June 2021 Post-Kingdom Interview with The Boyz

(Interview with The Boyz by News1)

 

 

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Q: You’ve successfully completed ‘Kingdom’. You worked so hard, so we wonder if you got to take a break.

 

→ Eric: “We rested for about 2 days after finishing ‘Kingdom’. Haha. We have things to prepare for after this, so we’re spending our time while practicing.”

 

 

Q: You’ve completed a long journey of 440 days, starting from ‘Road to Kingdom’ to ‘Kingdom’. Your feelings about this must be interesting.

 

→ Juyeon: “We prepared a total of 14 stages during 1 and a half years. There were times when it felt too difficult or tiring, and times when we felt happy - but thanks to this, we were able to learn and experience many things. Through ‘Road to Kingdom’ and ‘Kingdom’, I was able to feel the members’ unity, and it was a time where we were able to realize our gratitude towards our fans.”

 

→ Eric: “Through this journey of 440 days, our skills really improved a lot. In this current situation, where we can’t do concerts or meet fans often, I think fans would have liked that we were able to show our stages and our real selves in a new way every week through ‘Kingdom’. Rather than it feeling regrettable, it feels refreshing and we’re looking forward to our next (journey).”

 

 

Q: At the beginning of ‘Kingdom’, you confessed that you felt a lot of pressure. How did you feel about participating in the competition?

 

→ Q: “Honestly, we felt a lot of pressure from the start to the end, but we kept telling each other that we’d do our best to prepare well, and we were able to brace our minds in that way. If the members hadn’t talked to each other like that, I think I would have kept doing performances while feeling pressured. I think it’s because The Boyz enjoyed it and because we worked hard to the best of our abilities, that we were able to finish everything well.”

 

 

Q: Is there a reason you used ‘Game of Thrones’ as a motif for your ‘Kingdom’ performances?

 

→ Kevin: “The drama ‘Game of Thrones’ suited the theme of ‘Kingdom’ so well. The drama has a clear world-view, and we thought that there were many elements we could try out in terms of the concept. That’s how it was chosen.”

 

 

Q: When ‘Kingdom’ started, there were high expectations about the ‘circus-like’ performances The Boyz would show off.

 

→ Eric: “We say ‘circus’, but we actually did ‘acrobatics’. A few members were trained im acrobatics since our trainee days, but I often took on that role during ‘Kingdom’. For our performances, whenever our choreographer Teacher Baek Gu-young would suggest, ‘I’d like for us to create this kind of image’, Sangyeon hyung would search for a detailed picture or video, and then put out ideas. If we ourselves had videos or ideas that could become good references, we’d share them with our teacher. And then we’d do auditions with the members to see if (those ideas) would be possible onstage (laughs). There are members that would say, ‘I’ll do it’, but if there were a lot of members saying that, they’d all try it out one-by-one, and we’d decide on the person that would be able to succeed most safely. Thanks to that, it was a relief that no one got hurt, and we were able to finish everything well.”

 

 

Q: What kind of ideas did Sangyeon propose?

 

→ Sangyeon: “We had a lot of concerns about what kind of stages we should do. There were so many things we showed during ‘Road to Kingdom’. (laughs) So we thought about what we could do to make people go ‘Wow’ and be in awe when they saw our stages, and I searched for many videos with that in mind. Those references became helpful. If I proposed an idea and said, ‘Will this be possible?’, Eric would materialize that idea... Haha. Because the members helped to materialize these ideas, the (ending) picture became even better.”

 

 

Q: What did you think was most important for you to be able to show off even more improved performances for ‘Kingdom’?

 

→ Q: “We placed a lot of importance in the performance, but within that, we also worked hard to bring out our acting skills. Just showing dancing might make the timespan of 4 minutes (of a stage) somewhat boring, so we inserted a storyline, and we tried out acting as well. All the members focused together and worked hard to express even the detailed parts well.”

 

→ Sunwoo: “If you look at it another way, The Boyz did a ‘Season 2’. We have our own story that has continued on for that long of a time, so rather than thinking that we’re filming a separate/short film for each stage, we thought that we were doing a performance that would complete The Boyz’s own story, which could be seen in its entirety when you looked back overall (*at all their stages together). There was a story that was connected with each stage, and there were transformations in emotions as well. I think that by emphasizing ‘connectivity’, we were able to complete one great storyline.”

