‘Comeback’ Cravity “We don’t have a representative song yet… I want to find my goal with my fans” [Interview]

[Seoul Economic Daily]

Boy group CRAVITY is making a comeback today (11th). The 6th mini album ‘SUN SEEKER’ is an album that contains the mood of youth with passionate dreams, as the name ‘Sun Seeker’ suggests. If the previous work ‘MASTER: PIECE’ had the message that ‘each piece comes together to create empathy’, this time it depicts a moment of youth finding the power that only ‘I’ can have and achieving a dream.

The two title songs are ‘Cheese’ and ‘Ready or Not’. ‘Cheese’ contains the mood of a pleasant day sent by Cravity. ‘Ready or Not’ boasts a stronger beat and choreography than ‘Cheese’. The members sing about their enterprising feelings, saying that they are ready to pour out their useless worries and regrets right now.

On the 7th, Cravity members Serim, Allen, Jungmo, Woobin, Wonjin, Minhee, Taeyoung, Hyeongjun, and Seongmin held a round interview at the Starship Entertainment building in Gangnam-gu, Seoul and met with Seoul Economy Star to discuss various stories related to their comeback and album. Below is a Q&A summary of the interview with Cravity.

Q. You are making a comeback after 6 months. How do you feel?

Seongmin: It’s been a while since we made a comeback. This time, we will be making a special comeback with two title songs, so we will be able to show a variety of stages, and we are also curious about fans’ reactions.

Hyeongjun: The 6th mini album ‘Sun Sucker’ means ‘one who chases the sun’. It can be said that the sun is our goal, and it contains the journey we take to find the sun to achieve that goal. If our previous work ‘Master Piece’ was a journey to find our goals, this time we have a deep intention to find our fans’ goals together.

Q. What exactly are the fans’ goals?

Hyeongjun: I think our fans would like to see us stand on the year-end stage or at an award ceremony in 2023. I think we set it that way because Luvity’s (fandom name) goal is also our goal.

Woobin: Everyone has their own goals. It contains the message that we will always be by your side when you work hard in life and that we will always be there to give you strength and help.

Q. The pre-released title song ‘Cheese’ and the ‘Ready or Not’ released today have completely different vibes. After always working with just one title song, was there a reason why you chose two titles for the first time this time?

Seongmin: We always focused on only one title song, but this time we wanted to promote our album more, so we chose two titles. I also think that the pre-release of ‘Cheese’ will be able to attract more interest in Cravity. I think the title song has a different feel and has different things to show. ‘Cheese’ has a refreshing and chill atmosphere, and the chemistry in the performances stands out. ‘Ready or Not’ can show a stronger performance than ‘Cheese’. We are planning to show both songs on stage, but it has not yet been decided how we will show them.

Q. The ‘Cheese’ music video is Cravity’s first overseas location in LA. Member Ellen must have had special feelings because LA is her hometown.

Ellen: Yes. My mom came to the filming set. I was a little embarrassed to show her my work in front of her mom, haha. But I was glad and happy because I thought this would also remain as a good memory. It was really hot that day, and it was difficult because we had to film outdoors all the time. She praised my mom, saying that she was really proud and proud of us as she watched all of our members struggle together.

Taeyoung: As we were filming on the street, passers-by were standing and watching. People had fun while listening to our songs, and babies and dogs came along to watch, so it was really fun as if we were performing on stage.

Q. When talking about CRAVITY, we cannot leave out the packed performances of multi-member groups. What are the characteristics of the title song ‘Ready or Not’ performance?

Minhee: We do a lot of songs with a refreshing concept, but just because it’s refreshing doesn’t mean it’s an easy performance to watch. We prepared a strong performance, so I can confidently say that this performance has a lot to see.

Taeyoung: There is an overseas song called ‘Just Wanna Rock’, and a popular dance was used as the point choreography. I am cautiously anticipating that it will be powerful yet easy to follow.

Q. Please select a senior or junior singer you would like to take on a challenge with.

Serim: I hope that my senior at the company, (Lee) Kwang-soo, will join me in the challenge.

Jeongmo: I want to try it with K.Will, who is a senior at the company. They were always nice to us and came to see our concerts. They also give honest feedback. You always help me out a lot, so I think the fans will like it if I show them doing challenges as well.

Ellen: When the album is released on September 11th, my long-time role model, SHINee’s Key, will make a comeback together. So, whenever I run into him at a broadcasting station, I definitely want to ask Senior Key to do the challenge with me.

Taeyoung: I became very close with Shownu and Hyungwon as we met frequently during our recent overseas schedules. Shownu senior was recently discharged from the military, so she hasn’t been able to see him much before, so she wants to get closer to him through this challenge.

Q. Cravity debuted in April 2020 and has already released eight albums. ‘Break all the Rules’, ‘Flame’, ‘My Turn’, ‘Gas Pedal’, and ‘Adrenaline’ were released with relatively strong concepts. I think we’ve taken a refreshing route since ‘PARTY ROCK’. In this album, ‘Cheese’ has a refreshing and easy-to-listen mood, but ‘Ready or Not’ feels like seeing Cravity’s strengths at the beginning of their debut. Was there any conflict between the two concepts?

Seongmin: I’ve been thinking a lot about this issue since I debuted. In the beginning, we focused on songs that were a little more intense and powerful than this refreshing concept, but as time passed, showing what we can do became a priority, and our members and I realized that we should not miss out on performance in the process. It was the company’s common thought. So after ‘Adrenaline’, I started pushing a refreshing concept. In fact, we are still thinking a lot about what kind of songs we should show in the next album to promote Cravity.

Woobin: I think that’s why we did a double title song. Also, we incorporate a lot of different styles into our songs. There are many concepts for performing songs other than the title song on stages enjoyed with fans through concerts or offline performances. I think it would be good for you to pay attention to that as well.

Q. What Cravity can show now is ‘youth’?

Seongmin: It’s not a vague youth. Really realistic concerns of those in their 10s and 20s today. ‘Is the path I’m on right now?’, ‘What is my goal?’ I think we share these concerns and are conveying a message. Just looking around at our members shows that they are having a lot of concerns. I think that our fans have similar aspects to us, so I tend to spend time alone to reflect on myself, and I also spend a lot of time talking with the members.

Woobin: The members’ age range is exactly young. The term ‘youth’ may be glorified, but there are also pains experienced by youth and worries and concerns experienced by people our age in modern society. I think we can come up with a concept that sympathizes with those concerns and can provide comfort. I still think there is a lot I can do within the title of youth, so I plan to keep trying.

Minhee: I think this time we are meeting with our fans is youth itself. Even though the concept may change and even though I will sing strong songs, I will continue to think of this time as youth.

Q. We ended the year with this album. If you have any plans or goals, please let us know.

Seongmin: I’m not promoting because I’m hoping for good grades, but… I actually want to win first place in this promotion, and I hope to get good grades on the music charts as well. Even if it doesn’t happen this time, I will continue to work and achieve good results in the future.

Seongmin: Actually, I don’t think there is a representative song that comes to mind when I think of ‘Cravity’ yet. I hope we work a little harder and have a representative song that immediately comes to mind when talking about our team.

Wonjin: I want to show a variety of sides with the double title song, but I think it would be good to select a song that can show off performance in the included song as well.

Cravity’s 6th mini album ‘Sun Sucker’ was released on various music sites at 6 PM on this day.

Reporter Heo Ji-young heol@sedaily.com