Fighting the urge to say all of them, lol. I’ve talked about the fromis girls off and on for years now. They’re one of my favorite girl groups, and although I didn’t watch Idol School (the survival show the group was formed on), they quickly became a group I followed post survival show.
They name is literally From Idol School and the amount of members, 9 (well they were 9 at debut, but Gyuri left after her contracted ended in 2022. I think she’s an actress now). Simple, but effective.
So, a little background for those unfamiliar with the group. With help from Kprofiles, fromis_9 is an eight member group consisting of members Saerom (leader), Hayoung (co-leader), Jiwon (main vocalist), Jisun (lead dancer, vocalist, center), Seoyeon (main rapper, main dancer, vocalist), Chaeyoung (main dancer, lead rapper, vocalist), Nagyung (lead dancer, vocalist, rapper, visual, she can do it all, lol), and Jiheon(vocalist and maknae). Gyuri was the lead vocalist and face of the group. They debuted on January 24th 2018 under Stone Music Entertainment, then managed by Off the Record September 21st 2018.
Stayed under them until August 2021 where they transferred over to PLEDIS then when PLEDIS got absorbed under HYBE, they got moved over with SEVENTEEN, NU’EST, and other idols and actors under the label. So technically they’re still under PLEDIS until December 31st, 2024 then their contracts will be terminated.
We’ll have one more single from them under HYBE/PLEDIS, but as of writing, we don’t know what label will pick the girls up. Or if the group will officially disband. The fandom name is flover (fromis and clover) and I wasn’t aware of this, but apparently they don’t have any offical colors. You learn something new every day, lol.
I have 30 songs saved on Spotify, I figured I should limit myself to 15 of my fave fromis_9 songs as a good starting point for people to start with. I’m a huge believer in it never being too late to get into a group or soloist. The music is still out there, whether the group or soloist is still active or not.
These aren’t in release order, just what I came up with on my initial creation of this list. So let’s get into the music.
From left to right: Hayoung, Nagyung (in chair), Chaeyoung, Seoyeon, Jiwon, Saerom(skateboard), Jiheon, and Jisun.
LOVE BOMB
Flashing lights warning for the beginning like 40 seconds of the music video. Kicking things off with a bang. I don’t remember when exactly I came across “LOVE BOMB”. It might have been around its initial release, but I just love a good loud, upbeat, girl group song.
The video itself is so entertaining. So chaotic with the girls trying to light each other’s bomb wicks and destroy each other. It’s so funny and creative how they attempt the lighting, too. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, I love the trying to kill your members trope in Kpop music videos.
Styling wise, it’s got some hits and misses. I don’t love the bowling lane outfits with the big hats, but the all red room with them in the dresses are super cute. The scenes with them in the comic book like scenes are also cute. And I like the floral tearoom scenery and styling there.
LOVE RUMPUMPUM
They also have a special video version of this song, too. It’s cute and a great opportunity to see a sillier side of them. I love listening to “LOVE RUMPUMPUM” in the car. It’s a great song to sing a long to. Immediately puts me in a better mood. Same with “LOVE BOMB”. These are cheerful ass songs.
Escape Room
AHHHHHHHH one of my favorite fromis_9 songs ever. This is the start of the Midnight Guest segment in this article. It’s my favorite fromis_9 mini album. In my Top 20 Albums of 2022, I said “Hush Hush” and “DM” were my top songs. But now I’d say “Escape Room” is my favorite song. It’s grown on me a lot since I wrote that article.
“Escape Room” is the album opener and it’s a chill midtempo track. A bit of a maturer song for the group. But they pull it off so well. Their vocals are so beautiful throughout the song. This was one of the songs that really made me notice we got VOCALISTS in the chat.
I love this Studio Choom like performance video for it. Sometimes Pledis knows what they’re doing. This entire thing feels crafted with me in mind, lol.
DM
I’ve talked about “DM” a few times on ATK already. But every time I listen to it again, I’m reminded by how fooking flawless it is.
It has “Fancy” by TWICE energy. They both sit at the God tier table of girl group title tracks for me. And the high notes towards the end? Tens across the board.
