EXO-K: Lessons learned from mistakes, all of them adore their fans
S.M Entertainment finally produced two new boy groups, EXO-K and EXO-M, after SHINee, after a gap of 4 years. These two boy groups debuted on the same day, same time, using the same song with 2 different versions being Korean and Chinese on the 9th of April in Korea and China respectively. Their large scale publicity and special way of debuting caught many people’s attention and anticipation from all over the world.
The group’s name also holds a special meaning. EXO is derived from EXOPLANET which refers to the planets outside of the solar system; it implies that they are a group of stars from an unknown world and the K added behind EXO was derived from Korea. All 6 members of EXO-K went through a series of activities and promotions in Korea while having the aspiration of spreading their music worldwide.
All EXO-K members seemed to be more comfortable in the recent interview as compared to when they first held their debut showcase. They showed off their happy and friendly side instead of the stiff expressions on their showcase. They started the interview that day with their bright greeting, “We are ONE, Hello everyone! We are EXO-K”.
Talking about their lives in a happy mood
Kai: We have been busy with the promotions but we have been doing well. We sleep for around 4 hours when we have schedules but because it is a Monday today, we slept for 7 hours.
Baekhyun: My birthday was last month and I was very happy. Because it’s my first birthday after debuting, not only did the members and fans congratulate me, we held an event too.
All members conveyed their recent conditions shyly when asked about their recent living conditions during the interview. EXO-K, who has skilled control over the stage, are actually all very innocent and pure like children. There is D.O whose eyes sparkles with energy, leader Suho who is always answering questions seriously for the team and happy virus Chanyeol etc.
Confidence comes from title song ‘MAMA’
As S.M entertainment’s new group who debuted under a series of very large scale promotions and publicity, EXO-K received quite a number of attention from media and fans, be it locally or abroad. Expectations for them is no less than TVXQ or SHINee, who are both seniors from the same company, will you guys be very stressed out because of this?
Chanyeol: We've actually had promotional activities for quite a long time before our debut; of course we feel that fans will expect a lot more from us. Besides, our seniors had helped us to open up the route to various aspects like the Hallyu Wave and KPOP, hence the stress level is higher. Because of this, we are even more determined to practice even harder.
As compared to the first generation idol group H.O.T and SHINHWA, and also TVXQ who was once 5, this time’s SMP (SM Music Performance: Gorgeous and magnificent stage performances) which is EXO-K’s title song ‘MAMA’ gave them a lot more confidence.
Suho: We were very satisfied with the song when we heard it for the first time. The song itself is magnificent; furthermore it is the long awaited SMP genre, therefore it will totally showcase a different style of performance, unlike the typical genre of pop music nowadays.
Chanyeol: Some people might think that the genre of this song is a little bit old, resembling the songs from the previous generation. Furthermore, people don’t really come in contact with SMP nowadays. But they might feel that this is something new and will admire this kind of new style.
Made mistakes on debut stage due to nervousness but precious lesson learned
But when the debut performance on SBS's music program ‘Inkigayo’ on the 20th was mentioned, all of the members were slightly nervous. D.O’s mistakes on stage led the other members to be even more nervous. When this matter was brought up during the interview, D.O’s face flashed with guilt and he dropped his head on the table. The EXO-K members cannot help but to merely sigh whenever they thought about that incident. Probably because all of them were anticipating their first stage and in addition, it was an important one, hence making them even more nervous.
Baekhyun: Because we wanted to showcase a better stage presence during our first stage, we focused more on our performance instead of performing it live. We pre-recorded the performance; therefore the burden was reduced greatly. But because it was the first time for all of us to wear ear mics, we are all very unfamiliar with the stage.
Kai: Actually it is easier to receive interviews like this, but whenever we receive interviews in front of a camera we will become very nervous. Our faces will be very stiff but we are all smiling, you would know what it is like! My lips were trembling and I did not know what to do when I received an interview together with our senior, Tony on the music program ‘M!Countdown’ recently.
Adores fans, respectful to seniors
EXO-K may seem like they are perfect, but no doubt that they are still new and camera-shy. When asked to choose a member who adores the fans, all members claimed that every member adores the fans. They can only meet their fans through the help of the teasers they had released to the public in the past, but now they can meet the fans in person themselves through music programs, fan meetings, fan signs and etc. in which all members are looking forward to.
Although the 6 members look similar in terms of appearances, they in fact all have different styles and coming together to form EXO-K, all of them have actually received advices and encouragement for their debut from their seniors such as TVXQ, Super Junior and SHINee.
