles. There is an unusually mature and gritty feel to some of this content, which really helped to make it a more unique and memorable debut. Another unique element of the “쉿 (Shhh)” music video is that its “closing credits” suddenly become a second, performance video version of the song!
Additionally, the Kiss of Life members contributed to the songwriting on some songs. “쉿 (Shhh)” was composed by and received lyrics from Strawberrybananaclub, Rick Bridges, Belle, and Natty. “안녕,네버랜드 (Bye My Neverland)” received lyrics from Ondine, BYMORE, Strawberrybananaclub, and Julie, and they also composed the song, along with Haneul. Finally, Royal Dive and Belle composed “Countdown (BELLE Solo),” and Belle wrote the lyrics with Gemma. Belle had notable experience in songwriting and producing prior to debut, as she was, for example, a co-writer on Le Sserafim’s “Unforgiven.” Her father is also notably singer Shim Shin.
On the day of their debut, Kiss of Life held a debut showcase, performing “쉿 (Shhh)” and “안녕,네버랜드 (Bye My Neverland).” It was there that Julie explained the meaning of the group’s name, saying that it “is about giving life through mouth-to-mouth CPR. It has the meaning that we’ll be the next fresh breath of energy in K-pop.” Afterward, they performed for the first time on July 6, 2023, with “쉿 (Shhh)” on M Countdown.
Following that successful start, Kiss of Life would make their first comeback in November 2023, with much more to come in future comebacks.
So in summary, Kiss of Life made their debut on July 5, 2023 with the mini-album Kiss of Life and lead single “쉿 (Shhh),” and all six songs on the album received music videos, filmed in Hungary. For more about the group, check out how old the Kiss of Life members currently are, how tall they are, what their MBTIs are, who speaks English in the group, and who the leader of the group is. Then check out our comprehensive, fact-checked Kiss of Life members profile and trivia page!
