But like so many bands of its era with bills to pay and a reputation to uphold, Thursday isn’t above indulging in emo nostalgia. “I used to get really bummed on being like, ‘We’re doing “Full Collapse” tonight,’” Rule admitted.
This wore on Rickly as well, until a conversation with Mikey Way of My Chemical Romance around the time the two bands teamed up for an anniversary tour helped put things into perspective. “We were talking about how much better things are now, not because we’re standing on the stage in an arena,” he said. “This is life after death for the band, there’s nothing to prove,” he added. “Stop worrying about like, ‘Do I even like these old songs?’ Of course you do, they’re great songs.”
Ian Cohen, The New York Times, "Thursday Ends a 13-Year Break From New Music With a Pointed Song," April 12, 2024.
This one is massive and full of interesting tidbits and insights into the members and their relationships! I really recommend reading the whole thing.
Translation under cut
[comments in (parenthesis) are the original article, comments in [brackets] are from me]
Profile → OnlyOneOf
OnlyOneOf is a boys group that debuted in 2019 in Korea. Their name holds the meaning of "being someone's one person". They're also nicknamed OnOff [in Korea and in Japan] or abbreviated as OOO. Their fans are called lyOns.
Yoojung
Birthday: 1997.5.29
Blood type: A
Pitch us your charm point: I'm confident in both my coolness and cuteness!
It's embarrassing to say myself, but it's how I'm simultaneously cool and cute. (embarrassed) My special skill is girl group dances! And I'm the alarm clock of the group. I'm the one who wakes up the earliest, so I wake the others. I don't like rushing to get ready so I wake up early so I can take my time. It doesn't mean that I go to sleep early, though. (laughs)
Junji
Birthday: 1998.4.6
Blood type: B
Pitch us your charm point: Mysterious Guy with the charm of a cat
I don't quite know what my charm point is myself. (laughs) The other members often say that I'm like a cat, so maybe that's my charm? In terms of skills, I'm quick to learn choreography. But my dancing and singing are still lacking, so I study hard.
Rie
Birthday: 1996.11.6
Blood type: A
Pitch us your charm point: My soft peach-like cheeks
I have twinkling eyes and plump lips so everything about me is round, I think that's my charm point. In the group, the others members help out with this as well, but I often create and arrange choreography, so that could be considered my special skill.
Nine
Birthday: 1999.12.13
Blood type: O
Pitch us your charm point: My cute and happy smile
It's not something I practice in particular, but when I'm with the other members I'm always filled with happiness and I naturally wind up laughing. I smile a lot in general so even now it seems like I'm smiling for no reason. (laughs) During concerts, fans' smiles have me smiling in return.
KB
Birthday: 1992.04.23
Blood type: AB
Pitch us your charm point: Muscular hot body — did I answer that too quickly?
My body muscular like Tom Hardy's — it's a hot body. Did I answer that too quickly? (laughs) I'm particularly confident in my back muscles. Even when I'm the one seeing it I think my back looks nice and muscular! I usually train while watching Youtube imparting to me the secrets of bulking up. I do both muscle training and martial arts, so I'll be progressing to Marvel hero next. I'm aiming for the role of Spiderman's best friend! (laughs)
Mill
Birthday: 1999.03.30
Blood type: B
Pitch us your charm point: A large array of expressions and gestures!
I can do a large array of expressions and gestures, so when you see me on stage you might think, this boy is good at lots of things! I practice in front of the mirror a lot, and study by watching the performances of more experienced singers. Recently I keep watching videos of Justin Bieber's concerts.
Individual interviews
Kyubin
Q1: What is the song you would like someone who is listening to OnlyOneOf for the first time to hear?
→ libidO
That would be libidO, in which both Nine and I participated for the composition and arrangement. It's a song that expresses our concept very strongly, and that we completed after a lot of research and many twists and turns, so it's one I'm very proud of. I'm the type who will record over and over again until I'm satisfied, so I'm confident in the final product.
Q2: Was this your first time in Japan? What are some fun things you did and food you enjoyed?
I've been to Fukuoka and Osaka before. In Fukuoka I went to an onsen. In Osaka I went to the city square in the centre of Umeda, and I went as far as Kyoto and Kobe. I also wore getas [traditional Japanese sandals]. They were extremely painful on the back of my feet, so walking was an effort to the end. The purpose of that trip was shopping, I wasn't too fussed about food. I was actually travelling on the cheap so there was no money to spend on food, everyday was (in Japanese) only gyudon [extremely cheap dish of rice topped with beef]. One bowl, regular size. It sure got tough towards the end. Coming to Japan this time, I was moved by how good the draft beer is! I drank it every day like I've never drunk before. (laughs) The yakitori was also delicious. And there was a dish I liked… What was it? (Nine next to him tells him) Right, that! Stuffed bell pepper and toasted cheese skewers. It was so good.
Q3: Your "I feel happy as long as I have this" top 3?
→ lyOns
→ cool clothes
→ muscles (laughs)
lyOns are my driving force. I'm into fashion, so wearing cool clothes also puts me in a good mood. I like clothes with designs that are strange or slightly futuristic. And the third one is muscles! They're essential for exerting strength, right? I feel like my lower body is still thin, so I need to work harder on my glutes and lower body.