Suho: Seniors from TVXQ, Yunho and Changmin have been giving us encouragements and advices. They will give us really good advices whenever we meet. Super Junior’s Leeteuk also told me that “As a leader, you have to unite the members together because you’re a team, and you can then go a long way by doing this.”
Enjoys performing on stage, having high hopes for the future
Although EXO-K is still new, they are all practicing really hard and collecting experiences, so that they can perform flawlessly on stage even if the choreography is really tough. The magnificent melodies of the title song 'MAMA', when combined with the smooth dance moves of the members on stage, allows the audiences to be mesmerized. They have showcased the infinite possibilities and their own unique charms to people in just a few months after their debut.
Baekhyun: Rather than being tired, there are more novelties and fun. We are now slowly getting used to the stage, and we believe that everyone will showcase a better aspect from now onwards.
D.O: Everyone says that it is not that bad. Especially our parents, all of them praised us greatly after watching the program, saying that we are all very handsome on stage. But my parents always nag at me saying that health must always be the first priority, and I must always take care of my health. They kept on feeding me tonics.
Thankful to family, caring for one another
Because of D.O’s speech, the topic was switched to their parents. All parents of EXO-K members were present on their showcase in March, but it was indeed regretful that they did not get the chance to meet them.
Suho: Our parents did attend the showcase, but because we were busy we weren’t able to meet. Another reason was because considering the fact that EXO-M’s parents are all in China, we did not meet them. It’s the same for the showcase in China, the EXO-M members did not get to meet their parents either. We care for and understand each other more this way.
Chanyeol: I used to visit the old folks' home or welfare centers and was a volunteer. When I was cleaning the area, a grandmother gave me a piece of sweet and said that she was very thankful. Maybe because I’ve been separated with my parents for a very long time now, and I can’t visit the grandmother and grandfather in the old folks' home during the holidays, so sometimes tears will fall uncontrollably.
Marks given for ‘MAMA’ was different
Withstanding the pain of parting with their own family, the bitterness of thinking about their family, and going through a tough life of their trainee period, it was exchanged with EXO-K’s gorgeous debut stage and attention and praises from everyone. In particular, the excellent acting skills that the members have showcased in the MV of their title song 'MAMA' captured the audiences. A good example would be Baekhyun, who slackened his eyelids and had a mesmerizing expression in his eyes as he shouted "MAMA".
Baekhyun: If we look at the song in overall, we do need facial expressions to further enhance it, so we usually used self cams to confirm our expressions.
However, Kai then expressed that feelings should flow accordingly with the music, so they should deal with it calmly. But Kai, who occasionally makes a confident yet arrogant expression, only rated a 10 out of 100 for ‘MAMA’ promotions.
Kai: There is still so much more to show everyone in the future. We will improve ourselves gradually.
Suho: 50 marks. A good beginning means that we’re already halfway successful. (smiling)
There is a secret technique when leader Suho leads the group.
Suho is very soft spoken during the interview; it feels as though he does not exude much of a leaderly aura, but he still has the support of the members. When asked about how he leads the team, he expressed his views and the secret technique.
Suho: I mainly lead the team by holding meetings. I will forgive the members if small mistakes were made, but if it’s a serious mistake or if the member violated the rules, they will be punished severely.
Chanyeol: Leader Da ge* generally does not yell at the members. He talks to the younger members with patience to guide them.
In response, someone joked that “seems like (Chanyeol) has been lectured for quite a number of times.” Chanyeol who had just stopped talking turned red immediately and kept on shaking his head while laughing, the embarrassed look on his face was really adorable.
Learning how to give first, there is hope for a joint stage
As the interview came to an end, the reporter was curious about the beliefs and values which made 6 members with different personalities - including the 6 other members from EXO-M, making it 12 members in total - to stay together, and what kind of goals are they heading towards?
Suho: All of our mottos are the same; it is “to learn how to give first”. Most of the people think that artistes only know how to take, but we would like to share the love we have received with everyone else. For this, we have been volunteering ourselves in community activities.
It’s not difficult to see the group’s nature from leader Suho’s well-organized answer. Like the lyrics from their new song ‘MAMA’, which describes the alienation between people, and the situation where people would avoid and not communicate with each other, and the lyrics which described the heartache resulting from this, having a warm heart and to care for each other will unite the people together as one.
EXO-K also disclosed that there will be an opportunity to carry out activities with EXO-M in the future, making the fans looking forward to it.
(*)EXO-K member SeHun wasn’t able to attend the interview because of school.
