FTISLAND on Billboard and other news
2015-02-11 07:02 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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omonatheydidFTISLAND Rock Out, Preview Future Sound at Debut New York Concert
"I want to show a different side than what you see on TV or music shows," singer Hong Gi told the passionate East Coast crowd.
A blizzard earlier in the week put FTISLAND's debut New York City concert in jeopardy. While the weather was less fierce than predicted, the K-pop/rock band's passionate fans probably would have happily met the quintet at the airport if it came to that.
As a huddled crowd in the pit area awaited their arrival to the Best Buy Theater stage, FTISLAND opened their set with the sweeping rock ballad "Last Love Song," centered around lead singer Hong Gi belting into a handheld, vintage microphone. While a fun throwback, the mic may have had technical issues as his voice dropped out at different moments. But the problems appeared to fix themselves as the guys moved onto faster tracks.
Speaking for the band nearly the entire night, Hong Gi greeted the crowd after "Madly" telling them "Annyeonghaseyo" (Korean for "hello"), to which the crowd responded with an "Annyeonghaseyo" right back. When Hong Gi asked the crowd a question in Korean and it appeared that a huge chunk of attendees knew what he was saying. The almost-eight-year-old FTISLAND audience skewed older, likely indicating fans who have been immersing themselves in Korean pop culture for a significant amount of time. Noticeably, there was a row of adults hanging out at the back of the pit area shaking their glow sticks and singing along just as enthusiastically as those crammed in the pit.
Hong Gi switched to a regular mic to continue through the setlist as the lighting and backup LED screens enveloped the band with gorgeous, colorful designs, shapes and lines. Guitarist Seung Hyun, bassist Jae Jin and leader/guitarist/pianist Jong Hoon stood front stage alongside Hong Gi as Min Hwan kept beat on drums in back. It was tough to take one's eyes off the singer -- with his constant jumping around the stage and on its monitors -- but he appeared happy to let his members take the spotlight for instrumental solos.
"This is our first time coming to New York City," Hong Gi told the crowd via a translator. "Through this tour...I want to show a different side than what you see on TV or music shows."
With that, the quintet moved into the impressive, stripped-down part of their set that saw Seung Hyun and Jong Hoon using acoustic guitars and Min Hwan sitting on a Cajon drum. Not only a set highlight, it was a rare chance to hear the other FT talents shine through like Min Hwan and Jae Jin's beautiful harmonies during "Stay" and Jong Hoon's Spanish guitar skills on "I Wish."
The first indication of the true spell the band cast over the crowd came during the acoustic rendition of "Severely," when the fans started trading off lines with Hong Gi a cappella until they fell off beat -- much to the amusement of Jae Jin. During "Flower Rock" later, the singer somehow convinced the entire audience to collectively squat, jump and rock out together. He did that multiple times throughout the show, each subsequent one pulled off more impressively than the last.
"I had a lot of pressure coming to [the] United States," Hong Gi later told the crowd. "This is where so many famous pop stars are born, I wasn't sure if I should stand on a live stage here. I was really, really worried...what I want to tell you guys is that it's been about a year, year-and-a-half that I can do the music I actually want to. There are many happenings in Korea, but I'm really happy now. That's how I was able to perform here today...the music I want to show you guys is incorporated into this show."
After mentioning that a new FTISLAND album was coming in March or April, the band pushed through the rest of their with more confidence than before while embellishing their heavy, rock-pop with more high-pitched wailing, playful audience shout outs and dreamy stage lighting. Hong Gi & Co. had nothing to worry about, these fans looked like they were ready to support even if it hadn't been such a concise and technically impressive set.
FTISLAND Talk Upcoming Album & How Their Fans Stayed For the Ride
Nevermind the fact that FTISLAND landed in New York late the night beforehand, the K-pop/rock band were in high spirits in the hours ahead of their debut concert in The Big Apple.
Meeting up with Billboard hours before the Jan. 28 show at Best Buy Theater, the members spoke animatedly about the concert, new music, fans and more. Letting their goofy sides run wild -- like when they playfully sang Apink's "Luv" and "Mr. Chu" to one another and laughed out loud amongst one another -- that good energy undoubtedly rolled into a rocking concert for the passionate East Coast crowd.
Billboard: What's going through your heads ahead of your debut New York concert -- especially after making it here through a blizzard?
