Im Youngmin and Kim Donghyun came to News1’s office with their debut ahead of them and seemed to be nervous. The two of them smiled and said, “Our hearts are beating at the thought of adding the prefix of a ‘singer’ after always greeting ourselves with the title of ‘trainee’ in front of our names.”

Q: You have your debut ahead of you. What are your thoughts?

Youngmin: We received a lot of love as trainees through Produce, but now it’s the debut that we’ve both been looking forward to, so our hearts are beating at how we’re letting many people know of our names as singers not trainees and receiving love. Since we have a lot of lacking areas, we are trying to best to show full completion.

Donghyun: It feels like a dream to have the title of a singer be attached. I’m thankful to have been given an opportunity like this and I am working hard in practicing in order to give back to that anticipation. I’m nervous and my heart is beating.

Q: The song from your single, ‘GOOD DAY’, was participated in by Lee Daehwi.

Youngmin: Daehwi’s composing ability is really good. When we asked whether it would be okay if we good put it in our unit’s debut album, he happily said that it would be fine.

Q: After Produce 101 has ended, what have you guys been doing?

Youngmin: I didn’t know while we were still doing the program, but after it was over, I could feel how many people gave us love and interest. And as soon as the concert was over, I went on a holiday for the first time. After I returned from the holiday time, the company told us about our unit, and I was really happy. I spent time busily in preparations for our debut. All I can think about right now is our album.

Q: You were eliminated from WANNA ONE right at the cusp, but do you feel any regrets?

Youngmin: I feel really regretful about it. To be honest, I didn’t even think that I would go to the live broadcast stage. I wrote down 8th place as my predicted rank at first, but that was really just a wish. When I talked with Donghyun, we told each other to at least avoid the first set of eliminations. I thought that I had a lot of lacking areas. I didn’t think that I would have received this much love. Feeling regret about not becoming a WANNA ONE member was because I wouldn’t be able to show more sides of myself towards fans who cheered me on. But now that I’m debuting, I want to show a cool side towards my fans.

Donghyun: I really wanted to stand on the live broadcast stage for ‘Produce 101’. I thought that I would be able to show a fun stage for the next stage, but I was upset because regrettable results came out right before the live broadcast. What I wasn’t able to show during the live broadcast as well as through WANNA ONE, I will show through this unit.

Q: Two members of Brand New became WANNA ONE.

Youngmin: We hardly are able to see each other. We also aren’t able to contact each other often either. Woojin and Daehwi seem to be very busy. It seems like they’re practicing into the middle of the night in preparations for their debut. Although I’m sad we’re unable to contact each other often, I’m always supporting them.

Donghyun: After sharing our trainee lives together, we’re now separated a bit, but I miss them a lot. I went to go buy make-up before, but I saw Woojin and Daehwi’s posters there. Laughter came out.

Q: Did you guys predict who would receive the highest ranking among Brand New Boys on ‘Produce 101’?

Donghyun: Ever since I first came into the company, I knew that Daehwi would stand out. He sings well, dances well, writes songs well, talks well, has variety show skills, and is young too.

Youngmin: I thought that Daehwi and Woojin would make it into WANNA ONE. I feel like Woojin dances really coolly. His eyes change from when he’s dancing compared to doing other things. Since we practice together, whenever I see him dancing, I thought he would get noticed for his dancing.

Q: It’s probably the first time you are receiving this much interest in your life, but are you content with your current life these days?

Youngmin: I didn’t really know the situation outside while doing the program. When I would occasionally hear that advertisements were put up and things like that, I couldn’t believe it. But I was really fascinated when people recognized me when I would go on the streets. We lived a normal life, so the title of a celebrity is still unfamiliar. I was fascinated at the fact that they could recognize us.

Q: Is there a word of advice that Rhymer CEO gave?

