Boyfriend, 6 men’s honest growth phase (Interview)
Posted by Park Sujeong Input : 2015/03/17 16:57:18
Boyfriend (From left, Jeongmin, Kwangmin, Donghyun, Minwoo, Youngmin, Hyunseong)
[Tenasia=Reporter Park Sujeong] Group Boyfriend is a proof of a group with ceaseless growth. Debut song “Boyfriend”, “Don’t Touch My Girl”, “I’ll Be There” showed us their image of a boyfriend from a pure-hearted manga, while “Janus” and “IYAH” showed us a masculine charm with charisma equipped. Every album, there are evidences of Boyfriend’s growth from boys to men. From last year’s “Obsession” till the recently released new song “Bounce”, the cruel fairy-tales trilogy series has been completed. Crossing beyond being simply a boyfriend, they have showed us their capacity to take on concepts by leaping into a fantasy boyfriend concept.
Boyfriend’s growth was led by last year’s first music broadcast win and first solo concert. Leader Donghyun says “Compared to debut and now, the musical spectrum that we can take on became broader.” and that “The thoughts of fans are also fonder, and the depth grew deeper as compared to debut.” showing their growth. How does Boyfriend, who has been in the industry for four years, think of their growths as they look back on themselves? Each member tells of the stories with sometimes honest straightforward comments and sometimes affectionate gazes.
# Donghyun, from a scary leader to a village hyung*
(T/N: Village hyung; used to describe someone of a comfortable presence like a neighbour)
Kwangmin: Hyung has become more friendly. From before, he always took on the role of making our relationship more intimate.
Youngmin: His ability to command us has always been present but it seems to be even stronger now. He takes on the role of mediating even the smallest of troubles. When seeing him make decisions regardless of the matter at hand, I think of him as the best leader.
Minwoo: He became better at making us harmonious. At first he had a scary aura. He was really a leader at that time, but now he blends in with us and became more comfortable.
Jeongmin: He got funnier. At first our gag cords didn’t match but now he insists that our gag cords match. Haha.
Hyunseong: Generally he has softened. He mixes well with us and got a lot closer, and compared to a leader, he’s now a close hyung.
# Kwangmin, from a delicate and sensitive girl* to 4-dimensional mood making youth
(* refer to DH’s comment)
Donghyun: His mental strength got stronger. He originally cried at anything I said. As he cried, it’s like he was a young girl, but now he has a man’s mentality. He became a man. Through “Real Men”, after going to army he seems to have really become a man.
Youngmin: I too, at first worried a lot for Kwangmin. During debut he cried often, being weak physically and emotionally. Watching from the side-lines, my heart hurt a lot and worried a lot. Right now, it seems like he’s doing better than me. He’s a kind and impressive child.
Minwoo: I wish to find Kwangmin’s debut image. Haha. During debut, he was delicate and had an innocent aura. Now, he’s too “my way” and became stronger. Wouldn’t it be great if he could find a middle ground between these two points?
Jeongmin: Whether it was during debut or trainee, it’s like there was something suppressing Kwangmin and making him feel down. Now, he knows exactly how to enjoy life and live well. It would be great if he can go on like this. The worrying thing is if he has this personality at 30 years old, it could probably cause people to dislike him. Haha.
Hyunseong: Kwangmin’s overflowing energy seems to have gotten better. He’s bright and lively, and because of his active personality, being around him became more exciting.
# Youngmin, overcoming pressure with steel-like mentality
Donghyun: He lost a lot of the pressure he felt on stage as compared to debut. The past Youngmin trembled a lot on stage. He was very pressured, to the extent that just standing beside him on stage, you could feel his trembling. Right now, that sort of thing got a lot better.
Youngmin: Now it’s only a bit of nervousness.
Kwangmin: Youngmin got a lot more natural in every aspect. In the past, when he was on stage he looked unnatural, but now he is natural on stage and seems to have found his own colour.