Hong Gi: We came from Mexico and South America, so we've been in really hot places. It's really hard to adjust to this weather; it's really cold here! We were supposed to get here two days ago, but because of this blizzard we came here last night, really late. We couldn't do any sightseeing around and we wanted to see Times Square really badly so we went there after midnight, but we had to come back in an hour because it was so cold.
Jae Jin: Since it's cold out there, we want to make a really hot, hot, exciting stage today performance. And we want to make the fans sweat. We're really excited.
What are you most excited about for this concert?
Hong Gi: The theme of the whole tour is that we're performing familiar songs in our setlist, but it's going to sound a lot different from what we've done. It's really diverse and a combination of all the skills that we have. It's going to integrate and show everything that we've got. It's going to be the real FTISLAND.
Do you have any fun stories from the tour so far from other stops like Mexico City? Paris? Santiago?
Hong Gi: We've had a really, really good time touring. It wasn't really tiring. We had to spend a long time in Chile and Mexico and we wanted to do something special, but we didn't really have anything to do! We were kind of stuck in the hotel, we spent a lot of time in the hotel. But it was our first time visiting Chile and Mexico and we were really curious, 'How do the fans know us?' I felt proud of myself, representing Korea, I felt really proud about that. The fans reactions were crazy, crazy. They were throwing their underwear, their bras onstage. So, it was a relief.
Where else would you like to take the tour?
FTISLAND: England, Romania, Spain...Germany...Russia...we want to go to a lot of places! Everywhere!
Hong Gi: If there are 100 or 200 people that love us in a country, we want to go to them.
You've got a new album coming in March or April. Can you give some hints about it?
FTISLAND: Each song on this upcoming album means a lot to us. And the lyrics mean a lot of things to us -- that's really it.
What kind of sound or themes can we expect in the new music?
FTISLAND: Today's performance is going to have a variety of musical elements from the upcoming album. This performance will be representative of this album.
This year will mark FTISLAND's eighth year together. What is your secret to your longevity and staying popular?
FTISLAND: We've been having ups and downs, but we're going through it together.
We think that when we were little and at the beginning of our careers, there were more fans who just loved us for our visuals and the "bling bling." We believe now there are more fans who love -- who truly love -- our music and trust in our musical ability and capacity. So, we recovered a lot of confidence in ourselves. We trust in our fans a lot and we want to continue.
Do you have anything else to add?
Seung Hyun: I visited New York for the first time when I was in middle school volunteering for church. At that time, since I wasn't doing music, I couldn't imagine that I would visit here to perform a concert. I feel really proud of myself and proud as a Korean man. I want to do well in New York and I want to surprise the New York fans because it's our first time playing for these fans. I want to come back.
Hong Gi: I want to thank all the fans who trust us continuously. I don't want to disappoint you ever.
Interview on French cable channel J-one about their concerts in Paris (Jan. 16/17)
FT Island′s Jong Hoon, AOA′s Yuna and Lim Yun Ho Cast in Webdrama ′The Prince′s Prince′
Currently continuing its popularity, the webtoon, The Prince′s Prince will be reborn into a new webdrama.
According to the production company, the role of the lead character, Park Si Hyun, has been given to FT Island′s Choi Jong Hoon, who is currently receiving much popularity following a European and American tour.
Actor Lim Yun Ho, who has acted in 7th Grade Civil Servant, has been cast as the character, Lee Mong Ryong, while Park Si Hyun′s younger sister will be acted out by AOA′s Yuna.
The Prince′s Prince is about two brothers, who have a younger sister obsessed with games, that create the game production company, ′Castle Soft.′ To give more reality to the drama, the drama will use the actual game development offices of Pati Games, a real game production company.
The Prince′s Prince will be produced by Sim Entertainment, an agency with talented actors and YLAB, a company that produces popular webtoons.
The Prince′s Prince will be led by the production director, Lee Young Min, who′s worked on The Legend, Kim Soo Ro, Doctor Stranger, and more. It will be directed by Shin Joo Hwan, who acted in the movie Fashion King and received many awards for directing and acting in his independant film, Sex King at many international film festivals.
The press conference for The Prince′s Prince will take place on February 9. The series will begin airing through KBS′ homepage and Daum in mid-March.
Billboard 1, 2 | FT TiTiwa | mwave
Nice interview. So glad they enjoyed their tour, looking forward to the new album!
