- August 13, 2010 -

TOTAL PHOTOS: 5

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South Korea’s major news network (as tagged)
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Hi there Kibum! We’ve missed you! <3

“The Beauty of Four Seconds.”

This is the snarky label from the Internet for Heechul, member of an idol group Super Junior who only has four seconds of solo singing time in “Sorry Sorry,” the title song for the group’s third album. Together, there are 13 members of Super Junior who sang this song. Since all 13 divide up a single song, each member can call himself a “singer” after singing for only four seconds.

Lately there are increasing cases in which solo parts of a song last no more than a few seconds, as the number of members in the idol groups such as Super Junior, Girl’s Generation and After School increase. This is contributing to the pop culture in which those who rely on looks or conversation skills are considered “singers” regardless of their singing abilities.

Idol Group Members Sing 16 Seconds on Average

According to Dong-A Ilbo’s measurements of solo parts, seven idol groups (Girls’ Generation, Super Junior, 4minute, After School, Infinite, MBLAQ, f(x)) appearing on MBC’s “Show Music Core” (July 10), SBS’s “Inkigayo” (July 11) and KBS’s “Music Bank” (June 25), sang for 16 seconds per person on average. Because a song lasts around 3.5 minutes on average, each member of those group sang less than one-tenth of a song, excluding the chorus.

Among the groups, Girl’s Generation (singing “Oh!”) had the shortest solo parts, averaging 9.4 seconds per part. The main vocal Taeyeon sang for 22 seconds, while Seohyeon’s solo parts — two lines consisting of “oppa look at me, just look at me” and “listen, really” — amounted to 5 seconds. When After School sang “Bang!”, members Nana and Lizzy had no solo parts; instead, the two sang together for 8 seconds. Jooyeon’s solo part — “The heart-thumping night, my heart is oh oh oh oh” — lasted 4 seconds.

Infinite, singing “Come Back Again,” had the greatest time differential among the members’ solo parts. While the main vocal Kim Sunggyu sang for 29 seconds, Lee Sung-Jong, Lee Seung-Yeol and L sang for 1, 3 and 4 seconds respectively. The words that Lee Sung-Jong sang alone were four letters (다 거짓말 “all lies”). Lee Seung-Yeol only had the line, “Feels like I’m going to die, my head hurts.” Lee Young-Joon, director of Infinite’s management company, said: “It is not that the members have different singing abilities. It is more the case that the process of assigning the solo parts while taking the tone of this particular song into consideration made the parts of certain members relatively smaller.”

As individual singing is increasingly obscured through the lengthened chorus and the shortened solo parts, certain bloggers have taken to uploading videos of live performances with pre-recorded background music edited out, then proceeding to evaluate the singers.

No Shame in No Singing

Yoona of Girls’ Generation, in “Family Outing 2″ aired on SBS on June 27, said: “We can’t go longer than ten seconds (on solo parts),” and that her part is five letters. (말하고 싶어 “I want to say.”)

Since his debut, Heechul cumulatively sang 39 seconds of all Super Junior title songs; Yoona of Girls’ Generation, 42 seconds; and Nicole of Kara, 45 seconds. Instead of being embarrassed, they appear to treat this as a fodder for laughter. In MBC’s “Radio Star” aired on June 30, Jung-ah, member of After School, was a recipient of a joke from MC Kim Guk-Jin that she was “amazingly, a main vocal.” Jung-ah only responded by laughing and half-heartedly singing one line of a song. Goo Hara of Kara, whom music fans have pointed out for lacking singing ability, invited further criticism by only repeating the refrain “hallo hallo hallo” in Kara’s new song “Lupin,” released February of this year.

Music critic Im Jin-Mo said, “If there is only a few seconds of solo parts, a singer will naturally practice less singing — which is what singers are supposed to do,” and noted, “Another problem is that members with less solo parts will feel excluded, which hurts the teamwork of the group, shortening the group’s lifecycle.” Music critic Kim Jak-Ga said, “The more idol groups — who do not put much emphasis on singing — there are in the pop world, there is less room for singers with real talent.”

