Throughout the era of K-pop, there have been many boy and girl bands with unique concepts. An interesting group named BASTTIE made their official debut with their original song, “First Step,” while dressed as furries on Oct. 13!
This group was initially active as a cover group, performing tracks while fully dressed in fursuits. Furries are people who enjoy the content of anthropomorphic animals and dress up in fursuits to take on their “fursona,” a personalized animal character.
BASTTIE is a boy group consisting of five members: Amber, Dir, Kkhami, Shinnyong, and maknae (youngest) Boreum, all ranging in age from 17 to 19. According to their official website, the name stands for “BASTard Teens in Everywhere,” also known as“naughty but cute boys around your neighbor.”
“First Step” is an encouraging and hopeful track about embracing a new beginning, following your dreams and taking the initial leap of faith, especially with a supportive partner or friend.
“First Step is a song to give strength to everyone taking their first step,” member Dir stated from their debut greeting video. “It’s about walking together without fear with BASTTIE, and finding courage and power along the way.”
Their choreography was so adorable with how they used the fursuits to convey their feelings and actions through movements and gestures. I felt it was designed to be very expressive and charming, effectively using the fursuits’ inherent cuteness and exaggerated movements to convey the song’s feelings of hope and companionship.
The simple and clear gestures, the synchronized movement, the frequent use of universal gestures—like touching their head, heart, or reaching out— visually translated the lyrics.
I adore how, in the basketball court scene, Boreum’s rap section is embodied by confidence and self-acceptance, where he raps the line “What’s wrong with chasing what you like? (So what?).” The movements are less about synchronized dance and more about personal swagger and assurance.
In fact, Boreum even adopts an assertive posture, leaning forward with a subtle, cool shoulder movement while squatting down beside standing Amber and Shinnyong. I was immediately fanboying with how much he was swagging with confidence.
In my opinion, the song was so catchy, and I couldn’t help but love it. I was experiencing a discovery that would be considered history in 2025. This is the first time I have ever seen a K-pop group debuting as furries.
As someone who is in the furry community, I would understand the reaction of people being creeped out by this.
If you love K-pop and have a fascination with furries, this group will certainly pique your interest! Global streaming will be available this week on Oct. 17. It is the first-ever group in the world that has debuted as furries, and we should continue to watch them grow!
