Kpop Behind | All the Stories Behind Kpop Stars

Most of k-pop singers hold comeback events when they release their new albums. But their comeback events are not exactly the same. Some of them hold showcase events, while others hold press conferences. And some singers hold press preview events of their new albums too. Why do you think k-pop singers' comeback events are slightly different from one another then? Well, there's a story behind it. SM: Press Preview SM artists usually hold press preview events when they come back. (They also hold showcase events for their fans, but for reporters, they hold press preview events) There is a notable difference between press preview events and the other comeback events. At press preview events, k-pop singers play each track of their new albums and talk about the songs, which means they spend most of time talking about their music, not about their private lives. Actually, k-pop singers who are regarded as great musicians usually hold press preview events when they release t...

No doubt, BoA is the most successful k-pop female singer. The k-pop queen, who made her debut at the early age of 15, has achieved so many things at home and abroad. She left a significant mark in the k-pop history, setting remarkable records. She is the first k-pop singer to sell more than one million albums in Japan, and she is the first k-pop singer to top Japan's Oricon Chart. The queen is back. BoA released her 9th full album "Woman" on October 24, 2018. She held a showcase event on the day and talked about her new album. Well, she told reporters many things about the album, but what's most impressive was that she gave a special message for women around the world. The title track of BoA's new album is titled "Woman", and you might think she just did it to promote the song, of course, but her message was very sincere and honest. As a woman who has achieved huge success, she tried to encourage women around the world. I know "Wom...

On January 29, 2018, Suzy released her new solo album "Faces of Love". The female k-pop star held a comeback showcase in Seoul on the day, and her title track "Holiday" is gaining popularity on various online music charts. It's notable that the former Miss A member took part in writing some songs of her new album, and the young talented singer certainly showed her potential as a singer songwriter. By the way, it seems some Korean reporters are not happy with Suzy's comeback. More precisely, they seem angry at the k-pop star. The reporters have written articles like "Suzy can sing a song about love, but she can't explain it" and "Suzy, reporters don't harm you", criticizing her. Well, what do you think made the reporters so angry at Suzy? You know, in November, 2017, Suzy accepted that she had broken up with actor Lee Minho. Since her breakup with the handsome actor, Suzy has never talked about the breakup to reporters bec...

Kim Sohee, who has appeared in "Produce 101" made a debut as a solo singer. On November 8, the rookie singer held a showcase for her debut album "The Fillette". At the event, she performed her title song "Sobok Sobok" for the first time, and she did good. It is expected that the pretty female singer will be highly active in the k-pop world as a solo singer, gaining popularity among lots of male fans. Then, who do you think is Kim Sohee's role model? Well, she mentioned IU's name at the showcase. Check out what she said. I discussed with my agency whether I should debut as a solo singer or a member of a girl group. I thought my title song "Sobok Sobok" was perfect for my solo album, and that's why I decided to make a debut as a solo singer. I think the girlish and innocent song is just perfect for me. And my role model is IU. Actually, she's been my role model since I made an appearance in "Produce 101". She...

Q. You made a comeback with your first full album "Twicetagram". How do you feel? Tzuyu: I feel excited whenever we release our new album. And since it is our first full album, I'm very curious about how our fans like it. Dahyun: We've been loved by so many fans, and we put a lot of things into the album in return for their love. Jihyo: I'm filled with emotion because we released the album to celebrate our two year anniversary. Jeongyeon: It was really interesting to give hints about the album on SNS. I hope we'll get closer to our fans through the album. Q. What did you care about the most while preparing for the album? Jihyo: We wanted to preserve our own musical characteristics. Our cheerful and bright songs were loved by many fans, and our fans loved our easy and catchy dance moves too. Our new title track "Likey" is a song which has such musical characteristics. We'll maintain our concept at least for the time being. Nayeon: All...

Q. Tell me about your new song "Love Whisper". Yuju: "Love Whisper" is a summer song which has a fresh melody. The song is written by Leegi Yongbae, who have been working with us since our debut. People say our concept is powerful pure, but this time, I want to name it "power-up pure concept" because we will show more powerful performance on the stage. SinB: Yeah, the choreographer, who has created BTS' choreography choreographed for us this time. The choreography is more difficult than ever. Sowon: The choreography has many movements which remind people of a musical. Q. How does it feel to make a comeback? Sowon: It's our first album in 4 months, and we've been really hard at work on the album because we wanted to put on a better show for our fans. I did out best to meet people's expectations, and I'm confident it is a well-made album. Q. It's notable that "Love Whisper" is quite different from your previo...

On July 19, KARD, a new k-pop group produced by DSP media held its debut showcase in Seoul. You know, KARD is a mixed-sex group which is comprised of 4 members, J.Seph, B.M, Somin and Jiwoo, and the group received great attention from global fans even before its official debut. KARD has already released its song such as "Oh NANA", "Don't Recall" and "Rumor", while the group also held its concerts in various countries including the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. So, check out what the KARD members talked about their official debut. Q. Congratulate on your debut. You received great attention from global fans even before your official debut, by the way. How do you feel? A. We're very thankful for our fans' great interest and love. We'll do our best in return for their love, and we'll try to show our own musical characteristics instead of trying to get good results on music charts. Q. What do you think is the reason ...

