Before their debut, they were better known as the 'Chinese version' or 'second version' of female idol group the Wonder Girls, the Korean pop sensation from their agency JYP Entertainment who late last year became the first local talent to break into Billboard's Hot100 chart.
They proved they were actually quite different from their predecessor in terms of style of music and group image but the first week of their singing career has proven they could be headed toward winning the same reputation.
miss A, composed of Chinese members Fei and Jia, and Koreans Suzy and Min, strutted into the local music scene last Thursday with "Bad Girl, Good Girl" which had secured the top spot on numerous web-based music charts including MelOn, social networking site Cyworld, Mnet, Soribada, Bugs, Hanteo, Monkey 3, in just five days of its release.
The powerful vocals and dance moves the quartet has revealed to the public while singing of a strong-minded and confident woman who wants a man that likes her for who she is, has done little to remind fans that they are a newcomer group.
The quartet sat down with Asia Economic Daily for an interview on Wednesday, speaking of their hopes and aspirations for becoming the next big name in Asia.
Q: Did you expect the song to do so well?
All: No, not at all.
Q: But you were hoping it would, right?
Suzy: Yes, very much. And it's doing much better than we had expected it to do. I didn't know we would reach No. 1 on music charts.
Q: Suzy, you must've been even more happy since you trained for a relatively shorter time compared to the other members of your group.
Suzy: I prepared for a little over a year but everyone has trained for quite a while, Min for seven years, so I'm inexperienced while everyone else has had a lot of experience. Hence I lack in many ways compared to them which has more disadvantages than advantages.
Q: Min, didn't you have a hard time waiting for your debut? Is there anything you wish was different?
Min: I'm disappointed that I didn't get to go to school properly but I learned a lot while in the United States, a lot about their culture and English too. I also made good friends and met good people so although there are some things I missed out on, I think the sacrifices I made were necessary.
Q: How old were you went to went to the U.S.?
Min: In seventh grade, 2004. I was there for three years in a row, then I came to Korea every one or two years after that.
Q: And how long has it been since your group formed?
All: It's been three months.
Q: That's very short.
Jia: We were together the whole time though during those three months, day and night. I was worried in the beginning because we had so little time so we tried really hard to become a team quickly.
Q: What were your first impressions of each other?
Suzy: When I first met Min three months ago, she was wearing a huge zip-up hoodie and ugg boots. She looked really cute. And I asked her to eat with me because I was trying to become friends with her but she walked past me, saying she had already eaten. So I was like, 'Oh....' (laugh) And Fei and Jia, they were always busy going back and forth between China and Korea so I hadn't gotten to talk to them a lot in the beginning but I had always thought they were very cool.
Fei: I came to Korea with Jia three years ago and back then, my first impression of her was that she dances very well. Suzy, she was so cute and pretty. I was jealous of her fair skin because I'm on the darker side. And Min seemed very talented and cool... Cool was my first impression of her but she turns out to be very cute.
Q: What's everyone's strength? Min, would you like to start by telling me what your strength is?
Min: My strength is... I wonder what it is... (laugh)
Jia: Her charisma and facial expressions. She has the expressions and vibe that is good for expressing this song in particular.
Min: Jia is a bad girl when she's dancing but otherwise is a good girl. She's very cute and she likes cute things, like pink, Hello Kitty...
Q: Is that why your hair is pink too?
Jia: No. I don't like pink that much. Producer Park Jin-young just suggested it, I thought it would be fun to try and I liked it once I got it done.
Q: And did you say okay to it on the spot?
Jia: Yes, I like trying new things, unique things.
Suzy: Jia has this boyish charm about her and she has fair skin so she looks the best in unique looks.
[INTERVIEW] Girl group miss A - Part 2
Q: What is Fei's strength?
Suzy: There's an elegant air about Fei and she is sexy appearance-wise. There's also a very strong force about her which makes her worthy of being the eldest in the group. But she's also very cute, sings well, and is a very sexy dancer. She's also good at cooking so she always cooks for us.
Fei: I cook Chinese food for them.
Suzy: Sometimes it's food she comes up with but it's all good. She's a very good cook.
Fei: And as for Suzy, she's very cute and although she's the youngest in the group, she never asks to be taken care of but rather takes good care of us. If there's something good to eat, she'll always ask us if we want it.... Eating is most important for us. (laugh)
Min: Whoever gives us food is considered a good person. Whoever feeds us, buys us food equals good person. (laugh)
Q: Who's the funny one? Or the one that lifts up everyone's moods?
Min: I don't know what they're talking about.
Jia: She's talented.
Fei: Very talented. And her facial expressions, her movements, they're all funny. The sound of her laugh is funny too. And she never tries to be funny on purpose either.
Q: Have you ever fought?
Suzy: No, we haven't. At least not yet.
Q: What do you think your strength is as a girl group then? There are so many girl groups nowadays.
Min: We don't have a leader so everyone respects everyone's opinions more and we always discuss everything together before making decisions. We're also very close...
Jia: (Quietly says) Like family, family...
Min: And we've been working so hard for such a long time so I guess I could say we're experienced in our own ways? We're also a multinational group. We all speak Korean, Mandarin, Fei speaks Cantonese, I can speak English. And we're continuing to learn the languages. A variety of cultures exist within our group.
Q: You guys come off as being confident and it makes you seem less of a newcomer. Is it because you guys really are that confident or is it part of your concept?
Jia: It might seem like that because we have experience standing on stage. Fei and I worked in China for about half a year before. And plus, our song is also about confident women.
Q: Is the culture different at broadcasting stations in China versus Korea?
Fei: They're different in how you say hello to each other. In China, you can just wave your hand to everybody and say hi but in Korea, you have to look everyone in the eye and bow to them.
Q: Isn't it hard having to adjust to that?
Jia: It was in the beginning and we're still in the process of adjusting. But we've been trying very hard.
Q: Do you read comments that people post online about you guys? Which comments make you the happiest?
Suzy: That we don't seem like newcomers. And that every one of us is good at singing.
Fei: That we look good as a group.
Suzy: Oh, and when I read comments saying they had been waiting for a group like us. It felt so good. We all huddled around a computer on our way home to read the comments after giving our debut performance.
Jia: Since me and Fei are Chinese, when they say we have good pronunciation. That we seem like Koreans.
Fei: We worked so hard on it because we couldn't pronounce the letter close to 'r' in Korean. So I practiced that one letter for nearly a year.
Jia: We would always repeat everything and ask our other members how certain things are pronounced.
Q: Who's your role model?
Jia: Rihanna. I'm a huge fan. I want to become a great performer like her.
Min: I don't have a set role model but I like Beyonce a lot. She works on her career but also keeps her private life to herself which I respect. And she also runs her own business... I want to learn to cultivate a passion like hers for a different kind of success.
Suzy: I like Beyonce too.
Min: We all like similar artists.
Q: miss A stands for A-class and Asia but don't you feel that you want to go outside Asia too?
Min: We haven't thought about that yet. We've just taken our first step so we want to do a good job with it, then as the second step, reach a certain level in Asia. I think we can think where we want to go after that after that happens.
Q: What is your dream?
Suzy: This year, to win the award for best new artist. Then it would be nice to win a bigger award later on and become recognized throughout Asia. I also hope we always stay modest and not forget the mindset and determination we had when we debuted.
Min: I hope we can stay on good terms and be healthy. Health is most important.
Source: Asiae (1) (2)
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