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Source: Dong-A Ilbo
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From drama, variety, movies, radio to public performances, the opportunities that idols see these days have increased. It has become an age where idols have to explore other areas and not just stay in one to show off their charms. And these idols will need to spend their energy in the various areas they are exploring into.
The phrase ‘one source multi use’ is just the right one to use on idols. Even though they debuted as singers, they don’t show just the features of a singer. If the stage is not ‘wide’ enough for one, one move on to look at drama, movie, theatre and musicals etc, to show more of one’s charms and talents one cannot show in just the short duration of 3 minutes on stage. In the midst of achieving that, these idols will need the strength of that of an ‘iron man’. Even though this is a chance for the singers to up their rich and fame, without the energy to do so is also useless.

Of the idols, Super Junior has many unique group activities – Super Junior K.R.Y, Super Junior T, Super Junior M, Super Junior Happy. Members Choi SiWon is also exploring into other areas like drama and movie.
Another example is girlgroup So Nyeo Shi Dae with the members doing various other solo activities, they also had unique group ‘Room mate’ consisting of members Jessica, Tiffany and SeoHyun. Member YoonA is also seen doing various drama appearances, showing various features through those appearances.
Group KARA member Goo Hara, who joined the group later, is enjoying increasing popularity through her appearance on KBS Invincible Youth previously. And GyuRi is also showing a different charming side of her through her DJ activities on MBC radio ‘ShinDong GyuRi‘s ShimShimTaPa’. SHINee member Onew has also recently taken up the challenge of musical acting.
This is one of the strategies that agencies adopt for their idols. Idols showing various charms is one of the ways to money and wealth creation for the agencies. But under the directing of their agencies, the energy of these idols will obviously run out one day. Even though we cannot say that all idols promote in such manner, but there are a considerable number of them promoting under such strategies by their agencies.
But if these idols are to take a moment to rest, they will quickly be forgotten by the masses. A music critic commented, “Nowadays, we call the way the singers promote without much rest as ‘lightning attack’. Not even talking about 1 year, even if they are to rest for a few months, they will be forgotten quickly. And to maintain their popularity, these people have to show themselves constantly on TV in various forms. Also, because of that, singers also don’t release full length album but minialbums more often as they will mean using up lesser time and costs.”
In order to keep up to speed of changing tastes of the masses and media, and as contracted under agencies, these idols are only moving in the directions told to them.

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Marriage and military service loom, but won’t break up the band

Super Junior, the Korean super group founded in 2005, had some major changes to its lineup last year, but its fifth anniversary year looks like it will be another successful one for the group, which is one of the largest boy bands in the world.

Last month, when Super Junior released its fourth full-length album, it sold 100,000 copies in the first week after its release on April 13. Industry experts expect the album, titled “Bonamana,” will surpass the group’s previous sales record, achieved with its third album “Sorry Sorry.” That album sold 250,000 copies and topped the album sales chart when it was released in March last year.

At a time when other groups such as Girls’ Generation are eschewing the regular full-length CD format in favor of mini albums, digital albums and other kinds of special albums, that’s quite a feat.

Despite their success, the up-and-coming idol group has struggled this year. Three of the band’s members – Han Geng, Kang-in and Kibum – left the group during the recording period. In the coming year, the band is facing new challenges, with marriage and military service looming on the horizon.

In a recent interview with 10 of the band’s 13 members, however, the boys seemed committed to staying together for years to come, no matter what life may throw their way.

Here are some excerpts from the interview.

Q. What has made you such a strong group over the past five years?

A. Heechul: We really talk a lot. If there are problems, we talk until they are resolved. Lack of communication always creates problems.

It must have been difficult for you to make the new album without the three other members of the band.

Sungmin: We felt pressure taking their places, but it has also given us an opportunity to think about how important each member of the band is.

What do the three other members think about the new song “Bonamana”?

Leeteuk: Kang-in said the group’s dance moves are awesome and Kibum said he was sorry that I have to fill the space he left.

The choreography for the song is pretty impressive.

Eunhyuk: The dance moves were created by American choreographer Nick Bass, who was inspired by figure skating and short track skating.

Many people have said the title song for the current album is very similar to the group’s previous hit song “Sorry Sorry.”

Leeteuk: Maybe that’s because the new song is so characteristic of what we do and that’s what makes people think that Sorry Sorry and the new song are alike.

I think that criticism like that is better than nothing because it shows that Bonamana has made an impression on the public.

