BEAST, standing for âBoys of the East Standing Tallâ, debuted in October 2009 with the mini-album âBeast Is The B2STâ. And in just six months of their debut, they won first place on cable channel Mnetâs televised music show âM! CountDown.â 10Asia met with the six members of the band â Du-jun, Hyun-seung, Jun-hyung, Yo-seop, Dong-woon and Gi-kwang.
10: How did you feel the moment you guys scored your first win since your debut with âShockâ on Mnetâs âMnet Countdown?â I still remember how you all cried and gave your acceptance speech.
Jun-hyung: It was probably like that for other idol groups as well but we didnât have an easy debut so when the results were announced, I suddenly started thinking a lot about the difficulties we had experienced in the past. I wouldnât really say they are bad memories but the hard times we went through and all the sweating we did while rehearsing flashed through my head like a panorama. But rather than trying to give significance to the tears, I think it was very meaningful for us because we became No. 1 for the first time since our debut and our fans had wanted it so badly too.
10: Iâm sure you guys went through hard times or experienced difficulties in making your way up to the top starting from your debut.
Du-jun: We have been really busy for five months after our debut, but instead of every moment being tough it was fun. Physically, it has been tougher than when I was a trainee but Iâm having a lot of fun doing what Iâm doing now.
10: Do you actually feel how the number of members on your fan site is growing and the response to BEAST on and offline is getting better too?
Jun-hyung: When we first made our debut, the reactions that we got were âWho are they? I bet they will disappear soonâ and also I read a lot of sarcastic comments from those who didnât like us. But although not a lot of time has passed, the response towards us has gotten better. We really like it when people tell us good comments such as saying we are âa team with no holes.â
10: Whenever I see your performance for âShock,â it seems that you pay a lot of attention to each and every small move by having to constantly use your muscles. I think the determination you must have had while preparing for the mini-album must have been different from your first single.
Jun-hyung: We get greedy in various aspects every time we release a song but everybody liked this song in particular. And a world-renowned dance instructor did the choreography â Ha Woosin, ranked No .6 worldwide in dancing and also the director and leader of Prepix style. He is usually overseas for his activities and he usually doesnât choreograph for singers but I had known him since I was in high school so I asked him and he said he would. We didnât want to ruin his reputation so we tried really hard to meet up to his expectations.
Gi-kwang: When we first got the choreography for the song, I was worried whether we would be able to sing live while doing these dance moves. So whenever we practiced we would sing live and practice the moves at the same time.
10: Gi-kwang, I know you have experience commanding the stage alone from your solo career as AJ but it must have been a completely different experience having to perform powerful movements for âShockâ on stage for three minutes.
Gi-kwang: The dance moves for âShockâ has a completely different feeling to the moves that we practiced as trainees. As trainees, our dance was focused on our steps but for âShockâ the moves are slow yet all of sudden become fast while flexing our muscles. At first it was really hard to master the whole song and moves but now my body and muscles have become used to it from practice.
10: The chorus sung by Yo-seop has a distinctive feeling to it. I think itâs because nowadays, a lot of artists use auto tuning to make their songs sound smoother but compared to that, you just belt out your part.
Yo-seop: When I first heard âShock,â me and my group members were saying it had sort of a rock feeling to it and when we began recording, the producer told me to just belt out the notes as if I was singing a rock song. After the recording, I was worried whether I would be able to pull it off on stage. But I think our choreography actually helped with the live performances because it increased my muscle mass and stabilized my breathing.
10: Compared to âBad Girl,â the listeners are able to hear each memberâs voice better in âShock.â How do you feel about singing â do you want to sing more as a single voice or would you like to have each of your voices stand out more?
Yo-seop: For this album, where we were able to show our own colors because I was able to sing in a rock tone and Jun-hyung was able to rap in his own style, I think there will be songs we will be able to harmonize in even if we sang in the voices we were confident about. Weâll be able to do something different in our next able and we want to show various aspects of ourselves.
10: Your styles have changed a lot as well; compared to âBad Girl,â Hyun-seung has changed the most. You seem to be more bright and pretty.
Hyung-seung: Personally, I donât like being called pretty. And I think I hear less of that after cutting my hair. Itâs a relief because itâs sort of a complex for me. (laugh) I like my style right now. I am interested in fashion and I looked up the eyeliner, make-up and hairstyle myself but I the style I have right now wasnât what I had originally been going for. It was supposed to be close to Brown Eyed Girlsâ Narshaâs style. But when I tried it on, I realized it isnât for the singing stage although it looks good on the runway. I couldnât secure a clear view when I dance.
10: Gi-kwang, you werenât able to change your hairstyle because of your role as Sae-ho in MBCâs âHigh Kickâ but I heard this is the first time in your whole life that you dyed your hair.
Gi-kwang: I always wanted to change it but I had to maintain the black hairstyle for my role in âHigh Kick.â Since itâs over now, I tried dying it and got my hair cut short which I really like. My scalp hurt because it was my first time bleaching but I donât think it was as bad as it was for Yo-seop.
Yo-seop: Your bleaching canât even be called bleaching! (laugh) Since my roots began to show underneath my blonde hair, I had to bleach my scalp and that hurts.
10: Dong-woon, you have been standing out in the group lately being the youngest member.
Dong-woon: Iâve always been the youngest member but finallyâŠ(laugh) After I cut my hair, I heard a lot of people saying that I look rejuvenated which is only natural but I am still thankful for it.
Source: Asiae
Senior Reporter : Kang Myoung-Seok
Reporter : Choi Ji-Eun five
Photographer : Lee Jin-hyuk eleven
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim, Lee Ji-Hye seven
Posted in B2ST, News
Tags: B2ST