http://wild2day.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=11496The oldest member, the reliable Changmin, the one with a powerful voice that is hard to find in Korea and the one who makes fan’s hearts melt but still remains humble.
Q: When did you find out that you had a gift in singing?
Right now, I still don’t think I am a good enough singer. Everyone’s scale of good singing is very different and the songs that we sing ourselves, we are the ones who won’t know if it is good or not. But I have to thank everyone who thinks that I am a good singer and all of these praises are my strength to keep trying and improving. We ourselves know our weakest points, so I think I have to keep practicing even harder.
Q: When you were little, did your family or anyone around you praise you for your singing talent?
Both my father and grandmother were singers. My mom is also a good singer. Thus, I was never praised. When my dad listens to me sing, he will say “still not at the level” or “it’s a little bit better” or something like that (laughs). Other than that, I have many friends who are better singers than me. At the music university, I have never won first place. My vocal teacher has even said that I am not good (laughs). Thus, there is mostly stress because I am not a good singer.
Q: Please tell us about how you became a singer.
I auditioned at a small stage. It was actually more like a small vocal competition in a small town than an audition. Something like if you enter this competition, you will get a discount. Even though it was a small competition, but my legs were shaking. I was very nervous that I don’t even know what I sang. When I was finished singing, a little girl yelled out “You’re such a good singer!” I was very happy that someone liked my singing. From then on, I had the feeling that I wanted to sing more on stage and in front of an audience.
Q: The show “Immortal songs 2” seems to be very stressful. When you entered the competition, how did you feel?
At the time, we were promotion our album coming back and forth between Southeast Asia and Korea for 8 weeks. From Thursday to Monday, I was abroad, and then Monday I would return to Korea and work until Wednesday. While I was abroad, I had to be solely focused on our promotions. When I had to record the show on Mondays, I didn’t really have much time to prepare. If I had more time to prepare, I think I would have been able to do better. I was disappointed.
Q: When you collaborated in the unit HOMME with Lee Hyun as 2AM’s representative, did you feel far from 2AM?
In 2AM, I am the eldest. So even if we have a very tough schedule, I have to give strength by saying “Just a little bit more, a little bit more.” I am the oldest, so I have to do everything the best, but when I am with Lee Hyun, I am the little brother, so I get to complain “I’m so tired. I don’t wanna do this anymore” or something like that (laughs). I like being the older brother in 2AM, I am a big brother they can rely on, but for Lee Hyun, he must feel a bit burdened (laughs).
Q: When the both of you (Changmin and Lee Hyun) are on stage, you seem to be having lots of fun. Is it the same with the 2AM members?
Not at all (laughs). The fact that there are 2 men standing close to each other and look at each other’s eyes and are singing with smiles on their face is actually not fun at all (laughs). But at this point I am used to it. When I feel embarrassed, I won’t look at his eyes, but just around his eyebrows (laughs).
Q: From the making of the HOMME cover, the scene of you swimming like a puppy who fell into the water has become a favorite. Everyone says it’s cute. When you usually swim, do you swim like a puppy who fell into the water like that? (laughs)
I usually do (laughs) because that was towards the end of the shoot. I was very happy so just jumped around. My hometown is Busan which is surrounded by the sea, so I like to swim since I was a kid.
Q: You are such a good cook that you are on a cooking show. What menu item is your favorite lately?
Spaghetti salmon with squash. I’ve tried taking different ingredients from home and tried making spagetthi. At that time, Jo Kwon asked me “What are you doing? Can I eat it?” and uploaded the picture on twitter. Sometimes I make food at home for everyone to eat when I’m in the mood, but not when we’re hungry and it’s because I want to eat that I make it, but it’s because I get into the mood of wanting to cook so then I cook. Cooking takes a lot of work, so usually we just order out (laughs).
Q: What dish do the members like?
When they shot “We Got Married” at our house, my bibimpap that I made received the most praise. I used ingredients and followed my mom’s recipe, and everyone said it was delicious. Also, the members liked muffins made from leaves and squash. Jinwoon was in the middle of dieting for a photoshoot for Men’s Health, but he said that after the shoot, he wanted to eat the muffins again. The day of the real photoshoot, I woke up to make the muffins at 9AM (laughs).
Q: What kind of food do you want to make for your lover?
If she says she wants to eat, I will open a menu for her to choose what she wants to eat. I like to challenge myself with new menu items and I would want her to taste it.
Q: What is the charisma of cooking?
It’s fun to create new things. When you taste something and you think “What’s in this?” and you try to imitate it. I think it’s fun. If it’s Korean food, I will look for a recipe, but if it is Western food and I don’t know what is in it, I will try to look up the ingredients more so than try to find the recipe. If you want to give me a nickname, please call me “Jung-geum” (laughs).
Q: Right now you are learning Japanese. So in the JYP Nation concert, you even spoke Kansai….
Even in Korea, I like to speak with a Busan accent. So I figured if I spoke in a local Japanese dialect, it seemed like it would be fun so I asked the teacher, who was from Osaka, to teach me Japanese. At the time, the phrase from Osaka that I remembered was “It’s Changmin. Everybody please listen” (in Kansai accent) (laughs).
