CRAVITY Opens Up About Military and Contracts: Their Promise Has LUVITY in Tears

Six years after their debut, CRAVITY are more honest and more determined than ever before. In a candid group interview published on May 10, 2026, the nine-member K-pop act opened up about the realities facing their team: imminent military service for most members, upcoming contract renewals, and the enormous question of what comes next. Their answer, delivered collectively, was simple — they said they would be together for a long time, and they meant it.

The interview coincides with the ongoing promotions for their eighth mini album ReDeFINE, released on April 29, 2026. The record and the conversation that accompanied it paint a picture of a group that has learned how to hold uncertainty and ambition in the same breath.

The Album That Mirrors the Moment

CRAVITY chose the ouroboros as the central motif for ReDeFINE, the ancient symbol of a snake consuming its own tail — representing cycles, endings that become beginnings, and the persistence of what refuses to die. It is an image that carries more weight than usual for a group now standing at the edge of a major chapter transition.

The title track AWAKE delivers that message through sound and movement. The choreography has members form a circle with their hands, then spread apart to mimic the motion of a snake tongue — a visual metaphor for transformation and persistence. Members Serim and Allen co-wrote the lyrics, capturing the spirit of choosing to keep moving forward no matter what obstacles arise.

The six-track album also includes Adore, co-written by Serim, Allen, and Jungmo; Spring with You, a warmer-toned track co-composed by Wonjin and Allen; FEVER; Hello-Goodbye; and most notably, Love Me Like You Do — Taeyoung's first fully self-composed song to appear on a CRAVITY release. The members' voices brought it to life, Taeyoung said. I wrote it thinking about how no one loves us quite like LUVITY does. The personal dimension of that track made it an instant fan favorite before the album was even released.

Facing Military Service With Their Eyes Open

The question that every CRAVITY fan has been quietly holding finally got addressed directly. With the exception of Allen, all members of CRAVITY will eventually be required to complete South Korea's mandatory military service. Several members are now at the age where that timeline is becoming very real.

We cannot avoid thinking about it, said Wonjin plainly. It is a reality that is getting closer. But rather than worrying about a distant future, I would rather focus on right now — staying close as a team, day by day. He added that what kept them grounded during this comeback, despite both the contract and military questions hanging overhead, was each other. We became each other's motivation, he said.

Hyungjun took a characteristically lighthearted angle. I think we might come back from the military even more attractive, he said, laughing. Look at how different we are from our debut footage. Imagine what we will look like in our thirties. He added that the group has already had informal conversations about minimizing the impact on fans, including thinking about how to stagger individual service timelines so the gap between fully active periods is as short as possible. We have not gone deep with the company yet, he said. But once contracts are sorted, that conversation is next.

Wonjin offered a candid window into how they are emotionally processing the future by referencing their Starship Entertainment labelmates MONSTA X — a group that has been managing a military rotation since 2021. He recalled watching a video of MONSTA X surprising member IM at a restaurant before his enlistment. It was so moving, Wonjin said. One day, when my turn comes, I hope my members will see me off like that. Honestly, I am almost looking forward to it.

The Re-Contract Question and a Promise They Keep Making

The other looming reality is re-contracting. CRAVITY's original agreements with Starship Entertainment are approaching renewal, and the group addressed it with an openness that is not always common in the K-pop industry.

We have talked a bit among ourselves, but decided to get through the comeback first before going deeper into it, said Hyungjun. We did not want the anxiety of contract talks to bleed into our creative process. Finish the music, then figure out the next step. He added that the group's long-running informal motto — in Korean meaning let us see each other for a long time — was never a casual phrase. We did not say it lightly. We said it because we love this team and we love LUVITY. Keeping that promise means giving everything we have right now.

Taeyoung echoed the collective dream: Every idol's goal is to be a long-running group. All nine of us renewing — that is the dream. Wonjin added that the album's recurring concept of eternity, embedded in the ouroboros imagery, was intentional. That is something we want fans to hold onto when they think about us, he said.

Six Years of Growth, Setbacks, and Staying Together

CRAVITY debuted in April 2020, in the middle of a global pandemic, performing to empty venues and silent stands. For a group whose energy thrives on crowd interaction, it was a difficult and unusual start. We know how precious fans are in a way that many groups do not, Wonjin reflected. We debuted without their voices. That absence made us understand what their presence means. It still shapes how we approach every stage.

The road since then has included a stint on survival competition Road to Kingdom ACE OF ACE, where they placed last — a result that, rather than breaking them, became part of their shared story of perseverance. We stumbled, we got back up, and we have been doing that ever since, said Hyungjun. That is basically what this album is about.

Their self-produced content series Beatypark — now in its tenth season — has become one of the most beloved fan engagement projects in the fourth-generation K-pop space. Members have contributed creative input to every season, and the show has expanded their international fanbase considerably. The group's reputation for genuine fan appreciation has also grown: their widely shared statement that their paid fan messaging service represents a real commitment to subscribers became a reference point in K-pop fan culture discussions this year.

What Comes Next for CRAVITY

For now, the group's focus is entirely on the present — the stages, the music shows, and the fans in the room. Seongmin articulated the shift in mindset that six years has produced. We used to get anxious when results did not match expectations. But I came to understand that giving everything you have is enough — even if the outcome is not what you imagined. I would rather fans leave our shows with good memories, and I would rather treasure what we build together as members.

Serim, typically one of the group's most forward-looking voices, put it with characteristic directness: I have gotten greedier. I want to show more. And with an eighth mini album generating attention across Asian music charts and an international fanbase that continues to grow, CRAVITY are clearly not done redefining what they are capable of.

The snake swallows its tail. The cycle continues. CRAVITY will see you for a long time yet.