"I want to show a different side than what you see on TV or music shows," singer Hong Gi told the passionate East Coast crowd.
A blizzard earlier in the week put FTISLAND's debut New York City concert in jeopardy. While the weather was less fierce than predicted, the K-pop/rock band's passionate fans probably would have happily met the quintet at the airport if it came to that.
As a huddled crowd in the pit area awaited their arrival to the Best Buy Theater stage, FTISLAND opened their set with the sweeping rock ballad "Last Love Song," centered around lead singer Hong Gi belting into a handheld, vintage microphone. While a fun throwback, the mic may have had technical issues as his voice dropped out at different moments. But the problems appeared to fix themselves as the guys moved onto faster tracks.
Speaking for the band nearly the entire night, Hong Gi greeted the crowd after "Madly" telling them "Annyeonghaseyo" (Korean for "hello"), to which the crowd responded with an "Annyeonghaseyo" right back. When Hong Gi asked the crowd a question in Korean and it appeared that a huge chunk of attendees knew what he was saying. The almost-eight-year-old FTISLAND audience skewed older, likely indicating fans who have been immersing themselves in Korean pop culture for a significant amount of time. Noticeably, there was a row of adults hanging out at the back of the pit area shaking their glow sticks and singing along just as enthusiastically as those crammed in the pit.
Hong Gi switched to a regular mic to continue through the setlist as the lighting and backup LED screens enveloped the band with gorgeous, colorful designs, shapes and lines. Guitarist Seung Hyun, bassist Jae Jin and leader/guitarist/pianist Jong Hoon stood front stage alongside Hong Gi as Min Hwan kept beat on drums in back. It was tough to take one's eyes off the singer -- with his constant jumping around the stage and on its monitors -- but he appeared happy to let his members take the spotlight for instrumental solos.
"This is our first time coming to New York City," Hong Gi told the crowd via a translator. "Through this tour...I want to show a different side than what you see on TV or music shows."
With that, the quintet moved into the impressive, stripped-down part of their set that saw Seung Hyun and Jong Hoon using acoustic guitars and Min Hwan sitting on a Cajon drum. Not only a set highlight, it was a rare chance to hear the other FT talents shine through like Min Hwan and Jae Jin's beautiful harmonies during "Stay" and Jong Hoon's Spanish guitar skills on "I Wish."
The first indication of the true spell the band cast over the crowd came during the acoustic rendition of "Severely," when the fans started trading off lines with Hong Gi a cappella until they fell off beat -- much to the amusement of Jae Jin. During "Flower Rock" later, the singer somehow convinced the entire audience to collectively squat, jump and rock out together. He did that multiple times throughout the show, each subsequent one pulled off more impressively than the last.
"I had a lot of pressure coming to [the] United States," Hong Gi later told the crowd. "This is where so many famous pop stars are born, I wasn't sure if I should stand on a live stage here. I was really, really worried...what I want to tell you guys is that it's been about a year, year-and-a-half that I can do the music I actually want to. There are many happenings in Korea, but I'm really happy now. That's how I was able to perform here today...the music I want to show you guys is incorporated into this show."
After mentioning that a new FTISLAND album was coming in March or April, the band pushed through the rest of their with more confidence than before while embellishing their heavy, rock-pop with more high-pitched wailing, playful audience shout outs and dreamy stage lighting. Hong Gi & Co. had nothing to worry about, these fans looked like they were ready to support even if it hadn't been such a concise and technically impressive set.
FTISLAND Talk Upcoming Album & How Their Fans Stayed For the Ride
Nevermind the fact that FTISLAND landed in New York late the night beforehand, the K-pop/rock band were in high spirits in the hours ahead of their debut concert in The Big Apple.
Meeting up with Billboard hours before the Jan. 28 show at Best Buy Theater, the members spoke animatedly about the concert, new music, fans and more. Letting their goofy sides run wild -- like when they playfully sang Apink's "Luv" and "Mr. Chu" to one another and laughed out loud amongst one another -- that good energy undoubtedly rolled into a rocking concert for the passionate East Coast crowd.
Billboard: What's going through your heads ahead of your debut New York concert -- especially after making it here through a blizzard?
