[INTERVIEW] B.A.P in Hallyu Pia (Oct. 2013) In Japan and Korea, they will show the same image and send the same message It’s been a year since their debut and our “Investigate B.A.P!” series, and in that time B.A.P won newcomer awards in 14 countries, started their solo tour in May with sold-out shows in America with their Pacific Tour. This B.A.P ail lake their Japan debut! This Number 1 group will show us their faces which we will again investigate! You can know B.A.P’s secrets by seeing them live?! Staff: It’s nearly time for your Japan debut, congratulations. Daehyun: Thank you very much. We were aiming for a Japan debut, and it’s a big deal to be having an arena tour at the same time as our debut. We’re really excited! We want to show everyone our cool image! Jongup: Yeah, we’re excited~! We’re debuting with the same “Warrior” that we debuted with in Korea, so we want to do our best in Japan as well. Staff: “Hanryu Pia” readers know a lot about B.A.P, but for people just introduced to B.A.P, what kind of group are you? Himchan: Ok. It’s something you can tell at a glance, but we’re a masculine male group, but we also have other appeal. Staff: And that is? Himchan: If we say it here, no one will search out B.A.P, so it’s a secret (laughs) Daehyun: Please come to our arena tour. We’ll show you then (laughs) Thinking Bang Yongguk was involved in the debut song creation Staff: Jongup just mentioned it, but your Japan Debut song will be “Warrior,” right! Daehyun: We want to show the same fierce image as we did when we debuted in Korea with “Warrior.” Zelo: Back to our begining! Staff: For the Korean version of “Warrior,” you guys did a “stomp” dance, will that be in the Japanese version as well? Himchan: Yes! Youngjae: We filmed a Japanese version of the music video as well, but the dancing is a bit different so please look forward to it. Zelo: I also want to show our pyrotechnics too~! Staff: Something that sets you apart from other idol groups is your strong message. Bang Yongguk, did you also think you want to compose while in Japan? Yongguk: ”Warrior” is really in B.A.P’s image, it shows our masculinity well. We grew a bit with “Power,” we had lyrics with messages about society in that case. For our Japan debut, the lyrics I wrote in Korean were left as is in the Japanese version. The message and imagery also come across well in Japanese, I think. We will show the same message and imagery in both Korea and Japan in both versions of the song. Warriors fighting in An absurd society, what about fighting in private? Staff: B.A.P’s theme is “Fighting a chaotic against society.” Where are you all fighting right now? Jongup: Right now I am fighting against Himchan (laughs). We sleep in the same bunk bed, me on the top and Himchan on the bottom bunk. Himchan’s sensitive to the cold while I’m sensitive to heat. Since I thought the bottom bunk would be cooler, we tried switching but after a few days Himchan took the other bunk back. The next night I put up with it, but the night after that I asked him about it but he said “Fine, why don’t we sleep together?” But that way I still won’t cool off, will I… Himchan: Haha really? I’m actually fighting against a diet. There are too many delicious things in the world! When we are promoting in Korea, we have to wake up early and go to work, so I always end up eating too much, but… Zelo: My enemy is drowsiness! Even though there are lots of things I want to try, maybe it’s because I’m growing, but I fall asleep very quickly. Since I get sleepy quickly, I try not to sit down. Yongguk: I’m fighting “Creativity.” In order to come up with a lot of new ideas I open my eyes to a lot of different things. An Arena tour the same time as your debut! Staff: You had your first live show in Japan in May, but for most of you (besides Yongguk) it was your first time in Japan. What did you all think about Japan from what you saw? Himchan: We were so busy, we didn’t even feel like we’d been to Japan…. From now on there will be more chances to visit Japan, so we will properly take in the country. Youngjae: We returned to Korea soon after the shows since we had other schedules. We went to Hara Juku and had crepes for a little bit, but we couldn’t sightsee. Next time, I’d like to take more time to take in Japanese culture. Staff: How was your first live show in Japan? Daehyun: Since it was our first time performing in Japan, I didn’t expect everyone to be so passionate! The tickets all sold out, there were so many fans, I was really surprised! Himchan: Since it was our first Japanese concert, our preparations were meticulous, and there were few mistakes. The venue was also great, so it was a good experience. Daehyun: Yeah. At the concerts in other countries, there was a lot of passion during the shows, but in Japan fans really listened to us. We were able to really concentrate on singing, and we thought “We really have to do our best!” Zelo: Since we have messages in a lot of our songs, it seemed like fans in Japan really took in the meaning, right? Himchan: Ah, and the cosplayers were also fun. Like people dressed up as Zelo. (laughs) Staff: This time, you are coming to Japan having performed in other countries. What kind of growth have you experienced? Daehyun: As B.A.P, our staging (has improved). When we first started our tour, we meticulously prepared and were still unable to show everything properly. But by our encore concerts, we could relax more and enjoy ourselves with fans. Personally, I also think our vocal abilities improved as well. Zelo: We were able to perform freely. With no TV cameras or anything, we could make eye contact and have fun with fans while onstage. Himchan: After we finished our concerts in America, I felt that we really “Stepped up!” (our performance/abilities). Daehyun: Yeah, me too! I think we all feel that way. Staff: At the Seoul Encore concert, Youngjae cried, right? All of B.A.P: AH!! (laughing) Youngjae: After coming back to Korea after being overseas, being in front of our fans showing how much we had grown, I was so happy. Everyone in the venue was so warm…That’s why (beams). Staff: Your Japan tour is up in November Daehyun: We will show not only our performance but our new vocals and new faces which we have not shown up until now. Jongup: Yes, I think they will be concerts which we can have more fun with everyone. Staff: In conclusion, we previously did “Investigate B.A.P!” and Jongup was chosen as the most difficult to understand member. What is the allure of the unfathomable Jongup? Daehyun: (instantly) Purity! He’s such an unbelievably pure person it’s unbelievable. Youngjae: In a word, he is “Fushigi-chan” (Fushigi = mysterious, chan = in this case, a suffix to show affection in Japanese). But he is really very kind. Staff: Well then, can this pure Jongup give a last message to your fans in Japan! Jongup: We are having fun promoting in Japan. When we came to Japan before, we saw many people and noticed everyone’s personal styles and this became inspiration for us. We want to personally enjoy seeing many things, eating many things, and having fun with Japanese culture. As B.A.P, a K-pop group, we will do our best to teach our Korean culture as well. ( Cr : Nicole at bapyessir ) ~admin JL~
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 03:04:55 +0000
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