SISTAR19 Spill the Tea on K-pop's Biggest Comeback

K-pop superstars SISTAR19 first made their debut back in 2011 and after an 11-year hiatus, the girl group is back with a bang. Reminiscing about the decision they made over a decade ago, the group tells us, "We received so much love and achieved a lot, but it also brought numerous challenges. It was a time when all members shared similar thoughts, leading us to prioritize personal growth and new challenges."

As a result, members Bora and Hyolyn have had plenty of time to think about their new direction and sound, reuniting to release the follow-up to their debut single, "Ma Boy". "When our debut song was released back then, it was an expression of love that we weren't able to fully convey at that time and at that age. A lot of time has passed since, and now with the release of No More (Ma Boy), it reflects the experiences that we've gathered over the years," Bora explains.

Ahead of their new single release, Hypebae caught up with SISTAR19 to find out more about their reunion and plans for 2024.

Scroll down to read the full interview.

Sistar19 was formed way back in 2011, what can you remember about how it all came about?
Bora and Hyolyn: Rather than embarking on activities as a unit, we opted to prioritize the pursuit of musical innovation.

Tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the name, and what it means to you now.
Bora: The name SISTAR19, the 19 remains the same, but the years have gone by and we've matured.
Hyolyn: We've grown as people and artists, so I think at this time it represents maturity and confidence.

The group took a hiatus in 2013 and now, Sistar19 is back with a bang. Tell us a bit about the process behind taking a break and what informed that decision.
Bora: Over the course of the seven years as a group, all members gave their best. We received so much love and achieved a lot, but it also brought numerous challenges. It was a time when all members shared similar thoughts, leading us to prioritize personal growth and new challenges.
Hyolyn: We've always kept in touch, and we've always talked about making a comeback as a unit. We finally found the right timing for Bora and myself, so we moved as quickly as possible to actually make it happen.

How does it feel to be back and releasing new music?
Bora: It's been years but it's still familiar. It feels surreal that the two of us are back together!
Hyolyn: I think it'll continue to feel surreal until we fully start performing actively, but we are very excited and know we're going to have a lot of fun.

The newest single and video, No More (Ma Boy) acts as a follow-up to your debut track. What can you tell us about the inspiration behind it?
Bora: When our debut song was released back then, it was an expression of love that we weren't able to fully convey at that time and at that age. A lot of time has passed since, and now with the release of No More (Ma Boy), it reflects the experiences that we've gathered over the years. So in other words, if we never had Ma Boy we wouldn't have No More (Ma Boy).
Hyolyn: The original song embodies the emotion of a young girl and how she feels, and now that time has passed there's more maturity in the new song.

The teaser for the music video appears to feature references to cowgirls and saloons, how did you land on that concept?
Bora: The cowgirl concept was actually proposed to us and we weren't sure at first. But as we were producing the song it kind of felt right. It coincidentally fit in very well, so we decided to use that.

Finally, what's next for Sistar19? What are your plans for 2024?
Hyolyn: We don't have any concrete plans at the moment, but we do know it's desired for us to create more opportunities for us to engage with our fans!
Bora: We really do want to say thank you to our fans for waiting for us! Just the fact that they have been waiting a long time, it's not an easy thing to do.

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