Kwon Eun Bi has explained why she chose not to perform at WATERBOMB this year, saying the decision had nothing to do with trying to escape the image that made her one of the festival’s most talked about stars.

Ahead of the release of her new digital single DEJAVU on September 3, Kwon Eun Bi spoke about entering a new chapter after leaving Woollim Entertainment and joining RBW earlier this year.

Although she received an offer to appear at WATERBOMB, the timing overlapped with her agency change and preparations for new music.

Kwon Eun Bi explained, “It wasn’t because I wanted to break away from that image. Around that time, I was in the process of changing agencies. I did receive an offer, but I thought I needed to show myself through an album first.”

She continued, “Rather than performing at WATERBOMB, I felt preparing and showing my own work should come first, so I turned it down and focused on the album.”

Kwon Eun Bi became widely known as a “Waterbomb goddess” and “summer queen” after her performances at the festival gained major attention. While she admitted that the title can bring some pressure, she said she has no intention of rejecting that part of her career.

She shared, “I’m very thankful because WATERBOMB helped introduce me to the public. I’ve never thought about escaping that image or giving up the ‘summer queen’ title. That version of Kwon Eun Bi is also me.”

Her goal, she explained, is to add more sides to the image people already know.

“WATERBOMB is a festival I’m thankful for, but my goal is to show many more sides of myself beyond WATERBOMB,” she said.

Kwon Eun Bi also clarified that concerns about revealing outfits were not behind her decision to skip the festival.

She said, “I’ve never really worried about exposure while making music. That is also part of me, and this is also part of me. I just think of it as showing different things that I can do.”

Instead, her main focus is music and building a stronger catalog of songs recognized by the general public.

Kwon Eun Bi admitted that she still feels pressure to follow up the success of Underwater, which became her best known solo song after its release in 2022.

She explained, “I definitely feel that desire. The song the public knows is mainly Underwater, and because my job is being a singer, I think I need to be recognized more through my music.”

Her upcoming single DEJAVU reflects that new direction. The disco pop track was created to show a more natural side of Kwon Eun Bi compared with the powerful and glamorous concepts she has often shown on stage.

After spending nearly a decade with Woollim Entertainment, including her trainee period and activities with IZ*ONE, Kwon Eun Bi said changing agencies was a difficult decision but one she felt was necessary for growth.

She chose RBW because the company’s ideas for her future matched her own, particularly its interest in exploring different concepts and musical styles.

Rather than distancing herself from the “Waterbomb goddess” title, Kwon Eun Bi is now focused on expanding beyond it, beginning with DEJAVU and a new chapter centered more strongly on her music.