Q4: The Korean wave is so popular! Please recommend a Korean movie or drama
→ Vincenzo
The story is interesting, and the side character Nam Joon Su was excellent. (imitates the line "Mr Lawyer ~")
Q5: Please also recommend a Korean food!
→ spam
→ kimchi
→ white rice
Spam, kimchi and white rice are a three-ingredient set! When your mom's not home, you've got to figure out a meal for yourself, right? During those times I'd cook some spam and put it on top of rice with kimchi. I'd enjoy it but if I cooked it while my mom was home it would taste less nice. What a mystery. Is it because mom's cooking is the best?
Junji
Q1: What is the song you would like someone who is listening to OnlyOneOf for the first time to hear?
→ libidO
Please listen to libidO! It's powerful, memorable and addictive. When we were performing this song on music shows, I was wearing extensions and my hair reached to my shoulders. So you can tell it's libidO just from looking at my hair length. (laughs) It's much shorter now.
Q2: Was this your first time in Japan? What are some fun things you did and food you enjoyed?
It was my first time in Japan, but it's been full of fun things! But the best among them was to eat all this delicious food. Gyukatsu [fried beef cutlet] and Ichiran ramen were delicious, but my favourite is the draft beer. It was so good! Gyukatsu is also delicious, it's so soft that it feels like you're drinking it rather than eating it, the way it melts in your mouth. But there's still so many foods I've yet to try, I want to know everything that's delicious. Please teach me!
Q3: Your "I feel happy as long as I have this" top 3?
→ lyOns
→ my ring
→ draft beer
Thanks to Japanese lyOns, we were able to come to Japan. We strive to become artists that you can all be proud of. The second one is this ring that I'm always wearing. I've been wearing it for about ten years now, so I feel uneasy without it. I bought it in Incheon, the engraving used to be black but it's all chipped away by now. I definitely didn't think we'd be together this long — even when I think I've lost it somewhere, it always reappears unexpectedly. I always lose my things but this ring is the one thing I haven't lost. The third one is draft beer. (laughs) Draft beer is the best!
Q4: The Korean wave is so popular! Please recommend a Korean movie or drama
→ Twenty-Five Twenty-One
Among the ones I've watched recently, Twenty-Five Twenty-One really left an impression. Two characters have a fated meeting, welcome their separation, and go on to show their memories beautifully… It moved me. I'm not the type to watch dramas, but this one was great. I recommend it!
Q5: Please also recommend a Korean food!
→ jokbal
→ bossam
→ mak-guksu
These three are a perfect combo. It's an amount that you can easily eat by yourself, I think. Mak-guksu is similar to bibim-guksu (a cold noodle dish mixed with red pepper and various ingredients) but it's made with buckwheat noodles. When you eat it with jokbal and bossam, it's heavenly. It's so delicious it surpasses rice.
Mill
Q1: What is the song you would like someone who is listening to OnlyOneOf for the first time to hear?
→ dOra maar
I recommend dOra maar. I'd love it if you could watch it focusing on my various expressions, from cool winks to pained faces. To be honest, when I debuted I couldn't actually wink. If you watch our Music Core stage you'll see what I mean. (laughs) Since then I've practised a lot, and it was around that time that I succeeded.
Q2: Was this your first time in Japan? What are some fun things you did and food you enjoyed?
It was the first time! The air is so clear in Japan, it's beautiful. There are so many places that I wanted to take pictures of so every time we had some time I'd take pictures.
Q3: Your "I feel happy as long as I have this" top 3?
→ rice
→ sports
→ TV
I love rice! Whenever I eat it with kimchi and jeyuk bokkum (stir-fried pork) I feel happy. What I want to eat right now is my mom's cooking. Her kimchi stew and soybean paste stew are both incredible. The second one is sports. I've played football since I was young, so playing sports makes me feel good. When I go back to Korea, I want to try to start swimming again, which I haven't been able to do for the past 2-3 years. The last one is TV. Dramas, films, variety… I watch all of it. I also watch almost all the popular Japanese animes: Your Name, Tokyo Revengers, Haikyuu, A Whisker Away… Recently, I watched the anime movie Bubble with Junji.
Q4: The Korean wave is so popular! Please recommend a Korean movie or drama
→ Twenty-Five Twenty-One
It's a drama that depicts the youth of two people in 1998 Korea. In 1998, my parents were university students. It's a time when you only had pagers and couldn't contact people easily, right? While watching this drama, I also felt like I was living in that time.
Q5: Please also recommend a Korean food!
→ bulgogi meal set
I recommend Korean meal sets in general. In Korea we call those "baekban", and the restaurants specializing in them "baekbanchip". There are plenty throughout the country. They're cheap and delicious and bustling with taxi drivers. My favourite is the bulgogi meal set from the place near my home. The exact address is a secret. (laughs) If you want to eat something delicious in Korea, I recommend asking a taxi driver for a recommendation.
Rie
Q1: What is the song you would like someone who is listening to OnlyOneOf for the first time to hear?
