INFINITE
The unlimited charms of the seven people who seized K-POP!
The fresh boyhood of 2010’s Infinite who have infinite possibilities passed by, and now ‘Trend-dols’ Infinite are coming up as 2012 Asia’s trend. Some time after the endless idol competition began, Infinite, who debuted three years ago, stayed strong on the album market by releasing several songs like ‘Come Back Again’, ‘Hysterie’, ‘Be Mine’, ‘BTD’, ‘The Chaser’, etc; they got first place on each chart program, and as a team who set unprecedented records showing off their surprising success power, they will be able to make it on the concert market as well. They’re reinforcing their sport as ‘Trend-dols’ not only in Korea but overseas as well; from October 22nd to November 11th, from Yokohama to Nagoya, Kobe, Fukuoka, etc, they had in total 8 concerts, with a capacity of 74,000 seats. They ended successfully their big-scale ‘Arena Tour’. It’s a result they accomplished only a year after debuting in Japan; they confirmed that they were worthy of receiving the ‘2011 All K-Pop Award’ for the most evolved artist. As ‘K-Pop representative musicians’ who don’t stick to only one genre but can handle various musical genres, we are going to keep an eye on the hot moves of these seven men who have infinite possibilities.
A unique pose after breaking up. Another obsession for Infinite facing a break up!
Infinite coming back as ‘Chasers’.
Between calm and passion, Kim Sunggyu’s sorrowful ‘60 Seconds’
‘It’s gloomy and dark’
This man who chose ‘Rock’, characterized by its darkness since even when it’s sparkling with light, is not enough, said ‘I chose it carefully’. With the simple sincerity not of the leader of Infinite, the group which debuted 3 years ago, but of a newly born baby, he is telling his story calmly or maybe more sorrowfully than ever. May it be short or long, kind or not, the caffeine called ‘Kim Sunggyu’ going between calm and passion is even more addicting in 2012’s lonely and cold winter.
June 2010’s spring, the seven boys who didn’t know anything and had innocent eyes were full of spirit.
They didn’t look like they were plodding or just walking, for they added more weight every time they took a step and strengthened the steadiness in both of their wings; on July 2011, they finally took off beautifully and started to fill their nest. And on May 2012, they drew an infinite track that you can’t overlook easily, built their own space, and showed their power. Just as their name ‘Infinite’, which means ‘Becoming a god beyond humans to tighten its grip on his territory’, the leader of the 7-membered idol group Kim Sunggyu was acknowledged for his unique and superior tone early. He felt really sorry for the firm support of the seniors who still look like huge mountains in Sunggyu’s eyes, and he carried some of the burden of each of his warm members whom became ‘Trend-dols’, so he has to be constantly on the move without even being able to heave a sigh of relief to adapt to the given situation. His nervous life, with no ‘moderation’ whatsoever, tightened even more, but that’s a happy ‘constriction’. He honestly casted off the name of ‘Infinite’s leader Sunggyu’, and he took off an inner layer and the charm whispered by another Kim Sunggyu, which goes over the sweetness and is slightly bitter.
Truthfully, when facing your first solo album, it’s not easy to use various flowery expressions like these, but watching over the growth of jewel-like Infinite for 3 years, we can only be proud and thankful. We didn’t struggle in the idol flood, and while we waited carefully for the rescue team, Infinite powerfully dived and each of the albums they released had a better quality and completion than what we expected; they reached the category of ‘Idols of the century’. The fans must be proud as well that they evolved together with them, and that they watched their growing process, but our chest is also inflating with joy and pride as they also grew with the history of SBS <Inkigayo Magazine>. May it be now or then, Infinite’s most important main vocal Sunggyu is still representing without any changes ‘sincerity’s icon’. Since he was Sunggyu who was filled with the will ‘I want to sing’ deep in his bones, he couldn’t follow properly a step, so he received a harsher training in dancing than in singing which he was confident in, and he believed that’s how he discovered that the value of that drop of sweat was 100% of his efforts’ results. A modest music, an unpretentious sound, his first solo album ‘Another Me’ is the key ring that coldly sublimated and exposed the passion that was in himself. Kim Sunggyu’s musical motto and source, Nell, who show their love for their juniors, starting from the leader and vocal, Kim Jongwan’s first gift, the moment it flew to him Sunggyu’s heart that was palpitating like a wave couldn’t cool down which doesn’t happen often. “Nell are really my idols and it’s an honor! I can’t even believe that these people gave me songs, it feels like a dream.” To find his other self, the itinerary was unexpectedly short. To Sunggyu, this first challenge was a thrill, freedom and a hopeful future. The name ‘Kim Sunggyu’, which he slowly and honestly built up while living in the moment, is now filled with pride.