Q: In the JYP Nation concert, you danced with the Wonder Girls in the song Tell Me and it was very popular.
It was the last joint stage. It was a very fun feeling and there were fans who had traveled from Korea to support us in Japan and so I heard that this joint stage was very fun.
Seulong, the owner of beautiful muscles, who loves sports and is full of good looks, right now has dramas, and so is full of lively energy.
Q: What is your usual training like?
Sports is a big part of my life. Monday through Friday, I have to train at least once. When I have to prepare for work as well, sometimes I would just barely eat some meals. But at all other times, I will eat just the food I like. I train by muscle building and aerobic exercises as the foundations and added with boxing as extra. When I am watching what I eat, I can eat chicken breast and potatoes, and salad.
Q: You seem to like the art of fighting (boxing), have you ever thought about being an athlete?
If I weren’t a singer, I used to want to be an athlete. I want to do some fighting sports, but I can’t have any scars or wounds right now. So if I weren’t in the entertainment industry, I might be competing on a big stage right now (laughs).
Q: What was your motivation to become a singer then?
I learned singing because I liked to sing. I had the opportunity to sing on stage and the audience was very touched so I wanted people to come listen to me more. 2AM debuted with a ballad song, but I myself like many types of music even R&B.
Q: Now you are working as an actor too? What do you find fun or challenging about acting?
I am still new to acting. Thus, there are many difficult aspects, but even if it’s difficult, but I still think that acting is fun. The other members wholeheartedly watch my acting work and there are lots of praises, as well as recommendations. It is very touching.
Q: You seem to be close to Lee Minho, a co-star from the series Personal Taste. Do you still keep in contact with him?
After he shot City Hunter in Seoul, he contacted me. He also called on my birthday and we often go out to dinner and for drinks. We talk about all sorts of things, typical things that guys talk about like games, cars (laughs). We are the same age, so we can give acting tips to each other. When we were acting, he helped out a lot. It’s hard for me to give an exact example, but he would say to me during different scenes “It would look good if you did this.”
Q: I also heard that you are close to IU since you had a duet together.
When she first debut she was very shy because she didn’t really know anyone. So I introduced her to different people in the business that I was close to, including Wooyoung whom she starred with in Dream High. IU is a very good actress. She was very cute when she played the chubby character and when she transformed, she seemed to capture the audience’s heart even more.
Q: A lot of fans seem to be praising you on twitter for your movie role. What movies would you recommend to your fans?
There is a pretty old movie called “Sea of Love” that is very good. I watch all types of movies, but I particularly like action and mystery movies.
Q: I also heard that you have a poodle.
Chansung of 2PM has a cat so I went to buy a lot of cat goodies at the store, but when I got there, I saw a puppy that was so adorable and the veterinarian there happened to be my fan so she said “I am your fan. I want to give you that puppy as a present,” and so gave me the toy poodle. But I am very busy and don’t really have time to take care of it, so I gave it to my mom to raise (laughs). Now it is 1 year old, about 1.50 meters long. It doesn’t look like a toy poodle anymore (laughs). I never knew before that poodles would be this big. It is a very smart and cute dog.
Q: The parody that you guys did of Brown Eyed Girls is really something.
It took about 6 hours to film, but it was a very fun time. The time passed by really fast and we never thought that it would get this much attention.
Jo Kwon, known of his very flashy dances and high sense for variety shows, who is full of energy and commands smiles and laughter from those around him has not changed at all since he was a kid.
Q: What was your feeling when debuting after having been a trainee for 8 years?
When I found out I was going to debut, tears just poured down. Those tears were tears that have been waiting for debuting that were from the heart that wanted to thank everybody who has been so supportive. After debuting, I still didn’t feel much but after 1 year, I slowly felt everything with my heart because the fans really loved and supported our songs.
Q: Where did this ability of yours to be able to give entertainment to audiences so well come from?
I like making other people laugh. I’ve liked dancing ever since I was a kid and my mom used to tell me that I liked to sing for a long time. If the TV had lyrics on the screen, I would sing along with the song. When my mom saw that, she knew for sure that I would become a singer, so the fact that I’m a singer here today isn’t because of fate.
Q: Do you feel a lot of pressure from those around you?
It’s not to the point of pressure. When I walk on the streets, I will hear things like “Impulsive Kwon” “Funny Kwon” (*Kkap Kwon) more often. Some people will ask me to do something funny or dance so I will dance right there for them (laughs). When we went abroad, if they said “Dance a girl group song for us!” I would dance a little for them.
Q: JYP has made you guys into a vocal group, does he say anything about these funny acts that you have and how do you feel about that?
From the beginning, we would be in the headlines (for funny things), and JYP himself would be surprised since we debuted as a vocal group so he was worried that we wouldn’t be able to concentrate on singing. Thus, in the beginning he was hesitant but now he likes the my funny character so he doesn’t tell me to stop.
Q: So now what is the reason to dance to girl group songs?