→ dOra maar
Our debut album "dot point jump" was [first of] the so-called "dot - line - surface" series where dots assemble to form a line, and then become a surface. But at the time, while we had an idea of what we wanted our music to sound like, we weren't really able to explain it in concrete terms. We always said we wanted to make our own music different from others', but if asked "what music would that be?" we couldn't precisely answer "that kind!" Personally I think dOra maar might be what defined the group's colour. So if you're listening to us for the first time, I'd like you to listen to dOra maar. We did our first broadcast performance of this song on January 30 2020 in front of fans, but from the very next day, fans weren't allowed to watch performances anymore. So we also keenly remember how unfortunate we thought it was at the time… Both the song and choreography are good, so it would have made more of an impact if it had been performed in front of people, that kind of thought.
Q2: Was this your first time in Japan? What are some fun things you did and food you enjoyed?
The people are kind, the food is delicious, the views are gorgeous. It was my first time in Japan, but my older sister loves the country and she went a lot before Covid-19. Coming to Japan now, I understood why she loves it so much. She also loves the food and told me to try the egg sandwich from Seven Eleven. I ate it and it really was delicious.
Q3: Your "I feel happy as long as I have this" top 3?
→ lyOns
→ phone
→ money
It's because of fans that we were able to come to Japan and do these events, so lyOns are vital to me. We visit many places, learn many things, study Japanese, but there are still many things we don't know, so I also need my phone to make notes and research things later. Lastly, you need money to eat delicious things. (laughs) I think you need at least a little bit of it.
Q4: The Korean wave is so popular! Please recommend a Korean movie or drama
→ In Our Prime
The film "In Our Prime" that was released in Korea recently was really good. I really like the actor Choi Min-sik. Until now he's played mostly bad guys or more intense roles, but in this film he plays a mathematical genius who's a softer kind of person, it made me think he really is an actor who can make you believe any story. When it comes to dramas I recently watched Killing Time, it was also interesting.
Q5: Please also recommend a Korean food!
→ Baekban
a.k.a meal sets. There's rice and various dishes like bulgogi, I love them.
Yoojung
Q1: What is the song you would like someone who is listening to OnlyOneOf for the first time to hear?
→ dOra maar
I think this song is what solidified our image and concept into its current shape, so I really want people to listen to it. The melody and lyrics are both great, but I also think that we perform it especially beautifully. It's a song where our members' vocals stand out. It's also a song where I sing the chorus for the first time, so I'm emotionally attached to it.
Q2: Was this your first time in Japan? What are some fun things you did and food you enjoyed?
Convenience stores were the most memorable part. Japanese convenience stores are a whole new world! I prefer desserts over meals, and the cream-filled breads were especially delicious. I want to eat proper meals too but since I want to eat all the convenience store sweets I just keep eating those. (laughs) The most delicious wasn't a dessert, though, it was the gyukatsu. And the fruit sandwiches were also great. I also eat one of those jello cups once a day.
Q3: Your "I feel happy as long as I have this" top 3?
→ lyOns
→ vitamin supplements
→ lavender oil
Thanks to lyOns we're able to promote happily; it's why OnlyOneOf exists, I think. The second is vitamin supplements. You're supposed to take them every day and feel the effects after a while, but as soon as I take them I feel more energetic and less tired. The third one is the lavender oil I carry with me for when I'm nervous and can't calm down. I put 2 or 3 drops in my hands and smell, and my mind calms.
Q4: The Korean wave is so popular! Please recommend a Korean movie or drama
→ Twenty-Five Twenty-One
I don't watch dramas much, but Mill, Junji and I all love this one, to the point where we can talk about it for an entire day. There's many lines that will resonate in your heart, so I hope you'll watch it. I watched it after it was first recommended by a fan. I thought I'd only try the first episode but before I knew it it was the middle of the night and I was watching the sixth episode, and got hooked to the point that I started following it on-air. It's a story that will have you recalling the nostalgic memories of youth, but there are also fencing scenes in it. I've actually wanted to learn fencing since I was a child, these feelings resurfaced while watching this drama.
Q5: Please also recommend a Korean food!
→ Tteokbokki with ssaltteok made from rice flour
There's plenty, but tteokbokki is the one that I want to recommend. Because it's the one I want to eat the most currently. (laughs) When it comes to tteokbokki there's actually miltteok made from wheat flour and ssaltteok made from rice flour, ssaltteok is the one I'd like you to eat. Both of them vary depending on where you're eating it, but ssalteok is more tasty and chewy, so it's the one I like.
Nine
Q1: What is the song you would like someone who is listening to OnlyOneOf for the first time to hear?
→ Please listen to our songs in order!
All our albums are linked by a storyline, from the first to the most recent. So I recommend listening to them in order from OnlyOneOf yOu, the first track of our first album "dot point jump", all the way to re-bidO, the last track of our most recent album "Instinct Part.2". So basically, listen to all our songs! (laughs) You'll get to feel the character of our music as well as our growth as artists, I think.
Q2: Was this your first time in Japan? What are some fun things you did and food you enjoyed?
