[Interview] The Celebrity November Issue - Oppa is back Kangta, Shin Hyesung and Lee Jihoon’s project group S have gathered together after 11 years to sing. Somehow, a grand description of “Oppas’ Comeback” doesn’t seem to fit them as well as “The Outing Of Close Friends”. Because these three friends who love singing the most are just doing what they’ve always been doing.Woof woof, bark bark the studio is a pandemonium, an utter mess. In order to portray the image of a familiar neighbourhood oppa out to shop for pet food at the mart with his companion pet, Kangta brought his pets Venus and Mayo, and Shin Hyesung personally liaised Duyu, Yeondu and Sarangie from his acquaintances. Adding in the photographer’s pet Hoochu, all 6 puppies ran around, in between the staff. In such a situation, ‘Oppa’ Kangta, Shin Hyesung and Lee Jihoon, who’re stars with highly loyal fandoms, were on the verge of becoming isolated. But they did not gripe nor did they rush the photo shoot despite the disorder. Kangta, in-charge of S’s producing, frequently discussed about their comeback schedule with the management team, and Lee Jihoon and Shin Hyesung prepared for the photo shoot while playing with the puppies and changing their clothes. They don’t even greet each other the moment they see each other. It was too easy-going and quiet to think of it as the gathering of a highly sensitive trio. The secret to the continuously growing friendship amongst three men after debut is to not meet up often. In the past, when we were getting to know each other, we did live while stuck together. When about 10 years has passed, you don’t really need to take care and contact each other, and it becomes a family like relationship where it won’t be awkward even if you meet after a long time. Kangta calls this the natural result of a friendship of close to 20 years. Everyday, from eating, to our hobbies, and even traveling, we did it together and then eventually started finding out own lives. In fact, it was because other people don’t meet with us that the three of us gathered together. A friendship like this is possible because we’re not the kind that met out of selfish concerns. As Kangta explained it logically and in detail, Lee Jihoon would add in his own opinion. Apart from minor squabbles they had after drinking, they don’t remember having any conflicts, and even little disputes are a thing of the past. They can understand everything just by being together, unsurprisingly, this is the secret to maintaining their friendship. A concrete example where their tight friendship can be proven is when Kangta and Shin Hyesung plays with the puppies they brought along. Lee Jihoon said, When I go to Kangta’s house, if I even sit on the sofa, one puppy will be on my shoulder, one will be on my leg, and the other will sit on my knee, and I was surprised. There are times where they’re like a blanket. Sure enough, when Kangta appeared in , he was the talk of the town for raising 4 puppies, Ssen, Venus, Mayo and J, like an expert. When I think about it, I seem to have grown up with dogs. As I belatedly started living apart from my parents in 2011, I started having dogs again. If I was an oppa to the puppy that I raised together with my parents, after I started raising the dogs alone, I became their dad. Although he started raising dogs because he likes dogs to begin with, he felt that for someone like him, who spends more than half of a year in overseas promotions, leaving a dog alone at home was like abuse. He brought back Venus for Ssen, who was alone, and also brought back Mayo, when he couldn’t put him down after seeing him at the vet. The moment he had three dogs, getting the fourth wasn’t anything major, and brought in the youngest, J. If it was out of a selfish desire to resolve feelings of loneliness, there’s no reason for me to raise four of them. It is true that their welcoming when I return home is a source of comfort. Even if I return drunk, even if I return disheveled after a few days of work, the puppies think of me as the best, and look only at me without any calculations. This is a happiness that is hard to put into words. Kangta’s love for his puppies is as special as the friendship amongst friends. It took the trio 11 years to once again come together under the name of project group S to sing a song. 11 years was the time where they stood alone, challenged other areas, and built new careers. As the new year came, they share their massive schedule for the year, kept estimating the possible time where S could promote, and while doing so, a few years passed by. Kangta mainly focused on overseas activities, like China, Lee Jihoon was busy acting in dramas and musicals. Shin Hyesung, as everyone knows, made a successful comeback as part of the longest-running idol group Shinhwa. Despite all that, it was thanks to their will that project group S did not become a one-off project