Chaeyoung Welcomes You To Her “Lil Fantasy Vol. 1”

Chaeyoung’s Lil Fantasy Vol. 1

JYP Entertainment

Chaeyoung, a member of the K-pop superstar group TWICE, is a fan of avocados.

The first track on her debut album, Lil Fantasy vol. 1, is titled “Avocado,” which represents the apple, the forbidden fruit, in the biblical tale of Adam and Eve, but in her own story. The song features the Japanese band GLIIICO, who helped write and produce the music. The music video, released on August 31, shows Chaeyoung being consumed by an avocado, falling into an Alice in Wonderland-type scenario where she enters a fantasy world. The entire video feels like a dream, with its bright colors, filtered to add a unique, ethereal look.

The 26-year-old artist laughs when the topic of avocados is brought up during the interview, understanding what was being asked before it could be interpreted. She enthusiastically says she loves avocados, but explains the deeper meaning behind the song’s title.

“This track didn’t have a title at first, but I knew this would be my first track,” Chaeyoung says over Zoom from Seoul. “While working on the lyrics, this was about searching for an island and a castle. I wanted to go back to the very beginning of things – there was Adam and Eve, who came upon an apple. I wanted my song to have a symbol like an apple, but I didn’t want to use an apple. So I chose an avocado because I like the sound of it. And, hearing the title ‘Avocado’ makes people curious about what it’s about. I just thought, it’ll be fun.”

With 10 tracks (the 10th of which is only on the physical CD), Lil Fantasy vol. 1 is Chaeyoung’s collection of “thoughts, tastes, attitudes, and stories that she’s carried with her until now.” The title stems from this small world she has created in her mind, with vol. 1 serving as an opportunity to tell more stories through her music. She describes the journey as finding her little fantasy castle – a metaphor for her mind, and inside the castle are doors, with each door representing a track.

“I’m telling my story through these doors,” she explains. “So Volume 1 is basically me showing the little fantasy castle that I have inside my brain and heart. I don’t know what kind of themes I would explore in Volume 2 and 3, but I’m excited about what [they] would be.”

As the main rapper for TWICE, Chaeyoung took time to search for her color and voice as a solo artist. She wanted to showcase more of her vocal abilities, increasing her singing presence on TWICE albums, and focused on finding her voice and the story she wanted to tell.

“In a sense, it was very freeing to a certain extent, writing and putting out stories that I haven’t told before,” she says. “Because this is my first album, I had to go through quite a journey to find my vocal style. That search was not easy, but, in retrospect, now that it’s all finished, I look back at it as a very fun experience.”

Chaeyoung is the fourth member of TWICE to release a solo album, which she feels is the perfect time for her now. The album was initially planned for April, but she wanted to put more time and effort into the project, so it was pushed back until now. She admits, “I needed the time to really come to understand who I am.”

Below, Chaeyoung tells us more about the process of creating the album, where she took inspiration, and the song she felt most connected to.

Laura Sirikul: I love the name ‘Lil Fantasy,’ which is based on the small world you’ve created for yourself, shaped by your tastes, attitudes, and everything you’ve been through. How did you build and structure your experiences into a song/album? Was it a journal? Did you have lyrics first, or did you have a beat?

Chaeyoung: I looked at my memos that I wrote [in] a lot to create this album. The way I make a song is that I begin with the track and what kind of mood I want to use or vibe that I want to deliver. Then, I start writing the melody with the idea of the track and come up with lyrics based on my diaries or stories. [It has to] suit the melody and the track’s mood.

Who served as inspiration for this album? Who have you been listening to?

I listen to Clairo and The Marías a lot. Because my vocal is not powerful to begin with, I listened to a lot of vocal styles that are a little bit fragile, and songs that [have a] very pretty vocal tone. I wanted to find the vocal range that is right for me. I don’t have a powerful voice, so I wanted to convey a more fragile and girly sound. So I ended up listening to a lot of those, like The Marías and Clairo.

There are numerous collaborations featured here, including GLIIICO, SUMIN, Jibin of Y2K92, and GLIIICO’s Kai. How did these collaborations come about?

The collaboration artists are all my friends. They’re my personal friends. So the whole process was just very natural. We thought, “Oh, it’ll be fun to sing together.” That’s how the tracks were born.

Was there a song that really connected with you or still haunts you from this album?

Personally, the song that I’m most attached to is “Shadow Puppet” because it really closely reflects who I am, my career, my profession as an artist, and the situation that I’m in as a public figure. So, I’m most attached to this song. While I recorded this song, I found myself choking up from time to time. Even now, when I listen to it, I still choke up and tear up. I’m very attached to this song.

I connected with “Shadow Puppet” because it feels like a glimpse into your life. You mentioned in the notes that this was the only song where you cried. Can you tell me about how you were feeling regarding this song?

For this song, I wrote the melody first. The melody was both sad and had a bright vibe. The lyrics right before the hook say, “Will there be a time where I freely run around again. Will that time come again?” That’s the part that I choked up, but it’s hopeful that someday I’ll be able to walk and run around freely again. That’s the most emotional part of the song for me.

Was there ever a moment of hesitation or fear of putting these songs out there, where they really showcase your feelings?

There wasn’t any moments of hesitation while making or releasing this album. Everything just happened in the right order. I wasn’t alone in the making process. I had my friends, my labels, and everybody who did their parts really well. I had people to rely on. The whole process was very smooth because everybody did their part so well. Right now, I’m just excited for the release.

Since this is an album featuring the words and lyrics of your life, there must have been more songs you wrote and recorded. How did you decide these songs in Volume 1 were the ones to tell your story? Did you have any additional tracks that you wanted to include on the album?

The album was not made in the short term. It took a while for me to work on the songs and accumulate them. We went through a very meticulous selection process to pick the best songs for this album. The standards that I had were that they had to reflect my taste, be cool, and deliver a message that I wanted to share with the world. Of course, there are more songs. There are songs that I feel sad were not included in this album, but that’s why the album is called Lil Fantasy vol. 1. This is not the end. I was very serious about this album. It is my first solo full-length album. I’m very serious about this effort. This is the final product, and it’s very precious to me. As the title vol. 1 suggests, there is more to come.

You designed a lot of the artwork and concept. Can you tell more about it?

Those were my drawings from a long time ago. I designed the logo myself. It’s also from my old drawings. When I tried to revise it, it came out in a spiral form, and I thought, “Oh, it’ll be fun to make a font out of it.” That’s how the logo design came about, and the results came out really great. It became the signature style for this album.

TWICE celebrated their 10th anniversary this year. This is your first solo album after 10 years as an artist. Would your sound and style sound different or similar to Chaeyoung of 2015?

There are so many things that have changed since 2015. Age is the biggest factor [in that change]. When I made my debut, I was in my teens. I’m now in my mid-twenties. Back then, I still had my taste, value system, and perspective, but they were very raw then. Now, they have become more solid. I think my color [and style] has been more solid and clearer. That is what has changed.

Chaeyoung’s Lil Fantasy vol. 1 is available on all streaming platforms, in retail stores, and online.