It was my first time in Japan! When we landed in Japan, while waiting at the airport for our PCR test results, there was a very cool-looking person in front of me, and it turned out to be Akiyama Yoshihiro [also known as Choo Sung Hoon, Korean-Japanese martial artist]. I thought it was an auspicious beginning for our Japanese promotions. Japanese food is all so delicious. I especially liked dorayaki [red bean-filled pancakes]. I've eaten it in Korea, but the one from Seven Eleven is especially good. We also went to a yakitori [grilled chicken] restaurant. I loved the gizzard and thighs in particular. I ate them five by five. (laughs)
Q3: Your "I feel happy as long as I have this" top 3?
→ (in Japanese) sleepy-time
→ energy drink
→ members
I want to say lyOns, my family, and the other members… But that would be too obvious so I'll try to think of something different. First is sleep. (in Japanese) Sleepy-time. If I have just five minutes, I can sleep anytime, anywhere. That might be my special skill! Energy drinks are one of the things I always have in my bag. In Japan also I always carried Red Bull or Monster with me. I was surprised by the amount of Monster flavours available in Japan. The pineapple-flavoured Ultra Gold was nice. For the last one, can I say the other members after all? Just being with them is fun and makes me happy. Just for this, I'm grateful for them.
Q4: The Korean wave is so popular! Please recommend a Korean movie or drama
→ Hospital Playlist
I recommend Hospital Playlist, in which Jo Jung-suk and Yoo Yeon-seok star. I like hospital dramas in general, but this one is especially realistic at recreating the medical world, it was very fun to watch. The storyline continues between season 1 and 2, so I recommend watching both.
Q5: Please also recommend a Korean food!
→ Ramyeon
→ Egg fried rice
Bunsik (light meal restaurant) ramen! But what I really like is my mom's egg dish. You have egg fried rice in Japan too, right? I can't cook so ever since I left home I haven't been able to eat it much, so KB took pity on me and made it for me! After I added soy sauce and ate it, it tasted exactly like my mom's cooking, it made me emotional. I don't know how many times I said thank you. (laughs)
→ Tell us what you like and respect about each member!
Yoojung
→ To KB: He's a thoroughly self-possessed person. And I think the way he's always thinking about how to grow and improve himself is wonderful.
→ To Junji: His mind is wonderful! He's such a positive person. I'm always fretting over everything, so the way Junji only looks forward is something I want to learn from.
→ To Mill: He's always cheerful and invigorating the group. I'm jealous of Mill's innate brightness.
→ To Rie: He has a delicate, soft image. His voice is also beautiful, he's a person with a lot of qualities.
→ To Nine: He's a boy with so many talents, I also want to learn from the way he's always striving to improve himself.
Nine
→ To KB: All the things that people now praise me for, I've learned from KB. In the past I had a child's mentality and immature sides, but by learning so many things from KB I was able to become an adult. It's not something I'd be able to say in front of him, but I'm very grateful to him.
→ To Junji: Junji is my hyung that I adooore. Just looking at him makes me want to laugh, or more like, he makes me feel happy. I think Junji's "enigmatic-ness" is one of our group's advantages.
→ To Mill: He's upstanding and positive. I also respect his selflessness. For example, if someone's carrying a lot of luggage, he'll carry it for them. And then he'll forget his own luggage because of that. (laughs) He prioritises others to that extent.
→ To Rie: Rie's singing voice is wonderful. If I had to compare it to a colour, it would be sky blue. I love his vocals when singing The Little Prince (by Ryeowook of Super Junior). It really is a heavenly voice! With stronger vocal control, I'm expecting him to progress even more.
→ To Yoojung: Yoojung is a beautiful person. Especially when he dances, I'm enchanted by the way he uses his body. His forte is copying girl group dances, and he can also memorize dances immediately without practising! When it comes to girl group covers, I think he's incontestably the number 1 in k-pop.
Mill
→ To KB: KB is a reliable hyung who takes care of the other members. When I'm troubled or need to be comforted, I always go to KB to talk. For me, he's a healing presence.
→ To Junji: We're the fusional friends together 24/7. We understand each other to the point that there's nothing we don't know about the other. I like that no matter what I say, he will understand and acknowledge me.
→ To Rie: Rie loves eating, so he's my teacher in finding good places to eat. I also like that he treats me when we go eat together. Ahahah. Rie is the one in the team with the biggest gap between his stage persona and his personality. I think he gives off the impression of an animated person, but off stage he's fairly shy. It's cute.
→ To Nine: Nine is the same age as me but in some aspects feels older, I really respect his musical knowledge. He teaches me about singing, and I teach him about dancing. He's the comrade-in-arms that runs next to me pursuing the same goal. I'm happy that we recently started playing football together as well.
→ To Yoojung: Yoojung regularly takes care of me! Since we were trainees, we'd play RPG games or FPS games together a lot. Either against each other or as teammates. By the way, when it comes to video games, I'm sliiightly better than him.
KB
→ To Junji: He's great at dancing, it's so cool. I'm a fan of Junji's powerful, dynamic dancing. The way his dancing shines on stage always moves me. In private, I don't know what he's thinking at alll. He's enigmatic? Right, he's an enigma. (laughs)
→ To Mill: He's a boy so full of energy. On stage his expressions overflow with confidence, he feels reliable. If there's something that both he and I want to use, he'll say "I'm fine, use it hyung!" and give it to me, his selflessness is wonderful.