Heechul: For me, the criticism is flattering because it is a sign that we’ve found our signature sound. In fact, Leeteuk and I didn’t like the idea of [Bonamana] as the title song because we didn’t think the electronic sound represented us.

But after recording it and practicing the dance moves, I’ve changed my mind. I think the song suits us.

Shindong proposed to his girlfriend [in a numerical code] in the liner notes and his actions have since become the talk of the town. What’s happening with that?

Shindong: I was thinking about decoding it for the public after the album was released but my fans have already decoded it.

I haven’t heard from my girlfriend since I popped the question, but if she says yes, I want to get married as soon as possible.

Do you think you will still perform as Super Junior even if some of you get married?

Heechul: It’s our goal to keep singing and dancing as Super Junior when we are 30 and 40, even after marriage and our military service.

Do you have any secrets for keeping fit?

Yesung: Siwon always inspires us. Now we’re in a kind of competition [to build muscles.]

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By Lee Dong-hyun, Sung So-young [so@joongang.co.kr]
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Nothing can ever break this band<3

- June 17, 2010 -

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- June 8, 2010 -

TOTAL PHOTOS: 4

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Platform
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- June 2, 2010 -

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SAMUSUNG
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- May 2010 -

a compilation of performances since debut
approximately one performance per song

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DO NOT HOTLINK / TAKE OUT OUR LINKS ]]> http://www.twelfs.com/blog/2010/05/29/video-ytnstar-live-power-music-super-junior-special-download/feed/ 5 http://www.twelfs.com/blog/2010/05/28/news-super-junior-says-we-could-go-for-20-30-more-years-2/ http://www.twelfs.com/blog/2010/05/28/news-super-junior-says-we-could-go-for-20-30-more-years-2/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 16:24:44 +0000 hyukxenhae http://www.twelfs.com/blog/?p=48880

Korean boy band Super Junior have returned to the local music scene with just ten of its 13 original members, namely Lee Teuk, Heechul, Shindong, Sungmin, Ryuwook, Yesung, Siwon, Eunhyuk, Donghae and Kyuhyun. Kang-in plans to enter the army to fulfill his mandatory two-year military service, Kibum is focusing on his acting career and Hangeng is currently embroiled in a legal battle with SM.

Yet once again, they are proving their reputation as one of Asia’s hottest idol groups was not falsely gained — their fourth full-length album received 200,000 preorders compared to their previous top-selling album “Sorry Sorry” which had secured 150,000 orders ahead of going on sale.

The group sat down with reporters on May 20 to talk about pursuing their singing career with three less members and the struggles they overcame to make a bigger and stronger comeback.

Q: There are a few members missing this time. How does it feel?

Heechul: Of course we’re sad. I also suffered from a bit of depression because of such incidents and I had a very hard time.

Q: A lot has happened within the team. Shindong, you confessed your love through your new album. How did your agency respond?

Heechul: I think they only let it out because they didn’t know what it means. (laugh)
Shindong: If I had written it in Korean, I think they would’ve asked me to do it next time. (laugh)
Heechul: I had talked about this earlier with Lee Teuk but if a fan had bought an album, saw that Shindong had written a code so cracks it to see he had asked someone to marry him… We’re lucky if the fan doesn’t rip up the album. (laugh) Shindong actually kept apologizing to us before we gave our comeback performance for “BONAMANA.”
Lee Teuk: There could’ve been mixed responses to what he did but we’re grateful that there have been a lot of good articles on it.
Shindong: I’ve become a romantic guy thanks to them. I’m thankful.

Q: Did you all know about this?

Lee Teuk: Heechul did.
Heechul: I agreed to Shindong when he told me he wanted to do this. I told him it’s great. A guy should confess when he has to. But when I saw what it [the code] read when it was deciphered… was it a sight to see. (laugh) I didn’t know it was going to be that serious.
Lee Teuk: We were in a photo shoot when he was writing it. He kept looking up something on the computer keyboard.

Q: Do you plan on getting married if for example, the song does well?

