[CELEB] One world tour later, The Boyz are back in town

K-pop

Published: 17 Aug. 2022, 15:32 Updated: 17 Aug. 2022, 18:41

[CELEB] One world tour later, The Boyz are back in town

A concept image for The Boyz' EP ″Be Aware″ [IST ENTERTAINMENT]

Bring “The Boyz” out, because they are back with a new album.

The Boyz released the EP “Be Aware” (2022) on Tuesday. Including the lead track “Whisper,” it has a total of six songs: “Bump & Love,” “C.O.D.E,” “Levitating,” “Survive the Night” and “Timeless.”

Since its debut in December 2017 with the song “Boy,” the lead track of EP “The First,” the band has made steady progress gaining popularity. The Boyz is indeed an eye-catching band as it has a whopping 11 members — Ju Haknyeon, Hyunjae, Sunwoo, Younghoon, Kevin, Sangyeon, Juyeon, New, Q, Jacob and Eric.

Its EP “Thrill-ing,” which dropped a year ago, sold over 500,000 copies, which became a record for the band. It also finished its world tour with Seoul encore concerts earlier this month at the KSPO Dome in southern Seoul. From December 2021, The Boyz performed all over the world in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Newark, Atlanta, London, Rotterdam, Paris, Berlin, Jakarta and Bangkok.

With no time to spare, the band is now jumping into a new era with “Be Aware.” The members shared their thoughts about the new EP in an email interview with press on Tuesday. The following are edited excerpts.

A concept image for The Boyz' EP ″Be Aware″ [IST ENTERTAINMENT]

Q. It’s already been nine months since you last released music. How do you feel?

A. Sangyeon: We’re finally done with the long journey we had with our first world tour “The B-Zone,” as well as the encore concerts in Seoul. It’s also been nine months since we last dropped the EP “Maverick” (2021) so we’re really looking forward to this comeback. We’re really thrilled to be able to interact with The B [the name for The Boyz’ fans] with this new album.

Could you explain what kind of an album “Be Aware” is?

Younghoon: It’s an album that reflects the many different sides to The Boyz. We really worked hard recording each and every song, so I’m sure our fans will love them. The members also took part in producing songs, like “Timeless.” It’s a song dedicated to The B so please listen to it.

The Boyz performs during its "The Boyz World Tour : The B-Zone in Seoul Encore" concert, which took place from Aug. 5 to 7 at the KSPO Dome in eastern Seoul's Songpa District. [IST ENTERTAINMENT]

What is the lead track “Whisper” about? What makes this song special?

Hyunjae: “Whisper” embodies The Boyz’ unique energy. The song tried to express the moment in which dopamine is produced after becoming fascinated by the song’s whispers. The lyrics tend to focus on this so we hope listeners enjoy this part too. The choreography is also very sexy yet fresh, which I believe is what makes it even more special.

What’s the signature move for the choreography for “Whisper”?

Juyeon: Like its title, we have a move that is similar to whispering into someone’s ear, and another where we look like we’re trying to listen to someone else’s whisper. I personally like Q’s part in the first verse. Look out for it during our performance on stage.

The Boyz takes a photo for the Mnet boy band survival show ″Kingdom: Legendary War″ (2021), in which it finished in second place. [ILGAN SPORTS]

For this album, all the songs’ lyrics were written by some of the members. Is there any behind-the-scenes stories to share with fans?

Sunwoo: I think we wrote the songs while thinking of our fans. Songs like “Survive the Night” are about the emotions we felt not being able to see our fans as much as we would like to because of the pandemic. I think we were easily able to write our feelings about our fans into our songs.

What is a goal you would like to achieve through this EP?

Q: All we want is for The B to like it, and we think that’s our main goal. Another achievement we would like is to get No. 1 on a weekly music ranking show, so The Boyz and The B can celebrate together and cherish the happy moment.

Any words to say to The B?

Ju Haknyeon: Thank you always for supporting The Boyz. “Be Aware” is a gift to everyone who has continued to be there for us and love us. We hope you enjoy the new songs in “Be Aware.”

Ju Haknyeon of The Boyz [IST ENTERTAINMENT]

Ju Haknyeon

Date of birth: March 9, 1999
Zodiac sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Seogwipo, Jeju Island
Debut: December 2017 as a member of The Boyz
Agency: IST Entertainment

Ju Haknyeon debuted with The Boyz’ song “Boy,” the lead track of EP “The First” in December 2017. Before that, Ju was introduced to the public by competing in season two of Mnet’s hit K-pop audition show “Produce 101” (2017). Ju finished in 19th place. Under The Boyz, Ju, along with the boy band, has released songs like “No Air” (2018), “D.D.D” (2019), “Reveal” (2020) and “Thrill Ride” (2021).

This information was confirmed by IST Entertainment on Aug. 16, 2022.

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