 

 

Q: You said all the members pulled off the difficult choreographed moves together. Is there a behind story to these?

 

→ Eric: “I thought it was important how for all the difficult moves (ex: where we supported each other or threw each other, etc.), it was us, not the dancers, that did all of them. And I think they had that much more meaning. Because we had to pull these moves off, we had to stick together amongst ourselves and practice repeatedly. While doing our stages, we could only trust in our members. So I want to take this opportunity to thank Hyunjae hyung and Juyeon hyung. You guys threw me really well.” (laughs)

 

→ Juyeon: “That’s right. The two of us, me with Hyunjae hyung, did it. Haha. The part where someone supports Eric in the structure of the choreo was actually a different member’s role, but it didn’t work well. But I had a ‘know-how’ after practicing that position since the opening round of ‘Road to Kingdom’. It worked out once Hyunjae hyung and I tried it, so we ended up taking on that role.”

 

→ Hyunjae: “It’s nice that in The Boyz, it’s decided which members get thrown, which members do the throwing, and which members support the other members. (laughs) I felt really proud.”

 

→ Eric: “I guess because we had to do difficult choreo, my mom said she’d send oxknee soup for five people to our dorm. I think we can eat it first-come first-served.” (laughs)

 

 

Q: You’ve been working together with the choreographer Baek Gu-young since ‘Road to Kingdom’. How was your harmony together this time, and was there any memorable advice?

 

→ Sunwoo: “Something he always says to us is that words like ‘the choreo and the performance is cool’ or ‘the ideas are good’ are praises directed to the choreographer. So he emphasized that after our performances, we needed to hear the words, ‘The Boyz are amazing’. He told us that he felt proudest when he heard reactions like that. Of course, he must have paid attention to the ranks, but he focused more on how we could improve more within that. Teacher Baek Gu-young’s work experience is longer than my own age. A veteran like him made the time to teach us essons starting from the basics, and I could feel that he invested so much passion (into us), so I felt really thankful.”

 

 

Q: How do you feel about your finale competition song ‘Kingdom Come’ ranking #1 on the music charts, as well as ranking first amongst the songs of all the ‘Kingdom’ teams?

 

→ Q: “Really, it’s thanks to our fans, thanks to The Bs that we could be first place. We didn’t even expect that much, and we just thought that we needed to create an amazing stage. But because The Bs gave a surprise present, after only thinking, ‘We only need to work hard to create this stage right now’, we thought that we needed to make it even better than that. Thanks to them, I realized that I can keep going forward while improving myself even more. I felt really thankful. For real.”

 

→ New: “It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that The Bs did everything for the end of ‘Kingdom’. We received so much love. We (already) had a great desire to give back all the love we received during ‘Kingdom’, but we feel so thankful because the love we received from The Bs was actually even greater. We resolved to work even harder to prepare for our comeback.” (laughs)

 

 

Q: Please tell us your thoughts about going from the lower ranks to the final rank of 2nd place after the end of the final competition.

 

→ Eric: “We didn’t know about it during the live broadcast, and we learned about it later when they told us at the agency. I thought it was a lie when I first heard about it. Our cumulative rank before digital scores were added in was actually 6th place. So amongst ourselves, we said not to mind the ranks and to focus on leaving behind a good stage for The Bs. But then, ‘Oh my!’ We got first place in digitals and when votes were added in as well, we heard that we got the final rank of 2nd place. We really felt so so thankful to The Bs and we think this result was 100% made possible by them. We were really so surprised.”

 

→ Younghoon: “My feeling when we heard that we were 2nd place was, ‘It’s a 2nd place that feels like a 1st place’. Really. It felt even more precious because it was a result that The Bs made for us.”

 

→ Kevin: “While filming the ‘Kingdom Come’ intro VCR, we had all the outfits starting from Hwarang in ‘Road to Kingdom’ to ‘Kingdom Come’. Seeing those, I myself teared up without realizing. We could feel that we really worked hard for a long period of time while receiving fans’ love and support. There were actually lots of times when we felt really tired and down while doing a survival program, but we worked that much harder, and we felt satisfied and full of emotion just by being able to show our history through our ‘Kingdom Come’ stage. But we also feel so thankful to our fans for the final rank of 2nd place.”

 

 

Q: If you were to choose the stage you were most satisfied with during ‘Kingdom’?