Lee Teuk: Like getting married if we sell over one million albums. (laugh)
Shindong: I will if we sell under one million. (laugh)
Heechul: I’ll sing the nuptial song. Love so hurts… (laugh)
Lee Teuk: It was only possible because it was Shindong. He’s the one who gave our group a friendly image. Everyone else is slim and good looking so there was a distance between the public and us…
Heechul: It sounds like you’re dissing Shindong.
Lee Teuk: No, I’m not dissing him. (laugh) I’m just saying that we must have Shindong on our team for his friendly image.
Shindong: I’m grateful that you think of me like that. I’m very grateful toward my group because I hear the word ‘pretty boy’ wherever we go. (laugh)
Heechul: Now, let’s not be too grateful toward each other. (laugh)

Q: The group went through a lot before this album came out so I think you must’ve felt different preparing for it. How did you feel while rehearsing?

Eunhyuk: Everyone was feeling different. It was great because we practiced with the determination we had when we first debuted. Donghae and I are in charge of the choreography so we had to take the lead in showing that we were going to work really hard this time. We got almost no sleep preparing for the album this time.
Donghae: I was so stressed that I even had nightmares. I was very shocked because I dreamt that we were on stage, rehearsing for our comeback performance, when everyone started snickering at us.
Lee Teuk: Eunhyuk said he had a similar dream too. I was very surprised that everyone was under so much pressure.

Q: Some poeple are pointing out that your title track “BONAMANA” is similar to your previous song “Sorry Sorry.”

Lee Teuk: I know. But I think that’s our style. It’s an extension of “Sorry Sorry” but also the last word to it.

Q: There’s a dance move which looks like you guys are skating.

Lee Teuk: The choreographer said he thinks of skating when he thinks of Korea. (laugh)

Q: The choreography for “BONAMANA” looks like it’s more complicated than before. Did you not have a hard time memorizing it? (laugh)

Eunhyuk: It was supposed to be even more difficult. We changed some of the difficult moves so they’d be easier because we had to keep some of the moves which were key to the song. The choreography was so difficult that every round of song we danced to was extremely tough. It felt like we were constantly running full speed.
Lee Teuk: Doesn’t our strength lie in the fact that we can pull off even the most complex choreography? (laugh) The choreographer said our moves this time is about energy. The person who came up with the choreography for “Sorry Sorry” came up with our choreography again this time. We’re very grateful to him because he was supposed to join the Michael Jackson tribute concert.

Q: Isn’t the new song hard to sing because there is a bounce to it that you have to ride with from the very start. Especially for the members who are used to singing ballad songs, how was it?

Kyuhyun: In my case, I’m better at singing ballads but it wasn’t too bad because I’ve been a dance singer. I have been practicing constantly. And I think I’ve been able to show diverse sides to myself through this album because there are a lot of ballad songs too.

Q: How was it singing Yoo Hee-yeol’s “Good Person”?

Kyuhyun: I was under a lot of pressure because it’s such a classic that I couldn’t mess up on it. We talked with the directors for a long time about the song, saying a certain part should be sung with such and such emotions, that we sounded we’re smiling too much in another segment, that this is a sad song.
Lee Teuk: We edited the song quite a bit because it’s a classic and Yoo Hee-yeol hosts his radio show right after ours so he asked about it too. After our album came out, he said he listened to our version of the song and when we asked “It’s not as great, right?” he said it was good so we were thankful.
Yesung: When I heard we would be recording “Good Person,” I thought it would be Park Hyo-shin’s “Good Person.” (laugh)

Q: Haha, Yesung, you must go on variety shows.

Yesung: I am extremely interested in variety shows. (laugh)

Q: Lee Teuk, Eunhyuk, Shindong, the three of you are regulars on SBS talk show “Steel Heart.” But it must be difficult trying to head a segment of the program for several minutes.

Lee Teuk: We’ve seen quite a number of photographs get ripped up (laugh) but the more it happens, the more intense photos the public wants to see but the less the celebrities want to reveal. I got to understand what a hard time comedians must have. And it’s usually hard to maintain a segment for more than three months but we’re into our ninth month now so it’s very tough. I’m thinking we should come up with something different.

Q: Isn’t it difficult getting the guests to display their talents on the show?

Lee Teuk: (Sigh and laugh) It’s really difficult. And many of them say they don’t want to so we have to keep persuading them.
Eunhyuk: I had never been that interested in variety shows but I started taking part in it little by little because it sounded like so much fun when I listened to other members of my group talk about it. And then we got to appear on “Steel Heart” but I’ve been under so much pressure to make people laugh. The other two have been leading the segment well though. Honestly, I’m doing a lot of freeriding. (laugh)
Yesung: When I see them talk to each other, it really looks like they don’t even have time to sleep because they’re so busy coming up with what they should do for “Steel Heart.” Shindong looks at the Internet a lot, Lee Teuk is the one who wraps up the jokes and Eunhyuk does well in spicing up the jokes. I didn’t know they’d do such a good job.

