what one thing (concepts, genres, styling, frequency of comebacks, etc.) would you like to change about your current career as an idol?
“this is pretty difficult because i’ve overall been pretty satisfied with things as they have been so far... of course i wish that the company would actually do more to confirm or deny the rumours about our rigged results, but that’s how it is... oh wait! if anything i wish -- and man, haru would kill me if this came true -- that they wouldn’t make us do that many choreographed tracks per album! gold star ceo? please? you’re seriously killing me here!”
if you could be in any idol group, which one would you choose?
“oh man. can’t i just remain in vive? i still have so much left to do as things are right now, so i don’t see the point in joining another group just yet! but of course, to entertain the question... i think i’d want to be in a group like charm. we have a bit of the same concept and it’s kind of my style so i think i might fit right in... but they’re much better dancers than me so maybe not. i might die if i had to perform their choreographies with such synchronisation! man, they’re really just amazing aren’t they?”
if you could say one thing to your ceo, what would it be?
“this won’t be passed on right? like for real, it’s just private, right? oh man, even if it’s just a what-if situation and even though it’ll never come out i’m still kind of nervous about speaking out of line! but, here goes... pd nim! bang sunyoung ssi! please debunk the goddamned rumours already instead of just burying them! you’re not doing any of us a favour because it just looks suspicious that you won’t confirm or deny anything! ah, that was nerve-racking...”
what do you do to relieve the stress of idol life?
“i really like to occupy the shower. somehow when you stand in there all your worries just wash away! and then i sing. preferably both at the same time. i’ve held many concerts in the shower room so far and i have to say i think my shower head is my biggest fan! somehow i think the members might not be equally impressed. the other day i’m pretty sure i heard haru ( @fmdharu ) yell at me to finish up or he’d break in and force me out. maybe i should think a bit more about my water usage too.”
what tips would you give to a trainee about to debut?
“this might sound incredibly clichéed, but i want to say that they shouldn’t give up on their dream if they really want to pursue it. the road ahead might look dark and rough, and it’s definitely not going to be any easier once you actually reach debut, but at least you tried. at least you can stand there in the end and say that you made it. i know it’s far from everyone who has as big a success history right off the bat as we have had so far, i know many groups are struggling even years after debut. it’s not a flowery road at all, but if it’s really what you want to do, it will be worth it in the end. that’s what i believe.”
what was the hardest part of being a trainee?
“probably a very typical answer as well, but the uncertainty. the fear that even though you put everything you have into it, you might be laid off because you’re not improving enough or because someone better came along. it gets worse and worse the longer you train and when you see those younger than you or those who have trained less time than you be chosen for debut lineups instead. it’s hard. really hard. to keep yourself motivated that is. i admire those who can keep on training for up to ten years maybe even -- i don’t think i could have continued for that long myself.”
did you enjoy the lifestyle of a trainee or of a debuted idol more?
“i don’t think i can really say much about this yet. i’ve been a trainee for around six years, but only a debuted idol for two months, everything is still so new that it seems amazing and overwhelming. evenifi say idol life now, that might change in the future when i get accustomed to everything after all. right now it seems like the dream come true, but even dreams become daily life some day. that’s just how it is even though it’s sad. but in the end i think i’d still pick life as a debuted idol over life as a trainee, because it’s much easier for me to accomplish my goal of making people smile like this, and it will continue to be so in the future.”
what one song or album by another group or soloist would you have liked to release yourself?
“bohemian rhapsody. nothing will ever get as iconic as that one song, so imagine being the creator behind it. i don’t know a single person who doesn’t know it or have at least heard of it even if they don’t know the lyrics or melody. as for kpop songs... i really like charm’s smile flower or pinwheel. i’ve always really liked listening to ballads and charm has some amazing ones that really show off their vocal talent. i really admire them.”
describe your dream sub-unit (members and concept).
“we’re already such a small group that if you were to take away some of our members we’d barely remain! i think it would be really cool though maybe for a concert or something to do accoustic arrangements of some of our songs! like i can imagine a really emotional rendition of nap of a star. i’d pick me, hyun ( @fmddaehyun ), and blue ( @fmdkyubok ) for this. and then haru ( @fmdharu ) and rioh ( @fmdrioh ) could do some amazing dance performance and show off their real talent! both of them are so good at dancing i’m sure they might even go viral for it if they had a chance to let loose as they please!”
out of the following six options, would you rather be allowed to play a major hand in the lyrics, production, choreography, styling, music videos, or concepts you release?