→ To Rie: Rie is someone who can dance while controlling his body perfectly. In particular, I'm charmed by how beautiful the lines of his body are while dancing.
→ To Nine: First of all, before anything else, (in Japanese) his face is amazing. He's already good-looking without makeup, but with stage makeup the sexiness piles on and he becomes lethally good-looking. Also, he's skillful in everything. He's good at singing, his sense of pitch is also good, I wish I had those abilities.
→ To Yoojung: In one word, he's The Idol. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was born to be an idol. The other members generally have aspects that aren't so idol-like, but Yoojung, he's an idol even in his daily life. And then when he stands on stage the glimmer multiplies, I think that's the strength of an idol.
Junji
→ To KB: He's an idea man. He comes up with various ideas to the point where I think, where did he come up with that? Just one time, I'd like to become KB and take a peek into his mind.
→ To Mill: He's got a personality that relaxes whoever he's with. He likes playing around. He plays a lot of pranks. Mill and I have a Tom and Jerry relationship. (laughs)
→ To Rie: He's delicate with a deep sensitivity, and tries to understand the feelings of other people. Even though it's not easy, being able to empathize with people and cry with them is a wonderful thing, I think.
→ To Nine: Nine is a person of many talents. And he's always helping everyone. He's a member who highly values teamwork. He's competent to the point where I wonder if there is anything he can't do.
→ To Yoojung: He's interesting to me. He's always playing pranks on me, he likes them to an astonishing amount. He's a bit strange. (laughs) But his way of playing pranks is always kind and funny. He's also charmingly cat-like.
Rie
→ To KB: He's an utterly self-possessed person. The way he has his own clearly defined value system and his own personal path is very cool.
→ To Junji: He's cat-like, and likes to play around, and there are a lot of ways in which you could say he's a little different, but from the way I see it Junji is the one with the warmest heart. He's not great at expressing himself, you could say he's cat-like in that way, but he always manages to convey the warmth in his heart, so just having him by your side is reassuring. He also gives a lot of feedback to the members.
→ To Mill: He's a mischevious kid, and the social lubricant between members. You can't get mad at him no matter what kind of prank he plays, or should I say, his cute side is his charm point. He feels very much like a maknae, and he's necessary to the members. For the group to come together as one, Mill turns out to play a big role.
→ To Nine: He has a strong sense of responsibility, and a strong determination to do his utmost to carry the things he's entrusted with to the end. He's younger than me, but so reliable that he sometimes seems older, I need to learn from him.
→ To Yoojung: He's got a diligent personality, and pays attention even to things that other people don't notice. It's also the case for other members, but the way he responds to fans is wonderful. He also watches the other members closely, he's someone who will secretly cover for mistakes that another has made without even noticing it themselves.
KB, Mill, Nine interview
Q: What special skill do each of you have?
KB: I'm proud of my sense of humour. I've always liked to make people laugh, but I've become funnier lately.
Nine: (in Japanese) Yes, yes, absolutely.
KB: I study humour by watching funny movies and various type of comedies. Recently I've been into the American TV show Brooklyn 99. It's really funny, I'm howling while watching it.
Mill: He really does howl. (laughs) Personally, my forte is sports. Especially football, I've participated in a national tournament before. Also swimming and bowling… Right, the three of us are the bowling trio. Before Covid-19 we all went bowling together a lot.
Nine: Mill really is good at bowling. His average score is around 170, 180 points?
Mill: Around 150 points. I feel like there were a lot of games where I was easily winning against KB, only for him to beat me at the end…
KB: Right. I suddenly became good. I scored around 200 points, didn't I? Well, my humour level is still higher.
Nine: Your humour score is around 280 points? (laughs) As for me, I don't have a special skill…
KB: You're being modest again! You can do so many impressions, right?
Nine: Which ones… I can imitate the sound of water droplets falling into a bucket. Plop, plop, plop.
(KB and Mill are silent for a moment, then start snickering)
Nine: Come ooon! That's why it's a skill I'm not particularly proud of! Ah… Why did I do this… (teary-eyed)
Q: What were your impressions of your first Japanese concert?
Mill: A lot more people came than expected, so I was very nervous. At the end, the audience did a surprise event for us. It was so touching, I ended up crying. I cry a little easily.
Nine: Even in Korea, we'd never had a solo concert before. So everything about this concert was memorable. Above all I was touched by how the fans waited for us. After all, we told them we were coming to see them, but we couldn't for two years. Not seeing someone for two whole years, in a friendship, that's called ghosting. (KB and Mill burst out laughing) Even more touching were the people who before Covid-19 had come all the way to Korea to see us, and were there at the concert. We recognised them even with masks. Seeing a familiar face is so deeply moving, like, "Oh they're still supporting us after all this time."
KB: Right! We were like, "Ah, there's someone over there, there's someone over there as well." We're so thankful for that devotion, Japanese lyOns are (in Japanese) amazing. So cool.