that ended with the hit song “I Swear”. Even if we were more successful than we had expected back in 2003, there isn’t a lot of people in the public who remembers about us in detail. This is something that we’ve been preparing since a long time ago, and it’s a burden as we’re worried that we’d be seen as jumping on the bandwagon. Kangta carefully expressed his worries. Recently, in the music industry, idol groups that had promoted in the late 1990s and early 2000s have made successful comebacks, receiving positive response from fans and the general public after a long time. Although it was a beautiful time where fans’ fantasy of “our oppas will definitely be back” turned into reality, did he want to say that S’s promotions ran contrary to that? It was surprising that he would think so carefully of an enthusiastic comeback mode. Honestly, we’re the opposite of that. S was started with the intent to show the music that we like, so this time too, even if it isn’t trendy or unusual, we very much wanted to show what kind of harmony that only the 3 of us can create, what S’s music style is. After hearing that, to lump them under the phrase “Oppas are back” after being encouraged by the comeback craze is not fitting as the three of them have steadily continued with their individual activities and were successful. Of course we’d be happy if oppas are back and we got reactions like how can they be as handsome, how are they just like the past. Indeed it is up to Lee Jihoon counter humorously. Shin Hyesung is the one who knows the current trend in broadcast programmes the best and has maintained his variety sense and he very clearly judged which programme is the most beneficial to S and even taught them know-hows for broadcasts. He is the star who created laughter, that even long-time fans are surprised with, through and etc, during Shinhwa’s come back. To the extend that the public jokingly say that although the album producer is Kangta, the variety programme director is Shin Hyesung. You won’t be able to see S on during our promotions. That was the first and last time in my life. (laughs) But if Kangta and Lee Jihoon goes on it, I’m sure they’ll do extremely well. I’ll probably be watching silently behind. Shin Hyesung, who stressed that his two friends will do very well with R-19 jokes, was the decisive factor in making S’s promotions possible in this year. Shinhwa and his solo activities have always been planned, and he has never had his promotion activities overlap each other but he could no longer delay singing together with his longtime friends. As compared to it being a burden on my stamina due to overlapping schedules, it was just that it was difficult to fix a timing because I’m part of a group. Although he spoke as if his decision wasn’t something really important, while working on the album, in order to make it as perfect as possible, Shin Hyesung was the one who tormented producer Kangta. Because they’re singing together after a long time, they’re more ambitious as things progressed. As beautiful as the harmony of three cream of the crop vocalists was, suddenly, I’m curious if it wasn’t equally tiring during production. Because three vocalists gathered, surprisingly, it was easier on me as the producer. When I produce my solo album, there’s no one to objectively direct my songs and I felt that was a pity. These guys listen and make accurate judgements. They also understand the feelings of the composer well. Like what Kangta said, it was only difficult to get the three of them together, but during production everything moved with lightning speed. We are very clear on each other’s vocal style so there was no problem at all with the distribution of parts. What’s interesting is that, the three of us have completely different voices but those who’ve heard our songs ask if it was sung by one person. The trio’s harmony that sound like one voice, according to Kangta’s words, S’s album is mainly made of songs that are suited for listening at the end of a tiring day, on a quiet night. Like how one listens to a quiet piano piece or a New Edge album when looking to calm down, this album contains comfortable pop ballads that is suitable even for the cold air of late autumn and winter. This also started from the friends’ belief that the best style of songs that Kangta composes will become S’s colour. At the start of the interview, Lee Jihoon said that the three of them became closest friends because no one wanted to meet with them but if it was a friendship like this, I think the three of them alone is more than enough. I am confident that the songs that S presents will be liked by the public. I start to believe firmly in what Shin Hyesung said. sr: The Celebrity Translation by malpabo.tumblr Please take out with full credits.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 05:37:30 +0000
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