Kim Sunggyu says…
Rock is…
In fourth grade, I saw Seo Taiji on TV by chance, and as if I was directly hit by a bomb, my mind got confused, and it was an honorable chance to fall quickly for the genre called ‘rock’. At that time, a genre like Limp Bizkit’s new metal was shown in Korea, the song was ‘Ultramania’. Starting from then, I gradually started to listen to a wide range of rock music, indiscriminately, from modern rock, brit pop, to hardcore like Korn or Linkin Park, and starting from when I entered middle and high school, as if I was attracted by something, I wanted to realize my dream of becoming a singer for real.
The nonstop heartbeats as he gets closer to his goal, making music with Nell
Since it was a music genre I’ve always wanted to try, it was a good challenge and experience, but it’s true that I’ve felt incredibly sorry. My skills to handle the song can’t even be compared to those of Jongwan hyung whom I admire the most, because I can’t reach his level and mine are to the extent that it’s insulting. But he put all of his heart and soul in each note to make this song for me, and the moment I felt it would be impossible for me to express 100% of that person’s music, it passed through my whole body like a spring jumping. “Let’s do our best. I have to do so I can become a me I’m not ashamed of.”
“I didn’t compose the intro, but it’s a song that is wrapped beautifully; I did as if I was playing it very well on the piano in the teaser. It’s a song where we mixed the piano and the humming as the adlib. I put my heart and soul in it, hoping it would change the idea that ‘Intros are simple and useless’.”
01 / Another Me
The sound of the piano keys coming through the window with the cold rays of sun during a winter has refreshing connotations. In this album composed of a total of 6 songs, 7 including the hidden track, it shows a plus factor, ‘Another Me’ has the role of the introduction, explaining and compressing mood of the whole album in a piano melody; it’s the first cry of Kim Sunggyu expressing another ‘me’.
“It takes 60 seconds to fall in love, it takes 60 seconds to break up… Truthfully, I can’t become someone with the abilities to make the girl I like my girlfriend in 60 seconds, but I believe that it’s possible to fall in love in a few seconds like the song says. I even fall in love every day while watching the TV… What? You’re saying that’s not love? No! I believe it’s love, haha! I don’t think it even takes ‘10 minutes’ like Lee Hyori senior says. ‘60 Seconds’ are enough!”
02 / 60 Seconds
As a song made by Sweetune, who wrote the hit dance numbers like Infinite’s ‘The Chaser’, ‘Be Mine’, and ‘Paradise’, the title song ‘60 Seconds’ is a stylish song unbelievably full of analog sensibility. It takes 60 seconds to fall in love and it takes 60 seconds to break up. It’s Kim Sunggyu’s second cry describes the sorrow of a love story caught in the heartbreaking reality that each second, isn’t short nor long in this speedy actual era, passing by to become the past. A couple of emotions in one song. A story he can’t believe, that like the lyrics, happens right in front of his eyes like a drawing.
Kim Sunggyu’s music, find the part where he melted his personality in
I thought that since we had a similar musical motto, even if we have the same musical roots, Nell is ‘Nell’, and Kim Sunggyu is ‘Kim Sunggyu’. Aside from the way we sing, the parts I can express and our skills are different so… it might be the same for any singer, but I thought that I could find something characteristic in my voice. Rather than finding how to sing, I went through the process of coloring the album <Another Me> with Kim Sunggyu’s color which conveys my unique feeling through my voice. I tried to give a clear difference and feeling in ‘that thing’ from when I’m singing songs by myself and when I’m singing as Infinite. I just gave Kim Sunggyu as he is with my voice.
The music in myself that I can’t abandon, it’s my life’s foundation and core. The solo album was led faithfully by this goal.
When we ended the recording of ‘60 Seconds’’s guide, our CEO told me “I think that this song would fit you well even if you sang it by yourself, I think you can handle it well. It looks natural”. It feels like I started working on my album since then. I was really happy and enthusiastic about the golden opportunity I had to show ‘Another Kim Sunggyu’ when working on ‘60 Seconds’ at the same time as ‘The Chaser’. It doesn’t show much, but I’m very thankful I got the chance to show a feeling and color that are clearly different from how I sang until now.
03 / I Need You
The song ‘I Need You’, made by Nell’s bassist, Lee Junghoon, is about a man curing a love wound. It has a modern rock style, while being calm, Nell’s emotion melts into Kim Sunggyu, and with a touching voice earnestly waiting for warmth in the lonely and sad winter, he appeals to us. It’s Kim Sunggyu’s third cry embracing loneliness, filled with emotions.
“In Infinite’s past album, there is my solo song called ‘Because’, a song given by the composer of that song, Nell’s Lee Junghoon-nim. I was in charge of the high notes in Infinite during this time and I think that I was able to express myself in a rough way, in a tone and height I’m comfortable with. It has a very similar content from my current self saying ‘I’m lonely so I wish someone took me in their arms and held me…’. When winter comes, don’t we all cry because our side gets cold and empty? The longing, the yearning you have for things that passed by… It’s a song expressing this kind of thoughts.”