T/N: Da ge* means elder brother in Chinese
Source: sina.com
S.M Entertainment finally produced two new boy groups, EXO-K and EXO-M, after SHINee, after a gap of 4 years. These two boy groups debuted on the same day, same time, using the same song with 2 different versions being Korean and Chinese on the 9th of April in Korea and China respectively. Their large scale publicity and special way of debuting caught many people’s attention and anticipation from all over the world.
The group’s name also holds a special meaning. EXO is derived from EXOPLANET which refers to the planets outside of the solar system; it implies that they are a group of stars from an unknown world and the K added behind EXO was derived from Korea. All 6 members of EXO-K went through a series of activities and promotions in Korea while having the aspiration of spreading their music worldwide.
All EXO-K members seemed to be more comfortable in the recent interview as compared to when they first held their debut showcase. They showed off their happy and friendly side instead of the stiff expressions on their showcase. They started the interview that day with their bright greeting, “We are ONE, Hello everyone! We are EXO-K”.
Talking about their lives in a happy mood
Kai: We have been busy with the promotions but we have been doing well. We sleep for around 4 hours when we have schedules but because it is a Monday today, we slept for 7 hours.
Baekhyun: My birthday was last month and I was very happy. Because it’s my first birthday after debuting, not only did the members and fans congratulate me, we held an event too.
All members conveyed their recent conditions shyly when asked about their recent living conditions during the interview. EXO-K, who has skilled control over the stage, are actually all very innocent and pure like children. There is D.O whose eyes sparkles with energy, leader Suho who is always answering questions seriously for the team and happy virus Chanyeol etc.
Confidence comes from title song ‘MAMA’
As S.M entertainment’s new group who debuted under a series of very large scale promotions and publicity, EXO-K received quite a number of attention from media and fans, be it locally or abroad. Expectations for them is no less than TVXQ or SHINee, who are both seniors from the same company, will you guys be very stressed out because of this?
Chanyeol: We've actually had promotional activities for quite a long time before our debut; of course we feel that fans will expect a lot more from us. Besides, our seniors had helped us to open up the route to various aspects like the Hallyu Wave and KPOP, hence the stress level is higher. Because of this, we are even more determined to practice even harder.
As compared to the first generation idol group H.O.T and SHINHWA, and also TVXQ who was once 5, this time’s SMP (SM Music Performance: Gorgeous and magnificent stage performances) which is EXO-K’s title song ‘MAMA’ gave them a lot more confidence.
Suho: We were very satisfied with the song when we heard it for the first time. The song itself is magnificent; furthermore it is the long awaited SMP genre, therefore it will totally showcase a different style of performance, unlike the typical genre of pop music nowadays.
Chanyeol: Some people might think that the genre of this song is a little bit old, resembling the songs from the previous generation. Furthermore, people don’t really come in contact with SMP nowadays. But they might feel that this is something new and will admire this kind of new style.
Made mistakes on debut stage due to nervousness but precious lesson learned
But when the debut performance on SBS's music program ‘Inkigayo’ on the 20th was mentioned, all of the members were slightly nervous. D.O’s mistakes on stage led the other members to be even more nervous. When this matter was brought up during the interview, D.O’s face flashed with guilt and he dropped his head on the table. The EXO-K members cannot help but to merely sigh whenever they thought about that incident. Probably because all of them were anticipating their first stage and in addition, it was an important one, hence making them even more nervous.
Baekhyun: Because we wanted to showcase a better stage presence during our first stage, we focused more on our performance instead of performing it live. We pre-recorded the performance; therefore the burden was reduced greatly. But because it was the first time for all of us to wear ear mics, we are all very unfamiliar with the stage.
Kai: Actually it is easier to receive interviews like this, but whenever we receive interviews in front of a camera we will become very nervous. Our faces will be very stiff but we are all smiling, you would know what it is like! My lips were trembling and I did not know what to do when I received an interview together with our senior, Tony on the music program ‘M!Countdown’ recently.
Adores fans, respectful to seniors
EXO-K may seem like they are perfect, but no doubt that they are still new and camera-shy. When asked to choose a member who adores the fans, all members claimed that every member adores the fans. They can only meet their fans through the help of the teasers they had released to the public in the past, but now they can meet the fans in person themselves through music programs, fan meetings, fan signs and etc. in which all members are looking forward to.
Although the 6 members look similar in terms of appearances, they in fact all have different styles and coming together to form EXO-K, all of them have actually received advices and encouragement for their debut from their seniors such as TVXQ, Super Junior and SHINee.