 

→ Eric: “I liked that every stage had a definite concept, and a different personality. The members also did so well onstage. There wasn’t any stage that I was 100% satisfied with, but if I were to choose one amongst all of them, it would be ‘Kingdom Come’. It still feels strange when I watch that stage. In particular, I feel teary when watching the intro where we show up wearing all the outfits starting from Hwarang.”

 

→ Younghoon: “If I were to choose the stage I like best, it would be ‘Monster’. Because I had an injury, I wasn’t able to participate in that stage, and I just watched it while sitting. Eric would always say after practicing, “Our chemistry was so good”, and the moment I watched that stage, I could feel those same words under my skin. I monitored the stage during rehearsals as well, and I watched the stage later while sitting. Throughout all that, I could feel that the members did so well and that they worked really hard – that’s why I personally think that ‘Monster’ was the best stage.”

 

→ New: “Personally, I feel that ‘O Sole Mio’ was a stage that feels like a sore finger, so my heart hurts. The song arrangement was memorable because it was so good, and I remember how the members worked really hard while preparing to match the choreo with each other while paying attention obsessively to every single small detail. If it was ‘Quasi una Fantasia’ during ‘Road to Kingdom’, this time, it would be ‘O Sole Mio’ that was most memorable to me”.

 

(*a ‘sore finger’ is an expression that refers to something that sticks out amongst others. It can also sometimes refer to something someone cherishes in particular).

 

→ Q: While practicing for ‘O Sole Mio’, I thought that it would be a stage that could become something really great if we created it well. So when we got the results of 6th place for it, I was shocked, and I was really shaken at the time. I remember how at that time, the members came together and overcame that by resolving to create ‘Monster’, while having fun and preparing a great stage.”

 

 

Q: While trying to pull off difficult moves, you experienced both big and small injuries. Younghoon and Haknyeon both only partially participated in the finale stage.

 

→ Younghoon: “That’s why instead of being onstage, we decided to have me come in and stand there at the beginning of the ‘Kingdom Come’ stage. I actually didn’t tell the other members about this, but I was actually the most nervous I’d ever been onstage at that moment. It was the first time I’d felt that much pressure in that short amount of time. I only had to stand still and look at the camera, and that was the end. But even so, my heart was pounding. I really thought I was dying. I knew that the members had been through a lot, so I felt that I had to do well at just this one part.”

 

→ Ju Haknyeon: “I wasn’t able to participate after getting injured right before the last performance, which was really regrettable. Even so, the older members worked hard and did well. It was the first time I came to watch over them from the side, but I really thought, ‘The Boyz are amazing’.”

 

→ Jacob: “That’s why for the ‘Kingdom Come’ stage, we used the VCR videos to be able to be together with Younghoon and Haknyeon even just a little bit. Being able to create the stage together with all eleven of us was the best part.’

 

 

Q: Sangyeon also burst into tears after finishing the ‘Monster’ stage. How did you feel?

 

→ Sangyeon: “After finishing ‘Monster’, I had a lot of mixed emotions. As I am the oldest member and the leader, I have to lead the members and help them work together, but I felt a lot of insecurity. We had to fill in the spaces left by the members who were injured, and we wanted to show a better stage to the fans as well. We ended the ‘Monster’ stage like that, and with the thought, ‘The Boyz did so well together’, my mind was overwhelmed with emotion and my tears started coming out.” (smiles) Q: For Ju Haknyeon and Sunwoo, you’ve completed a total of 3 survival shows, including ‘Kingdom’.

 

→ Ju Haknyeon: Um… I didn’t know that I’d do this many survival programs during my life. Haha. At the set for filming ‘Kingdom’, I greeted the producers and laughed while asking, ‘Have you been doing well?’ I wish now that I won’t go on for a 4th (survival program).” (laughs)

 

→ Sunwoo: “I’m actually the passive type, so I feel thankful that I was able to be active directly through a survival program. There were things I gained while doing it too. Now, instead of survivals, I want to prepare great stages through The Boyz’s group activities. And through ‘Kingdom’, I learned that preparing for comebacks isn’t really that hard.” (laughs)

 

→ Sangyeon: “That’s right. Because we experienced ‘Road to Kingdom’ and ‘Kingdom’, I feel that anything else in the future that feels difficult won’t be anything (compared to them). I think that no matter what happens in the future, we can overcome it ourselves, together. Haha.”