Kim Sunggyu says…
The research of band music’s charm
This album is completely composed of rock and acoustic sounds, so it could even feel somewhat difficult and uncommon to the fans who know Infinite’s music. But with this opportunity, I felt the greed of wanting to show to many people the charm of band music. When listening to the sound of the band music, you feel a catharsis as if the beat was kind of starting at the bottom of your stomach, to pound and explode. The liveliness that is as lively as a swimming fresh fish and the guitar sound that is like scratching your inside making your heart flutter, wouldn’t they fall for this kind of charm? Even for Infinite’s concerts, we didn’t use an MR but instead casted a band team and performed our songs with the band sound, and even with just that I felt ‘That’s a real live!’ and got to feel the liveliness. “It’s awesome~” (T/N: He used a word play, ‘It’s alive’ is an expression that means ‘it’s awesome’)
Happy song life
Even if we’re singing in both cases, I could really feel the difference between singing in a group and solo. Actually, since my experience of being in a musical, I was sometimes thinking that I wanted to live as another character, I felt that doing things indirectly by myself was the happiest moment of my life, and during the solo promotions, I enjoyed ‘the creation of another character’. It might be because I’m in charge of hitting the high notes a lot but I often heard that my voice sounded mournful and sad. Well… It’s the bitter feeling of growing the hard way… Anyhow, according to the group name Infinite meaning ‘infinity’, I want to live replaying endlessly a happy song until I die.
Kim Sunggyu says…
The nervosity of the first solo promotions
I had many occasions to have solo stages, during <Immortal Song>, and during our concerts as well. But I’m so nervous that my current nervosity can’t be compared to then, I can’t calm down. I want to put up the board saying ‘first solo’, take a deep breath, and lift my head to not be embarrassing for my members either. When I’m with the members, I’m usually the type to be very nervous, so to release the nervosity I had the moment I felt that I was alone, I praise myself. I’m nervous but… “If it’s me, I can do it, because I’m cool, haha!”
“If there weren’t those guys…”
Hoya says he had to show me something and pressures me, while Woohyunnie monitors me carefully. Even on the music video filming set, they were all gathering and interfering in everything, but I think it stimulated me and I got excited too. They’re actually very playful friends, sometimes they tell the truth subtly while doing as if they were lying, but without the members, it feels empty. I want to ask to the people who ask me if I’m not tired of being with them after sticking together for such a long time, “Are you tired of your family?” Through the kids’ support, I, Kim Sunggyu am growing well. I don’t care if they poke fun at me because it sounds like a prepared comment. Because if there weren’t those guys, the present’s Kim Sunggyu wouldn’t be here.
“Standing on stage by myself felt unfamiliar and scary. The concerts were my first experience of standing alone on stage, it was for ‘Only Tears’, so it’s true that I was very nervous. But wasn’t I able to lead this kind of good response thanks to the members’ strength and support? Truthfully, before being included in Infinite’s album, I sang it by myself like a guide and I think that to some extent, there are parts that aren’t totally perfected. Hm… I think it would be nice if each member had a version of the song ‘Only Tears’. Infinite’s members’ seven versions of ‘Only Tears’ with each different personality and color… aren’t you looking forward to it?”
04 / Only Tears
The acoustic version of ‘Only Tears’, Kim Sunggyu’s solo version highly requested by the loving fans. Actually, ‘Only Tears’ that was in Infinite’s album was sang by Kim Sunggyu as he played the piano during Infinite’s concert and released then. It’s Kim Sunggyu’s fourth cry he prepared in order to respond to the expectation of the fans who remembered the liveliness from the concert, for it’s mixed with haziness and sorrow, and it soaks into our heart like a tear.
Kim Sunggyu talks about….
Music Video Behind Story
Many misunderstandings occurred after the release of my solo album’s music video. Some people thought I didn’t appear in my music video because I was not confident in my face, some said it looked like I was only focusing on the music… It’s nothing like that! While looking forward to the love scene with the female lead actress, I told myself, “Ah, I will finally be able to enjoy acting in my music video”… I couldn’t believe it when the hopeless truth of L crushing my expectations happened. Without even being asked to do it, and before my solo album even came out, he appeared with his bright comment, saying, “Ah, I have to do Sunggyu hyung’s music video, I will appear in it.” I couldn’t even ask him, “Why are you doing it!” and only remained frustrated. Could there possibly be a person who would say no and reject L, who is currently the busiest member? To be honest, I did feel unsure about it, but thanks to L, a lot of people liked it. Plus, his outstandingly nice and warm visuals and supporting acting skills drew a nice image of our friendship as members of the same group—so it was a nice promotion, so I could only be thankful he helped me! I am saying it like this but… I am really really thankful. L, I love you~
The worries of an effort-type singer
I was not gifted with any aptitude in the beginning. Even in the past and until now, I have always been the type of person to put in all my effort so every time I see people who sing well, who play instruments well and do well in recitals, there’s nothing I am more envious of. When I look at singers who can express everything within one measure of a song… I don’t know… Even if I hold back the urge to go on stage, I feel like the gap I have to go over to reach their true ability… In other words, their talent is steep. I don’t know. Whether the saying “It will work if you put in your effort” is true or not, I feel like I will certainly know why I only got “effort and sincerity” instead of just “a gift” as I get older. And I will know whether “You can’t make music just with your effort” or “Ah, if I put in all my effort, it works” is true.
