The lore is pretty integral for Billlie; however it is impossible to understand just from the MVs. They have lore videos they released together with albums which are also so cool. Here is the core of it, as succintly as I can make it: when summer is coming to an end, on the 11th day, in the purple rain, the bell rings 11 times, and a fearsome invader comes and takes you away. This happened to their childhood friend Billlie Love (the little girl at 12:23). The girls decided to keep all their knowledge of her disappearance a secret, lying when asked what happened to her, even saying they did not know her. (The hints of this are in the group name, which can also be written as Bi11lie: 비 "bi" means "rain" and "secret", also referring to their concept of "B-side", a hidden world each of us has inside; the number 11 is everywhere in their lore, and "lie" is what the girls did). The anxiety you are made to feel when listening to RING x RING (by the strange alarm sound that forms the backbone of the song) is the guilt they feel, finally deciding to find her. The first lyrics are downright unsettling: "They say there's no trace; is she dead? No-one knows. Can we talk? Not any more. There are traces; is it blood? Not dry yet. What is this? What? Where are you?" Anyway - the MVs are not chronological, and they even seem to be placed in different timelines and parallel worlds, all connected by Billlie Love's disappearance. This makes the story even harder to pick up just by watching MVs. :) They debuted as six in RING x RING, because Sheon was on Girls Planet 999. The first 9 formed Kep1er; Sheon finished 10th. When the show wrapped, she joined up with Billlie, missing the debut by a week or two, IIRC; so she is not on the first album. Billlie was first seven in the Christmas MV called Snowy Night (which is one of the few Christmas songs I love). They do not have a rock concept; I would not call RING x RING a rock song. Ring Ma Bell was their first actual rock song (though you would not have known it by the way they absolutely killed it). If anything, their style could be described as daring and experimental, and I'd say Eunoia is probably the closest to their core sound from these three, with lots of harmonies and odd progressions. They don't really do the trendy. You might notice their Mystic Story logo and the accompanying three-note signature change with every song. Sheon is pronounced like "Sean" or "Shawn", one syllable. "That's very close to each other" - no kidding! Her actual name is Suyeon; being in a group with Suhyeon and Siyoon was just asking for trouble, so she dropped the "u" from her name: (수연 "Suyeon" -> 션 "Syeon") to make it more distinct. Very happy you are checking them out. Their debut was quite polarising because of how odd it was, but I instantly fell in love. Their B-sides are amazing as well!
Their b-sides are also amazing and add further detail to the story if you want to check those out at some point. I hadn't considered the word etymology of eunoia before you mentioned it. I went to Wiktionary, they all have roots in Ancient Greek, and you seem to be right: euphoria = eu (well/good) + phero (to bear) paranoia = para (beyond/beside) + noos (mind/spirit) eunoia = eu (well/good) + noos (mind/spirit) EDIT: The bunny was from 'GingaMingaYo', their storylines 'the Billage of perception' and 'the collective soul and unconscious' aren't as separate as they seem at first glance.
0:55 I can't find what Second World stuff you reacted to, but one of her performances, "the Magic!an" also featured Siyoon and Sheon (Sua and Siyoon are Billlie's main rappers, and Sheon is their lead rapper)... 3:15 That is indeed *Sua!* 4:25 That's main vocal #1, *Haram* (for the record, they have two main vocals, two main rappers, and once Sheon joined, two main dancers...). And yeah, she has such a rich tone... 5:00 Yeah, that's our other main rapper *Siyoon* ("she-yoon"), also my bias. 6:50 I'd say _most_ of RING X RING leans toward the EDM more than rock, in a fairly experimental way. This was a _daring_ debut to say the least; I always say it feels to me like a mashup of about three different songs, and had every right to be an unmitigated disaster... instead, in the hands of Billlie and their producers, it became a work of insane _genius._ 8:10 Yeah, not even close. In fact, at this point, I'd say Ring ma Bell is their only flat-out _rock_ song, though hopefully not their last, with how well they owned this... 8:25 As Amadan points out, by this point we now have Sheon ("Shaun") on the team; she joined 9 days after their debut once Girls' Planet 999 wrapped. She came within a whisker of being a member of Kep1er, and I think it's safe to say many of us are _very_ glad she came 10th out of 9; Billlie is _such_ a perfect home for her. 10:00 "This is me" - The blonde here is maknae *Haruna.* 10:10 Oh, they are _not_ short of personality. You'll have to check out some variety/guide stuff at some point; you're gonna _love_ them. 11:35 That's main vocal #2, *Suhyeon.* (she had the blue hair in RING X RING) 12:10 Again, as Amadan pointed out, you think _Sheon_ is close... before she adopted her stage name, the new member was called *Kim Suyeon,* (김수연) and she was joining a group with a *Kim Suhyeon* (김수현) and a *Kim Siyoon.* (김시윤) Not at _all_ confusing. 😏 12:40 Yeah, you're not gonna understand everything story-wise within a couple of watches of just the MVs, but they give you plenty that make you _want_ to dive in more... 13:50 Their dance practices and relays are awesome, and I'd also recommend the "It's Live" band versions of Ring ma Bell and Eunoia (as well as a couple of more recent tracks that you haven't seen yet, *"BYOB (bring your own best friend)"* and *"DANG! (hocus pocus)").* 14:25 Blimey, you nailed it! Most reactors I've seen have struggled with the pronunciation and made it sound far more complicated than it is... 🤣 16:10 Note that little run there from a main rapper (Siyoon)... 😎 Doesn't matter their position, every one of these girls has _gorgeous_ vocals. 17:25 Harmonies like that are the thing that _really_ made me fall for Billlie; they're my cheat code. I soon found plenty of other reasons to love them, of course... 20:15 RING X RING actually doesn't have a mascot attached, but all their other main releases have: the bunny is Dream Vader from GingaMingaYo, the yeti fella is the Snowy Man from Snowy Night, the cat is NovemBer from Ring ma Bell, and the owl is Glau.
