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Hey guys! I wanted to talk about a group that isn't as big as a Blackpink, Twice, or BTS; but I love them so much. Today I will talk about CLC or Crystal Clear. CLC was one of the first K-pop girl group's that I got into due to Hobgoblin. So, let's have a deep dive into CLC. Crystal Clear debuted March 19, 2015 as a five member girl group under Cube Entertainment with the original members: Seunghee, Yujin, Seungyeon, Sorn and Yeeun. But in February of 2016, two additional members, Elkie and Eunbin, to the line up of CLC. The groups fandom name is Cheshire.
Members:
Chang Seung Yeon: (장승연)
Born on November 6, 1996
From Seongnam, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Position: Leader, Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist, and Rapper.
Seungyeon is a jokester and and overall a clumsy person.
Speaks fluent in Japanese
Socials
Instagram: @seung_monkey, Youtube: 승몽이네, Tiktok: @seung_monkey
Oh Seung Hee: (오승희)
Born on October 10, 1995
From Gwangju, South Korea
Position: Main Vocalist
Seunghee is one of the cooks in CLC
She is a fan of NU'EST, so much so she signed up for their fancafe
Socials:
Instagram: @ohseunghee_official_, Youtube: 오승희 OH SEUNGHEE
Choi Yu Jin (최유진)
Born on August 12, 1996
From Jeongju, North Jeolla, South Korea
Position: Lead Dancer, Vocalist, Rapper, Visual, and Center
Speaks Korean and Japanese
She is the fake maknae and gets teased by the other members
Socials:
Instagram: @utokki_, TikTok: @utokki0
Sorn (손) or Chonnasorn Sajakul (ชลนสร สัจจกุล)
Born on November 18, 1996
From Thailand
Position: Vocalist
She speaks Thai, English, Korean, and Chinese
Friends with other Thai idols, NCT's Ten, Lisa(Blackpink), BamBam (GOT7), and Minnie ((G)I-dle)
Socials: Instagram: @sssorn_chonnasorn, Twitter: sssorn_clc, Youtube: PRODUSORN, TikTok: @sssorn_chonnasorn
Jang Yee Eun (장예은)
Born August 10, 1998
From Dongducheon, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Position: Main Rapper and Vocalist
She speaks Korean, English, Chinese, and Japanese
Partcipated in Mnet's Good Girl
Yeeun plays Overwatch with Eunbin
Socials: Instagram: @yyyyeeun, TikTok: @yeeun810
Elkie (엘키) or Chong Ting Yan (莊錠欣)
Born November 2, 1998
From Hong Kong
Position: Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer, and Visual
Speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, and English
Was an actress and former girl group member in Hong Kong
Added to the group in February 2016
Socials:
Instagram: @chongtingyanelkie, Weibo: 莊錠欣_CLC
Kwon Eunbin (권은빈)
Born January 6, 2000
From Seoul, South Korea
Position: Vocalist, Rapper, Face of the Group, and Maknae
Speaks English, Korean, and is learning Spanish
Participated in Produce 101
Added to the group in February 2016
Socials: Instagram: @superb_ean
History of CLC:
In 2015, Cube Entertainment debuted their five member girl group called Crystal Clear or CLC. At the time Cube had two major groups 4Minute and B2ST which are 2nd generation K-pop groups, Cube needed a new group to stay above the water as the new generation rolled over. CLC debuted on March 19, 2015 with the song 'Pepe' which was a traditional pop sound along with teen girl concept. On May 28, 2015, CLC made their first comeback with their second mini album entitled 'Question'. On February 29, 2016, CLC made their second comeback with the song 'High Heels', their mini album called 'Refresh', and added two new members to the line up: Elkie and Eunbin. During promotions for High Heels, Eunbin was participating on the survival show Produce 101 Season 1. High Heels was a very similar concept to that of their previous releases, cheerful and cute girl that was very prominent within the market at the time. But this was not good for CLC due to the over-saturation of cuter girl pop. Groups like Berry Good and Lovelyz debuted in 2014, then in 2015 we saw the rise of groups such as APRIL, Oh My Girl, Gfriend, and Twice debut. So there was not much room for the public to care for another rookie girl group with a bubble gum pop or cute sound with matching outfits. But still Cube used their concept with two other mini albums.
