SEVENTEEN: JOSHUA, the petty gentleman
It is December 30th in South Korea, so it’s the birthday of JOSHUA, member of the SEVENTEEN group. This is a large group so I suggest you discover a little more about each member through this written portrait.
The member in the spotlight today is JOSHUA, the petty gentleman.
JOSHUA was born on December 30, 1995 in Los Angeles, despite both parents being Korean, he has lived all his life in the United States and is very unfamiliar with Korean customs. He even says he had difficulty getting used to this hierarchy system and was often reprimanded for it when he was an intern.
JOSHUA has a talent for languages that can easily be envied upon him: in addition to English and Korean, JOSHUA speaks Spanish very well and is learning Japanese and Chinese, which he is not bad at.
He is very well behaved and has good manners, for this reason and also for his appearance of prince, JOSHUA received the nickname of “gentleman” during the debut of the group. However, the members consider this title to be false since JOSHUA is often very mean and mocking. Despite this, he was mentioned in a YouTube video as the most polite Kpop idol alongside Binnie and Seunghee (Oh My Girl).
JOSHUA is very lonely by nature, according to the members, when they go on bike rides he goes way ahead and does not wait for others. His lonely side, sometimes caused him to be forgotten by the other members when they left for lunch. He is very tidy and likes his room tidy, the members laugh at him saying his room looks like an exhibit.
During an episode of “Going Seventeen” where members were asked to say what they thought of others, JOSHUA told VERNON that if they did not chat in English regularly, he would surely have forgotten how to speak his own language. He also thanked JEONGHAN for being there to support him through the years of training because otherwise he would have given up. JOSHUA is also close to DK with whom he gets along very well.
JOSHUA’s journey is remarkable: wanting to become a singer, he sent an audition video to Pledis Entertainment and left his country, his friends and his family for a new country he knew next to nothing about. He joined the agency in 2012, a little before JEONGHAN. The workouts were not straightforward and since he was new and deeper into the unknown, the loneliness was hard to bear. He and JEONGHAN were ready to give it all up, but they kept each other from leaving the agency. So JOSHUA started out as a secondary vocalist and a member of the vocal unit.
He is one of the members who has made the most progress. His voice stabilized and he acquired technique. His particular voice and quite close to that of WOOZI, allows him to share his words with the latter. Lately, during SEUNGKWAN’s absence, JOSHUA has repeated many of his lyrics, which is mind-boggling considering SEUNGKWAN’s position and unique voice.
Knowing how to play the guitar well, JOSHUA does not miss an opportunity to show his talents. During the pre-debuts, he played “Sunday morning” by Maroon 5 on stage, accompanied by his guitar, but also for the acoustic cover of their song “Very nice” or his solo at the “Ideal Cut” concert.
His solo is very similar to him, the song “Can’t live with losing you“, a piece with jazz tunes which is one of his favorite styles, accompanied by electric guitar and sung exclusively in English. We recognize JOSHUA 200% in this title and we can only appreciate his soft voice.
For the album “TEEN AGE” (2017), JOSHUA and VERNON wrote a song called “Rocket”. This song about love was presented by VERNON as suitable for any type of couple, thus conveying a message of support for the LGBT + community.
The duo, on a show in China, revealed the English version of the song, sharing these positive lyrics internationally.
A big fan of little-known internet artists, JOSHUA shares his discoveries with fans and fellow members. During a live, he recommended the songs of singer MAX who thanked him on social media. He was the one who introduced Pink Sweat $, which they collaborated with, to DK.
We wish him a happy birthday, hoping that this year will bring him success and happiness, both in his professional and personal life and that the group will have another year full of projects.
Journalist: Emmaa1904
Translator: Shawn
Source: SNS SEVENTEEN