 

 

Q: In the spring of last year, Sangyeon said that his goal was to ‘Chart in on Melon’. Your goal has been achieved now.

 

→ Sangyeon: “I remember. It’s been achieved now. (laughs) If we were to talk about our next goal right now, it may come true again. Our goal really is to chart in on ‘Billboard’. We’ll keep showing you a good side of ourselves, so I wonder if that dream really might become reality.”

 

→ Q: “Honestly, we still can’t believe it and find it so fascinating that (our songs) are in the charts. When we got the result of 1st place for digitals as well, we kept thinking, ‘Oh, we charted in?’ It still kind of feels like a dream. Haha.”

 

→ Jacob: “When we got 1st for digitals, we just felt so thankful to The Bs. We could feel the fans’ love and efforts all at once. It really isn’t an easy thing. It was a time where we realized the strength of The Bs once again.”

 

 

Q: What kind of meaning do you think ‘Kingdom’ will remain with you as?

 

→ Juyeon: “We’ve gained a lot of things through ‘Kingdom’ and ‘Road to Kingdom’. We learned how to overcome difficulties together with the members, and we were able to take this time to strengthen our teamwork as well. I think the biggest thing is that we came to know that we are receiving this much love. It was a really good time, during which we realized that The Bs are sincerely supporting and loving us.”

 

→ Q: “It’s become our new beginning, our stepping stone. While doing ‘Kingdom’, our team became closer with each other, and all the members experienced growth. Before, the members felt more like ‘youthful boys’, but now I think we’ve become more like ‘grown-ups’. (laughs) Everyone has become more gentleman-like, and more adult-like. They’ve also become more thoughtful.”

 

→ Hyunjae: “Looking at it one way, it was a time that was both short and long. While seeing The Boyz never being lazy or careless for even just one stage, I came to believe even more strongly that we are a team that has lots of potential. It was a good time during which our teamwork became even stronger. If we get the same kind of opportunity once again, I personally think we’d be able to get through it, because we are The Boyz.” (laughs)

 

→ Younghoon: “It feels like we’ve completed a 14-part drama with a happy ending. It ended cleanly with a happy ending.” Q: Since it’s right after completing ‘Kingdom’, I don’t think you’ll have any big concerns.

 

→ Eric: “Each of the members may have their own personal concerns, but since right now, we’ve finished ‘Kingdom’ well, all eleven of us feel happy and refreshed. More than anything, we feel excited to come back soon with a new album in order to give back to The Bs.”

 

 

Q: If you were to pick a point you think you’ve improved in, while doing a survival program for the past 1.5 years?

 

→ Jacob: Through ‘Road to Kingdom’ and ‘Kingdom’, we tried out a lot of different challenges compared to before. It was like that in regards to dance and vocals as well. I practiced a lot more in order to pull off high notes that I couldn’t do before. I think I grew that much (in that respect). In the future as well, I want to show off many different sides of myself.”

 

→ New: “I think (we’ve) improved in everything. It’s like that in terms of music, stages, and our minds. I think they’ve all progressed towards a better direction. I’m looking forward to how The Boyz will be in the future.”

 

→ Sunwoo: “Whenever we did competitions, we’d feel determination and always have our eyes wide open fiercely. (laughs) But now, I think that how we realized how to perform while having fun is the point in which we’ve grown the most.”

 

→ Juyeon: “Of course, there’s how we’ve had many different experiences, and it was also an opportunity through which we were able to become more mature mentally.”

 

→ Kevin: “I think I’ve become more friendly with the camera. If before, I was a Kevin that was calmer and very shy when doing stages or entertainment programs… Now, my sincere self, ‘the Kevin that wants to play’, has come out. While doing diverse concepts onstage, I’ve gained a sense of freedom.”

 

→ Sangyeon: “’Road to Kingdom’ and ‘Kingdom’ felt like a marathon. Through this very long journey, I learned tenacity and endurance. There were moments when it really felt tiring, but I also felt really proud whenever we finished each stage. Whatever we face in the future, I think we will be able to overcome everything. We’ve become stronger.”

 

→ Hyunjae: “I liked how all the members became more mature together. It feels like The Boyz have become invincible.”

 

 

Q: There’s still half of the year left. What is your remaining goal?

