An outlier in the K-pop world, BIBI has always had a rebellious edge. The 26-year-old multihyphenate has made a habit of venturing where her peers seldom dare, be it through her witty lyricism or disarming candour. On her second album, ‘Eve: Romance’, she takes on the role of a character inspired by the biblical Eve, tempting Adam – her listeners, perhaps – to escape the facade of the Garden of Eden and embrace an existence that may be, at times, sinful and sorrowful, but is wholly and truly human.
The worlds of BIBI’s creation are often fantastical, almost transcendental, yet rooted in the most universal of human emotions. “If there’s something I want to say, I make it into stories,” she says, adding that her songs are often written from the perspectives of the characters in them, echoing the creative process she outlined in our last conversation. “That’s why I always need stories. The story actually comes first. Music comes after.”
Similar to her debut record, ‘Lowlife Princess: Noir’, the story that drives BIBI’s new album is expansive and thought-provoking. Crafted from her own experiences with fame, protagonist Eve is a beloved pop star with a dark side. After her untimely demise, the government resurrects her as Eve-1, using and controlling her celebrity for its benefit. At the same time, a pair of scientists bring their genius son Luca back after he takes his own life. After uncovering the truth behind their existence, Eve-1 and Luca fall into deep despair – but soon experience an emotional awakening after they fall in love, realising their own child could be born without the burden of a predetermined purpose.
Questions surrounding creation and existence form the core of ‘Eve: Romance’, while also acting as a channel for BIBI to tackle the anxiety and frustration of having to abide by the societal and cultural rulebooks to life. People are alive simply because they were born – nobody should be required to play a role determined by anybody besides themselves, she explains.
“A lot of people in life are given [or have expectations] forced upon them,” she says, adding that these pressures are felt especially strongly in South Korean and, oftentimes, other Asian cultures. “That’s why I think I started to write this story. You forget the purpose of living, you know? You don’t have to be [what others expect]. That’s the kind of thing I wanted to say to people who feel that pressure right now. What about having a little fun?”
“Making this story, I realised that I don’t think I’m a born singer, or a born actress. I think I am a storyteller.”
Across its 14 tracks, ‘Eve: Romance’ switches between the perspectives of Eve and Eve-1. Songs from the POV of the former – like ‘Midnight Cruise’ and her 2024 smash hit ‘Bam Yang Gang’ – are tinged with longing and regret. Meanwhile, the latter’s outlook leans more audacious – whether it’s a jaded critique of the underground music scene (‘Hongdae R&B’) or a saucy hip-hop number rife with sexual innuendo (‘Sugar Rush’).
Both characters, BIBI says, are an amalgamation of her own experiences and the lives of fellow singers and actors she has observed. “I think everybody, even if it’s not exactly the same, has these kinds of feelings,” she adds. “Making this story, I realised that I don’t think I’m a born singer, or a born actress. I think I am a storyteller.”
The stories of Eve, Eve-1 and Luca are set to come to life on her upcoming ‘Eve’ world tour, BIBI teases to NME. Following her Seoul concerts this past weekend, she’ll be performing in 22 cities across the US, Asia and Oceania on her first-ever headlining tour. “I know money is such a precious thing, and it’s really hard to earn it, so I will not force you to come [to the tour],” she says earnestly. “But our team motto is to make it worth every penny, so please [laughs]. BIBI is coming for you!”
“I’m working out, and I’m practicing a lot. I’m not very good at remembering my own lyrics,” she laments. “Like, even though I wrote them, I always regret it like, why would you write this so confusingly? I’m just trying to get all those lyrics inside my head.” Despite having played at festivals across the world over her career, she’s also candid about her anxiety surrounding the upcoming milestone. “I don’t think there will ever be a time in my entire life where I’d feel like it is the perfect time to do a world tour,” she says, sharing that she likely would not have embarked on a world tour without a push from her label.
“At some point, I forgot what was important and was always thinking of what would be more popular. I’m not even very good at that.”
“I hadn’t decided on it because I’m very scared, actually. It’s very overwhelming,” she confesses, fearing the impact of living on the road away from her support system – including mentors Tiger JK and Yoon Mi-rae, and her therapist – will have on her emotional wellbeing. For BIBI, a combination of therapy and working on ‘Eve: Romance’ helped her rediscover her love for music after growing disillusioned a few years into her career. “I think I was in a very slow, gentle slump in my music life,” she says.
The singer compared herself to the fictional Eve, who had forgotten why she became a pop star in the first place. “It was because I just love music, reading and writing. That was why I started,” she admits. “At some point, I forgot what was important and was always thinking of what would be more popular. I’m not even very good at that,” she shares with a dry laugh. While chasing success, BIBI eventually realised that “a long time” had passed since she actually, truly sat down and listened to music.
It was around the time her acting career began to take off that BIBI began seeing a therapist. To her, this was a turning point that deepened her understanding and ability to connect with others, eventually leading to the creation of ‘Eve: Romance’. On set, she invented backstories and motives to contextualise the characters she played, a process she likens to her usual songwriting methods. And on a more personal level, she started to reflect more deeply on her own emotions, and examine those of people around her.
“You can’t ever understand someone else like, 100 per cent,” she says, but it was these experiences that guided her out of the dark: “I realised I love music, I love art, and I love creating things. I started listening to more music, hanging out with amazing producers and artists. I chose to be a singer because I love music. Why would I forget that? That’s something I got from this album too.”
Now that she’s gotten back into her creative groove, the singer is already planning her next steps. BIBI reveals that she hopes to land another television role soon, and aims to start work on her third full-length album this July, between the US and Asia legs of her tour. Techno and Hard Drum are genres she’s looking to explore this time – “I want to work with Skrillex, I’m a huge fan,” she says – but it seems like her approach to songwriting will mark the biggest shift in this next record, as BIBI looks inward.
“I’ve always made characters and stories, but this time, I’m thinking this will be my documentary era. I want to know more about myself, because I still don’t know everything about myself. I want to study myself, like I did to other people,” she says, concluding with a challenge to herself: “I’ve always been about stories and music videos and this and that, but I want to really focus on sound this time. That’s my plan.”
BIBI’s new album ‘Eve: Romance’ is out now via Feel Ghood Music on Spotify, Apple Music and more.