By Cecille Santillan-Visto
SEOUL — Unlike the typical pop group with a limited shelf life, Korean band CNBLUE is like fine wine — they get better with age.
One of only two legitimate rock bands in the K-music industry, the quartet of Jung Yonghwa (lead vocalist), Lee Jonghyun (guitarist), Lee Jungshin (bassist), and Kang Minhyuk (drummer) boasts of eight studio albums, seven extended plays and a successful world tour to boot.
And just two weeks ago, their latest CD — Blueming (a portmanteau of CNBlue and “blooming”) — landed at No. 10 on Billboard’s Top World Albums, a testament that the group’s appeal has extended far beyond Korea’s borders.
It was thus opportune that BusinessWorld got a chance to sit down with the band on the week that it clinched the Billboard citation. CNBLUE (which stands for Code Name Burning Lovely Untouchable Emotional) has had two sold-out concerts at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in the last three years — first in June 2013 for the Blue Moon world tour and in September 2014 for the Philippine leg of Can’t Stop and we were fortunate to have covered both events.
See related stories: The CNBlue Moon phenomenon | When the band meets the fans | How Mario lost to CNBLUE
So impressed was this writer with the band that she flew to Kuala Lumpur in August 2013 to catch the Malaysian leg of Blue Moon (Read the concert review: A blue moon rises in Malaysia).
CNBLUE has grown leaps and bounds since their first Manila performance, coming up with a more subdued, easy-listening, but no less mature sound in Blueming. They have come a long way from their trainee days when they played on the streets of Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Yoyogi in Tokyo to gain confidence performing in public.
In the interview, made possible by Korea Broadcasting System, Music Bank Chief Producer Han Kyeong Cheon, and Kpop Channel Business Director Peter Hong, the musicians talked about their latest album, their solo activities, and how they wish to return to Manila soon, not only to perform for their Filipinos fans but to satisfy their craving for Jollibee’s hamburger.
BusinessWorld (BW): Blueming has five songs. Can you tell us about the concept for each song?
Yonghwa: All five songs are easy on the ears. The songs in this album are as refreshing as the spring (season) and the listeners can definitely feel it.
The album itself has risen in the charts. It’s getting a lot of love. Did you expect it from your fans?
Yonghwa: Well… I don’t know. There’s always a lot of expectations prior to the release of our album and we are filled with pride after its release. As in all our activities, our fans also showed their support for this new album, and their support is meaningful to us.
To all the members, aside from (the title track) “You’re So Fine,” is there a song that’s your favorite in the album?
Minhyuk: I like them all. However, we carefully considered the title track between “You’re So Fine” and “Young Forever.” I also love the song, “Young Forever.”
Yonghwa: I like them all but I like the title song, “You’re So Fine” the best.
Jonghyun: I also like “Young Forever” the most.
Jungshin: (Smiles.) I am attached to “Without You” the most — which I wrote. It was the first time for me to write for a Korean album.
This is a spring album (with “The Season” and “Stay Sober” completing the lineup). What is your best spring memory as an adult or as a child?
Yonghwa: Actually, we didn’t purposely write this song for spring… Spring reminds me of my school days, especially the beginning of the school year.
Minhyuk: The new school year begins in spring, so I have a lot of good memories playing with new friends during lunchtime on those fine days.
Jungshin: So many flowers bloom! I particularly like cherry blossoms.
Jonghyun: The title of our album is Blueming and in my mind, “blooming” brings images of flowers in full bloom.
Because this is a collaboration album with the three of you (Yonghwa, Jonghyun, and Jungshin) working (on it), does it make it more special?
Minhyuk: Since the other members, especially Jungshin, participated a lot, it feels like a collaboration work. I will participate next time so that the four of us could all contribute to the album.
What about you Minhyuk? When are you going to write a song? When will you be confident enough to write a song?
Minhyuk: The members helped me a lot. I will try to put my own song in the next album.
Do you have a concert anchored on this album and if you do, will you include the Philippines in your stops?
Yonghwa: I don’t think we are planning a world tour with this album. However, when we tour next time, I’d love to visit the Philippines. I had great memories of my visits to Manila so I really want to visit again.
Solo activities? (To Minhyuk, who stars in the K-drama, The Entertainer, and to Jungshin who is part of the soon-to-air Cinderella and Four Knights) You have new dramas and Yonghwa has a new movie. Can you tell us more about these new projects? (To Minhyuk) I watched you last night, by the way.
Minhyuk: Oh thank you! We have started work on individual projects after we have wrapped up this album and the promotional activities. It is so nice to show the new work that we do like performing in plays (dramas) when we don’t have any schedule related to the promotion of our album. All members will either be in TV series or films. Jonghyun will also have his solo activities once a good project comes up. Please watch out for our individuals projects as well.
What about your movie, Yonghwa — Yonghwa’s yonghwa (a pun since yonghwa means movie in Korean)?
Yonghwa: Yonghwa’s yonghwa. (Smiles) I just started shooting the movie. I play a chef. It will be fun since it is a film about cooking. It is a new challenge. I will work hard.
What can you tell your Filipino fans who are waiting for you to return to Manila?
Yonghwa: I want to visit Manila soon… and the hamburger there. What is that? Jollibee? I wanna eat that! I miss that. We want to hold concerts for our fans in the Philippines often.
Watch the full interview on YouTube:
