Monday, July 27, 2009

[09.07.26] Powerful Energy! Performer Junjin, his music and his love story (interview)

Junjin is back, with an upgrade from his last album!
With a more powerful performance and a more sensual voice, he captures our visual and aural senses all at once
Having ended his China concert tour successfully, Junjin is now actively involved in his singing and variety activities. A guy who does everything seriously no matter how difficult it is… Just like a million-volt battery, Junjin is a man who’s always full of energy… Let us share the story of his music and his love.


Q: In Asia, you seem to be especially popular in China, how do you feel about your successful concert tour in China that you held recently?
A: First of all, I’m very happy. Before that I never had a chance to interact with the overseas fans because I was mostly active in Korea, and I feel bad about that. Through this rare chance of the Asia tour, I got to meet the overseas fans and completed the tour successfully, I’m really happy ^ㅡ^

Q: The title track of this mini-album, ‘Hey Ya’ features Son Dambi, and your collaboration is reminiscent of that of another pairing of two trend leaders, Ciara and Justin Timberlake. Share with us briefly your experience of working with Son Dambi~
A: Dambi ah, just as everyone knows, practices very hard, and she has been at the peak of her popularity these days, so everything is perfect. Besides, it’s not the first time we’re working together. We performed together at one of the year-end music shows last year, so we’re familiar with each other, erm… so I guess you can say that this collaboration was comfortable? Pretty good ^ㅡ^



Q: ‘Hey Ya’ feels stronger and more powerful than ‘Wa’, and the strong performance in the MV leaves a very deep impression… Did anything interesting happen during the filming?
A: Rather than to say ‘interesting’… I hurt my toes and wrist while preparing for the album. Although I received treatment for it, but at that time… I had an operation the previous day and I had to wear my cast to the filming of the MV the next day. That was near the end of the MV, the highlight! It was very tough when we were filming the dance in the rain, because on top of being an overnight shoot, we were filming a raining scene so it was really cold, and I had to dance with an injured foot. Even so, I overcame that pain, and thanks to everyone’s efforts, the MV turned out really great ^ㅡ^

Q: We heard that you had some trouble deciding between ‘Hey Ya’ featuring Son Dambi; and ‘Like A Fool’ featuring Lee Shi Young, for your title track. Which of the two songs do you personally prefer?
A: I like both of them. Firstly ‘Hey Ya’ can demonstrate the powerful performance style that’s uniquely Junjin, so I guess you can say it’s more of a ‘Junjin-style song’? And if that’s the case, ‘Like A Fool’ is a medium-tempo track that shows a brand new side of Junjin that has never been seen before, so I like this song too. Trying a new style of songs that doesn’t belong to the dance genre, I think that’s a way of showing everyone another kind of my charms? ^ㅡ^; So… Both! Both are great!!



Q: How was the coordination between you and Lee Shi Young during the filming of the MV? It seems that she can dance as well as yourself…
A: Her skills were really surprising. She said she learnt jazz dance before, really… she’s very fast at learning dance steps, and she dances very well too. All the staff on the set were just as surprised as me. Perhaps because of this, we coordinated very well during the dance scenes.

Q: From being a make-believe couple on We Got Married to being a real-life couple, assuming that there is a trigger behind why both of you decided to announce your relationship, what would it be?
A: Frankly speaking, in the beginning because she’s still a newcomer, we were worried if it would affect her activities in any way, so we hesitated about announcing it. Rather than to say there was a trigger, it would be better to say that we just decided at some random point we wanted to make it open. It’s the same for both of us, we feel that there isn’t a need for us to hide anything. The Infinite Challenge hyungs all came clean about their relationships, aren’t they all happily living in bliss now? Besides after our announcement, we received a lot of encouragement and blessings, so I’m feeling really happy ^ㅡ^

Q: Although it’s a personal question, this could be something that fans are interested to know too, where do you go on your dates? What do you address each other by?
A: As we’ve both been busy with our own activities, it’s been hard to meet often. So when we have time, we’ll just do things that we want to do together. We’ve been to the arcade, we’ve been to the spa to get facials done… It’s not very grand dates, but even so we’re very happy doing anything together because our hearts are in sync. Our affectionate terms for each other…although I’m sure everyone already knows… “Mine”, “Yours”?? ㅎㅎ




Q: If there’s a song that you’d like to dedicate to your loved one, what will it be? Please pick 3 songs. And what is your idea of love?
A: ‘Like A Fool’ – because it’s my song, so it’s more appropriate ㅎㅎ I’m kidding! Not because it’s my song, but because when people are in love, we all become fools, isn’t it? Anyone who loves like a fool would feel the same. Besides we sang the song together. Everyone please sing this with your girlfriends ^^
And every guy should sing Im Jae Bum’s ‘Go Hae’ (Confession).. There’s a reason why people like to sing that song so much. And also 2AM’s ‘This Song’… You get addicted to the song as you sing it. I think it conveys the feelings of people in love very well.

Q: You have a very packed schedule with your album activities and variety shows, how much time do you set aside for dance practice every day?
A: It’s not fixed, I’ll practise whenever I have time. Due to the other commitments I don’t have much time for practice. ‘Like A Fool’ is my next single, and I’ve been practicing for it. If there isn’t anything on the next day, I’d practice overnight…until I’m happy with it.

Q: In ‘Infinite Challenge’, your role is getting more significant. I’d like to know if there’s any sense of competition between yourself and Gil, who’s been brought in as an ‘intern’ member recently.
A: That’s something I’ve been asked quite often.. There’s absolutely no competition with Gil-hyung. In IC, we don’t get wary when a new member joins the team. It’s really as easygoing as a real family, everyone helps each other out and we’re comfortable with each other… I still have a lot of room for improvement. Even when I’m just looking from the side, I feel that the hyungs are all really funny, and they make the show fun. That’s why I am motivated to work harder.



Q: It’s the summer holidays now, how did you spend your summer holidays when you were a student?
A: When I was still in school, it was really just all about dance. It was always dance, vacation or not… That’s all I can recall when I think about my days as a student. It’s really great to be able to do something that you have a passion for, for such a long time. All the friends on Monkey3! Please spend your vacation fruitfully~ Don’t delay doing your holiday assignments~ ㅎㅎ

Q: Last words for all the friends on Monkey3~
A: Thank you everyone for your support and love everytime I release an album. In this hot summer, I hope everyone will have a cool vacation, listening to great music. I’ll work hard to show everyone my best. Please show your love for my follow-up single, ‘Like A Fool’! Happy summer holidays~ Take care of your health!

Credits: monkey3.co.kr + Su-mi@absolutshinhwa


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Regarding the songs that Jinnie mentioned:

‘Go Hae’ (Confession) – Im Jae Bum

A very heartfelt ‘live’ rendition of “Go Hae” (Confession)


Seung Gi’s cover of the song
No I’m not biased… just that this is the only Eng-subbed version I could find… :p


This Song – 2AM

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