Nine: We also pledge devotion to our fans!
KB: Yoojung was the most nervous about this concert, wasn't he.
Nine: He was so incredibly nervous, so I was teasing him backstage. "What are you so nervous for ~", that kind of thing. I thought it might ease the stress. This said, I was also very nervous.
Q: Your stylish visuals and concept gives you an aloof image. What about your true selves?
KB: We all have bright personalities and love fooling around… So we're completely different from that image.
Mill: We've lived together for six years, since we were trainees, but every day at our dorm is still lively like a birthday party or a school trip night.
Nine: We're very much not chic people. (laughs) We often seem cool, but if the boiling point of water is a hundred degrees, then we always keep ourselves at ninety-nine degrees. Hot, hot!
KB: In our hearts burns a passion hot like magma.
Nine: Our fans also have that gap between their public image and their true selves, so they're not very different from us, right? Fufu.
Q: You're also known for having famous Korean composers such as Gray and Boycold write songs for you. Please recount a memorable episode about each of them.
Nine: Each of them kindly acknowledged us as individual artists. While working they kept asking for our opinions, "How is this?", "How do you want to do this?" and I was very thankful for that show of respect. In the behind-the-scenes video of a past recording session, Samuel Seo complimented us warmly saying we were all "great guys", I was so touched watching that. I was glad to be able to work again with him on suit dance.
Mill: I have great memories of recording the rap part of a sOng of ice&fire in GroovyRoom's studio.
KB: Even during the recording Gray was always smiling and encouraging us saying, "It's okay," "You're doing great." He also listened to the songs we wrote and gave us insights on them, "You should do this that way." He's a really kind person.
Q: You've also received accolades from western media, such as, "They've got an artistic concept" or "They're doing something new".
KB: It's something we've researched very hard, so to have it acknowledged like this makes us very happy. We strive to become a group with a sensitivity to artistic and delicate music, it's what fuels us. We'll study more, do more trial and error.
Nine: Just having people know us makes me happy. We always say we want to become #1 on Billboard, but that's a lofty goal, isn't it? It's something we say also as a way to tell ourselves that we always have to do our utmost.
Mill: We also talk about our goal all together in the dorms, since it's a shared dream. We want to come across as determined with a fixed goal.
Nine: It's something we've talked about since before we debuted. That we have to do our utmost and aim for the top. While always prizing modesty, being grateful for the people who read and hear us.
Q: How do you feel about your sensual concept?
KB: We have an "ubersexual" concept that pursues a soft, genderless sexiness. Each member is sensitive about this being art, and enjoys the sublimation of sensuality into art, so we're happy to be able to do something that we enjoy.
Nine: Even if our intention is for our dancing to be sensual, if the person watching doesn't feel that it's sexy, it's pointless, right? To have someone tell us "This is sexy" means that our songs' worldview was properly understood and solidly expressed, it's something to be proud of. To be honest, if libidO or suit dance had been someone else's songs, would they have been that sexy? Even in a bright song like angel (Prod. GRAY), we ooze sexiness. (laughs)
Mill: libidO is the first song that we tackled by first training our bodies, with that song we became known as a "visual body group". Our staple food at the time was chicken tenders. That's the only thing we ate, so after that when I ate spicy ramen for the first time in a while, it tasted so spicy. I can usually handle spiciness well, but I became someone who could barely handle eating spicy. We worked hard to the point that even our taste buds changed ~
Junji, Rie, Yoojung interview
Q: How was your first Japanese concert?
Yoojung: I'm normally the type who might be nervous before going on stage, but once I'm on stage the nervousness disappears. But since it was our first time doing a concert in front of so many people, I stayed nervous until at least the third song. After that I felt a lot of happiness.
Junji: (in Japanese) Thanks to lyOns we're filled with happiness!
Rie: I was looking forward to it, but I also had worries. Because it was the first time we'd be standing in front of our Japanese fans, and because we'd made them wait for a long time so their expectations might have grown and we could disappoint them. But once we got on stage everyone was supporting us, and that roused us. It's a great memory and it made me want to stand on stage in Japan again.
Junji: We sang time leap at the end of the concert, the sight of lyOns waving their lightsticks was really beautiful.
Yoojung: That they were standing there to watch our concert made a big impression.
Rie: We weren't able to hear everyone's voices yet [because of Covid-19 regulations restricting cheering], but just from the expressions of everyone watching us we could tell they wanted to raise their voices or shout, it was moving and we're thankful. I feel that just from looking into everyone's eyes we were able to understand what they wanted to say.
Yoojung: Many people were waving fans, I thought, did they make those themselves? They decorated them so prettily, it's so cute that they made them themselves.
Rie: I saw one that said "shoot me" [the finger gun gesture] so I did it. The other members also fulfilled as many requests as they could. They made those fans so pretty for us, I wanted to ask them to give them to me. (laughs)
Junji: Seeing my name made me very happy. I started smiling without thinking, then I had to change my expression to get back to the song's feeling.
Yoojung: Everyone made theirs so pretty, so they all stood out.
Q: OnlyOneOf has stylish visuals and concepts, but the atmosphere around you feels more approachable, what would you say is your true selves?
Rie: On stage we try to attain a chic, mystical, sexy beauty, so the people seeing us for the first time tend to have a first impression of us as a bit scary and hard to approach, but I think that when they see the members talking together, they'll find that we have a bright, childlike side, and that we're good people.
Yoojung: I agree! On stage we want to be cool, but once we come off stage we can be that older brother, friend or little brother from the neighbourhood. I want people to know these friendly sides of us.
Junji: We're not unapproachable people!
Rie: We'll definitely get close! Don't be scared!
Yoojung: For example, in the dorms when we're done eating, we always do a game to decide who will clean up. Like we'll take a book and the person who opens it to the page with the most character names does the dishes, or the person who turns on the TV and has the most people on screen gets to pass, or we'll compete on who can throw a bottle cap the furthest. (laughs) We're the type of people who enjoy these little games. (laughs) I think KB loses most of them?
Junji: It's often the person suggesting the game who loses.
Rie: It's one of our jinxes, when we decide to play a game, whoever's not there also tends to lose. (laughs) So we all stay in our seats until the game's over!
Yoojung: When we're reaching the end of the meal, everyone starts exchanging glances. (laughs) Wondering who will suggest a game, or who will leave their seat.
Q: Your sensual, artistic melodies and dances stand out.
Yoojung: In order to make artistic works, we gain inspiration from various sources. KB apparently often gets ideas from films, books or images, but I often get inspired from the trivial things that I lay my eyes on in my daily life, like magazines, books, tissues, phones.
Rie: Sometimes we exchange among ourselves, other times the company will suggest things, like, "What do you think of making a song based on this concept?" Inversely we'll also sometimes give our opinion to the company, "What about this kind of thing?" We won't use those inspirations as is, we'll refine those ideas while exchanging together, "If we interpret it that way, won't it become that kind of work?"
Junji: Inspiration is something that can come from any kind of place. When KB gets an idea, he'll immediately write a memo. suit dance is a work developed from a concept the company gave us.
Rie: suit dance brings to mind the image of a man beautifully suited up, it expresses dandyism and the beauty of someone dressed up to the tip of their fingers, similar to the film Kingsman. This is something that we talked about together while practising.
Yoojung: We also give each other a lot of feedback while practising. We tell each other what we did well. And we study while watching the live stages of other seniors.
Rie: When we practice, there'll be fun moments and serious moments. For example, even if we're having fun together, if we have to turn on our expressions and start shooting, everyone will switch in an instant and get immersed in the song's world. I think that's also a strength of our group.
Junji: In the beginning there were times when we couldn't say the things that came to mind while practising and left it at that, but that only leads to regrets. So if you're going to have regrets you might as well gather your courage and say those things, and so during practice we've come to give up on what doesn't work and try various things even when it comes to gestures and expressions.
Q: Junji and Rie are popular names in Japan, how did they come about?
Rie: When we debuted, someone on a TV show once told us "Junji and Rie, your Korean is very good." (laughs) There's no particular reason behind the name, but there's apparently a superstition that a female idol with a male name will do well, and inversely a male idol with a female name will do well. And on top of that our group has a genderless image, I think that might be why I was given the name Rie.
Yoojung: I think we received names that all fit our own individual images.
Q: I think a lot of people remember OnlyOneOf as a group with sexy visuals. Junji's curtain hair had a lot of impact in particular.
Junji: The curtain hair was the result of trying different hairstyles and picking the one that seemed most memorable. For libidO I suggested making my hair purposefully longer with extensions, and with the ones we used it turned out to be a very long hairstyle. (laughs) I leave it to the hairstylist.
Yoojung: For me as well, among the various hair styles I tried, we landed on this one that fit me the best. But I received a lot of positive feedback from fans thanks to this hairstyle, so now I want to keep it. I like it a lot too.
★ EXCLUSIVE! Salman Khan on completing 3 decades in the industry: This has been the best journey ever !
Samina Shaikh | Dec 17, 2019
On a Saturday evening, the ‘Dabangg’ Khan made an entry at the Mehboob Studios and there is a frozen moment for the paparazzi who are glaring at him for a candid capture! At his jovial best, Salman Khan encouraged the media to do the ‘Munna Badnaam’ hook step with him. The actor then headed towards his tent where he indulged in an exclusive conversation with us talking about ‘Dabangg 3’, working with South stars, completing 3 decades in the industry, birthday plans and much more. Here are the excerpts from the interview:
‘Dabangg 3’ is set for release, and you’ve taken an integral part in the scripting of this one, what was the thought process behind it?
There was no thought process in this one. Thoughts just kept on flowing in. That is how this one was done. We brothers were sitting and chilling and we just thought that we should do ‘Dabangg’. How we should do ‘Dabangg’? We should get into New York, we should get into these places, I said no yaar. I said we should show how he became ‘Chulbul Pandey’. And that’s how it started falling in place. That’s how we started working on it. This is a very organic one for us. Very organic one! Because of the way one and two were written, it was easy for us to continue.
But it also took 7 years for ‘Dabangg 3’ to release
We had already had that thing. Then I got busy into a lot of other films. So then, we got this time frame to do. So we did it in this time frame.