Hong Gi: We came from Mexico and South America, so we've been in really hot places. It's really hard to adjust to this weather; it's really cold here! We were supposed to get here two days ago, but because of this blizzard we came here last night, really late. We couldn't do any sightseeing around and we wanted to see Times Square really badly so we went there after midnight, but we had to come back in an hour because it was so cold.
Jae Jin: Since it's cold out there, we want to make a really hot, hot, exciting stage today performance. And we want to make the fans sweat. We're really excited.
What are you most excited about for this concert?
Hong Gi: The theme of the whole tour is that we're performing familiar songs in our setlist, but it's going to sound a lot different from what we've done. It's really diverse and a combination of all the skills that we have. It's going to integrate and show everything that we've got. It's going to be the real FTISLAND.
Do you have any fun stories from the tour so far from other stops like Mexico City? Paris? Santiago?
Hong Gi: We've had a really, really good time touring. It wasn't really tiring. We had to spend a long time in Chile and Mexico and we wanted to do something special, but we didn't really have anything to do! We were kind of stuck in the hotel, we spent a lot of time in the hotel. But it was our first time visiting Chile and Mexico and we were really curious, 'How do the fans know us?' I felt proud of myself, representing Korea, I felt really proud about that. The fans reactions were crazy, crazy. They were throwing their underwear, their bras onstage. So, it was a relief.
Where else would you like to take the tour?
FTISLAND: England, Romania, Spain...Germany...Russia...we want to go to a lot of places! Everywhere!
Hong Gi: If there are 100 or 200 people that love us in a country, we want to go to them.
You've got a new album coming in March or April. Can you give some hints about it?
FTISLAND: Each song on this upcoming album means a lot to us. And the lyrics mean a lot of things to us -- that's really it.
What kind of sound or themes can we expect in the new music?
FTISLAND: Today's performance is going to have a variety of musical elements from the upcoming album. This performance will be representative of this album.
This year will mark FTISLAND's eighth year together. What is your secret to your longevity and staying popular?
FTISLAND: We've been having ups and downs, but we're going through it together.
We think that when we were little and at the beginning of our careers, there were more fans who just loved us for our visuals and the "bling bling." We believe now there are more fans who love -- who truly love -- our music and trust in our musical ability and capacity. So, we recovered a lot of confidence in ourselves. We trust in our fans a lot and we want to continue.
Do you have anything else to add?
Seung Hyun: I visited New York for the first time when I was in middle school volunteering for church. At that time, since I wasn't doing music, I couldn't imagine that I would visit here to perform a concert. I feel really proud of myself and proud as a Korean man. I want to do well in New York and I want to surprise the New York fans because it's our first time playing for these fans. I want to come back.
Hong Gi: I want to thank all the fans who trust us continuously. I don't want to disappoint you ever.
Interview on French cable channel J-one about their concerts in Paris (Jan. 16/17)
FT Island′s Jong Hoon, AOA′s Yuna and Lim Yun Ho Cast in Webdrama ′The Prince′s Prince′
Currently continuing its popularity, the webtoon, The Prince′s Prince will be reborn into a new webdrama.
According to the production company, the role of the lead character, Park Si Hyun, has been given to FT Island′s Choi Jong Hoon, who is currently receiving much popularity following a European and American tour.
Actor Lim Yun Ho, who has acted in 7th Grade Civil Servant, has been cast as the character, Lee Mong Ryong, while Park Si Hyun′s younger sister will be acted out by AOA′s Yuna.
The Prince′s Prince is about two brothers, who have a younger sister obsessed with games, that create the game production company, ′Castle Soft.′ To give more reality to the drama, the drama will use the actual game development offices of Pati Games, a real game production company.
The Prince′s Prince will be produced by Sim Entertainment, an agency with talented actors and YLAB, a company that produces popular webtoons.
The Prince′s Prince will be led by the production director, Lee Young Min, who′s worked on The Legend, Kim Soo Ro, Doctor Stranger, and more. It will be directed by Shin Joo Hwan, who acted in the movie Fashion King and received many awards for directing and acting in his independant film, Sex King at many international film festivals.
The press conference for The Prince′s Prince will take place on February 9. The series will begin airing through KBS′ homepage and Daum in mid-March.
Billboard 1, 2 | FT TiTiwa | mwave
Nice interview. So glad they enjoyed their tour, looking forward to the new album!
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Date: 2015-02-11 09:24 pm (UTC)I was a bit sad I couldn't go but life goes on
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