[TST] Cross Gene

Welcome to another TST*, otherwise known as Teaser [TS] Tuesday.  This week we are going to be looking at Cross Gene’s teaser for Amazing – Bad Girl. 

If, like me, you are a stranger to the group here is a quick intro to Cross Gene. Signed under the Korean arm of Japanese agent Amuse Inc, Cross Gene are considered a multinational Kpop group having four South Korean members (Sangmin, Seyoung, Shin, and Yongseok), a Chinese member (Casper), and a Japanese member (Takuya). Members from other parts of East Asia is of course not unheard of but always works as a selling point in other countries the group wish to target. This multinationalism is where their name comes from. Cross Gene’s name originated through the concept that the group would ‘Cross the superior genes of each country to create one perfect group.’

Last week Cross Gene released a visual teaser video, and head shots of the group.

This visual teaser displays the members as being natural, though they wear make up. This idea of showing natural beauty and laying the member bare is one that has been used many a time in Kpop, notably with BIGBANG and VIXX. 

The video also emphasises the links to nature with overlays of trees forming the silhouettes of their hair.

These images of natural beauty back up Cross Gene’s group concept to show the superior genes of the three countries.

Over the weekend Cross Gene released their teaser for Amazing – Bad Girl.



The only take on natural beauty in the teaser is the repeated image of the rose, everything else we see is manmade and metropolitan: fashion; interior design;  built up alleyways. 

What is most interesting about Cross Gene’s teaser is that we have seen both this interior and exterior set used in conjunction only weeks ago.

TROY released their debut Green Light last month using the same settings, and even a number of the same props.

For TROY the setting fits perfectly with the jazz tones, Cross Gene look set to use a mix of electronic sounds and slower keyboards. What may cross both groups’ use of the setting is the gentlemanly style that accompanies it.

There isn’t long to wait to find out what Amazing – Bad Girl will bring, the track and mv are released on Monday.

What do you think of the Amazing – Bad Girl teaser?

Are you a Cross Gene fan looking forward to their comeback? 

* The shortened version of the name, TST, comes from a scientific theory known as Transition State Theory. This theory is used to understand how chemical reactions take place, and explains the rates of these reactions.

In terms of our subject of teaser trails in Kpop, these theories are very apt. TS trails are created to cause a reaction and we will be looking to explain what the teaser media tells us, what it is that causes these reactions. Hence our TST molecular logo.