Ahead of their September comeback, High Up Entertainment girl group STAYC (composed of Aisa, Jaei, Seeun, Sieun, Soomin, and Yoon) posed for a photoshoot commissioned by ELLE Korea. The magazine released a few of the photos, as well as excerpts from the girls’ interviews.

The concept of the photoshoot was based on the dreamy and mysterious concept of their first mini album Stereotype, which is set to be released next month. According to various Korean media outlets, the photoshoot “focused on capturing the expectations for the girls’ shining present and future.” Furthermore, despite their packed schedule, STAYC arrived at the shoot’s location bright-eyed, bushy tailed, and ready to work it. They even managed to liven up the proceedings with “extraordinary positive energy.”

Their trademark positivity has been an important part of their success. It’s what has helped them stay sane despite how cutthroat showbusiness can be. Instead of letting the bad things affect them, the STAYC girls choose to focus on the good things that have come their way since their debut last year.

Case in point: When asked what she’s up to these days, Yoon shared, “I’ve been approaching my training with a happier mindset lately, because I’ve received compliments on my singing. People have said I’ve improved a lot. I also want to make sure I can pull off the killing part of our next song’s choreography.”

Speaking of which, Aisa said she’s excited to share their new music with the world. “The title track of our new album is the first song we received before our debut. I’m happy that we’ll finally be able to promote with it.”

Sieun seconded Aisa’s remarks by saying, “I hope the message contained in the new album will be delivered well.”

They’ve come a long way from their trainee years, but everyone in STAYC wants to keep the mindset they had back then. After all, that was what propelled them to where they are now. Jaei said, “I don’t want to forget the days when I didn’t know anything and practiced hard when preparing for my debut.”

STAYC (acronym for Star To A Young Culture) is a South Korean girl group formed by High Up Entertainment. They debuted on November 12, 2020, with the release of their debut single album Star to a Young Culture.

STAYC’s name is an acronym that means “Star to a Young Culture.” They debuted in November 2020 with a self-titled single album. It sold more than 10,000 copies in its first week, becoming the first album by a rookie girl group in 2020 to do so. It went on to debut at No. 17 on the weekly Gaon Album Chart. Meanwhile, their lead single “So Bad” debuted at No. 21 on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales Chart, and its music video got 2.6 million views in 24 hours.

Their second single album Staydom and its lead single “ASAP” came out in April and were also met with success. Staydom sold over 56,000 copies in a month, whiile the music video of “ASAP” hit 20 million views in under two weeks.

Stereotype, their first mini album, will be released on September 6. For more from STAYC’s ELLE Korea photoshoot, head to the magazine’s site and YouTube channel.