U-KISS returns with a domestic comeback after their Japanese activities. Herald News recently met up with U-KISS, and despite their hectic schedule, they are still the same smilling boys with energetic expressions. If anything has changed at all, Dongho has grown taller.
Last November marked U-KISS’s last domestic activities with their second album, ‘Neverland’, and since then they have been busy in Japan and transforming into the new Hallyu idols of today. During their time in Japan, they released their first Japanese album ‘A Shared Dream’ and single ‘Forbidden Love’ in February which rank on the weekly Oricon chart at 2nd and 5th, respectively. In addition, they successfully held concerts in Tokyo, Osaka and six other cities.
Needless to say, their newest release, 6th mini-album “DORADORA”, has been long-awaited by domestic fans.
KiSeop: In Japan, we are rookies. It was only possible to do our activities up until March if we put all of our effort into it. We were extremely happy to see our fan base grow and hear good reports in the media about us. Our members have all improved in communicating in Japanese, we wouldn’t have too much trouble living [in Japan] ourselves. We feel that the work we’ve put in has truly paid off.
Talk about how you realised your rising popularity.
DongHo: In Japan, we have SaSaeng fans. But in Korea, SaSaeng fans are a little different. In Japan, they tend to look from a distance. If you reason with them, they will be understanding and leave. There hasn’t been any uncomfortable situations and we can have lots of time to spend comfortably in our dorm. So we have learnt a lot about each other, and bonds between members has also improved. Haha.
But the activities in Japan must have been hard, tell us about it.
SooHyun: Due to our continuous schedule in Japan, we were very tired at times. But even though it was hard at times, we were given strength by the love we received from our fans. Rather than showing our fans ‘the perfect stage’, we felt like we put the best of what we had into performing. And it seemed like our fans accepted our sincere hearts.
AJ: If we said we weren’t homesick, we would be lying. But the reason why we were able to work even harder was because we didn’t want to disappoint those who were always anticipating us. All the members had to be very committed. We started as a new family, with Hoon and myself, and now it really does feel like a family.
U-KISS has been around for five years now. Most idol groups are short-lived and disappear after one year of activities. Those who go on usually develop an arrogant image, but U-KISS has continued to be humble in their words and remain modest.
Kevin: The reason why we were able to sing for five years so far is because of the love our domestic fans gave us, as well as our international fans. We have the thoughts of showing an image that is constantly improving.
Hoon: Because we are sunbaes, we want to be a good, humble example to the newer groups. We want to put all our strength into making our performances look effortless. Besides Korea, we are extremely thankful for the love we’ve received in Japan. We always want to maintain a positive outlook towards our activities.
Tell us about your latest release.
“We’ve kept a watchful eye on the [industry] from Japan, and we were a little anxious. So the release this time is even more important. We want to be well prepared and show a better image of ourselves. [We’ll] put in the extra effort to showcase the skills we’ve gained from these past four years. In particular our choreography and clothing, we hope you anticipate it.”
Even though U-KISS has reached beyond Korea, and aiming for Asia, they do not forget their roots and their humble mindset. With that said, U-KISS is expected to reach even greater heights in the future.
Credits: SOURCE + ROCKETBOXX.NET
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