MUSTB’s Next Chapter Begins with “ROYALTY”
MUSTB released their 4th single mini-album “Royalty” this past week. “We’ve been preparing for a long time for the comeback,” Doha said. Cr: Amplify 02
After five years in the K-Pop industry, MUSTB, a five member boy group, released a career highlight this week with “ROYALTY”. The past year has been a successful run for members Taegeon, Wooyeon, Doha, Soohyun, and Sihoo. Last year MUSTB completed a successful 13-country World Tour and collaborated with the Latin Pop group Grupo Control. In the fall of 2022, the group released “La Senorita'', a song dedicated to their Latin American fanbase.
“ROYALTY” is slated as the group’s “next chapter” and is the follow-up to “La Senorita”. A physical album with photocards and a photobook accompanies the single. The single is produced by 909 Trillion and MustM Entertainment’s DJ/Chief Producer Ryan K, with lyrics written by Ryan K., Tageon and Soohyun. The lyrics are the most personal I’ve heard from the group and directly addresses the obstacles they’ve overcome to still be standing in the industry. It’s a bright, upbeat song that feels like a genuine K-Pop smash, and I was grateful to be invited to a round table media event to celebrate the song’s release.
MUSTB is receiving increased attention for “ROYALTY”, too. Last week they were invited to promote on Music Bank, where I was thrilled to see them, and several other variety shows. When I asked the group what the process of seeing fans on these shows felt like, Doha responded, “We've been preparing a really long time for this comeback, so to be able to show our stages to our MUFFINS is the best part.”
“We've been preparing for quite a while now [for a comeback]. However, the original [song] we were going to introduce on this album is not ‘ROYALTY.’ It was actually a different song, but then they decided to make ‘ROYALTY’ the title track of this album,” Taegeon, the group’s leader, said at the round table when asked what was the most challenging part of the comeback. “I feel like that was the most challenging part because we had been preparing the other song for so many months, and then they decided to go with ‘ROYALTY.’”
The guys worked quickly over two weeks to quickly learn the new choreography, which was challenging because it incorporated heavy mic stands. “We just handled it,” Soohyun said, “thinking about what MUFFINS would think to watch us perform with new unique skills.”
But “ROYALTY” is a smart choice for the group: It showcases their vocals better than ever before and it hits the right emotional chords necessary to make listeners root for MUSTB. Though the single is paired with “Memory”, the members believe that “ROYALTY” is their best track.
“I really like the vibe that ‘ROYALTY’ gives,” Wooyeon said, explaining that the song gives “a lot of hope and solace.” Doha added, “Although both songs are really great, at the same time the meaning of the lyrics as well as the hope and solace that "ROYALTY" gives to people makes me choose it.”
MUSTB backstage during “ROYALTY” promotions. Cr: Amplify 02
It’s a stacked year for MUSTB. In the coming months, the group hopes to expand their fanbase with a second world tour that will bring them to more countries, including Japan. “The chance to visit all these different countries all over the world is such a great opportunity in itself,” Wooyeon said. “We can get a lot of inspiration from these places that are different from Korea. We just want to visit any place that has MUFFINS, so that's where we are going to go next.”
The group also hopes they can explore new concepts with future releases.“MUSTB has done so many different concepts already, like cute, sexy, and mature, this time with ‘MEMORY,’” Doha said, adding that they have another song prepared. “In the future, we would like to try a little bit more of a manly concept and show off a lot of our charms with that. So hopefully we can show you that real soon.”
MUSTB at the press conference. Cr: Amplify 02
MUSTB stands apart, Sihoo said, because each member is so versatile. “One of the rather unique things about MUSTB is that each and every member can be either a vocalist or a rapper,” he explained. We all have talent in each area. From every song to every album, you will see the parts change -- sometimes, you'll see members as a vocalist, and sometimes, you'll see them as a rapper.”
MUSTB has outlasted many groups, especially peers from small companies who are still chasing their dreams. That gives “ROYALTY” an emotional center: They’re still here. They still believe in what’s possible for their group. I wanted to know how they’ve worked so well as a team since their debut. They’ve certainly had challenges, as “ROYALTY” alludes to, but they continue to overcome them, working hard to improve with every comeback.
“Since we've worked together for so many years, we all kind of know each other and each other's personality. We can exchange glances and know how the other member is doing,” Sihoo, the macknae, told me. “So working well together and knowing each other's personality helps the teamwork flow, which helps us together as MUSTB.”
You can purchase MUSTB’s 4th single album “ROYALTY” from your local K-Pop shop. If they don’t have the album, please request they stock it! Stream their new single here.
