Interview with Astro for their bnt pictorialJinjin: I think we shot it in a fun way so it was good. I’m not sure if it came out well but we worked hard so I feel good about it.Eunwoo: They said we were going to do a bnt Pictorial so I searched it up and look at a lot. I don’t know if we did well too but we shot it well it was good and really fun.Jinjin: ‘Astro’ in Spanish means star and space. A name representing that we want to become the star in people’s hearts. We’ve finished our first album’s promotions but to promote our album “Spring Up”’s energetic, spring-like, strength-giving appearance we’re working hard doing activities.A. Moonbin: Yesterday we finished off our activities’ last fansigning. We’re a new group so it’s important to announce ourselves. I think it’s better the busier you are. It was hard but on stage and at activities we’re learning a lot together and getting even closer.A. Moonbin: Fans came to lots of fansignings. Yesterday was the last signing so even if they couldn’t come before there were lots who came because it was the last. Next promotions we’ll see fans more and talk together more. And at our showcase lots came out so it was enjoyable for us too.A. Rocky: I was dancing since I was 5 and so naturally started to dream of becoming a singer. I’ve been watching what singers are doing and following along until now.Jinjin: When I was in elementary school Rain sunbaenim was on TV and was really cool. I saw him on tv and thought wow he’s a cool person and so when he was on TV I wanted to show a good appearance to my mum and so started dreaming of becoming a singer.Sanha: My dad’s dream was to become a singer but because of circumstances he couldn’t do it. Instead he was always playing guitar and singing at home so when I was in 5th year of elementary school I saw him at home like that and felt I wanted to become a singer.MJ: In middle school I was watching TV and a performance video was on and when the stage finished the audience’s cheers and applause made me emotional and I thought I too want to feel that and so started wanting to become a signer. The sound made me break out in goosebumps.Moonbin: When I was younger I did child acting. When I was in DBSK’s 'Balloons’ music video I saw them for the first time and thougth they were cool and I wanted to be like that.Eunwoo: I didn’t know much about the side of singers and celebrities but luckily I was casted and started trainee life. Training and dancing together and learning in many ways was really fun. And so I came to be here.A. Jinjin: Me, Eunwoo and Sanha trained for around 3,4 years. Rocky was 6 years and moonbin aroud 7. Our eldest MJ trained for the shortest, about 3 years. He joined the latest out of all of us but as soon as he entered his ability put him as main vocal(laugh)Rocky: He was an adult when he entered the company but when he first entered I didn’t know he was an adult. Because he’s got a baby face, haha.Jinjin: A funny thing, MJ also thought Rocky was the hyung and I also thought Rocky was the older one because he introduced himself last.Moonbin: Before becoming a team called Astro it was a survival project. At a theme park for 8 weeks we had to show a new stage each week. We had to prepare 2 or 3 songs and dances each time. We had to compete with each other but also cooperate together. It was really tiring but also mentally. It was the member’s final mision so everyone worked really hard.We changed subgroups each time but if we couldn’t confirm there was no opportunity to go on stage. It was similar to Project 101 (laugh). “if we put this member with this member what will come out” we saw a lot of this.Because of this we got a lot of communication with the audience. I think there were good and bad points to this but when we debuted and were doing broadcasts we have to look at the camera but it was difficult because we were used to focusing on the audience. We frequently looked at the audience so it was hard to adjust.Eunwoo: Whilst touring the country we did “Meet You Project”. We did performances with varying populations and with plenty of people. After debuting at first looking at the camera was awkward so it was hard.Moonbin: But still we’re constantly learning and we quickly got used to it.Eunwoo: Of course it was still a bit unfamiliar. But still we had lots of stage experiences before debut and watched lots of rehearsal videos. It’s still a bit uncomfortable but seems to have gotten better since the first time.Rocky: Even though we practiced our title song all day in the practice room it was still hard. We did rather a lot of