Q: Some of you do musicals. Have the experiences been helpful to your singing career as well?

Yesung: They have really helped a lot. I have gotten to try acting and do more thorough jobs with practicing singing live after being in a musical. I’ve also gone back to the mindset of when I was a new singer after meeting seniors in musicals. There were about 40 people who were older than me on set so I started by saying hello to each of them and handing them a cup of coffee.
Sungmin: I think I’ve learned to act with more freedom on stage after doing musicals. I used to just sing and dance before but I have to act and calculate for musicals so when I perform “BONAMANA,” I became more comfortable putting on expressions or actions that I never did before. So I want to keep doing musicals.

Q: You said on “Steel Heart” that Heechul almost quit Super Junior. Didn’t you guys need time to form some sort of mutual understanding again after having been through so much?

Lee Teuk: We talked a lot while we were on our Asia tour. Everyone usually has a lot of individual schedules to fulfill so we had time to talk before and after our concerts which is when we talked about everything. Heechul and I became very close because of our Asia tour.

Q: Then had you felt awkward around him before?

Lee Teuk: Not awkward but we had always told each other that we should only be friends. We didn’t talk much about work together. But with everything that had been going on, we ended up talking a lot about work too.
Heechul: Our personalities are completely opposite from each other and we haven’t really worked together that much either so that’s why we didn’t talk much even when we’re at home. We even started having different opinions on issues and after wondering why it was the case, Lee Teuk, Shindong and I said we should go back to eight years ago which was before we had debuted, and just let out everything, curse and all. That’s when things cleared up.

Q: What did you talk about?

Heechul: I just felt much better going back to the days we were friends and talking about anything and everything. Before, I had avoided appearing on variety shows with other members of my group because it felt uncomfortable and we had our difference of opinions. We would also have to talk about incidents we experienced as a group but there were many things I didn’t know because we were close as friends but not as a bandmates on the same group. But I ended up talking with Lee Teuk and Shindong for about five hours, felt much more comfortable after that, and decided to say what we did on “Steel Heart.” I have a lot of fun on variety shows these days.
Lee Teuk: He calls up producers himself these days and sets his own schedules. (laugh)

Q: Heechul, do you plan to continue appearing on variety shows?

Heechul: I’m considering making appearances here and there starting with the second season of “Family Outing” (laugh) but I know that I have my good days and bad days when I make guest appearances. And I don’t have that many stories to tell so I know people would get sick of me easily if I go on too many. That’s why I’m being more careful and preparing myself as an emcee. I personally would like to host a program like Super Junior’s “Super Show.” As a joke I tell producers and executives that I want to do a show like that. (laugh) I used to be very anxious. I was under the pressure to achieve something before I go to the army but it felt like I hadn’t quite found my place yet. But once I eased myself out of those feelings, I saw myself on a much larger picture. It’s my dream to act but I’ve also wanted to do a variety show with my group.

Q: We heard that Kang-in will be going to the army within the year. What about the rest of you?

Lee Teuk: I think we’ll be going next year or the year after that rather than this year. We plan on putting in our best efforts for our careers and go without having any regrets.

Q: You’re idols who are now even considering getting married. How do you feel compared to when you first debuted?

Lee Teuk: We’re aging with the people who liked us from when we debuted, which I think is amazing. I’m also surprised at how I’ve been able to stay so long in this industry. A lot has happened over the years which has helped me to grow stronger so I don’t think I’ll be shaken up by small incidents anymore. I think we’d be able to last for another 20 to 30 years at this rate. We’ll also have to go to the army soon and of course we should go since it’s our military duty to. I hope we’ll be able to say at the end of the year that we worked hard and have no regrets.

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Whenever the idol group Super Junior is mentioned, the modifier “Yeneung-dol” (idol group members who are showing superior talent on entertainment programs) always follows. Every member of Super Junior is actively participating in various entertainment programs, TV dramas, and musicals, but, at the same time, they have been failing to push their image as singers.

