This is the 5th year of debut for music band FTISLAND. Many things have happened in this time which is neither short nor long, causing them to grow up bit by bit. The experiences which they have accumulated are another story.
FTISLAND, who met with reporters for an interview with a relaxing attitude on 5th September, held concerts on 1st and 2nd September at the Seoul Olympic Hall, of which their voice is still ringing in our ears. The venue was packed with 7000 fans, and the members revealed, "There were so many fans who came from Denmark, Spain, Italy, France, Japan and other overseas fans; we were shocked."
The Asia Tour, which was held before this, had even better returns. In Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hongkong, Singapore and Japan, concerts were held with 40,000 fans. During March this year, they also went to Los Angeles and held a concert together with their junior band CNBLUE at the Nokia Live Centre, drawing a crowd of 5000 fans. Member Song Seunghyun revealed, "Everytime we do a concert, it feels like we've moved up a step higher."
Looking back, FTISLAND took a road far from ordinary: Setting off as a Flower Boy Band in June 2007, they immediately received attention from 10 generations of fans. Their songs also emerged at the top charts, becoming a group which led a lot of fans.
FTISLAND, which had let the public anticipate an interesting life, suddenly disappeared in their second year. In April 2008, there would be the occasional news from exchange students that FTISLAND was spotted at Japan's Tokyo subway stations. The news said that they carried their guitars and drumsticks and shuttled to and fro at a strange place.
"At that time, there was nearly no K-pop or Hallyu wave in Japan. So we went there with the mentality of being on exchange, starting a then-tough life there. We really started living from the bottom, a period where we couldn't even take a taxi without feeling guilty." (Choi Jonghun)
In order to experience the lifestyle of an underground band, they bravely set out, but the journey was not as easy as expected; there were some times when they missed the fans' screams in Korea. They had a few performances at clubs in Tokyo together with Japanese underground bands. At that time, the biggest audience only consisted of about 40 people. Choi Jonghun said, "We had a lot of issues with the language barrier, and member Lee Hongki had very serious homesickness."
Choi Minhwan recalled, "At that time, we were all very young, our performance was also not very good", "Additionally, people were suspicious of us; we were full of bitterness inside." But with every loss comes a gain: They received help from a staff member from their Korean management agency, directly experienced how to record locally. Adding in the sounds of their instruments, slowly understanding the musical interest of a band, they also later released underground singles in Japan.
6 months later, when they returned to Korea again, the music stage had a lot of changes. At the period when they were supposed to concentrate, the cost of being distracted came high: many fans left easily. In 2009, the result of their Korean activities was not smooth. Song Seunghyun stated, "We thought that we could only spend our days in the dormitory as useless people." He later added, "But the more it was like this, the stronger, the better the members' relationships became."
The chance to rebound came from Japan: In 2010, they received an invitation from Warner Music Japan to sign a contract. After discussion, some local personnel felt that returning to the local scene for activities would be better, and they have since released more than 10 CDs. Last year, for the first time, they received the first place for Japanese Oricon charts. Member Lee Jaejin said, "In the midst of our Japanese performance, there was suddenly commotion amongst the staff members; that was when we felt that something happened and then realised it was the news that we were number one." He added, "Although we also cried, the fans who have stood by us since our underground-band days cried even harder." It is now that they can frequently use the Oricon music chart's first position as a benchmark.
Another stronghold for FTISLAND is the sudden, unexpected Hallyu wave of fans from places like Europe. "Please think about it: Isn't the source of bands Europe? Don't you find it marvelous to find our fans at such a place where many great bands exist?" (Choi Jonghun)
They, full of confidence and passion, will soon embark on their Korean activities. After holding a lively Korean concert, they are expected to release, in this month, their 4th regular album after a 3-year break. The album is recorded with 10 songs, out of which half are their self-written songs. All the song are performed by themselves personally. Choi Jonghun composed U and LIFE with a modern style; Choi Minhwan and Song Seunghyun composed the rock style WANNA GO and the acoustic COMPASS.
Member Choi Minhwan expressed, "You'll see FTISLAND with more rock, and a side which is more free." and added, "I hope that we will lend a hand to the Hallyu wave, to become a band which can remembered as being able to achieve anything on our own."
ORIGINAL CHINESE TRANSLATIONS BY @lindy826
ORIGINAL SOURCE: Kyunghyang Shinmun
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