Missing posters, WhatsApp stickers and photo edits with phrases – these are just some of the viral memes from the korean idol Chuu, that even after the disband of the girl group LOONA, is still very popular with K-Pop fans. After all, she’s still an Idol, now in her solo career.
Last month, the singer announced her comeback with a mini album called Only Cry In The Rain, which left her fandom very anxious and curious with all the teasers and concepts that she released. The concept of the music video and the songs were a bit different then what we were used to receiving from her, so this mini album instantly fuelled a lot of expectations.
WHO’S CHUU?
Borned as Kim Ji-woo, Chuu had her first appearance in the K-pop industry in 2017 as a member of LOONA, a group with 12 members that ended in 2023. Her silly humor, memes and striking look always gave her a prominence – which is very important for k-pop idols. Even when they’re good at their jobs, they need something to give them prominence, and Chuu is full of it!
Her first solo single “Heart Attack” was released when she was still in the group, back in 2018, and built her aesthetic: a cute and soft concept, talking about being in love with someone and having an “heart attack” every time you see this important person. This song is still very popular in 2025, and a lot of people still associate her with it.
Only Cry In The Rain, released April 21st, follows her past solo releases How! (2023, EP) and Strawberry Rush (2024, EP). Here, we take a more attentive look inside the new release!
TRACK BY TRACK
1. Only Cry In The Rain
“Only Cry In The Rain”, the title song, is about a heartbreaking experience. Even if the song’s rhythm isn’t sad and depressing, the lyrics talk about how bad it is to be left behind and exchanged by the person you have feelings for.
In the music video, we see two girls (one of them being Chuu) and one guy. The other girl and the guy go out and leave Chuu behind, and she’s left completely alone without her love and friend group. One interesting detail of this MV is that there is a retro concept behind it, and all the scenes look like a video recorded in an old camera.
This shows us that all that was left from that love was the memories that they had together, and how Chuu looks like the first option of the girl (the guy was always there, but not like Chuu was) and still ended alone in this story.
The song tells exactly the same story of the music video: the recordings of an old love, in a nostalgic way, remembering all of those moments, missing every single day by they’re side, and the pain of being left behind and having to hide it from everyone. That’s why the song is called “Only Cry In The Rain” – the rain is the only place where she can be alone and weak.
2. Back in Town
Chuu’s definitely in her nostalgic era! The second track, “Back in Town” talks about that love that you can’t just forget even if you move to another city, or even country, years can pass and you’ll still miss that person – your first love. This song is about a difficult situation with a happy beat. It’s about someone who came back to their hometown after some years, and sees that special person after all this time.
“Back in Town” describes the physical characteristics of that person: curly hair, dark eyes, and also mention that they look familiar, but also new, after all, a long time has passed since the last time they saw each other. The song is quite simple compared to other tracks of the album, with not so hidden messages, everything is made very clear by the lyrics.
3. Kiss a Kitty
Talking about songs with hidden meanings: “Kiss a Kitty”! In this one, the word “kitty” is speculated to mean “girl”. The song seems to talk about a girl by comparing her to a cat: telling that she’s pretty, how pretty her eyes are, giving a lot of compliments to her, but always calling her “Kitty”.
Another detail in this song it’s the way she decided to play with the words. In the same way she played with the word “kitty”, she played with the word “perfect”, saying “purrr-fect” instead, to simulate a cat’s purring – that’s the way that the “Kitty” complimented her.
Again about love, this track has more interesting undertones: it appears to be about the curiosity of loving someone of the same gender, how they make us feel about it, describing a lot of characteristics of someone in love. “Kiss a Kitty” describes exactly how we feel when we’re in love, especially in the beginning, when we’re discovering and understanding the feelings, starting to feel the butterflies in our stomach.
As someone that has been a big fan of LOONA for years, I noticed some words in the lyrics that remind us a bit about the old LOONA universe and concept for music videos and songs: universe, angel, crescent moon – all of this could easily be a reference to the group (something LOONA members are used to doing).
4. Je t’aime
In this one, there’s no mistery: the title “Je t’aime” (I love you, in french) already gives away that it’s a love song, just like the rest of the album. This track is really calm, being perfect to listen to on a rainy day and added to a calm playlist to relax your mind!
In my point of view, “Je t’aime” talks about a long-time love, the opposite of “Kiss a Kitty”. It describes how you feel after a time loving someone, the daily life with this love. It resembles the middle of a love, not exaggerated as the beginning, and not sad or gray as the end.
5. No More
The last track is called “No More”, the most different from the rest. This one sounds more like a song about herself then a song for another person. Basically, we can see a superation, like an advice about new phases in your life, new cycles, new you.
“No More” is more confident, viewing better days and a better version of yourself ahead. We can notice it in the whole song, but there’s one phrase that proves this is: “Don’t try to confine yourself to other people’s standards”, something real and present in every idol’s life, once the K-Pop industry has always been very restrictive with them.
This song can be compared to Chuu’s life. It’s only been a short time since she started her solo career. Since the disband of LOONA, everything has changed in her professional life and probably in her personal life too. The song might be a mirror of her reality, as she’s starting a new cycle, with a new concept and new content too.
A MINI ALBUM OVERVIEW
Since the release of the teasers, we knew that her concept had changed a bit: this album was more retro and nostalgic than the other albums that used to have the cute concept very present. Basically, all of the songs tell us stories: we have sad and happy stories, and if you notice, we can build a start-to-end love story with these songs. “Kiss a Kitty” in the beginning, “Je t’aime” in the middle and “Only Cry In The Rain” in the ending – all of them combine so much, even with their differences.
I had a lot of expectations for Only Cry In The Rain, and I’m not surprised with the great quality of the songs, the music video and concept. I think it fits a lot with Chuu, even with some changes, like the sadness behind some of the songs and the title’s music video, everything fits so well with her concept and music in general.
Like she did in her past songs like “Heart Attack”, she did another song with sapphic theming, “Kiss a Kitty” – my favorite song from the mini album! As a long-time fan, I’m happy to see that even if her reality has been changing (now as a solo artist) she’s not letting behind everything that she built in her career.
Even if you don’t enjoy K-Pop, you should give this album a chance. Her songs are so good to listen to, giving a comfy and also energetic vibe; and you also have music to listen to while you suffer from a past relationship or to be completely in love. Even if this is a mini album, Chuu wrote songs with different emotions, meanings and for different situations. Her songs, her voice and her concept feel like a safe space that everyone should join sometime!
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The article above was edited by Clara Rocha.
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