POP&KÜLTÜR

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B1A4

B1A4 is on the cover of the Pop&Kültür K-Pop
November issue

‘In two years, we hope that we could visit our Turkish BANAs so we could sing altogether joyfully and have everyone hear our voices in person!’

Interview

B1A4

You have been in the industry for 10 years. Some people may know you but for those who don’t, could you briefly talk about yourself?

CNU – Hello, we are a K-Pop idol group where B1A4 stands for ‘Be the one, All for one’, which contains the bright energy emitting from all three members.

SANDEUL – CNU, youngest member GONGCHAN, and I have been working on music for ten years together and we are extremely multi-talented in vocals and producing. We are not only active in music but also in TV drama, variety programs, musicals and many other fields, so we would love to be able to meet everyone through other outlets.

GONGCHAN – We are extremely happy to be able to greet everyone through this interview. We hope that our international BANA could look forward to B1A4’s various activities!

You celebrated your 10th anniversary in April. How have you changed and developed yourself in these 10 years? What was the biggest difference between the beginning of your career and the position you are in today?

CNU – I believe that there’s been many transitions and changes to our music during the last ten years. We’ve put a lot of thought into what kind of music we wanted to make and what type of music goes well with us. We also strived to create music that defined our own genre, so we never stopped working on our music. The biggest change between our debut days and now would be that we feel a lot more responsibility. K-Pop is being loved by so many nowadays so I feel that what we do could possibly have an impact upon our fans, seniors, colleagues, and juniors. Which is why we feel a greater sense of responsibility to give our best when creating music in order to have a positive impact.

SANDEUL – I personally feel that B1A4 has grown a lot compared to how we were ten years ago. During the ten years, we each found our unique charms and worked hard in order to showcase our charms better. Through this process, I believe we were able to build a deeper sensibility and distinctive sonic elements. Which is why I could say that B1A4 is a group that you want to definitely look forward to.

GONGCHAN – In April, we held our fan meet celebrating our 10th anniversary and it was a new experience. I was thankful that we were able to celebrate such a meaningful day together for the past ten years with our members. We’ve matured and grown a lot during the ten years, and we have also worked on creating B1A4’s very own musical color. And all those years have made our more solid and bonded more than ever.

You had the opportunity to try many different styles of music over this time. Is there any different music style that you want to try out?

CNU – I am personally interested in Korean traditional music. If given the opportunity, I would love for us to do a collaboration or a cross-over with Korean transitional music. I do want to try creating a new type of musical style that hasn’t been attempted before by incorporating the beauty and charms of Korean traditional music.

 

In your last album, each member has their song. Do you think that the solo songs you have chosen directly reflected your mood?

CNU – Each of our solo songs’ lyrics and music were co-written by the members, so each of the songs highlight the members’ styles accordingly. For instance, the song “Zero Gravity” not only showcases my favorite Hip-hop beat but also a musical composition that was made complete because BIBI featured. While I was writing the song, I had filled the song with the emotions I felt at the time and all the sonic elements that I was able to personally express in my style through the music.

SANDEUL – ‘Plodding’ is a song that has a mysterious yet interesting charm. It’s not a song that stands out a lot but it’s definitely a tune that is mellow yet warm. I believe that it is a charming song that can be loved for a long time, and the song clearly identifies as me. In that perspective, I believe that I have expressed myself well.

GONGCHAN – For my solo songs, I think I focused on bringing out the vocal tone that my fans like the most and I also worked on expressing my emotions. For our B1A4 songs, I think I worked on showcasing a side that I’ve never presented before. There’s still a lot for me to work on but I hope our fans could look forward to my solo songs that I am working and developing on.

Your main vocal Sandeul will be fulfilling his mandatory military service soon. For the remaining two members, what are your plans? Will CNU and Gongchan do any solo and/or duet album projects? Or do they have other plans?

CNU – It will take some time before we could sing altogether but I believe that we each hope to show as many different sides to us as possible. We are going to work hard to show our talents in not only music but in acting for dramas, movie, and musicals, and continue to challenge and show everyone that we’re giving our best.

GONGCHAN – We don’t have anything specifically planned but we are working and preparing many different things in order to present each of our charms in different genres. We’ll make sure to showcase our diverse activities and projects.

Speaking of solo activities, Sandeul, you have won the hearts of many listeners with your OSTs. So much so that you took 1st place in the ‘30th Seoul High1 Music Award’ the Ballad category with the song “Slightly Tipsy” that you sang for the webtoon “She Is My Type”. When you first got the offer for this project, did you feel that your song would be loved so much?

SANDEUL – I did not expect the song to be loved so much. I always felt this lingering feeling that I could’ve have sung or recorded the song better and encouraged myself that “I’ve always done my best and I have no regrets.” And “Slightly Tipsy” was no different so I went through the same emotions, so I tried not to expect too much. But it became a song that people loved so much and I’m just so thankful. I will continue to work on bringing better music in the future.

In addition to your musical career, you are also interested in acting for musicals, drama, and movies. Is there a character you would like to play in the future? If yes, which characters would that be?

CNU – I would love to try acting as a soldier or a special agent. I’ve been a soldier before while serving in the military, and I loved watching spy films. I love the “Bourne” and “007” series especially and I’ve been charmed by the lead roles, so I’ve always wanted to try acting a similar role.

SANDEUL – I would like to try acting in a romantic comedy! I would love to act and express a character that is warm and gentle yet cute and dorky expressed and interpreted in my own way.

GONGCHAN – For me, I would like to try acting in a musical. I’ve always watched CNU and SANDEUL when they starred in a musical, and the energy they would bring on stage was extremely moving and exciting. I will also work hard in order to perform and lead a musical one day!

Could you tell us about your new single? We heard that this will be a gift to the fans before Sandeul leaves for the military.

SANDEUL – The new single is about how we want to express our love and emotions to our fans, and we couldn’t define this into words, so we decided to express this as a song. We wanted to specially deliver the song to our BANA as our love and gratitude for them being there for us since our debut. I hope our hearts can be felt through our song.

Have you ever thought of planning a concert in Turkey as B1A4 and/or WM family as pa
rt of a European tour?

GONGCHAN – We really do wish for that to happen. We really would like to meet our Turkish fans and our European BANA! If we are given the opportunity, then we would love to sincerely give back to our fans for cheering and supporting B1A4 from afar. When the situations improves and when we are able to, then we will go meet our BANAs!

Finally, is there any message you would like to say to your Turkish fans who love you and listen, supports you?

CNU – We heard that there are many Turkish fans that love B1A4! We also love Turkey and would love to get to know the country more, so we would love to visit and perform there one day. I feel that in time, there will be a chance for us to meet everyone!

SANDEUL – I would like to also express our gratitude towards our Turkish BANA for cheering us on!! In two years, we hope that we could visit our Turkish BANAs so we could sing altogether joyfully and have everyone hear our voices in person!!

GONGCHAN- Thank you for always sending us a lot of love and support. We will work harder and harder for our Turkish BANA and for all our fans!! We will return with better songs and performances!