Love Is Around
“Love Is Around” is a slower pace song and they still did the damn thing. My favorite slow song of theirs. If it isn’t on your K-ballads playlist, it should be.
Hush Hush
The pacing and vibes on this album is perfection. “Hush Hush” and “Escape Room” are perfect sister songs. “Hush Hush” is slightly faster paced. So it also works well with the powerhouse on the album, “DM”.
0g
“0g” is somewhere between “Love is Around” and “Escape Room” in sound and tempo. It has some City Pop vibes going on in it. I love it. It works so well as an album ender because it also has high notes and harmonizing going on towards the end like “DM” so it feels like we’ve come full circle.
Wonderful album. Highly recommend listening to this one if I was to recommend one mini album of their to listen to.
Talk & Talk
I haven’t watched this music video in ages, omg. I forgot how much I love the outfits in this one. And Saerom’s skunk hair? I’m re-obsessed.
I just adore this fun Pop songs from fromis_9 like this. You can’t go wrong.
PITAPAT (DKDK)
It’s the repetition of “두근두근” in the chorus and really the entirety of chorus on this one for me. You might have this one stuck in your head for a bit.
They also have an audio version uploaded on their official page too if you want to give views directly to them and not Stone Music, I guess.
22CENTURY GIRL
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if GFRIEND and WJSN had a baby? I think you get this song, lol.
Glass Shoes
Similar to why I like “DKDK” I like the “빙글빙글 빙그르 빙그르 Toc toc” part.
Now on Spotify I have the MAMA Ver saved from their debut album To. Heart. I don’t notice a difference between this one or the one on their official YouTube. Or the one I have embedded above. So I guess it doesn’t matter (pun intended) too much.
#menow
And new we enter my favorite fromis_9 full length album. Well, it’s their only one, but it’s amazing. Unlock My World is full of back to back bangers. They pretty much took Midnight Guest and expanded on it. When the news of fromis not renewing their contracts, I went and panic bought both Midnight Guest and Unlock My World before they go out of print (same with LOOSSEMBLE because it was a few hours apart in news).
I do hope to pick up physical copies of their other albums, but I had to get my hands on those immediately. Nothing lights a fire under my ass with buying Kpop albums like a potential disbandment 😅.
Attitude
“Attitude” ties with “Prom Night” as my favorite song from Unlock My World. I was NOT expecting house tracks from fromis_9. I love how much of this album has that sound incorporated throughout. Again, it feels like they had me in mind, lol.
Prom Night
“Prom Night” is such a fun vibe. There are parts of Unlock My World where you’re just meant to dance and have fun. And with something like this playing in the background, how could you do anything other than that? Another mood changer.
Alright, last song!
Supersonic
I don’t think I said it in this article, but Saerom is my fave, and seeing her in the thumbnail? We won 🙂↕️. It’s crazy to me how well received this song was, and HYBE proceeded to do nothing to really capitalize on it. Clearly the people want more.
I really hope we get the girls under a new label that will promote them better and actually knows what to do with them. I’m tired of these companies creating new groups and not doing anything with the ones they have. Or overworking them to the point where the fans have to bombard the company with consistent demands the group take a break.
I… I really hate most of my faves are tied to HYBE now. I’m really passionate about my disdain for them, lol. This is not a HYBE or SM Entertainment positive zone, I’m her for my faves, not the companies. I cannot stress that enough, lmao.
Anyway, back to fromis_9. I love that they went all in and out for “Supersonic” and I have my fingers crossed that we see more of them in 2025.
Alright! Those are my favorite fromis_9 songs. The best fromis_9 songs I think will show you different sides and sounds from the girls along with title tracks sprinkled in. I hope y’all enjoyed it. Let me know your fave songs and member(s) in the comments! Next up, I’m unboxing my copies of Rosé’s rosie. I received one of them in the mail yesterday, and as of writing I’m still waiting on the last one, with the t-shirt.
Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Threads, & BlueSky. I’ll see ya next article! Take care,
Ash💫