2012 was a spectacular year for K-pop boy band INFINITE. The group embarked on their first tours in Korea and Japan, reached 160,000 members in their official fan club "Inspirit," and by the end of the year, Billboard.com was so impressed by the seven-member group and their latest single, "The Chaser," that it was chosen as the No. 1 K-Pop Song of 2012.
INFINITE's popularity is massively growing in both Korea and Japan, but their megastar status didn't come overnight. The group's 2010 debut effort "Come Back Again" was met with a lukewarm response and they remained relatively unknown until the release of their second EP. With a new concept and rekindled spirit to prove themselves, the group included a highly-technical "scorpion dance" on their dramatic single "BTD" (Before The Dawn) that soon drew more and more eyes to the rookie group.
In October 2011, the group propelled into super-stardom with breakout single, "Be Mine," a modernized '80s Euro-pop track with a catchy and heart-grabbing hook. The group's success has since grown exponentially.
INFINITE soon expanded their popularity to Japan drawing in a total of 74,000 fans to their recent arena tour. They continued their supremacy by releasing more hits to add to their catalog, including "Paradise" and "The Chaser" back in their home country.
Still all the success didn't stop the group from broadening their musical horizons: Leader Sunggyu released his first solo album, "Another Me," in November 2012, and Hoya and Dongwoo's created a sub-unit group, INFINITE-H, and released their "Fly High" mini-album this month. INFINITE-H's first single "Special Girl" is currently at No. 8 at on the K-Pop Hot 100.
With their audience increasing by the day, the boys welcomed 2013 by visiting Billboard Korea's studio for an exclusive interview to kick off Billboard.com's new K-pop column "K-Town."
Watch the video above to get a behind-the-scenes look at the photoshoot and interview plus INFINITE's thoughts on "The Chaser," information on their new album, American artists they'd like to collaborate with, and more!
LINK since embedding might not work :/( Interview )( Photoshoot )Source:
BillboardDongwoo's English :3