But, surprisingly, their third album entitled “Sorry, Sorry” sold more than 250,000 copies last year, and they ranked atop the album sales. In addition, their fourth album entitled “Bonamana,” which was released recently, also sold 200,000 copies for the first order, and the total number of sales for only one week exceeded 100,000 copies.

Super Junior is differentiated from other idol groups who release mini album and are earning profits from the digital music market. In a recent interview with members of Super Junior, nine members out of thirteen members came out for the interview held in Apgujeong-dong.

One member, Kang In, had been caught in a crackdown on drunk drivers last year, and now he is planning to join the army, and Chinese member Han Kyung is now involved in a lawsuit with his agency SM Entertainment regarding his exclusive contract. Another member, Ki Bum, could not participate in the fourth album due to his busy acting activities. Also, Choi Si Won could not come to the interview as he had to receive medical surgery to remove an infection on his salivary gland.

As there are so many members in Super Junior, they could not have peaceful days last year, and had to go through hard times due to many unfavorable factors and rumors. During the interview, they talked about their feelings for what happened so far and they also said their ambition is to continue their activities until they reach their forties or fifties and host the “Super Junior Show” someday.

Followings are questions and answers with members of Super Junior.
Interviewer: You must have gone through significant distress due to some members’ personal problems.

▲ Lee Teuk: It was hard for me when I had to smile even in a difficult situation when showing up for entertainment programs. In particular, I was shocked when I found out that Han Kyung has gone through a lawsuit. But, since we left his seat empty, I want him back all the time. Kang In is burning to participate in our activities these days, and he always gives us advice after monitoring our performances. I will do my best to keep “Super Junior” together until every member can join again.

▲ Hee Chul: I was in a state of panic when my best friend Han Kyung left for China. I almost thought of withdrawing from the group because I was so depressed. I started getting more famous when I started acting, not as a member of Super Junior, and I was not as good at singing like some other members such as Ye Sung, Kyu Hyun, and Ryeo Wook, and not as good at dancing like other members such as Dong Hae and Eun Hyuk. But, members with whom I used to fight have stood by me and helped me in many ways. Only the fact that they are together with me suddenly became a great help and source of appreciation for me. In particular, Eun Hyuk helped me to change my mind. Thanks to him, I was tempted to do activities for our new album for the first time. I want to go back to the time when we released our first album and want to put forth my best efforts for activities.

Interviewer: Despite many unfavorable factors, your album sales, especially the sales of your third and fourth albums, are outstanding. Does it mean that the number of your fans has increased?

▲ Lee Teuk: I was surprised that people are buying our fourth album as well. There are good things and bad things when we appear on entertainment programs. We may lose our image as singers, but at the same, I think that we can advertise ourselves to the public. Also, besides us, many other entertainers have sung “Sorry, Sorry” on many programs.

▲ Hee Chul: When idol members show up on entertainment programs, it is easier for them to target teenage fans, but usually older viewers seem to like them. I think that appearing on an entertainment program is like a double-edged sword.Interviewer: The title song of the fourth album, “Bonamama” sounds very similar to your previous hit song “Sorry, Sorry.” Do you think that a certain style of the music has emerged for Super Junior?

▲ Lee Teuk: When we listened to the song for the first time, we also thought that the song is very similar to “Sorry, Sorry.” It is natural that people begin to compare those two songs. We put the name of “SJ (Super Junior) Funky” for songs which combine dance and electronic sounds, and reminds people of Super Junior. I also gave it a five star evaluation on the music website.

Interviewer: But, except the title song, I could find many simple melody songs which require outstanding singing ability.

▲ Lee Teuk: In 2007, when the Super Junior unit “Super Junior K.R.Y.” planned to release an album, Kyu Hyun had a car accident, so many good songs could not be included in the album at that time. And actually those good songs have come together with this new album. So, the portion of songs that require singing ability has been increased. For example, when I listened to the youngest member Ryeo Wook’s solo song entitled “Spring Day” repeatedly while I was driving, I almost felt like crying.

Interviewer: Do you think that you have more interest in music compared to the past, as you have already released four albums?

▲ Lee Teuk: In debut, we just focused on recording songs. But, these days, we tend to present our opinions, saying, “What if we try this part this way?” when we arrange songs. In our previous album, Ryeo Wook’s own song was included, and for the repackaged album of the fourth album, which will be released soon, more songs that were made by other members will be included. I think it is time for our members to show off our talent in music.
Interviewer: Usually, the life expectancy of an idol group is regarded to range from three to five years. As Super Junior debuted in 2005, does it mean that Super Junior has already reached its lifespan?