Minwoo: Youngmin’s mentality got stronger and he is more mature. At first when he goes through mental breakdown, he’ll go all the way down to 300 floors below ground (mentally), unable to emerge from below. He has overcame that now, using that as a stepping stone and resolving the issue well.
Jeongmin: His mind is a lot more solid now. Mentality more solid, in many ways he became more solid.
Hyunseong: He's more mature and changed his mindset to be more positive. Even in a bad situation, he is calm. He doesn't let things stretch out, quickly settling them.
Kwangmin, Donghyun, Minwoo, Youngmin, Jeongmin, Hyunseong (From top left, in clockwise direction)
# Minwoo, whether now or before, Boyfriend's mother
Jeongmin: Minwoo during debut was a very refreshing person. Although he's still refreshing, he has a man's scent now too. Not only his face, but it's also evident in his actions. He takes care of the people around him well as from before, and in many ways has a mom-like role in the team.
Hyunseong: Impressively, the good points of him never changed. His habit of taking care of things and people, along with organising are all still present.
Donghyun: Unchangingly showing a good image.
Kwangmin: Minwoo was too kind during debut that he becomes conflicted. He's still kind now, but compared to before, he knows how to survive in the world (*make hard choices). He's also a bit taller. Haha.
Youngmin: From before I had envied him. I was envious of him being not like a same-aged but more adult-like. Even as time passed, that doesn't change.
# Jeongmin, a serious musician who enjoys challenges
Hyunseong: Jeongmin has more thoughts now. Before, he enjoys a lot of things but recently he has more worries and concerns, which is regrettable.
Donghyun: I think differently. Jeongmin has gotten more dangerous compared to debut. I don't mean it in a bad way, but Jeongmin now enjoys challenges. At first he only did as he was told, so it's a good sort of dangerous. He does what he wants to do, and while it's risky, his challenging spirit gives energy to people around him.
Kwangmin: Jeongmin-hyung is a musician. He listens to music from the heart. He's also sentimental. When listening to music, he's more emotionally invested than before. Towards music, he became more serious.
Youngmin: Jeongmin-hyung hears a lot of different music. In the past, he listens to a lot of classics, but now he listens to cheerful music, music that you only hear in clubs, and coming in contact with music from different genres, his musical spectrum seems to have broadened.
Minwoo: As compared to debut, Jeongmin-hyung matches me better now. Our musical preferences are similar, and we can understand each other well. The two of us speak frankly with each other about everything. Whether musically or daily life's issues, we discuss everything. At first he was just an interesting hyung, and he too only lived in his own world. I think people have to blend with each other to live (??).
# Hyunseong, became a dragon! (*transformed into a success)
Jeongmin: Compared to when he was a trainee, Hyunseong-hyung's self-management has become more thorough. His body is also a lot better, and he lost a lot of weight visually. From that side of him, he's the member that changed the most externally.
Donghyun: ‘He became a dragon’ is what I think. He became a dragon. Compared to debut, he got a lot more handsome. At first, him being a visual representative was a bit far-fetched. No matter who sees him, he has the feeling of a main vocal, but now he looks a lot better. Haha.
Kwangmin: He is the member that gained the most from camera massage*. Compared to debut, he changed a lot.
(* camera massage is a new-age word. It's likely close to the meaning of receiving a figurative "massage" from being exposed to camera for a long time, basically becoming better looking just like that.)
Youngmin: He got a lot more thorough with self-management. His singing skills are progressive!
Minwoo: Hyunseong-hyung lost his original self which is good. During debut, Hyunseong-hyung had a very strong pride, and his image as an older person was strong. Hence it was a bit difficult for us to get close to him too. Now it is a lot better and he fits in well with us. Not just the bad things, the members all think so too (??).
Tenasia=Park Sujeong soverus@
Photo: JYP entertainment.
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T/N: Please only take out good meanings from this article! I'm sorry for not being a good enough translator (aka all the ??s). >_< The photo credits were to JYPent., so I just translated accordingly instead of changing. We all know it's supposed to be StarshipEnt.
P.S. Thanks to beatrooot for the help!
trans: smudgebaby | source: tenasia