05 / Shine
Before the release of, Shine came out as a pre-release and ranked high on every music chart. ‘Shine’ is a song that is like the light formed by the excellent harmony of Nell’s vocal Kim Jongwan and Kim Sunggyu. The faint, dream-like instrumental that makes your heart flutter and the electronic beat adding to the rock sound somewhat neutralize the voice tone of Kim Sunggyu to something that sounds unfamiliar and expresses a subtle longing, like a sunbeam shining. It’s the fifth cry of a shining day stuck in his memory.
“It’s the last song I recorded. I did it hurriedly and urgently whenever I returned home while we were holding our Japanese arena tour. “Remember our most dazzling days” while thinking of when I was in love and the words said by the one I loved, this is the meaning I put into this song. Everyone is likely to have amazing memories from that time, right? As expected, it’s about sadly loving and generally longing for something. Winter seems to be this kind of winter. If INFINITE is the fruit of obsession, Kim Sunggyu is the fruit of sorrow. I feel like I’ve grasped the feeling of longing and made a song out of it.”
“Is there a girl by your side who thinks you’re in love with her? Or do you love someone else than her whom you met by sense of duty? In this case, it might be cruel but I am partial to my self-centered feelings. I wouldn’t deceive myself and I would tell the girl the truth. Cope with your feelings honestly. “I miss you, I love you,” you know that these obvious words are useless right? Say you’ve never loved her. Even if it’s sad, I’ve put all of this in my own way in the lyrics. But I don’t want to be this kind of person. I like happy endings!”
Kim Sunggyu talks about…
His attachment to his solo album
All of these songs are precious to me; I am attached to all of them. Just like there’s no finger that doesn’t hurt when you bite all ten of them, I do have a lot of regrets, but I’ve ended up feeling like a parent when their child takes its first steps. Even if I wasn’t always 100% satisfied, the current Kim Sunggyu wanted to show all his strengths through music and challenged himself by using ‘rock.’ It’s especially true for this album’s last track: since the expression of the atmosphere was foreign, he sang it in different keys and by picking the darkest key, you can see he took care of it a bit more. He also wrote it himself. “More than just being happy to be able to participate in making my album with my own hands, I was especially glad and proud.”
A growing singer’s excuse that isn’t really an excuse
There will still be lacking and silly parts. As the very first member of INFINITE who got to release a solo album, I was really uneasy and unsure about whether it’d go well or not, but since I’m the type of singers who puts in all their efforts, I was in a position in which there were a lot of possibilities for me and I am confident that I did my best. A new challenge truly is an adventure. And while an adventure is interesting and fantastic, it also increases your hope for the future you don’t see yet right now. Even if I’m certain there are people who’d tell me not to dream, I am using an excuse that isn’t really an excuse to ask them to watch over me. Every time you see me, I will grow even more musically. Using thealbum, I promise you to improve and even if it takes forever, I assure you with my name, “Kim Sunggyu,” that I will keep this promise.
06 / 41 days
With the emotions of Kim Sunggyu, who gives off the image of an artist is absorbed in the lyrics of ‘41 Days’ even if it’s his first time writing lyrics, the challenge gave birth to a masterpiece. The cold and sad lyrics are about the mentality of a dark and bad man who offers his everything to a girl who thinks he loves her even when he has never loved her. With another breath, the composer of ‘Because,’ Nell’s bassist Lee Junghoon, made Kim Sunggyu reinvent ‘modern rock.’ By expressing feelings of revulsion and sorrow as sharp as broken ice during a cold winter, it brainwashes the sixth and last cry with the singer called Kim Sunggyu.
INFINITE
“We really missed you a lot! Were you okay while INFINITE wasn’t around? Probably not right? (Laughs). While we were missing, our leader Sunggyu hyung got to do his solo promotion. Everyone applaud him! clap clap clap~never fails to delivers good news to INFINITE. Let’s always be friends like this even in 2013. In the past right, now and in the future forever! You know how we feel right? Let’s split the new year luck on good terms~ ♥ Happy New Year, Dear my fans! [sic]
trans. cr; emilie, saphira @ infinite updates | source cr; tmddms_0330 ; take out with full credits