[CELEB] After 18 years, boy band Super Junior just keeps on going

K-pop

Published: 13 Jul. 2022, 15:34 Updated: 13 Jul. 2022, 18:16

[CELEB] After 18 years, boy band Super Junior just keeps on going

Super Junior poses during an online press conference for Volume 1 of its latest album ″The Road: Keep on Going.″ [LABEL SJ]

One of the K-pop industry’s oldest boy bands is still going after 18 years.

Super Junior held an online press event to talk about its newest full-length album “The Road: Keep on Going” on Tuesday, just hours before its release at 6 p.m. on the same day.

Of the nine active members, Leeteuk, Yesung, Shindong, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook, Kyuhyun were present. Heechul was unable to partake due to scheduling issues.

According to the members, the album's title refers to how Super Junior’s musical journey will continue on.

The album has been divided into two volumes — Volume 1 which dropped Tuesday and Volume 2 will drop at a later date.

Volume 1 has five tracks: the lead track “Mango,” “Don’t Wait,” “My Wish,” “Everyday” and “Always.”

A teaser photo for the lead track "Mango" of Super Junior's new album. [LABEL SJ]

“Mango,” described as a funky pop song, is about a person’s determination to be an oasis for someone else who is tired of searching for love. Using a mango as a metaphor, the lyrics illustrate a sweet yet bold attempt at love.

When asked how they have stayed together for the past 18 years and counting, the members collectively said that there is no particular secret.

“I think it’s thanks to SM Entertainment, our agency,” Shindong said. “The agency supported us over the years to keep making music for such a long time. We’re going to renew our contracts soon — we sure are looking forward to a large deposit!” The band broke into laughter.

“We remained as a team because our members are actually cowards,” Leeteuk said. “If one of us suddenly decides to go insane and leave the band, we'd ultimately break up, but that’s not the case for us. We know that if that happens, it’ll be fatal to the others. Even when one of us suddenly decides to go to the bathroom by himself, the others will start to badger him. None of us can simply just leave their seat when we're altogether.”

“Would you like to see what happens? Anyone, go to the bathroom right now,” Shindong joked, causing the band to laugh again.

“You could say that we’re sophisticated socialists,” Siwon added.

A teaser photo for Super Junior's new album ″The Road: Keep on Going″ [LABEL SJ]

Because the band, as well as the chemistry between the members is so well-known already, the press event moved along smoothly, like a lighthearted radio show.

Super Junior also talked about its upcoming world tour, “Super Junior World Tour – Super Show 9: Road,” which begins in Seoul at Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in southern Seoul from Friday to Sunday.

Sunday’s concert will also be livestreamed online via streaming platform Beyond LIVE.

“Super Show” has been the name of the band’s world tours since February 2008. The eighth edition was held in February 2020, and after being delayed due to the pandemic, the band is finally back with the ninth edition. It will tour countries like Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and others in South America.

“It’s been so long since we’ve met with fans in-person,” Eunhyuk said. “We contemplated how we were going to perform our songs, because we have a truckload of hit songs and new ones as well. Please look forward to our show. We did our best to prepare for it.”

A teaser photo for Super Junior's ″The Road: Keep on Going″ [LABEL SJ]

As for spoilers for Volume 2, Kyuhyun admits that the band has not begun preparing for it, but Eunhyuk mentioned that they were going for a concept with a twist.

“With this album, we want to let fans know that Super Junior is still alive,” Leeteuk said. “As time goes on, we will have an even stronger bond with our fans.”

Super Junior debuted in 2005 and is best known for songs “Rokuko” (2007), “Sorry, Sorry” (2009), “Mr. Simple” (2011), “Sexy, Free & Single” (2012) and “Mamacita” (2014).

Super Junior poses on the red carpet for the 25th Golden Disk Awards on Dec. 9, 2010. [JOONGANG ILBO]

The band started off with 12 members, but over the years Kyuhyun joined the band, and Han Geng, Kibum and Kangin departed. Now, it currently consists of nine active members: Leeteuk, Heechul, Yesung, Shindong, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook and Kyuhyun. Sungmin has been inactive since 2015.

Because the band has so many members, it also has many subunits, such as Super Junior-K.R.Y., Super Junior-T, Super Junior-M, Super Junior-H and Super Junior-D&E.

The bandmates are also thriving on their own; for example, Heechul is popular on variety shows, Siwon is a successful actor and Kyuhyun releases solo music.

Heechul of Super Junior [LABEL SJ]

Heechul (Kim Hee-chul)

Date of birth: July 10, 1983
Zodiac sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Hoengseong, Gangwon
Debut: March 2005 as an actor
Agency: Label SJ

Heechul debuted as an actor with the lead role in KBS's drama series "Sharp 2" (2005-06) in 2005. The same year, he began his singing career as a member of boy band Super Junior with the full-length album “Super Junior05.” Heechul is best known for his witty and daring jokes on variety shows, especially on JTBC’s “Men on a Mission” (2015-) and SBS’s “My Little Old Boy” (2016-). His duets “Sweet Dream” (2016) and “Falling Blossoms” (2018) with singer Min Kyung-hoon, who is also a permanent cast member on “Men on a Mission,” were considered hits as well. “Sweet Dream” topped the Gaon Digital Chart upon its release.

This information was confirmed by Label SJ on July 13, 2022.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]