Wow you finally came across Billlie! they're really amazing group but criminally underrated.. which is a shame. their b-sides are also must checks because they got one of the best discography in the industry :) when it comes to their lore, it's very deep and complicated, literally there's a hundred page papers analyzing mv and other stuffs 'per album' so you don't have to feel pressured to understand it. because no one can 😅 but the main plot is about a missing girl named Billlie, and her seven friends trying to find her they're not necessarily a rock-based group, but they utilizes the rock sound sometimes. but their soundscapes are diverse and they try a lot of different genres. as you said, the EUNOIA album tried more chill, kinda LOONA-esque sound, and is rather different from previous albums. it makes sense tho, cuz this album is a prequel to the previous albums and it's before Billlie goes missing and everything went dark. but even if its stylistic change, it's a wonderful album fun fact : they release a lore film with almost every album, just like aespa, but they also release an OST album including the soundtracks used in the lore film afterwards. i think it's cool
The lore is pretty integral for Billlie; however it is impossible to understand just from the MVs. They have lore videos they released together with albums which are also so cool. Here is the core of it, as succintly as I can make it: when summer is coming to an end, on the 11th day, in the purple rain, the bell rings 11 times, and a fearsome invader comes and takes you away. This happened to their childhood friend Billlie Love (the little girl at 12:23). The girls decided to keep all their knowledge of her disappearance a secret, lying when asked what happened to her, even saying they did not know her. (The hints of this are in the group name, which can also be written as Bi11lie: 비 "bi" means "rain" and "secret", also referring to their concept of "B-side", a hidden world each of us has inside; the number 11 is everywhere in their lore, and "lie" is what the girls did). The anxiety you are made to feel when listening to RING x RING (by the strange alarm sound that forms the backbone of the song) is the guilt they feel, finally deciding to find her. The first lyrics are downright unsettling: "They say there's no trace; is she dead? No-one knows. Can we talk? Not any more. There are traces; is it blood? Not dry yet. What is this? What? Where are you?"
Anyway - the MVs are not chronological, and they even seem to be placed in different timelines and parallel worlds, all connected by Billlie Love's disappearance. This makes the story even harder to pick up just by watching MVs. :)
They debuted as six in RING x RING, because Sheon was on Girls Planet 999. The first 9 formed Kep1er; Sheon finished 10th. When the show wrapped, she joined up with Billlie, missing the debut by a week or two, IIRC; so she is not on the first album. Billlie was first seven in the Christmas MV called Snowy Night (which is one of the few Christmas songs I love).
They do not have a rock concept; I would not call RING x RING a rock song. Ring Ma Bell was their first actual rock song (though you would not have known it by the way they absolutely killed it). If anything, their style could be described as daring and experimental, and I'd say Eunoia is probably the closest to their core sound from these three, with lots of harmonies and odd progressions. They don't really do the trendy. You might notice their Mystic Story logo and the accompanying three-note signature change with every song.
Sheon is pronounced like "Sean" or "Shawn", one syllable. "That's very close to each other" - no kidding! Her actual name is Suyeon; being in a group with Suhyeon and Siyoon was just asking for trouble, so she dropped the "u" from her name: (수연 "Suyeon" -> 션 "Syeon") to make it more distinct.
Very happy you are checking them out. Their debut was quite polarising because of how odd it was, but I instantly fell in love. Their B-sides are amazing as well!