Suho: Seniors from TVXQ, Yunho and Changmin have been giving us encouragements and advices. They will give us really good advices whenever we meet. Super Junior’s Leeteuk also told me that “As a leader, you have to unite the members together because you’re a team, and you can then go a long way by doing this.”
Enjoys performing on stage, having high hopes for the future
Although EXO-K is still new, they are all practicing really hard and collecting experiences, so that they can perform flawlessly on stage even if the choreography is really tough. The magnificent melodies of the title song 'MAMA', when combined with the smooth dance moves of the members on stage, allows the audiences to be mesmerized. They have showcased the infinite possibilities and their own unique charms to people in just a few months after their debut.
Baekhyun: Rather than being tired, there are more novelties and fun. We are now slowly getting used to the stage, and we believe that everyone will showcase a better aspect from now onwards.
D.O: Everyone says that it is not that bad. Especially our parents, all of them praised us greatly after watching the program, saying that we are all very handsome on stage. But my parents always nag at me saying that health must always be the first priority, and I must always take care of my health. They kept on feeding me tonics.
Thankful to family, caring for one another
Because of D.O’s speech, the topic was switched to their parents. All parents of EXO-K members were present on their showcase in March, but it was indeed regretful that they did not get the chance to meet them.
Suho: Our parents did attend the showcase, but because we were busy we weren’t able to meet. Another reason was because considering the fact that EXO-M’s parents are all in China, we did not meet them. It’s the same for the showcase in China, the EXO-M members did not get to meet their parents either. We care for and understand each other more this way.
Chanyeol: I used to visit the old folks' home or welfare centers and was a volunteer. When I was cleaning the area, a grandmother gave me a piece of sweet and said that she was very thankful. Maybe because I’ve been separated with my parents for a very long time now, and I can’t visit the grandmother and grandfather in the old folks' home during the holidays, so sometimes tears will fall uncontrollably.
Marks given for ‘MAMA’ was different
Withstanding the pain of parting with their own family, the bitterness of thinking about their family, and going through a tough life of their trainee period, it was exchanged with EXO-K’s gorgeous debut stage and attention and praises from everyone. In particular, the excellent acting skills that the members have showcased in the MV of their title song 'MAMA' captured the audiences. A good example would be Baekhyun, who slackened his eyelids and had a mesmerizing expression in his eyes as he shouted "MAMA".
Baekhyun: If we look at the song in overall, we do need facial expressions to further enhance it, so we usually used self cams to confirm our expressions.
However, Kai then expressed that feelings should flow accordingly with the music, so they should deal with it calmly. But Kai, who occasionally makes a confident yet arrogant expression, only rated a 10 out of 100 for ‘MAMA’ promotions.
Kai: There is still so much more to show everyone in the future. We will improve ourselves gradually.
Suho: 50 marks. A good beginning means that we’re already halfway successful. (smiling)
There is a secret technique when leader Suho leads the group.
Suho is very soft spoken during the interview; it feels as though he does not exude much of a leaderly aura, but he still has the support of the members. When asked about how he leads the team, he expressed his views and the secret technique.
Suho: I mainly lead the team by holding meetings. I will forgive the members if small mistakes were made, but if it’s a serious mistake or if the member violated the rules, they will be punished severely.
Chanyeol: Leader Da ge* generally does not yell at the members. He talks to the younger members with patience to guide them.
In response, someone joked that “seems like (Chanyeol) has been lectured for quite a number of times.” Chanyeol who had just stopped talking turned red immediately and kept on shaking his head while laughing, the embarrassed look on his face was really adorable.
Learning how to give first, there is hope for a joint stage
As the interview came to an end, the reporter was curious about the beliefs and values which made 6 members with different personalities - including the 6 other members from EXO-M, making it 12 members in total - to stay together, and what kind of goals are they heading towards?
Suho: All of our mottos are the same; it is “to learn how to give first”. Most of the people think that artistes only know how to take, but we would like to share the love we have received with everyone else. For this, we have been volunteering ourselves in community activities.
It’s not difficult to see the group’s nature from leader Suho’s well-organized answer. Like the lyrics from their new song ‘MAMA’, which describes the alienation between people, and the situation where people would avoid and not communicate with each other, and the lyrics which described the heartache resulting from this, having a warm heart and to care for each other will unite the people together as one.
EXO-K also disclosed that there will be an opportunity to carry out activities with EXO-M in the future, making the fans looking forward to it.
(*)EXO-K member SeHun wasn’t able to attend the interview because of school.
T/N: Da ge* means elder brother in Chinese
Source: sina.com
Translated by: PearlynC @ CXO
Edited by: NovemberSnow @ CXO