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Kiss of Life, stylized as KISS OF LIFE, also known as KIOF, is a four-member K-pop girl group under S2 Entertainment. They debuted on July 5, 2023, with the extended play (EP) Kiss of Life. KISS OF LIFE is composed of Julie as the leader, main rapper, and lead dancer; Natty as main dancer, lead rapper, and sub-vocalist; Belle as the main vocalist; and Haneul as lead vocalist and the maknae (youngest).
Many K-pop fans, especially KISSYs (fandom name), love KISS OF LIFE because of the swaggy, hip, bold, and mature concepts shown throughout their albums. To showcase their talent during their debut, KISS OF LIFE members did their solo songs for their first EP KISS OF LIFE. They were “Sugarcoat” by Natty, “Countdown” by Belle, “Kitty Cat” by Julie, and “Play Love Games” by Haneul.
Despite being a rookie group, KISS OF LIFE members have been in a number of collaborations with other k-pop idoles like Julie with TWICE's Nayeon for “Magic,” which they performed at “Waterbomb Festival.” Natty was featured in Jay Park's song “Taxi Blurr” and ADORA's “dusk twilight.” She also sang “Superpower” with co-member Julie and GOT7 member Mark Tuan.
Meanwhile, Haneul showcased her vocal prowess in GK's “IDC.” Belle, on the other hand, sang “Twilight” with dress and BIG Naughty and “Everything bout you” with dress and Loco. Before securing her spot in KISS OF LIFE, Natty went through several career jumps starting with survival shows Sixteen and Idol School which formed TWICE and fromis_9, respectively.
After failing to enter the final lineups of both groups, Natty debuted as a solo artist in 2020 with the single album “Nineteen.” It was only in 2022 when she signed with S2 Entertainment, the label currently handling KISS OF LIFE. Since their debut in 2023, KISS OF LIFE a number of hits that swept off the charts and internet: “Nobody Knows (2023),” “Midas Touch (2024),” “Nothing (2024),” “Sticky (2024),” and “Igloo (2024).
” On October 26 and 27, 2024, KISS OF LIFE kicked off their first-ever world tour KISS ROAD at the Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea.It was followed by stops in parts of the U.S.
including Minneapolis, Chicago, Boston, Silver Spring, New York, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Anaheim, San Francisco, and Seattle. They also performed in Montreal and Vancouver, Canada. KISS OF LIFE showcased the power of K-pop in their European tour in Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Portugal in February and March.
On top of their upcoming European tour, KISS OF LIFE announced on January 17 that they are going on an Asian tour, which has stops in Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Singapore, Macao, Kanagawa, and Osaka. Days before their Philippine stop, KISS OF LIFE was caught in a controversy after they broadcast a live stream on April 2 for Julie's birthday with the theme “old-school hip hop vibes.” After the controversial livestream, Kissys called out KISS OF LIFE for cultural appropriation of hip-hop and the Black culture in general.
A day after the controversial livestream, KISS OF LIFE's label S2 Entertainment issued an apology letter that addressed the members' actions. “We sincerely apologize for causing discomfort to our viewers. The true purpose of the content was to celebrate hip hop culture, which serves as much of the musical inspiration for KISS OF LIFE.
However, we apologize for our shortcomings in recognizing the negative cultural implications that our content could be perceived to have,” said S2 Entertainment. Despite the controversy, KISS OF LIFE pushed through with their Philippine tour on April 4 at the U.P.
Theater and delivered a spectacular show for Filipino Kissys. After their label issued an apology, KISS OF LIFE members released a handwritten statement, with one paragraph from each member, that showed their feelings about the cultural appropriation incident. KISS OF LIFE explained that they only intended to show love for the culture because of its influence on their music, but went overboard with their actions in the livestream.
They wrote, “Our intention was to show how much we loved the category of old school hip hop because it greatly influences our music. While shooting the content, we ended up taking the concept too far. We realize now that our content was culturally insensitive and take full responsibility for our actions and can only promise to do better.
” KISS OF LIFE also said that they are “learning” and “reflecting” on their actions, which disappointed many Kissys. The girl group also said the controversy has been a “valuable learning experience” on their part and that they will continue to educate themselves. At the end of their apology letter, KISS OF LIFE reaffirmed their continuous love for fans and said they would “continue to honor” them in “every way possible.
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