 

→ Sunwoo: “I think it would be to meet The Bs.”

 

→ New: “The Boyz are thinking to keep racing forward to the end of this year. We’ll keep running forward while working hard, without resting until December 31st . Because we are one, all of us will run without resting.” (laughs)

 

→ Kevin: “We do activities as a group, but each of the members are doing many things individually as well. Juyeon and New are working as DJs for the EBS Radio ‘Listen’, other members are working to release music through Soundcloud, and I myself have a personal ambition to show my own music as well.”

 

→ Ju Haknyeon: “I also challenged myself to try out acting. It will be released in August, through the horror movie ‘Goedam’. I’m also curious about how I will appear there.”

 

→ Hyunjae: “We have to make sure to see that. We all have a plan to gather then and watch it together. (laughs) We have to see Haknyeon’s passionate performance.”

 

 

Q: Sangyeon, Jacob, and Sunwoo have been consistently showing off their self-produced songs through your Soundcloud account.

 

→ Jacob: “This time, I released my mixtape ‘Kindle’. I started working on it last year and planned to release it around February of this year, but I ended up pushing it back because we were busy, then it got released on my birthday. I worked hard to prepare it with the thought that I wanted to give a present to The Bs on my birthday, and while wishing for the lyrics and content to give strength to the fans. I wanted to make songs that The Bs could listen to comfortably.”

 

 

Q: I think you may have ambitions to include your self-produced songs in The Boyz’s albums as well.

 

→ Jacob: “I’m not in a rush to do that. It would be nice to put my songs into The Boyz’s albums sometime, but my priority is to show my style to The Bs a lot.”

 

→ Sangyeon: “I’m consistently writing songs because I have the goal of having my own songs in The Boyz’s albums someday as well. There are many songs I’ve written while thinking of the team, so as long as I can talk about it well with the agency, I want to include my songs (in our albums). (laughs) I also want to work together with the members on this sometime as well.”

 

 

Q: You must be planning a comeback now. What kind of image do you want to show off?

 

→ Eric: “During ‘Road to Kingdom’ and ‘Kingdom’, we showed off a lot of intense and conceptual stages that were immersed with a lot of storylines. Since it’s summer now, we want to create happy memories with The Bs by preparing something through which we can play together happily, and that listeners can listen to comfortably.”

 

→ Sunwoo: “But while saying this, we could come back with a sexy concept. We’re always open to any kind of genre.” Q: For the last year, (including the ‘Kingdom’ series of course) you’ve been doing your activities busily with comebacks, concerts, and personal activities. What is your driving force that helps you to work hard?

 

→ New: “While doing ‘Kingdom’, there were many eventful and tiring events. While experiencing many things, I learned that as expected, I could just trust in the members and The Bs and our agency. And through this, I gained strength. Personally, there were many regrettable things as well, but I could feel that we were continuing to grow while the members encouraged and relied on each other. From the moment we became motivated to create stages while enjoying them more without relation to the ranks, I sincerely felt that we were becoming like one.”

 

 

Q: It’s been about 3 years and 6 months since The Boyz debuted. After climbing up step by step, you’re finally seeing the light. I’m curious about your thoughts.

 

→ Q: “I feel somewhat teary. As much as we have come this high by running forward step by step while working hard, when looking back, I feel really moved. There was really not a single moment when we didn’t try our best, and we ran this far while doing our best. While looking at myself and our members now, I feel proud and thankful that we endured so well, and I have many thoughts. We stumbled a lot and felt doubtful many times, but I feel thankful to the members just by knowing that we gathered together and overcame that well. Seeing how we were able to grow a lot while doing that, I feel both proud and emotional.”

 

 

Q: What is it that The Boyz want to show and achieve from now on?

 

→ Sangyeon: “We have a great desire to continue to show the image of The Boyz with the ‘storyline’ that we have right now, many diverse concepts, and that there are no ‘limits’ (when it comes to us). Since we can’t meet with fans due to the pandemic situation, we miss our memories from the past and even want to show the refreshing image we had before, while also wanting to show unexpected performances that we haven’t been able to present up until now. We want to become a group that shows growth to the point that we can even rank on Billboard in the future.

 

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(translated by @dearhyunjaes)

Please take out with credits.

 

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Original interview

 

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

 

 

https://twitter.com/dearhyunjaes/status/1402847259876757508

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