You recently said at a promotional event that it’s not easy to work on a sequel because there are high expectations. What excited you to go for it and how did you convince Arbaaz Khan for ‘Dabangg 3’?
The script. The script is always the most interesting part. If the script is interesting. you know, I'm interested. I'm interested, fans are interested. So that’s how it basically works.
There were kickass dialogues in ‘Dabangg’ which became the USP of the movies. In ‘Dabangg 3’ what can one see? If something you can say, what is the USP of this one?
(Laughs)We have a lot of things in this one and it is not forced. Now that Chulbul Pandey has become a caricature of himself. He's still the same guy. He's got more depth in fact. But he's the way he is. So the way he reacts to a situation, how he reacts in a serious situation, how he reacts is a comedy situation…When will he get irritated, when will he enjoy, what will be the counter dialogue? All these things are something to look for!
Will we actually get to see a fan’s dialogue in the movie because you had a contest regarding it?
You will see a lot of things in the film. Also these dialogues were not inspired by anywhere. They are original. Different kinds of dialogues, different kinds of scenes, which you can’t put in any other film.
‘Munni Badnaam’ was a famous song back then and it created a world record. With ‘Munna Badnaam’ can we get to see something like creating a world record?
It just got released. It’s doing very well, let’s just see first.
You launched Sonakshi Sinha in ‘Dabangg’ and it was an epic launch and now you have launched Saiee Manjrekar. What’s the quality is Saiee that stood out according to you?
At that point of time the ‘Rajjo’ character needed Sonakshi and this time the character actually demanded Saiee Manjrekar. Saiee’s innocence, her sincerity, the way she is, the camera loves. Everything about her will stand out.
When it comes to music, we have seen you humming a lot of old songs, at promotional events. In ‘Dabangg 3’, will we get to see that retro effect with the music, the kind of music you like?
The kind of music ‘Dabangg’ has, you can’t hear that kind of music in any other film. Dabangg has got it’s own ‘Naina’... ‘Hud Hud’... ‘Munna Badnaam’... Dabangg has its own genre of music. So it’s very difficult to find that Dabangg kind of music in any film. So, so far we've been very happy and very lucky as well to get these kind of songs now, earlier and in the second one is well. Because it's a different kind of music. And people seem to like that but it's the same music in some other films will not work.
The villain plays a crucial role in the movie and like you know in the earlier ones had Sonu Sood and Prakash Raj and now Kichcha Sudeep. What do you have to say about him and will you prefer venturing into South cinema?
So this one first we are trying to release it there and let's see how this one does there because this is also their kind of film with a lot of heroism, songs, dance, emotions and family. So this is one actual film from here which fits into the South format of movies. Which their stars do. Like ‘Dabangg’ was also remade there. Very few movies…First, all our movies used to be remade there, especially my Dad’s movies. And then we started taking a lot of their remakes. In fact, I myself have done two. And ‘Dabangg’ was one which was remade there. So let’s see what happens. It will release in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu. So now let’s see how the audience there accept us like the way we have accepted ‘Bahubali’ and their actors like Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan and Chiru Babua and others.
What was your Dad’s feedback on ‘Dabangg 3’?
Well he's liked it. He's liked it a lot. Otherwise, we had to leave our houses. Outdoors, outdoors, Outdoors...
You have completed three decades in the industry starting from ‘Biwi Ho Toh Aisi’ to ‘Dabangg 3’, what do you’ve to say about it?
This has been the best journey ever.
What are your birthday celebration plans?
So another generation will come in and we are going to spend time with them.
“A kid watching Thursday is going, ‘They are empowering because that could be me up there—Geoff is singing what I want to be singing,'” says Gerard. “With us, it’s like, ‘These guys are so fucking crazy I need them in my life.'” Or, to put it bluntly, introverts inspire others to form bands; extroverts sell records.
“I told them after their first record they were gonna be much bigger than Thursday,” says Rickly. “We’re flipping sides of a coin. He deals in the surreal and make-believe and is able to project a confidence that I can’t. He has this other place where he can hide and control things. Gerard’s always telling me that he’s my villain. But I think he’s an antihero.”
Gerard Way on Thursday and Geoff Rickly on My Chemical Romance, Spin June 2005
But ultimately, he had to weigh his personal misgivings against the one thing the trio could unequivocally agree upon — being in Thursday is difficult, but not being Thursday is worse.
Ian Cohen, The New York Times, "Thursday Ends a 13-Year Break From New Music With a Pointed Song," April 12, 2024.
Geoff Rickly of Thursday and Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance for VICE Noisey, January 2015.
You two go way back, to the point that Geoff, you produced the first My Chemical Romance record. How and when did you first meet?
Way: I remember it super vividly. Do you remember? I was walking out of the record shop that Alex [Saavedra, Eyeball Records] worked at on Kearny Avenue and you were standing against a wall wearing a black t-shirt. You were rail skinny and you looked like you were dying and you were so pale with this jet black hair.
Rickly: My vegan lifestyle was not agreeing with me.
Way: It looked like the sun was killing him. [long pause] And I thought he was super cool.