“definitely lyrics. lyrics have always mattered a lot to me because they’re the whole essence of the song, the meaning, the interpreation. you can really capture emotions with lyrics and make people listen to your songs in a whole different way and relate to it. that’s why i like our title track crown so much myself. i think it’s a very relateable song and that it has a really good message, and i really hope we can continue making songs like that in the future!”
which of the two other companies (out of bc, dimensions, and gold star) you are not currently signed under would you rather be an artist in?
“hm, both of them have their ups and downs so it’s kind of hard to pick... in the end i think that it doesn’t as much depend on the company but the group you’re in. if you have awful chemistry with your team mates it doesn’t matter where you are, it’ll still be just as bothersome. but for the sake of picking one, i’d pick dimensions, that’s where my best friend is after all!”
what is your least favorite part of being an idol?
“that has to be the fact that we have little control over ourselves. i know we signed a contract on this, but the moment you sign that you kind of sell away your entire self down to your personality. we are owned by our company and if we dare to even think out of line it won’t go about unpunished. i don’t like it but at the same time i deal with it. i don’t matter really, i’ve sold my soul for other’s sake and that’s the only thing that matters to me.”
what is your favorite part of being an idol?
“that’s easy. the fan interactions. even if what we’re selling through fansigns and stuff like that is just the image the fans want to see, i think there’s also something real in that image. others might not agree with me, but i don’t think you can build a character without putting at least some of yourself into it. if you did, you would either lose the facade along the way or lose yourself in the facade. of course i can’t tell this to the fans, but dealing with them is kind of bothersome. but even if it is, i also look forward to it, because seeing their happy faces when they encounter us makes it all the worthwhile!”
would you rather be incredibly famous with a terrible reputation and hated by most or be fairly unknown with a good reputation and adored by those who know of you? why?
“interesting. i think most people would pick the latter here, no? it makes sense, i don’t think anyone would want to be hated... which is why i’m probably weird for picking the first. i don’t really care about myself or my image -- it’s not that i care about fame either, but if i’m completely unknown then i can’t reach out to everyone like i want to. i want the whole world to know who i am after all. it might be selfish and it might not make much sense if the world is going to hate me, but if i can discard myself for the sake of others then it’s fine. maybe it’s even easier to laugh at someone you hate because it’s satisfying!”
what moment in your career are you proudest of so far?
“i can’t really say my career has a lot of moments so far in the first place, so there might be other more memorable moments along the way that i don’t know of yet, but so far it definitely has to be getting into the top five in hot topic. was the show rigged from the get go? i don’t know and honestly i don’t care. i deserve this spot too and since no one knows either way, i might as well have made it in by my own effort... i wish more people would see it that way, but we have got quite a bit of criticism before we even debuted. people complaining that their favourite contestants didn’t make it in and using the rumours as an excuse to assume the results would have been different for them otherwise. but they aren’t the results are as they are and nothing is going to change that. it’s bittersweet in a way, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s the moment that defined us as vive, and i am incredibly proud of us for that.”
what have you learned about yourself and/or society since becoming a celebrity?
“for myself i guess i got surprised at how greedy i can be. before i joined hot topic i was ready to give up on idol life and just accept the fact that i was just going to end up with an ordinary day job as a salaryman or something like that. but when i started getting recognition i started wanting more and more. it felt amazing. to watch everyone’s eyes on me and to have everyone cheer for me. i love that. i want to feel that feeling much more from here on out; to have vive achieve incredible things and show everyone who doubted us that we are indeed the nation’s handpicked group and that they were not wrong in choosing me or any of the others.”
what would you like to change about how society views or treats idols?
“this is a bit difficult because a lot of things could be changed if you ask me. but if i have to pick one thing, i think i’d do something about how readily people trust rumous. anyone can post anything online, and suddenly you become a trashy human being for something you may not even have done. if someone says you looked at them the wrong way in primary school, suddenly there’s rumous about you being a school bully, if you treat a girl nicely suddenly you’re dating. that kind of thing. we have no room for mistakes and that’s fair i guess -- we are supposed to be painted as some kind of superhumans who can do no wrong, but sometimes you don’t even make a mistake and then you’re going down.”
if you were auditioning for your company today, what would you perform for your audition, or what would you change from your original audition?