▲ Lee Teuk: You are totally right. I can imagine that people might look at us with the same viewpoint with which I looked at senior star singers such as H.O.T. and Shin Hwa, who already released their fourth and fifth albums when I was an aspiring singer. Sometimes, I think, “Do we have to stop performing as Super Junior?” But, these days, we perform not only in Korea, but also in other Asian countries, so only four or five years are not enough. We became popular after significant time had passed, so I think that it means that we can last longer.

▲ Hee Chul: I and Lee Teuk are 28 years old now. I know there are many cute and fresh junior singers. But, I want to stress our longevity as we appear on various broadcasting, and at the same, I want to hold many performances whenever we release a new album. I like to perform on the stage because it is very exciting.

Interviewer: How do you think people regard idol groups?

▲ Lee Teuk: I think that it is somewhat exaggerated. People say that the industries of advertisement, drama, and music have been conquered by idols, but actually there are not many programs with more than ten percent viewer ratings among programs in which idols appear. “Idol” means a target of admiration. Actually, many senior doyenne singers such as Cho Yong Phil, Na Hoon A, the group Fire Truck, Park Nam Jeong, and Seo Taiji and Boys used to be idols in their times. As time goes by, people just tend to remember that they were not idols. During any time, there were idols that people admire. The word “idol” is just much more focused and stands out more than before these days. As a member of an idol group, I feel sorry that people do not have an interest in the music, but rather in other additional factors, of idols.

▲ Hee Chul: We wanted to break away from the image of idol groups in entertainment programs. When Shin Dong attaches a fake mustache and dresses himself up comically, he does not look like an idol group member, and moreover I am proud of him. Whenever Lee Teuk, Eun Hyuk, and Shin Dong come on SBS TV’s “Strong Heart,” they brainstorm for ideas like comedians do. But, sometimes I feel bad when I find out that people regard us as washed-up entertainers and criticize us rather than cheering for our efforts on the stage as singers and on the entertainment programs.

Interviewer: At this moment, when you released your fourth album, is it the time that you are trying to free yourself from idol groups?

▲ Lee Teuk: When we debuted, we wanted to abandon the title of idol group. But, we have come this far as the idol group Super Junior, so I do not want to lose the idol title. Rather, I want to keep this title until we reach our forties and fifties and become senior star singers for a long time. As we have thirteen members, if only one member stands out per year, we can last for thirteen years. But, only less than half the members have become popular and have stood out until now. As we were recorded as having the largest number of members when we debuted, we want to break new records in the Korean music industry.

▲ Yea Sung: There are also cultural differences. In the case of Japan, star groups such as SMAP and Arashi, who debuted a long time ago, are still gaining huge popularity. We want to be loved by people like those groups for such a long time for the first time in Korea. Even after we reach our thirties, we want to continue to release albums and have performances. As we see that our members become more acknowledged in various fields and our album sales are increasing, we might already have passed the limit as an idol group little by little as we approach our future goal.

▲ Hee Chul: We want to make the “Super Junior Show,” which enables us to communicate with people, like the program “SMAPxSMAP,” which SMAP has been hosting in Japan.

Interviewer: Shin Dong has become a hot topic, as he proposed to his girlfriend using codes on the album jacket of the fourth album.

▲ Shin Dong: I was surprised to see that fans had broken the codes so fast. I was wrong because I should not have put my personal messages on the album which was originally made for our fans. I am really sorry to the other members and our fans.

▲ Hee Chul: I am sorry to our fans, but I think that he was very brave as a man. But, actually it was a shocking message for me, too. I did not even know that the message was so strong like that. [Marry me. I am proposing to you.]

Interviewer: How do you evaluate Choi Si Won’s acting, who just finished the drama “Oh! My Lady?”

▲ Lee Teuk: His acting, especially his facial expressions, were much better than when he appeared in the movie “Battle of Wits.” He has shown playful looks that he used to show us. When I looked at his acting when he drunkenly kissed a girl in the drama while he left the door of the refrigerator wide open, he looked so greasy.

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Original Article: KBS World
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