First Impact

First Impact is the debut extended play (EP) by South Korean girl group Kep1er, a project group formed through the 2021 Mnet reality competition show Girls Planet 999. The album was released on January 3, 2022, by WakeOne.^[1] It is available in three versions: "Connect 0", "Connect -" and "Connect 1", and contains six tracks with "Wa Da Da" as its lead single.

First Impact
Digital cover
EP by Kep1er
Released	January 3, 2022 (2022-01-03)
Length	19:06
Language	Korean
Label	WakeOne Swing
Kep1er chronology
First Impact (2022) Doublast (2022)
Singles from First Impact
"Wa Da Da" Released: January 3, 2022

Background and release

Kep1er was formed through the Mnet reality survival show Girls Planet 999, which aired from August 6 to October 22, 2021. The show brought 99 contestants from China, Japan and South Korea to compete to debut in a multinational girl group.^[2] Out of initially 99 contestants, only the top nine would be in the final debut lineup.^[3]

Kep1er was originally scheduled to debut on December 14, 2021, with their first EP First Impact, with pre-orders beginning on November 29.^[4] However, it was announced that the group's scheduled debut had been delayed to January 3, 2022, due to one of their staff members having tested positive for COVID-19.^[5][6] On December 14, it was revealed that group members Mashiro and Xiaoting tested positive for COVID-19.^[7] On December 26, Kep1er's agency announced that Xiaoting and Mashiro have fully recovered from COVID-19.^[8]

On January 3, 2022, Kep1er released their debut EP First Impact with "Wa Da Da" serving as the lead single.^[9][10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
NME	[11]

Gladys Yeo from NME gave the extended play three out of five stars, calling the EP an energetic six-track project record that makes for an enjoyable listen but falls short in fleshing out Kep1er's identity as an act. She commented how individually, the songs on the EP can be enjoyable and how this allows the group members to show off their vocal abilities, but falters when it comes to cohesion and establishing the group's identity.

Track listing

First Impact track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
1.	"See the Light"	Park Woo-sang	Park Woo-sang Lee Sang-won	Park Woo-sang Lee Sang-won	1:51
2.	"Wa Da Da"	BuildingOwner (PrismFilter) Elum (PrismFilter) Shannon Danke Hwang Yu-bin Odal Park Lee Seu-ran Kako	BuildingOwner (PrismFilter) Elum (PrismFilter) Shannon	BuildingOwner (PrismFilter)	3:03
3.	"MVSK"	Jeong Ho-hyeon (E.one)	Jeong Ho-hyeon (E.one)	Jeong Ho-hyeon (E.one)	3:10
4.	"Shine" (Kep1er ver.)	Isran Inner Child (MonoTree) Seo Ha-young (MonoTree) Albi Albertsson (Mussashi) Mia Kemppainen	Albi Albertsson (Mussashi) Mia Kemppainen Kanata Okajima Hautboi Rich Inner Child (MonoTree) Seo Ha-young (MonoTree) Ryan Kim Peter Chun Sabrina Salmon	Albi Albertsson (Mussashi)	3:34
5.	"Another Dream" (Kep1er ver.)	Park Soo-seok Seo Ji-eun Wang Yu-rim	Park Soo-seok Seo Ji-eun	Park Soo-seok Seo Ji-eun	3:21
6.	"O.O.O (Over&Over&Over)" (Kep1er ver.)	Jeong Ho-hyeon (E.one) Hwang Hyun-hyeon (MonoTree) Girls Planet 999	Jeong Ho-hyeon (E.one) Hwang Hyun-hyeon (MonoTree)	Jeong Ho-hyeon (E.one) Hwang Hyun-hyeon (MonoTree)	4:07
Total length:					19:06

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for First Impact Chart (2022) Peak position Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[12] 19 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[13] 2 Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[14] 10 South Korean Albums (Gaon)[15] 1

Monthly charts Monthly chart performance for First Impact Chart (2022) Peak position Japanese Albums (Oricon)[16] 8 South Korean Albums (Gaon)[17] 3 Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for First Impact Chart (2022) Position Japanese Albums (Oricon)[18] 83 Japanese Download Albums (Billboard Japan)[19] 96 South Korea Albums (Circle)[20] 42

Certifications

Certifications and sales for First Impact

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
South Korea (KMCA)[21]	Platinum	250,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history for First Impact

Region	Date	Format	Label
South Korea	January 3, 2022	CD digital download streaming	WakeOne Swing
Various		Digital download streaming

References

1. "Kep1er - FIRST IMPACT". Melon (in Korean). January 3, 2022. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
2. Kim, Hyo-jin (June 8, 2021). "'걸스플래닛999', 8월 첫 방송 확정→여진구 MC 발탁" ['Girls Planet 999' first broadcast confirmed in August → Yeo Jin-goo selected as MC]. Top Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
3. Park, Se-yeon (July 6, 2021). "Mnet '걸스플래닛999' 8월 6일 첫방 확정" ['Girls Planet 999' first aired on August 6th confirmed]. Star Today (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
4. "Kep1er The 1st Mini Album 'FIRST IMPACT' 앨범 예약 판매 안내(211203 ver.)". Daum (in Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and English). November 29, 2021. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
5. Choi Ji-yoon (December 5, 2021). "케플러, 데뷔 연기…스태프 코로나 확진 여파". Newsis via Naver (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
6. Lee Jae-hoon (December 8, 2021). "케플러, 내년 1월3일 데뷔…'2021 MAMA' 출연 취소" [Kep1er to debut on January 3 next year... Cancellation of '2021 MAMA' appearance]. Newsis via Naver (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
7. "Kep1er 코로나19 확진 관련 안내" [Kep1er information on COVID-19 confirmation]. Daum (in Korean). December 14, 2021. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
8. Kim, Won-kyum (November 26, 2021). "케플러, 샤오팅‧마시로 코로나19 완치→1월 3일 데뷔 프로모션 재개[공식]" [Kep1er, Xiaoting and Mashiro recover from Corona 19 → Debut promotion resumes on January 3 [Official]]. Spotv News (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
9. Im, Seong-gyun (January 3, 2022). "케플러 '2022년 최대 기대주'[★포토]" [Kepler 'the most anticipated stock in 2022' [Photo]]. Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
10. Lee, Tae-soo (January 3, 2022). "'걸스플래닛' 출신 케플러 "우리 강점은 퍼포먼스와 에너지"" [Kepler from 'Girls Planet' "Our strengths are performance and energy"]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
11. Yeo, Gladys (January 15, 2022). "Kep1er – 'First Impact' review: a spirited, at times unimaginative debut release". NME. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
12. "Kep1er: First Impact" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
13. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2022-01-17" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
14. "Hot Albums [2022/01/12 公開]". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). January 12, 2022. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
15. "2022년 02주차 Album Chart" [Week 2 of 2022 Album Chart] (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. January 2–8, 2022. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022 – via Gaon Chart.
16. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2022-01". Oricon. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
17. "Gaon Album Chart – January 2022". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
18. 年間 アルバムランキング 2022年度 [Annual Album Ranking 2022] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
19. "Billboard Japan Download Albums Year-End 2022". Billboard Japan. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
20. "Circle Album Chart – 2022". Circle Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
21. "South Korean album certifications" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). Retrieved March 10, 2022.

External links

• Official website