'We finally have found our strength': P1Harmony on its most personal album to date

K-pop

Published: 05 Feb. 2024, 20:40

'We finally have found our strength': P1Harmony on its most personal album to date

Boy band P1Harmony performs "Late Night Calls," a B-side track for its first full-length album, "Killin' It," during a press showcase held Monday, in eastern Seoul, ahead of the release later that day. [FNC ENTERTAINMENT]

It took P1Harmony six EPs to find its true strength. The boy band now hopes to start a new adventure with “Killin’ It,” its first full-length album, filled with its signature color — which all six members took part in producing.

“P1Harmony was on a journey to find what we can do best, what suits us the best [throughout our previous releases] and I think we finally have found our strength this time,” Keeho said during a press showcase held Monday in eastern Seoul, ahead of the release of “Killin’ It,” which dropped later that day.

While some members have written lyrics for the band throughout its discography, “Killin' It” marks the first time that all six members have taken part in an album's production. Jongseob, Keeho, Jiung and Intak contributed lyrics; Jongseob, notably, is credited for all 10 songs, while Intak participated in all but the title track. All six members also participated in other aspects of the album's production, including the selections of its concepts and outfits.

As the members become stronger writers and producers over the past four years, the bonds between them have strengthened as well.

“We spent a lot of time talking and discussing what we wanted to do and what our goal is, ever since the six members first came together to prepare for our debut in 2020,” Jiung said.

“All six members were passionate about our performances, the stages we plan to make and the concerts we will hold in the future. And through our world tour last year, I think we learned a lot and experienced a lot.”

“We are a harmonious team, and we can achieve harmony because all six members have distinct colors, and we are all fun, and we excel in different ways. I think that’s our true strength,” Intak said.

Boy band P1Harmony performs ″Killin' It,″ the title track of the band's first full-length album of the same name, during a press showcase held Monday in eastern Seoul, ahead of the album's release. [FNC ENTERTAINMENT]

“Killin’ It,” which comes almost eight months after the June 2023 release of the band's most recent EP, consists of 10 tracks including the title track of the same name.

“The album revolves around the big theme that says, ‘We are the real hero,’” Jongseob said. “I made sure that all tracks in the album feature a distinct style while also talking back to the main theme.”

P1Harmony's previous releases have featured similar motifs. The band aimed to “solve the disharmony in the world” in its fictional universe through the “Disharmony” saga of albums; the “Harmony” series that followed sought a more harmonious planet. “Killin' It,” in turn, announces that P1Harmony is a secret hero who's brought about such unity, according to the band's agency, FNC Entertainment.

The title track, “Killin’ It,” is underscored by an 808 beat and inspired by the hip-hop songs of the 90s.

“I focused on writing lyrics to show how we evolved and how we grew, compared to our previous releases,” Intak said.

“Being our first full-length album, I wanted to really emphasize our visual aspect,” Keeho said. “I’ve suggested a lot of concepts to the company, so we can show the different colors of our members [while], at the same time, also making sure that we are under one band, through matching accessories that we specially produced.”

It was overseas fans who first recognized those strengths in P1Harmony. The band's latest album saw success overseas — its last album, “Harmony: All In,” landed at No. 51 on Billboard’s 200 main chart upon its release. The band also performed at iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball last year and is set to perform at the Governor’s Ball Music Festival in June.

“We were so glad and thankful to perform at the Jingle Ball tour, right alongside artists that we adore and respect. It was still surprising to hear that we’ll be joining the Governor’s Ball festival,” Keeho said.

“I grew up in Canada following and listening to Billboard charts,” Keeho continued. “So I still can’t believe that our album landed on that chart. Now that we’ve landed our album on the chart, we hope to do better on Billboard charts this time, and, hopefully, we can also win No. 1 on [Korean] weekly music shows.”

“We hope to meet our fans in Korea and around the world again with our next tour in 2024,” Theo said.

“We tried our utmost when producing our new album, and we are confident to show it to both our fans and the general public,” Intak said.

“I hope more people get to learn about P1Harmony through our new music.”

To find out more about P1Harmony, visit Celeb Confirmed!

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]