In a press conference talking about their comeback, fromis_9 opened up about being the only girl group at HYBE.
So, you’ve heard of HYBE, right? Oh, that’s right – home not just to BTS, but also some of K-pop best known acts, such as TXT, Enhypen, SEVENTEEN, and so on. Not to mention, HYBE also acquired Ithaca Holdings last year, which manages Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber. Anyone on that roster knows the big shoes they have to fill in, and fromis_9 are no different.
Talking about their recent release Midnight Guest at a press conference, the girl group members opened up about the pressure that came with being the only girl-group at one of K-pop’s top agencies.
“Of course we feel a sense of pressure at having such a huge agency’s name attached to us, but we tried to think of the pressure as a driving force to make fromis_9’s color stronger,” said member Lee Saerom.
Despite the bigwig name, however, the members are staying true to themselves and working as they always have, they say.
“[The founder of Pledis] had been producing us from our debut until now, but now there’s a lot of wide support in other areas too, so it feels like we’re working together with him in heart and mind as well. And it made us ambitious about making a fresh start.” Hayoung said.
For those who missed the news, fromis_9 joined the HYBE roster through Pledis Entertainment last year when their agency Off The Record Entertainment underwent a restructuring.
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Elsewhere, the group also talked about how the pandemic and the consequent isolation inspired part of Midnight Guest, specifically the track ‘Hush Hush’.
“Recently, we haven’t been able to move around freely [because of COVID-19]. I was stuck writing lyrics and went to the Han River. I heard this being described as a ‘dawn escape,’ so I held that image in my head as I worked on the song.” recalled Jiwon, who worked on the song with Seoyeon.
“Maybe that’s why, but the process of songwriting became more fun as I worked with Seoyeon. I also had a lot of fun directing the members during recording. The members worked so hard, and I was grateful.” she said.
You can read more about this topic over at the Asia Pop Observer.
Check out ‘DM’ by fromis_9:
