SUNMI - Heroine



SUNMI has been in the music business for over a decade, debuting all the way back in 2007 alongside the other members of Wonder Girls. SUNMI made her own solo debut back in 2013, and while the Wonder Girls may have disbanded since then, she's been making a name for herself with several hit songs of her own. Last year when she moved to MakeUs Entertainment, I was a bit worried since I'd never heard of them, but after the release and handling of "Gashina," my worries were gone. "Heroine" marks her first comeback since then, and I was overjoyed to see what she would give us this time around.

The Song

The song begins with a distant, echoing chant laid over a piano and electronic voice samples. After a few moments, SUNMI begins to sing with a breathy voice, whispering sensually into your ears while an oscillating bass gently thumps beneath the piano notes and a simple drumbeat. The pre-chorus introduces large portions of empty space between thunderous orchestral horns crashing as SUNMI's voice shifts to using a more powerful tone and pieces the gaps together. The chorus is a musical drop with SUNMI's voice echoing "the show must go on" in the background with a focus on the electronic sounds filling the foreground.

This song is really refreshing in a multitude of ways. I think that the pre-chorus abruptly shifting into a section that's almost completely empty is a really unique portion, and it grabs your attention in an interesting way. I like that there's not really a bridge to this song, and instead we're just given another pre-chorus that pulls us into the final part of the song where SUNMI croons the final lyrics. There's a wonderfully theatrical feel combined with a more typical EDM style and it really brings a particular flavor to this song. 

The Video

The music video starts off with SUNMI just sipping on a milkshake through a straw, a clear reference to Gashina and possibly something that will be her signature thing in MVs from now on. SUNMI dances around whimsically in a car garage for a while, with some guy appearing from nowhere, before she steps forward out onto a stage with bright yellow curtains. They pull open and our scenery shifts to three vibrant red walls and a flowery background, but the setting changes about constantly from here on out. We're pulled into a dark room with a tub filled with flowers,likely another reference to Gashina, and then SUNMI begins to dance in strange, but fun ways.

Once more we get shifted to new rooms which all feature paintings of some sort, and then the guy from earlier returns to dance with SUNMI again. She pushes him away and then runs behind some curtains to a stage full of dancers waiting for SUNMI to show up where she quickly takes her place among them. The video then pulls to a close as she runs outside in the rain to a billboard with her face on it, where she points her fingers like a gun and shoots it. The sign falls over, revealing that it wasn't even fully constructed and was just a bit of planks slapped together holding it up.

Supposedly this video is supposed to be a prequel to "Gashina," but other than the references to certain bits of it, I can't really make heads or tails of what is happening. Still, it's definitely engaging for a viewer due to both the wonderful colors and scenes, but also due to SUNMI's charismatic presence. SUNMI, as always, looks fantastic and captivating, and the dance looked to be another interesting one for her. I'm a bit sad that I don't have much insight on the music video, but at the very least I think it's worth a watch.


SUNMI has a track record for pumping out incredible songs with a very distinct ambiance to them, and I think "Heroine" certainly follows up in that aspect. I'll admit that I don't personally like it as much as I loved "Gashina," but that's an incredible act to follow. This song stands on its own with a wondrous and exclusive sound that I don't think you'll find anywhere else in K-Pop. "Heroine" is definitely worth listening to, no matter who you are.

Click here to read: SUNMI - WARNING Album Review