So with a drowned out debut and a slightly better comeback with High Heels, Cube finally made a smart decision; with 4Minute disbanding by the end of 2017, Cube made a concept change for CLC. On January 17, 2017, CLC comeback with 'Hobgoblin' which was their first real hit. The song a more mature, tougher, and dangerous girl concept with EDM, Trap, and Hip Hop based sounds. Hobgoblin was one of the most successful comebacks at the time and charted at four on the World Digital Song Sales and charted at six at the Billboard World for Albums for the full mini album Crystyle. CLC was assisted by solo artist HyunA for this comeback, she had a hand in practically everything in this comeback and it really showed in styling of the video and the music that was released. This was the comeback that helped CLC build a commercial fan base and this was one of the biggest hits of the year. But everything that CLC was able to build in the earlier half of 2017 was utterly destroyed by their next comeback with their next release Free'sm and the title track 'Where are you?'. 'Where are you?' had a soft ballad song with an airbrushed concept. This was a huge slap to the face for CLC newly formed commercial fanbase that came for their tougher concepts.
After the failure that was "Where are you?" CLC came back on February 22, 2018 with more mature and hard-hitting concept in the song "Black Dress". This had the same surprise as "Hobgoblin" but with bigger budget and better quality music video. "Black Dress" currently is CLC's most viewed music video that is currently sitting at over 30 million views. After "Black Dress", the girls came back with their new album "No.1" with the main single called "No". "No" is a feminist anthem that has a EDM/Techno beats but allows CLC to rely on their strong vocals. This comeback allowed CLC as a group to find a specific sound that works for them as a group. This was the sound that CLC has used this sound for their digital singles: Me and Devil. In September 2020, the girls came back with their single, Helicopter.
Discography:
First Love: March 19, 2015
Track List
1) Cafe Mocha Please
2) Pepe
3) Sharala
4) First Love
5) Open the Window
Question: May 28, 2015
Track List
1) Hey-o
2) Like
3) Lucky
4) Hide & Seek
5) What do I do
Refresh: February 29, 2016
Track List
1) High Heels
2) ReFresh
3) Yaya
4) Friend Zone Lover
5) Eighteen
High Heels: April 13, 2016
Japanese Debut
Track List
1) First Love (JP Verison)
2) Pepe (JP Verison)
3) Gung Geum Hae
4) I Should Be So Lucky
5) High Heels (JP Verison)
Nu.Clear: May 30, 2016
Track List
1) What Planet Are You From
2) No Oh Oh
3) One Two Three
4) Day by Day
5) Dear My Friend
6) It's Too Late
Charmisma: July 27, 2016
Track List
1) Charmisma
2) Sukidoki
3) Chocolate Spice
4) One Two Three (Korean Version)
5) School Heaven
CryStyle: January 17, 2017
Track List
1) Liar
2) Hobgoblin
3) Mistake
4) Meow Meow
5) I Mean That
6) Depression
Free'sm: August 3, 2017
Track List
1) Where Are You?
2) Bae
3) I Like It
4) Call My Name
5) Summer Kiss
6) Hold Your Hand
Black Dress: February 22, 2018
Track List
1) Black Dress
2) Like That
3) Distance
4) To the Sky
5) 7th
No.1: January 30, 2019
Track List
1) No
2) SHOW
3) Breakdown
4) Like It
5) I Need U
Me: May 29, 2019
Track List
1) Me
Devil: September 6, 2019
Track List
1) Devil
Helicopter: September 2, 2020
Track List:
1) Helicopter
2) Helicopter (English Version)
My Thoughts and Recommendations:
I actually really like CLC's music, I came in mainly because I extremely interested into their Hobgoblin comeback. I am mostly interested in the darker and girl crush concepts, and when I found put that HyunA was a part of the Crystyle album. So as and extensions of HyunA, I felt inclined to watch it as an A-ng; and this was the moment that I fell in love with CLC. CLC is very talented group and they have the potential to be on the success level of BLACKPINK, Red Velvet, and TWICE, but the issue is CUBE Entertainment. CUBE has undermined CLC in many ways and have set them up for failure since debut. At debut, they gave them a concept that drowned out, and even after it failing for the first year of their career; they continued to use it even though it was continuously flopping. They gave CLC a cheap music video and misread the market after their most successful comeback. Then constantly but them on hiatus repetitively to rack in cash from other artists; in short CUBE learn how to manage their artists and how to treat them correctly.
As for recommendations, Hobgoblin is my personal favorite flagship song by CLC, I personal enjoy that sound and aesthetic. My favorite B-side track is "I Like It", honestly if this was the lead single on the Free'sm album instead of "Where are you?"; this song could have saved CLC from the flop of that promotional period. I also really love Yeeun, the main rapper of CLC on the show "Good Girl". All of her performances are really good, I love her song "Barbie" and collaboration with Hyoyeon (Girl's Generation), Jamie, Jiwoo (KARD), and Cheetah called "Witch".
Sources:
How CUBE Nearly Destoryed CLC video by mera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZwU-RhffJg&t=502s
CLC Member Profile: https://kprofiles.com/clc-members-profile/
CLC Discography: https://kprofiles.com/clc-discography/