When we debuted, there was a show that parodied the Wonder Girls a lot so I tried to imitate the facial expressions of the song lyrics so when I did that, everyone laughed and on the internet people were calling me “Kkap Kwon!” (laughs), so after that, I’ve been imitating the hit songs of girl groups so it has been a symbol of myself.
Q: I heard that you’ve moved your hips until they hurt. Is that hurt?
Now I am more careful about shaking my hips too much (laughs). Because when I am dancing, I am very into it, but looking back at myself, I wonder how I got to that point. I feel embarrassed of myself too and can’t bear to watch myself (laughs), but I am not the type to give up! There are many people who can dance to girl group songs much better than me, but I don’t care “I am the best!” (laughs).
Q: You were also in the program “We Got Married” with Ga-in which was very popular. How did you feel about this program?
It’s a program that gave me a very valuable experience. I learned a lot about myself of how much of a man I am. Even though it was a fake marriage, it really felt like I was married! It was a very good experience indeed and I want to thank it very much.
Q: Do you still keep in contact with Ga-in?
After “All My Love” where we played brother-sister, we still keep in contact. We still call each other as husband-wife.
Q: You are the MC ok Inkigayo. Is there a particular group that you like the most?
The rookie group TEENTOP because they are powerful. They are unique and the best part is that they are still young! In the idol world, being young is a very strong charisma and they have captured many eyes!
Q: In the series “All My Love” your love storyline with Lizzy is the talk of the town.
In the series, Lizzy and I play lovers and the main topic is that there has been a scene with 2 kisses. That scene was very serious too. The fact that 2 idols have a kissing scene probably shocked many people especially our fan clubs (laughs). I want everyone to follow the love of these 2 characters. Lizzy is very lively, she is like a sweet older sister, and she is very open-hearted, and very sincere, plus she is a female idol who can speak satoori – very strange yet interesting.
Q: It seems like you are close to Doojoon of BEAST who also stars in that series. What do you two usually talk about?
We have like a small movie group. If we are free we will get together to watch a movie late at night. We may eat dinner together even because we have known each other for a very long time, we are very close friends.
The youngest member, Jinwoon, who used to be in a rock band, and earlier in August of this year just released his first solo single “You walking towards me” that fulfilled his utmost dreams.
Q: Tell me about your first solo experience.
I have wanted to do this for a long time. No matter if it was to play an instrument or act on stage, I was able to show others my true self by myself. It was very fun and I also had solo activities too. Right now I am preparing for my solo album.
Q: Did it take you long to record?
“You walking towards me” is a song that I made myself. Thus, if combining the time it took to prepare it took over a year and a half. The song “Lalala” had producer Hun Cheeyok and a composer from the company work together. It is a song that requires a lot of concentration.
Q: What rock song or Japanese rock group do you like at the moment?
Ever since I started writing songs, I have been listening to lots of songs and I started liking a lot of new bands. I couldn’t name all of them right now (laughs), but a Japanese group that I really like is X JAPAN which I have liked since 9th grade. I like all of their songs so much that I went to a concert with my grandfather. Other than that, ELLEGARDEN too, they are also popular in Korea.
Q: What has changed the most since high school?
At the end of high school, I still was not an adult so I could only go where I was told. When I was of age, I had more places that I could go. I remember thinking “There are places like this on this earth too?” (laughs) It was as if I had discovered a new world and I thought it was very beneficial to my song writing.
Q: Please tell us the reason that drove you to become a singer.
During middle school, there was a girl who I had grown up playing instruments with so I had the chance to do a duet with her. We sang one of K Will and Imjung’s popular songs. So after that I wanted to go onto an even bigger stage so I competed in various stages. But it was constricting with just 2 people, so if I had a band with more people we could go on even bigger stages so we looked for more members to form a band with on the internet. We were a band for about 3 years, and we had won competitions as well. The band name was n.c., which was an abbreviation for “No comment.” It had a deeper meaning that “Before anything, listen to our songs first” (laughs).
Q: Because you are the youngest, you are taken care of. What are the good and bad things about being the youngest?
Being the youngest, even if you make mistakes, it is looked over “because you are still a kid.” This is the advantage (laughs). But also because I am younger, there aren’t very many disadvantages. It really is good to be the youngest (laughs).
Q: How was it to see the parody of the Brown Eyes Girls that Seulong, Jo Kwon, and the 2PM members did?
Explosions of laughter! The bathhouse that it was taped it is in the city where I used to live. Being in a bathhouse that I was familiar with made it even funnier.
Q: It seems like lately you’ve enjoyed fishing.
Because I go to the same sports club as Jong Jonseul, a gagman, and when he said “I want to try fishing” he invited me immediately the next day to go fishing with him early in the morning. The first day, I caught 12 fishes so it was very fun. It was addicting just to even go once. Sometimes they won’t even catch my bait, but when I do catch one it is very stress-relieving.
Source: Haru*Hana Magazine Vol.7
Scanned by Rikakotsu for 2IIAM
Translated by Pyngky @ 2IIAM (JP-Thai), whiterose @ W2D (Thai-Eng)
Post a Comment