“oh man, i auditioned back when i was sixteen... so much has changed since then. looking at this realistically i don’t think i would ever audition today if i didn’t do it back then. no companies would want a trainee in his twenties after all, you don’t see anyone looking for people who were born before the millennium change anymore. but in a world where that wouldn’t matter... if i can keep all the skills i’ve learnt in the meanwhile, i would want to show more of my dancing. i didn’t know how to dance at all back then so i got in purely on my singing which is a bit of a risk for them probably. i auditioned with clean bandit and jess glynne’s rather be, so if i had to change the song i think maybe one that would show off a bit more of my vocal range. and of course something that was popular nowadays like rather be was back then. i would pick an english song still i think, maybe something like olivia rodrigo’s good 4 u.”
if you could do any special stage, what would it be and who would it be with?
“something like a special stage seems so far out in the future! i still can’t fully perceive that i actually get to perform our own stages at all let alone do a special stage with other incredibly talented idols! ideally though i’d want to do a powerful vocal stage! something that would really get the crowd hyped up! queen maybe! i really like queen, freddie mercury was an amazing singer! yes, let’s go with that, i’d perform we are the champions together with hyun ( @fmddaehyun ), jace ( @fmdjace ) and hyunsoo ( @fmdhyunsoo ) sunbaenim of charm, and definitely duri ( @durifmd ) sunbaenim of knight. there are a lot of other talented vocalists out there so i feel really bad about picking like this. i just know i’d want to share this kind of moment with hyun no matter what, so he’s the only one who should definitely be there!”
what career opportunities would you like to pursue that you’ve yet to, or what achievements would you like to obtain that you’ve yet to?
“any achievement? i mean we’ve only just debuted so i can’t say we’ve done a whole lot yet after all! to be honest i never expected us to get our first win with our debut songs when some seniors are working years to get it and some never get it at all! i’m so incredibly grateful for that and it makes me really proud to be an artist like that from the get go! so i think if anything i would want us to keep riding that success and only grow from here on out. i want us to get a title like rookie of the year by the end of 2021. that would be so cool. i really hope we can become worthy of that! we’ll do our best definitely so keep an eye out for us!”
if you could become a model or ambassador for any brand, what would you choose?
“i’m not really too interested in modelling work, but i think if i had to become the face of some brand i’d rather have it be a charity organisation of some sort. something meaningful you know. mental or physical health awareness i think. something that is usually overlooked but an issue that keeps on growing. i don’t want my fame no matter how big or small to be used to sell overpriced clothes or equipment, but instead to help people who might need it. i just want to make people happy.”
if you could be on any variety show, which one (or which type of one) would you want to be on?
“definitely a comedy show or one with comedic value! i like to think i’m a pretty funny guy so i really want to make use of that to make people laugh! i’d also like to go to a game show together with my members! like weekly idol or maybe even knowing bros! we don’t really have any variety experience though so it might be a long time before we get invited to the bigger shows. but we have to start somewhere so i really hope!”
if you were offered the chance to become a ceo of an entertainment company, new or existing, would you take it? why or why not?
“i wouldn’t want a position like that no. it seems like so much work. i’m an entertainer and not a person who would thrive well at a desk job managing everything behind the scenes. i’m not very good at maths either so i’m sure that if i became the ceo of a company our stocks would plummet to the ground in no time! beside, ceos have to be harsh and unfair sometimes and i don’t think i would be able to do that. if someone threw puppy eyes at me i would forgive them for everything in no time.”
what changes would you implement if you were the ceo of your company?
“no diets! free food to the people! seriously though, in the end the body image standards we have are ridiculous. i’ve got kind of used to it by now, but in the beginning i felt like i was starving. i wasn’t even overweight when i got signed, but i still had to watch what i was eating for the sake of losing and managing ‘a better weight’. what does that even mean? and the girls have it even worse than us. i heard a trainer tell this trainee that she was a bad dancer because she had too much fat on her body and i swear i wanted to retort... it’s really infuriating that we can’t even say anything to defend ourselves or the others.”
