H1-KEY

H1-Key, a South Korean girl group whose name is pronounced “high key,” centers on contemporary dance-pop laced with hip-hop textures and projects an optimistic, resolute outlook. Their 2023 debut EP Rose Blossom reached the Top 20; before the year closed, the follow-up Seoul Dreaming climbed to number three.

GLG and Sony Music Korea jointly formed the act in Seoul in November 2021. Leader Seol, Yel, Riina, and Sitala were introduced individually late that month and first performed together in a dance cover of Tinashe’s “Me So Bad.” Their original debut single “Athletic Girl” arrived in December, with the accompanying single album following the next month. Thai member Sitala exited in May 2022; Hwiseo joined in her stead, and the new lineup issued the single album supporting “Run” that July, placing inside Korea’s Top 50 album chart.

H1-Key issued their first proper EP, Rose Blossom, in January 2023. Powered by the matching Top 20 single “Rose Blossom,” the set reached number 19 on the album chart. Riina and Hwiseo then competed on the reality series Queendom Puzzle; Hwiseo won and debuted in the seven-piece supergroup El7z Up alongside members of CLC, LovelyZ, Purple Kiss, Rocket Punch, WJSN, and Woo! Ah!. One month before El7z Up’s debut EP 7+Up peaked at number 11, H1-Key advanced to number three with their second EP, Seoul Dreaming, released in August 2023. The group subsequently won the reality music competition The Show that September.

At the start of 2024 the members launched the new project H1-KEYnote.