On June 14, T-ara held a comeback showcase for its new mini album "What's My Name?" in Seoul. At the event, the girl group members performed their new song for the first time and talked about their brand new album. By the way, the 4 members made the reporters who attended the event sad because they burst into tears while they were talking about the past 8 years of their career. Check out what they said at their comeback showcase. Q. Soyeon and Boram have left your team, and you had to make a comeback as a 4-member girl group. How do you feel about it? Eunjung: It's true there was a change, but what has not changed is we should do our best on the stage. I think our fans will like us if we try our best on the stage. Hyomin: I feel sorry about it. However, their contracts with our agency have expired, and it was a personal choice. I'm sorry that we can't perform as a 6-member group any more, but I still support Soyeon and Boram. Jiyeon: I heard that ma...

Q. You made a comeback with your new song "Cherry Bomb". How do you feel? Jaehyun: We worked really hard to prepare for our comeback. I think the song is our best ever, so please look forward to it. Taeyong: "Cherry Bomb" is a sexy and powerful song. I'm sure you will think the song is very new. Q. So, are you confident about the success of the song? Doyoung: When I listened to the song for the first time, I felt like we could become the best performance group in the world of k-pop. We practiced our choreography for 9 hours a day, and I'm sure we'll show great performance on the stage. And the song has a catchy hook too. The more you listen to the song, the more you will love the song. Jaehyun: I was so amazed when I just listened to the beginning of the song. Taeyong: I thank Lee Soo Man because he worked so hard for us. Q. Tell me about the choreography of "Cherry Bomb". Taeyong: Famous choreographer Tony Testa designed the ch...

Q. You made a comeback with your 10th anniversary album. How do you feel? Lee Hongki: There have been a series of challenges during the past 10 years. We once were arrogant but we settled down ourselves after realizing reality. We put our past 10 years and years to come in our new album. And I want to say that we can exist thanks to our fans. Q. What do you think is your greatest achievement? Lee Hongki: I think we've shown that idols can be as competent as other singers. Song Seunghyun: I think the fact that we've been together for 10 years is our greatest achievement. I feel sorry because there are many groups these days who are disbanded due to conflict and discord. We could be together for 10 years because we fit together. Lee Hongki: Yeah, we've never thought about disbanding our team. I'm so happy to be able to perform music with the members. We'll join the army altogether too. Choi Jonghoon: As a leader, I'm so thankful because all the members a...

On June 7, I.O.I's Kimg Chungha debuted as a solo singer. She released her solo album and held a debut showcase on the day. Check out what she talked about her first ever album and I.O.I. Q. You finally debuted as a solo singer. How do you feel? Chungha: Actually, I'm very nervous now. I haven't been sleeping well recently. Q. Tell me about your debut album. Chungha: The album is titled "Hands On Me" and it has various meanings such as "Hold my hand" and "Put your hands up". I feel warm when I hear the word "Hand". Q. What do you want to show through your solo album? Chungha: I tried to include a variety of different songs in the album. "Week" which was prereleased a month ago is included in the album, while the album has a ballad track too. And the title track is "Why don't you know". Nucksal is featured as a rapper in the song, and he did a perfect job. Q. Don't you feel pressured because...

On May 31, a showcase event for movie "Real" was held in Seoul, while three main actors of the movie, Kim Soohyun, Sung Dong Il and Sulli attended the event. By the way, the showcase started 10 minutes late. Well, yeah, it goes with the territory. But the problem was that audiences and reporters had to wait more to see Sulli because she appeared on the stage after Kim Soohyun and Sung Dong Il were done with their introduction. Everybody who attended the event was curious about why Sulli was late, and well, Sung Dong Il revealed the reason. Check out what he said. Before the showcase, Sulli changed her clothes three times in all. The dress looks good on you, Sulli. So, that's why you're late? And he did mention it once more later in the showcase. I feel like I'm at the flower exhibition. Sulli's dress looks like flowers attached with sea urchin. So, you were late because you had to change your clothes? Well, the atmosphere was good, and peop...

Q. You made a comeback with your new mini album. How do you feel? Yoon Sanha: It took a long time for us to make a comeback. We've prepared that much for the album, so please give us your interest and support. MJ: I think we'll be able to show fresh and bright sides of ourselves through the album. Cha Eunwoo: Even though it's a mini album, we prepared for our comeback with painstaking care. I hope we will show our growth through the album. Q. It's notable that a total of 8 tracks are included in your album because mini albums usually contain 4-5 tracks. JinJin: Well, we wanted to include a variety of our stories in our mini album. We'll release our full album after completing our mini album series. Q. What's special about your new album? JinJin: I think we became more manly. You know, we showed off our fresh and cute charm through our previous songs, but this time, we tried to express manliness of a clerk. Cha Eunwoo: There is a big change of our...

Q. You made a comeback with your new album "Al1". How do you feel? S.Coups: Whenever we work on our new album, we think about Carat all the time. Of course, we thought about Carat when we were preparing for our comeback, and we'll try our best to communicate with our fans. Q. What's special about your new album? S.Coups: Through our previous songs, we tried to sing about our love. But this time, we wanted to express our sadness. We felt pressured before releasing the album because we should show a different side of ourselves, and it feels like we're debuting again. Q. Tell me about the title track "Don't wanna cry". Woozi: It's our first time to try EDM, and the reason why we decided to try EDM is because we thought EDM is a great genre to express sadness of young boys. We've been always serious about our music since we debuted, but we couldn't show our serious image because our previous songs were very cheerful. So, through ...