broadcasts and had to do about 3 rehearsals for each with the camera and give a lot of strength so it was really hard. But still we’re giving more energy into it than then so it’s even harder.A. Jinjin: There were moments before and after debut, but the debut showcase is really the most memorable. The first stage was our ballad song “Innocent Love” and we came up on a lift and the crowd’s roar was really loud. There was about 1,500 people that came and so in that moment I felt a lot of emotion. Even now it’s like I imagined it.Moonbin: Its a really serious song but laughter naturally came out, it was really great.Eunwoo: For me too our debut moment was really memorable. There were talks between songs and as we perpared for the next stage and went up fans were holding placcards saying “Congratulations on your debut”. I saw that and it was so good I had goosebumps.Eunwoo: I was a little embarassed. I’m really thankful they called me that even though there were lots of people smarter than me there. To become a person to fit that nickname I decided to work hard. I think I haven’t quite got there get yet so I will continue to work hard to fit it.Rocky: Eunwoo hyung was changed. Even originally he was a person that studied often, whenever he had time i’d see him studying. He even studies Chinese in the car.Eunwoo: I don’t have seperate time so whenever I have a little leftover time I try to prepare.A: At that time I was just in elementary school so I knew the role but didn’t properly know everything. Because I didn’t have an interest in singers and celebrities I slowly got to know about it as I did child acting.At first I did activities as a model for children’s clothing. As it happens I went to music video casting and saw the audition for “Boys Over Flowers”. At first it wasn’t much of a burden. When I was younger I wasn’t the sort that liked recieving attention so it was a bit scary when I looked at it.As I had my foot in the entertainment industry my mum had an interest in it too and I said i’d try it. After that I tried it and felt the excitement and enjoyed it.MJ: In a team the atmosphere can get a bit down or tired. I don’t like that kind of atmosphere so i’m the type to play jokes to the others and lift the atmosphere. I’m not the type to get worn, and the secret to that is red ginseng. If you eat red ginseng you won’t be worn out, haha.Moonbin: Hyung is really excitable so there are times that we can’t take it. (laugh)Rocky: My mum saw me and said I look like I have the nerve for excersize and got me to start dancing. I learnt Jazz, ballet, tab, ect but at first the academy had a lot of girls so I couldn’t adjust well. But later I was doing good at it(laugh). I adapted to it well. So naturally I saw Rain sunbaenim and got the drive to become a singer. And went on 'Koreas Got Talent’ to get experience.Sanha: The hyungs take care of me better than you would think. haha. Originally the maknae has to do things first but the hyungs go first and do things for me so I’m really thankful. When I was an adolescent and was rebellious Jinjin hyung or the other hyungs would give lots of advice to me like a guide.Jinjin: Sanha and MJ hyung are called the “mad-makkemmie”. They’re the oldest and youngest but suit each other really well and give each other a lot of strength.Jinjin: I’m the leader so rather than having grievances I dont like using unpleasant words. I hate hearing unpleasant words too so i’m the style to try do something well at first. So I hate hurting someone or getting hurt. I’m the type to talk to the members and make it good even when they do something wrong. Sometimes when it’s bursting I feel bad too so it’s the hardest then. When someone does somethign wrong I get mad so it cant be helped to use harsh words but when that happens I really don’t like it.Rocky: but still when we were trainees Jinjin hyung didn’t lecture or nag us. When you become a leader and make a team there are occasionally times when you need to.Moonbin: When hyung says it you realise “I really did wrong”. He really kindly tells you when you got something wrong. He talks to us a lot as a group but when he’s scolding you he’s the type that takes 1 person to the side and talks to them.Rocky: Before he was the leader when we were trainees he talked to us a lot, listen to us and our worries and so he naturally became the leader.A: Eunwoo: I want to appear on “Real Men”. It’s tough but once you’ve done the hard bit there’s a sense of achievement. Like excercising really hard and sweating a lot so being proud. I want to feel the sense of accomplishment you get when you do something really hard. And since I’m a guy I have to go to the army someday (laughs)Moonbin: I want to go on “Law of The Jungle”. Originally I like taking care of my body and exploring. And you have to live cooperatively together and there are dangerous situations too. I thought “would I be able to do well too” and so I want to test myself.MJ: I want to do “I live alone” haha. I want to show an appearance of getting rid of accommodation and living alone. I want to show that I can live funly alone too.Sanha: I want to do Running Man. I want to wear a name tag.Moonbin: There are times when Sanha is elaborate and objectified so I think he’d do well (laughs)MJ: When Rocky goes to the convenience store it’s rather unusual. when we finish practice at night he goes wearing sleeping trousers, with a hair band holding his hair up, a face pack on and wearing slippers. Even after seeing this a few times we get surprised so people seeing him for the first time are really shocked.Rocky: they don’t know it’s me anyway (laughs)Moonbin: Yeah thinks if he wears a hair band and face pack people won’t recognise him.Rocky: To explain, after i’ve had a shower and gotten clean and have a face mask there’s not much time so I just go to the shop like that(laughs). I didn’t think it was strange at first. Because I was wearing a character face pack that fans gave me.Moonbin: Lately he’s refraining from doing it a bit.Moonbin: I think it’s the sense of familiarity. Before debut we did the “Meetchu Project” and came straight to find fans at events and not the type to reach our fans from a distance but thought to become a gruop to reach right back to the fans. I think that familiarity is our strength. Without repulsion we can easily go around.Sanha -> Jinjin: On stage he raps and is cool but in life his actions are really slow. Like a turtle. It’s a reverse attraction. It’s a cool, calm, charm.Jinjin -> Rocky: he’s a practice junkie. He’s really persistant and when we practise is always there until the end. If there’s something he wants then his style is to unconditionally do whatever he has to, it’s the sort of appearance you want to recieve. A friend like an unmoveable rock.Rocky -> Eunwoo: He has the charm of caring for people one by one. He’s called a tsundere. He’s handsome and is a good hyung but behind the scences he really takes good care of each person. And he has a simpleton talent. His actions are silly so it’s cute. He’s cool but not always. haha. Sometimes he’s really humane so it’s cute. But he nags us like a mum.Eunwoo -> Moonbin: On stage he’s the coolest. Usually when monitoring you look at yourself first but I look at what Bin is doing a lot. On stage he shows his own feeling and power. If it’s just Bin on stage it’s a really cool charm.Moonbin -> MJ: He’s the happy virus. When we’re tired he gives us the most energy. If hyungs not there we’re more down and there’s a real impact on the team.He’s called "madnae(eldest)“ so as the eldest he shows the youngest appearance but on the other hand there are times when he does show that he’s the oldest. As the eldest, when we go astray he points it out and teaches us. He’s like the youngest too but there are parts when he’s really reliable too.MJ -> Sanha: Sanha has lots of aegyo and is immature sometimes but when we’re practicing or have personal time his focus is really good. He plays guitar well and is often left alone practicing too. If you look he’s like a sponge. His sense is really good and his feeling is alive. It seems like he just has aegyeo but he’s actually the most serious.A: Moonbin: My motivation for wanting to be a singer, DBSK sunbaenim. When they sing and perform everything is complete. Remove the MR and its really surprising. I got goosebumps. They’re popular abroad too which is awesome and I want to become a group that recieves respect abroad and nationwide.Rocky: BigBang sunbaenims also have a unique personality and when they meet show a really beautiful appearance. I want us to have an appearance like that too. Their personality is different but when they gather there’s a big energy.Rocky: It’d be good if they were cute and kind. Someone that’s considerate of others. I like someone that takes care of others well. Someone who’s very considerate and cute would be good.Moonbin: I like someone that laughs well. Someone with a good sense of humour or just laughs well daily. I’m the type to carry lots of things about so somebody that can meticulously take care of things is my ideal type (laugh)MJ: Someone with a pretty smile and bright personality. It would be good if they had a similar personality to me. If they'yre someone who takes jokes well and has a sense of humour similar to MJ it’ll be good. haha.Jinjin: I like someone with plain opinions. Because my mum is like that. and my dad has a personality similar to mine. My mum grabbed my dad but saves his face outside which is cool.Sanha: I like someone that thinks a lot. Someone that asks what I did and has a lot of interest is good.Eunwoo: Someone wise is my ideal type. And a girl that I love, if it’s someone I like then it’s okay (laughs)Everyone: Rocky and JinjinMJ: Everyone has a lot of interest but can’t wear it(laughs). A while ago I went to buy a book about fashion with jinjin but he really didn’t know. He really wasn’t sure what he should buy(laughs)Moonbin: what MJ just said is really dense. I asked the stylist team who wears things the worst and they said MJ hyung. And it seems Jinjin wears things the best. If you ask him he also knows all the fashion brands.Rocky: On the way to work we all look at each other’s.Moonbin: There are lots of times I ask Jinjin.Rocky: If you look at our title song hide&seek dance practice video there’s really a lot of turns. I think watching and counting those turns is really fun.Eunwoo: When we practice, matching the choreography is important but we sing with a lot of facial expressions and gestures too. We make a storyline amongst ourselves too. And while dancing the 'crab dance’ our facial expressions and gestures change too. If you see that direction isn’t it enjoyable. I want our main point to be matching with us playing, being sad, laughing.Moonbin: Our image is fresh and lively. But we’re the types to make it directly dynamic in the choreography. It would be good if people could find our image and our reverse appeal.Jinjin: Our dance is really dynamic and hard so when we rehearse we’re sweating so much it’s like rain.Eunwoo: If there’s one episode we finish rehearsal and are sweating a lot. Because of that a lot of mics got broken (laughs)Sanha: If there was something we could develop it would be good. I want us to show a more developed appearance everytime we prepare and come out with a new album.Moonbin: I think everytime we come back it’s important to have developed.Rocky: We’re still young and there’s lots of time to show things so it would be good if we could show something different everytime.Eunwoo: Our intro is “Wanna Be Your Star!”. There’s wanting to become a star to the public mind but I also have the heart that I want to become a group that heads towards changing together.Jinjin: Our Aroha fanclub, during our 1st album promotions helped and supported us a lot and gave us a lot of strength. Arohas out of the things I want to say if there was one that gives the most strength it’s thank you. Because of you we gained strength everytime, we’re very thankful and we are working hard to become an astro that can live up to your cheers and expectations.Moonbin: Arohas always came to our music shows during activities to cheer for us. When things were tough for us you always gave us strength and even when you couldn’t come to broadcasts sent letters and upload writings on the fancafe and all the various ways you surpport us, everytime we see it it gives us strength. You came around with us to the same schedules so it must’ve been hard so i’m really thankful and I think it must’ve been really burdensome for you.Eunwoo: Today as well we came to do a radio schedule. I was really thankful for you for coming to the radio schedule. And at the last fansigning, you worked hard during these 1st album activities. I really want to say to you how hard you worked. If you say you love me I want to say I love you more.Rocky: In my case, while preparing for debut and debuting I feel there were always people who liked me, and showed interest and I recieved love from.So now, i’m really thankful. I’m really thankful for liking us even through our strange expressions and broken appearance.MJ: It’s always a shame that fans abroad or in the countryside can’t come but I want to say that even though you’re far away you supported us and gave us strength.Jinjin: Fans in the countryside who came to our fansignings it was really nice to meet you and so good.Sanha: Because fans came to find us today too the radio was really enjoyable. I’m really thankful for coming and taking pretty pictures of us every time we have a schedule. We always finish performances and go back to the dorms and look, it’s really great and i’m thankful. I’m always thankful.trans via dani @ astrodaily astrodaily 1 2 | BNT International 1