if you listen to K-pop while running errands and doing chores, STAYC think their newest song, a remake of an older one, is perfect for you: a reimagined version of TWICE’s 2019 hit, ‘Fancy’. It is the final of three K-pop remakes for Spotify Singles, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the streaming platform’s ‘K-Pop ON!’ playlist, following ENHYPEN’s take on BTS’ breakout single ‘I Need U’ and MONSTA X duo Shownu X Hyungwon’s laidback cover of 2PM’s ‘I Hate You’.
STAYC – comprising Sumin, Sieun, Isa, Seeun, Yoon and J – are known for their bright and bubbly singles that revel in the feelings of youthful empowerment and exuberance, or what they describe as “teen fresh”. On their road to success, they’ve looked up to a lot of different acts and now they’re getting their chance to remake a song by one of the acts that inspired them. “This, as you may know, is a little bit different from all the songs that we have worked on so far, so that’s so special,” says Sieun.
Picking ‘Fancy’ makes sense to the members of STAYC, even if it may seem like a bit of a swerve to a new direction to others. “As we were embarking on our journey to become artists, we always respected what they have done and also we wanted to emulate them,” she adds. “This song particularly, we loved it while we were practising to become what we are today so it really is a special song to us.”
“When I heard this for the first time, I thought it was just sort of poppy and lovely, but now I think the song is really sophisticated. For our version, we’re leaning more towards R&B, and it’s a little bit more cosy,” adds Sumin. “Because our version of ‘Fancy’ is sort of soothing, you can listen to this every day as you are resting, as you do your chores every day. I hope this becomes part of your daily life.”
Among the six members of STAYC, there’s a variety of tonal styles with each member having her own distinctive performance flare, creating an immensely varied soundscape everytime they sing together. This is something that they wanted to highlight immensely on the remake, and doing so while trying out a new style of music. “One of the strongest strengths that we have as a group is that each of us has a really dynamic and distinctive voice, which makes all of us unique,” says Yoon.
After emphasising their charming, vibrant sense of girlishness, Yoon adds that STAYC rework of ‘Fancy’ gives the group, and their fans, an opportunity to see them in a new light, reflecting the growth they have achieved in recent years. “So in the past we worked on songs like ‘Poppy’ and ‘Bubble’ that sound just like that – poppy and bubbly,” she adds. “Now, because we have taken on this R&B spin, we have got an opportunity to show off our different spectrum, I would say different sort of mellow vocal chords that we have.”
“I thought it was definitely going to be a challenge for us because it was going to be a little bit different than what we have done so far. I think that was the same case for TWICE as well,” muses Sumin. “But after working on this song, I feel like this is a more feminine of song for us as well. And as you know now we are all adults. So this is something that our fans might be attracted to the attractiveness we are showing as grown-ups.”
As STAYC worked on their very own version of TWICE’s ‘Fancy,’ it was a bit of a struggle to figure out what that meant exactly. Isa recalls how she personally had to work through her perceptions of the original versus their take on things. “The original version is so energetic, it’s filled with positive energies, so I thought I should match up to their sort of level of energy,” she says.
The singer recalls that she was “trying to pull that off” before being stopped by their producer, who told her that the cover has to be “your take on it”, adding that it was “sort of different for me to find my own balance”. Yet, member J thought immediately that Isa would best suit ‘Fancy’ once it was decided that they’d be covering the song: “When it comes to something rhythmic and calm at the same time, I thought she’d suit it right away.”
‘Fancy’ is STAYC’s first release in 2024, but this is gearing up to be a busy year for the girl group, with Isa saying that she’s manifesting a really great year. “What I’m hoping for this year is to sort of be at more events and also be loved by more people across the world as well,” she says. “So I’m wishing to visit more countries and also participate in different events and whatnot. And also I want all of my family and also my members to be healthy”.
On the music front, Sumin says her hope for the year is to “release a full-length album”. She adds: “Obviously we are versatile artists so we can work on different genres as well, so whether it be a ballad or dance songs, we want to show our audience the full spectrum of genres that we can cover.”
STAYC’s remake of TWICE’s ‘Fancy’ is available to stream now on Spotify’s K-Pop ON! (온) playlist.