Yeah, EXO's back. The boy group released its new album 'EXODUS' on March 30 2015 and held a press conference. Let's see what the EXO members talked about their new album and their career.
Before they started the press conference, they talked with Lay on a video call. Lay, who went to China to film his movie, said, "I miss my members. As a team, we'll try to show perfect performance on our comeback stage."
Oh, he was so funny and he livened up the mood of the press conference. He is not fluent in Korean yet, and when the host of the press conference Oh Jung Yeon said, "I want to see the EXO members all together as soon as possible," he answered, "What? You want to have a drink together?"
Haha, that was because of similarity of Korean pronunciation. In Korean, "I want to see the EXO members all together" is "한 자리에 모인 엑소 멤버들을 봤으면 좋겠어요"(Han Jarie Moin EXO member Deureul Bwakseumyeon Joketseoyo), while "I want to have a drink" is "한 잔 했으면 좋겠어요"(Han Jan Haeseumyeon Joketseoyo).
Anyway, as a leader of the team, Suho gave his thoughts on EXO's new album, saying, "You will be able to see an evolved form of EXO through the album. Many famous song writers took part in the album, while SHINee's Jonghyun, who is very close with me, also took part in writing a song."
And then, the members talked about 4 out of 10 songs of the album one by one. Have you listened to the tracks? I think those are quite high quality tracks.
Transformer
Chanyeol: It's a hip hop R&B track which has a powerful beat. I like the song. And actually, I like the movie 'Transformer', especially Bumblebee.
Suho: The song symbolizes a woman who changes her mind frequently. It was interesting to record the song.
Chanyeol: When I listened to the guide version of the song recorded by Kenzie for the first time, I was worried because the song has many high notes. However, Baekhyun and Chen did it easily and I was impressed.
Baekhyun: Actually, It was not easy. Chen, D.O and I sang the high notes and it took some time to finish recording the song.
Playboy
Chen: We performed this song at our exclusive concert held recently. This is the song written by SHINee' Jonghyun. Personally, I really like this song. The lyrics are about a tender-hearted man who pretends he is a playboy.
What if
Kai: This song is very poetic. When I listened to the English demo version of the song, I really liked it and listened to the song over and over again. It's a calm song and you will be able to listen to it comfortably.
My Answer
Baekhyun: This song is just a ballad. D.O, Suho and I sang harmony to the song, and I think female fans will like the sweet music.
D.O: Yeah, I like the song too. I've sung along the song many times since I first listened to English demo version of it.
Baekhyun: In the song, we sing our answer is only you(a girl).
EXODUS
Xiumin: This is the song about a man who tries to escape from a fatal woman. Personally, I really like the song. I think the part with the lyrics, "Dangerous, Dangerous" is very fatal.
Q. After the title track 'Call me baby' was released, it topped various online music charts. What do you think about it?
Suho: I expected a good result but didn't know that people would like the song this much. Thank you for so much love.
Tao: I listened to the song over and over again in the car and in our accommodation. I felt a little bit depressed because I injured my leg, but I was encouraged by the song.
Sehun: I thank EXO-L for so much love.
Q. Before you guys release the album, a very special promotional event progressed online. You released 10 "Path Code" teasers. Is there any specific meaning behind the promotion?
Suho: As it is a new start as 10-member group, we wanted to show something new. And we wanted to commune with our fans.
Q. Why do you think EXO is so popular now?
Suho: Well, whenever we perform on stage and hold a concert, we doubt if we deserve so much love. The only reason we hit the stage is that we have to do our best in return for our fans' love. I think that's why fans like us.
Q. Compared to former album, what do you think is the change of EXO?
Suho: During our hiatus, the members, who have marked individuality, became more skilled. I think we'll be able to show more various things through our new album.
Q. Wasn't it difficult for you to solve 10 Path Codes?
Chanyeol: Actually, we heard about the Path Codes even before its public release. However, when the teaser was released, I couldn't solve the code. And I was worried if fans couldn't solve it. However, our fans did it so well and I thought it was incredible. I think it's because of our fans' big love toward us. Actually, when I tried to solve a code about a member who I really like, it was much easier to get the code. It was D.O's.
D.O: Me? I could never solve Chanyeol's code.
Chanyeol: What? Frankly speaking, I didn't watch D.O's teaser. I watched Suho's.
Q. Will you show some special dance performance on stage?
Kai: Yeah, we're always ready for a special performance. Please look forward to it. Throughout the song 'Call me baby', our formation changes and changes again. You will be able to see images that you've never seen. We think it's really awesome ourselves.
Chanyeol: There are many different versions of performance.
Q. As you know, more than 1 million copies of your first full album were sold in 2013. What would you like to achieve through your new album?
Chen: Whenever I hear about the record, my heart is full. I want to surpass the record, but I will not stick to it. We will communicate with our fans and enjoy our stage happily.
Suho: It is really unbelievable that over a million copies of our album were sold. I think our foreign fans also really like our album. We always devote ourselves to our albums.
Chanyeol: Yeah, since we released our debut album, we've worked so hard on our albums. To release better album, we care about every little thing.
Q. It has been 3 years since you debuted. How do you feel?
Suho: It was short but long years. We were able to grow over the past years. Actually, Sehun has grown centimeters. Anyway, we have infinite possibilities.
Baekhyun: To me, 3 years seem very short. During the period, we strengthened ties among ourselves. We have much time left to spend together and we will try harder.
Q. Are you preparing for any individual activities?
Baekhyun: I think all the members are really talented. As you can see in the Path Code teasers, their acting skills are great. And every member has his unique characteristic, as you can see in 'Show Time'. We're prepared for everything.
When the members talked with Lay on a video call, the host Oh Jung Yeon made a slip of the tongue. She told Lay, "I believe you will not stay there. You will come back to Korea, won't you?" Well, this comment ruined the mood of the press conference and absolutely pissed off the SM staffs because it reminded people of Kris and Luhan, who have left EXO. And among all the EXO members, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were the most clever talkers. They brightened up the atmosphere by showing off great sense of humor. Especially, when Tao looked a little bit depressed because he hurt his leg and couldn't take part in EXO's recent exclusive concert, Baekhyun comforted him and said "At a restroom, Tao told me that he will do his best on stage to live up to his fans' expectation even if he will get hurt there." Actually, it was a lie that the two made such a conversation at a restroom, but Baekhyun wanted to help Tao.(At the press conference, Tao was reluctant to expose his face, saying he got fat.
