FANTASY BOYS
The eponymous group, winner of the survival show FANTASY BOYS season 2, is making its debut this Thursday, September 21, during a showcase held in Seoul.
Composed of members K.SOUL, MINSEO, HANBIN, HIKARI, LING QI, HIKARU, WOOSEOK, SUNGMIN, HYEONTAE, GYURAE and KAEDAN, the group debuted with a mini album entitled “NEW TOMORROW”, under the agency POCKETDOL STUDIO. Initially composed of twelve members, FANTASY BOYS finally presented itself to the world with 11 members, after the departure of JUNWON at the end of August. For these debuts, the group wants to create a future with its fans, the BANDI, thus giving the name “NEW TOMORROW” to its first album. This album is made up of three tracks; “New tomorrow”, “One shot”, “Shangri-la”.
The showcase begins as usual with the broadcast of a teaser to introduce the members to the journalists present, before they take their place on stage for a photo shoot. The group wears sparkly outfits, which shine under the many spotlights in the room. After taking their seats, it’s time to discover this young group, who tell us about this very first album, and the members’ impressions. Again, they all present themselves individually, trying to highlight their individual charm.
As an international group, with Korean, Japanese, and Chinese members, the group presents itself in several languages, including English to be sure to greet its fans around the world. Members express their happiness at making their debut on this day, and it is also an opportunity for foreign members to show the progress of their Korean learning. HIKARI stands out in particular, with the MC highlighting his progress since the survival.
According to HANBIN, the group trained extensively for this debut album, promising memorable performances. The group wants to be able to transmit its energy to journalists, as well as its enthusiasm. Regarding the goal that the members would like to achieve, SUNGMIN hopes to get first place in a music show, and rank in music charts. It would be the consecration of their hard work to make their debut. FANTASY BOYS reemphasizing their effort, and their progress.
LINQ GI is later asked to make a Korean pun on the name of the fanclub, where he must create a sentence by syllables. So he found for BAN bangaweo (enchanted) and for DI d-day oneulida (today is D-day). Being foreigners, the members applaud his responsiveness. It’s still hard for them to realize that they are making their debut, which is why they are launching a “fighting” to encourage each other on this big day.
Regarding the album, SUNGMIN describes it as being an opportunity for all the boys to show their talent, and their charm. HYEONTAE also thanks the production team for the MV filmed, finding it very achieved, and thus being very proud of it. The concept of the album is oriented towards space, technology, and WOOSEOK takes the stage to declare that he felt like a comet, sparkling in those debut days, and for the journalists, he followed up with some sung lyrics to stir up curiosity about their upcoming performance.
The songs are presented one by one, via a short medley which makes the group smile, as if they are proud to make their music heard. “Shangri-la” is introduced as a song dedicated to fans, with its catchy melody and touching lyrics. SUNGMIN particularly stands out from the group, being the one who speaks the most, and being very natural in front of the press. When first listening to “New tomorrow”, GYURAE said that it was a perfect song for a trip, or when having fun. HANBIN says the members all had a lot of fun filming the MV and recording the songs in the studio.
“Even if there are eleven of us, all together we are one and the same person here to give you hope” —WOOSEOK
For the shooting of “New tomorrow”, the group went to Jeju Island, which was a first for HIKARU who found the sea very beautiful, which greatly refreshed him. On that note, FANTASY BOYS briefly leaves the stage to prepare for the very first performance of their title track. It is with a lot of energy that FANTASY BOYS performs, just before the associated MV is broadcast, based on a “drama” style following the story of a young student who becomes friends with the group.
The members come back to the reporters to answer a few questions, the first being centered around their experience in a survival, and if this generated any concerns for their debut, as well as their evolution. SUNGMIN responds that the group doesn’t really have any concerns especially about the position of “center” in the group, because the fans are there to give love to all the members of the group. As for their progress, WOOSEOK feels more like the group is sticking together, becoming a team to rely on.
“Before we went on stage today, we all held hands to encourage each other” —SUNGMIN
Survival groups have not been rare for several years, as we can see with ZB1 and others, the group considers that it is a good opportunity, and that these survivals open the voice for other young people, transmitting a message of hope. Having appeared in a survival is a chance for them, because it prepared them for this big day, the debut, as they think they are not as stressed as a group not coming from this type of program. Regarding their goal, they hope to be able to go to the countries of each foreign member and perform there, as well as to become a group recognized abroad, particularly in the music charts.
Looking back on the first impression when listening to “New tomorrow”, MINSEO was very grateful, as the concept seemed to suit everyone, which was a relief. Then, a journalist points out the big age difference between the members, being nine years between the oldest, K.SOUL, and the two youngest, GYURAE and KAEDAN, K.SOUL claiming not to feel old, and the young saying they appreciate him. KAEDAN in particular finds it very pleasant to be in this group, having a good time during training and in their everyday life.
This is how this one-hour showcase ends, in the company of the group. FANTASY BOYS promises great performances, so watch them closely.
The words of our reporter: “It is with a youthful and pleasant personality that the group performed today, despite the stress of some, the naturalness of others counterbalanced with harmony”.
Journalist: Pillet Anaïs
Photos: Pillet Anaïs
Source: KSTATION TV
