STAYC (Sieun, J, Seeun, Sumin, Yoon, Isa) is ready to celebrate the summer with their jubilant comeback album ‘TEENFRESH.’

On August 16 KST, the HIGHUP Entertainment girl group returned with their third mini album ‘TEENFRESH,’ commemorating their comeback with a media showcase for the local press at Gangnam’s Ilchi Art Hall.

The title of the ‘TEENFRESH’ album refers STAYC’s trademark ‘teen fresh’ sound, emphasizing an addictive and bright energy with a playful high-teen concept. The album comes roughly six months after the release of their hit single album ‘Teddy Bear,’ and similarly, uses the group’s unique ‘team color’ to uplift listeners with a positive message.

"When you listen to each song on the album, you get the feeling that a summer festival has arrived," Isa described.

"Bubble," the album’s lead single, has a light and carefree synth and bass sound with a playful ‘bubble-bubble-bubble’ hook. While STAYC’s previous single "Teddy Bear" encouraged listeners to bounce back from the natural mistakes made in life, "Bubble" rejects the disapproving looks or judging comments made by others, likening them to bubbles that will soon pop and disappear.

During the showcase, the STAYC members performed "Bubble" for an audience for the very first time, matching the bright mood of the song with highly energetic group choreography. Afterward, Sumin commented that the performance was something, saying, "I think we were really, really nervous today. We worked really hard to make sure we could properly convey ‘Bubble’s positive message, which follows [the lyrical theme of] ‘Teddy Bear’ in that regard."

"This album incorporates a bit fresher of a vibe than our last album [‘Teddy Bear’]," J explained. "I think the refreshing and energetic elements of the song are stronger too, considering [‘Bubble’] is a festival-like summer song."

As 'Teddy Bear' had received a huge amount of love upon its release, including reaching #1 on MelOn's real-time chart, the members received many questions encouraging comparisons between the two albums. At one point, the group was asked if the success of ‘Teddy Bear’ made them feel extra pressure while preparing for the ‘TEENFRESH’ comeback. In response, Sumin answered, "We were really grateful that ‘Teddy Bear’ was able to receive so much love. We felt the results [of this comeback] would be dependent on how we decided to do it, so we worked hard in hopes of ensuring the best results possible."

When asked why they chose to follow "Teddy Bear" with another positive message-themed single, the group explained that they heard many people who enjoyed "Teddy Bear" were comforted by the single, and in fact, the single had comforted the members as well. Therefore, they decided they wanted to release another bright and positive song, saying "Bubble" has an even more hopeful message.

For a girl group outside of the Big 4 agencies, STAYC has been gaining attention since their debut for the impressive trajectory of their popularity. In fact, the group's albums have steadily outsold the release before it, with 'Teddy Bear' smashing their previous first-day and first-week sales records. When asked what they think is the secret to their success as a group, Sieun responded, "I think the biggest factor is our sincerity. On an average day, we’re girls who like goofing around, but I think it’s having our own color and the strength to be honest and confident that allows us to express our opinions without being swayed by others."

Such popularity has brought the group a growing international fanbase, encouraging the members to not only record their very first English song – "Bubble (English ver.)" – but also plan their first world tour ‘TEENFRESH,’ which will kick off next month. The tour will include 11 stops in total, including Seoul, New York City, Chicago, San Antonio, Dallas, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

"Since it’s our first world tour, we’ve feeling a lot of excitement and anticipation. We know that our international fans have said they really want to be able to see us, so I think we’re determined to create good memories and show them great performances through this tour," Sieun commented. "I’m also interested in seeing how STAYC will be able to grow through this world tour experience. So please look forward to it because we’ve been preparing for this even harder than usual."

The STAYC members also appeared to consider the "Bubble (English ver.)" track a labor of love to thank international fans for their support. "We’ve been receiving lots of support from abroad. [‘Bubble (English ver.)’] is a specially prepared song we plan to perform while overseas on tour," Yoon revealed, humbly adding, "English pronunciation was really difficult while working on this track. We’re not really used to English pronunciation, so if you listen to it carefully, you might hear some slight mistakes. Either way, we hope [overseas fans] love listening to it!"

Meanwhile, ‘TEENFRESH,’ including the lead single "Bubble," was officially released on August 16 at 6 PM KST. Check out the full "Bubble" music video below!

Photo Credit: HIGHUP Entertainment