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FT Island released their 3rd album 2 years after debut. Saying goodbye to sorrowful tracks from their 2nd album, FT Island comes back on stage with bright and cheerful songs.

Idol band, FT Island, brings us smiles ever since their debut 2 years back.

FT Island consists of the following members, Lee Hongki (vocal), Choi Jonghoon (guitar), Song Seunghyun (guitar), Lee Jaejin (bass) and Choi Minhwan (drums). Since their debut in 2007, their songs like “Lovesick“, “Thunder“, “After Love“, “Bad Woman” and other sorrowful rock ballads have gained lots of popularity. Lee Hongki’s melancholic singing style has become the trademark of the band. The way he expressed love and separation in the songs captured many women’s heart.

The band’s latest released album, titled “Cross & Change“, has a special meaning. Unlike their previous albums which create a dark and heavy atmosphere, their new title song “Barae (I Hope)” portrays the vibrant energy of young men in their early 20s. It is also a crossover between rock and electronica and it gives off a brighter and lighter touch to the songs. Members also look different on stage this time. Hongki is now winking at the fans instead of showing his usual depressive image on stage. And now we begin our interesting interview with the members.

#New Challenges & Readjustments

FT Island experienced a slump in their career path ever since their debut. Oh Wonbin left the team due to musical differences and Song Seunghyun joined in soon after. Many predictions and rumours were spreading on the team’s future. In order to clear up all these confusions, FT Island released a mini album titled “Jump Up“. However, the results from this mini album did not manage to reach the high expectations from the fans and the band was disheartened. They then sensed the urgency to come up with their 3rd album.

“This new album serves as a new challenge as well as a readjustment for us. We wanted to do much better to make up for what we lack from the previous album,” said Lee Hongki. “We did not want to show just one image like the previous albums. So we thought of preparing another new image this time,” said Lee Jaejin.

The band chose a brighter and positive image for their comeback. “It will be different this time” as what the members promised. They have taken a change towards brighter and cheerful music style. Besides the title song “Barae (I Hope)”, other songs like “Bing Bing Bing“, “Angel & Woodman“, “Marry Me“, “Knowing From First Sight“, “Monnani” are blending well with FT Island’s bright image. The members are all hyped up in singing.

“Just as how I often smile on screen, I’m quite a cheerful person off screen too,” said Lee Hongki. “Many also advised us to portray an image that suits our age, to joke around with each other more often and be cute,” said Choi Jonghoon. “It doesn’t seem to suit us very well but it’s good to know that we can have such image too,” said Choi Minhwan.

#Continuing Progress!

FT Island stands out amongst the many idol groups in the industry right now, being a unique band made up of a group of pretty boys who play rock music using their own instruments on stage. Back then when the band just debuted, the members were insufficient in their playing skills and received titles of being just a “flower band”. The members proved themselves by practising at least 10 hours a day without rest. The band recently received an invitation to a famous rock festival and it proves their ability.

“We are happy that we can do all kinds of music recently without any difficulty,” said Lee Hongki. “There is no end for practising. We still have a long way to go but we’re gaining confidence bit by bit now,” said Lee Jaejin.

The members portray a more matured image for this new album. They also tried out crossovers between music genres like rock-n-roll, reggae, electronica and many others. Their confidence level goes up as they widen their music spectrum. They are also doing their Asia tour promotions in countries like Singapore, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and others.

“Even at unfamiliar places, we are able to perform with confidence. We’re anticipating the tour promotions,” said Song Seunghyun. “It seems that we haven’t been resting ever since debut. There were times when we said we wanted to take a break but we did not eventually. We want to step on the “acceleration pedal” this time,” said Lee Hongki.

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Credits: Sports Hankook + ying1005 @ primanoona (translation) + sujushineeland @ blogspot.com