Donghyun: During the program, he worried a lot too. The more the program approached us, he tried to give us confidence. ‘Whether or not your results are good or bad from the program or if you are eliminated, we don’t care. Just do your best and enjoy it.’ It gave me a lot of strength before the broadcast.

Youngmin: He encouraged us a lot during the program in order to make us less tense, but now we’re entering a professional’s world, so he gives us serious advice. He emphasized the fact that we need to give back through our skills, so that’s left in my memory.

Q: You’re the first idols of the company. Do you feel any burdens?

Youngmin: At first, we were really burdened. Since an idol group is coming from Brand New Music, I felt nervous. However, since the public has yet to hear our music, I want to give them a variety of genres in music in order to not disappoint.

Q: You’re debuting with the song that Kim Donghyun composed.

Donghyun: My self-composed song is a song that expresses how a man feels when confessing to a woman. The original song is a sweet, acoustic version, but we added a refined sound to it. I think there will be a chance to personally play the original acoustic version on the guitar in the future. Although our general base is hip-hop, we don’t want to put a restriction on our genres in order to give off a bright image. Rather than say we have a set concept, we want to show a variety of things.

Q: Is there’s something you regret not being able to show through the broadcast?

Donghyun: On the broadcast, only a part of me was shown. There were also a lot of playful sides of us to fit our age. Since Youngmin hyung and I are promoting, we’re able to show it in a variety of ways, so I’m thankful about it.

Youngmin: I think what I showed was limited. On the broadcast, I wasn’t able to talk much and I think I showed a slightly careful side. I normally am very playful. And more than anything, I want to show a side of myself on stage through the debut that I won’t have regrets in not being able to show.

Q: Im Youngmin placed in the top 11 before. You were able to become a part of WANNA ONE, but there was a controversy of misconduct in the middle.

Youngmin: Because that controversy occurred when I was receiving the most love, I was taken aback. I think of it as taking responsibility for the past days where I had no self-awareness as someone who was going to become a public figure and wasn’t responsible. Because I thought that it would be really bad if I felt disappointment from the artist whom I loved, I self-reflected a lot. I do hear ‘You could have been a member of WANNA ONE, don’t you regret it’ often, but I try to think about it as an opportunity for me to grow as a better artist. With a mature mind, I am trying to not make a mistake in my life as a singer.

Q: You have a fandom and interest that’s hard for a newcomer group to have.

Youngmin: Many people probably know about the sides I showed on ‘Produce 101’, but I don’t want to be limited to that and wish to show a variety of sides. I want to continue to do music for a long time. I want to improve my abilities in both my level of skills and musically as well.

Donghyun: Because we were able to have a fandom that trainees don’t usually get, we gained popularity even before debuting, but I want to be modest, careful, and always be mannerly. I want to coolly do our music.

Q: Is there a reason as to why you became a trainee of Brand New Music?

Donghyun: I normally had the thought that Brand New Music is a company that’s good at making music. Aren’t the senior artists there also amazing? From seniors such as Verbal Jint and San E, they are people are normally really respect, so I wanted to come no matter what. I wanted to work with a company that does music well and I felt that I could learn a lot.

Youngmin: Since I do hip-hop, I naturally knew a lot about Brand New Music. Along with it being a place that can’t be left out of hip-hop, I heard that they were doing an idol project at the time I started a trainee life, so I personally tried out and came here.

Q: Your plans after debut?

Youngmin: I introduced myself as ‘Trainee Im Youngmin’, right? Since we’re now introducing ourselves without the tag of a trainee, I want to show skills or professional sides in order to fit that. I also want to show a completion level on this album. I want to show a lot musically. I want to show a lot of sides that I wasn’t able to show through Produce.

Donghyun: I want to be acknowledged as people who are good at music not as a trainee, but as Brand New Music’s artist, Kim Donghyun.

TRANS. CR: BRANDNEWBOYS.WORDPRESS.COM (@WOOJINPRK)

ORIGINAL SOURCES: 1, 2, 3