Their b-sides are also amazing and add further detail to the story if you want to check those out at some point.
I hadn't considered the word etymology of eunoia before you mentioned it. I went to Wiktionary, they all have roots in Ancient Greek, and you seem to be right:
euphoria = eu (well/good) + phero (to bear)
paranoia = para (beyond/beside) + noos (mind/spirit)
eunoia = eu (well/good) + noos (mind/spirit)
EDIT: The bunny was from 'GingaMingaYo', their storylines 'the Billage of perception' and 'the collective soul and unconscious' aren't as separate as they seem at first glance.
0:55 I can't find what Second World stuff you reacted to, but one of her performances, "the Magic!an" also featured Siyoon and Sheon (Sua and Siyoon are Billlie's main rappers, and Sheon is their lead rapper)...
3:15 That is indeed *Sua!*
4:25 That's main vocal #1, *Haram* (for the record, they have two main vocals, two main rappers, and once Sheon joined, two main dancers...). And yeah, she has such a rich tone...
5:00 Yeah, that's our other main rapper *Siyoon* ("she-yoon"), also my bias.
6:50 I'd say _most_ of RING X RING leans toward the EDM more than rock, in a fairly experimental way. This was a _daring_ debut to say the least; I always say it feels to me like a mashup of about three different songs, and had every right to be an unmitigated disaster... instead, in the hands of Billlie and their producers, it became a work of insane _genius._
8:10 Yeah, not even close. In fact, at this point, I'd say Ring ma Bell is their only flat-out _rock_ song, though hopefully not their last, with how well they owned this...
8:25 As Amadan points out, by this point we now have Sheon ("Shaun") on the team; she joined 9 days after their debut once Girls' Planet 999 wrapped. She came within a whisker of being a member of Kep1er, and I think it's safe to say many of us are _very_ glad she came 10th out of 9; Billlie is _such_ a perfect home for her.
10:00 "This is me" - The blonde here is maknae *Haruna.*
10:10 Oh, they are _not_ short of personality. You'll have to check out some variety/guide stuff at some point; you're gonna _love_ them.
11:35 That's main vocal #2, *Suhyeon.* (she had the blue hair in RING X RING)
12:10 Again, as Amadan pointed out, you think _Sheon_ is close... before she adopted her stage name, the new member was called *Kim Suyeon,* (김수연) and she was joining a group with a *Kim Suhyeon* (김수현) and a *Kim Siyoon.* (김시윤) Not at _all_ confusing. 😏
12:40 Yeah, you're not gonna understand everything story-wise within a couple of watches of just the MVs, but they give you plenty that make you _want_ to dive in more...
13:50 Their dance practices and relays are awesome, and I'd also recommend the "It's Live" band versions of Ring ma Bell and Eunoia (as well as a couple of more recent tracks that you haven't seen yet, *"BYOB (bring your own best friend)"* and *"DANG! (hocus pocus)").*
14:25 Blimey, you nailed it! Most reactors I've seen have struggled with the pronunciation and made it sound far more complicated than it is... 🤣
16:10 Note that little run there from a main rapper (Siyoon)... 😎 Doesn't matter their position, every one of these girls has _gorgeous_ vocals.
17:25 Harmonies like that are the thing that _really_ made me fall for Billlie; they're my cheat code. I soon found plenty of other reasons to love them, of course...
20:15 RING X RING actually doesn't have a mascot attached, but all their other main releases have: the bunny is Dream Vader from GingaMingaYo, the yeti fella is the Snowy Man from Snowy Night, the cat is NovemBer from Ring ma Bell, and the owl is Glau.
Wow you finally came across Billlie! they're really amazing group but criminally underrated.. which is a shame. their b-sides are also must checks because they got one of the best discography in the industry :)
when it comes to their lore, it's very deep and complicated, literally there's a hundred page papers analyzing mv and other stuffs 'per album' so you don't have to feel pressured to understand it. because no one can 😅 but the main plot is about a missing girl named Billlie, and her seven friends trying to find her
they're not necessarily a rock-based group, but they utilizes the rock sound sometimes. but their soundscapes are diverse and they try a lot of different genres. as you said, the EUNOIA album tried more chill, kinda LOONA-esque sound, and is rather different from previous albums. it makes sense tho, cuz this album is a prequel to the previous albums and it's before Billlie goes missing and everything went dark. but even if its stylistic change, it's a wonderful album
fun fact : they release a lore film with almost every album, just like aespa, but they also release an OST album including the soundtracks used in the lore film afterwards. i think it's cool
BYOB - Bring Your Own Best Friend
DANG! Hocus Pocus
Check them out Pls They're Fireeeee 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