Trust Between Friends
How many things are possible purely through friendship?
Members from two popular idol groups, SHINees Key and Infinites Woohyun, have
joined forces and revealed their project group ToHeart to the public. The
common yet untested saying, "A man is loyalty", has been realized
through these two 24-year-olds.
Friends doing
something together is easier said than done.
Key: We're not
just close. Even our favorite styles are similar, so we imagined that it'd be
fun to do a photoshoot or release an album together. Our companies merged at
that time however (SHINee is currently under SM Entertainment and Infinite is
under Woollim Entertainment which is under SM C&C) and it naturally became
a reality.
You must have been
happy that your companies merged.
Key: The way I see
it, the representative in Infinite's company was waiting quite a while.
Woohyun: I told
the CEO several times and he told me to wait. Then he actually went to SM.
The company seems to
respect its artists quite a lot. You both have members from your teams. Didn't
you have to be wary (of their reactions)?
Woohyun: Everyone
thought it was good since it's a project we're doing as friends.
Really?
Key: It may not
have happened if we were girl groups.
Woohyun: That's
true, it may not have.
Key: Male groups
have a lot of fun together, even at broadcast stations. Infinite and SHINee are
especially close.
Woohyun: SHINee
plays games and hangs out with us in our waiting room. In SHINee's Jonghyun's
case, he spends almost all his time in our waiting room at music programs.
We've shared a waiting room before because we had an end-of-year performance
together. It was so loud, I was going to die.
Key: My members
are very casually supporting us.
I was curious about
your team name. It's ToHeart.
Woohyun: It
signifies two hearts. We thought a lot about it.
Key: I actually
said we should just go with our names, be it WoohyunKey or KeyWoohyun.
So do you like it?
Key: It sounds
kind of like the name of a drama.
Wooyhun: Haha,
that's true. It was really awkward at first. It was the same with me for
Infinite, though. After (a while of) introducing myself with the name, I grew
used to it. I'm waiting for that day to come (with Toheart).
Key: But the
response to our name is pretty good.
What kind of music do
you do?
Woohyun: Our title
track Delicious is a very funky and rhythmical song.
Key: In other
words, it is music that we haven't done in our respective groups. I think it's
just something we are dabbling in outside of our teams. All the songs in our
album are well made, however. We tried hard to maximize the completeness of the
musicality. We even went around buying our own stage outfits and paid a lot of
attention to our visual appearances. It will definitely surprise people.
Should I say the
album jacket has a retro style? It looks nice, anyway.
Key: We believe
there will be sincere responses as we've worked hard on it.
What is the response
like from your respective fans?
Woohyun: I haven't
been able to hear much of it, but I think they find it strange. There are fans
of Infinite and fans of SHINee, but now that they have to support both teams, a
lot of reactions have surfaced. If we're not just a one-time unit, though, and
do music together long-term as ToHeart, I think new fans of ToHeart would be
born.
Key: There are
fans who actually like both of us though.
Is that so?
Key: When I went
to concerts overseas, I saw a lot of placards with "Key, Woohyun" written
on them.
Woohyun: That's
right, there were some.
There is a saying
that you shouldn't work with friends.
Key: I was worried
too. Working together might be different than being friends, but because we're
so close, we don't fight. I think since we're just so engrossed in doing our
own thing, we don't have any clashes in opinion.
There must be
newfound pros and cons of working together.
Woohyun: I don't
think there are any cons.... I think the song and concept of this album suits
Kibum more.
Key: Hahaha.
Woohyun: The voice
and style for our title track suits Kibum well.
What are your
expectations for ToHeart's promotions?
Woohyun: Mine is
probably the same as Kibum's. I want to show a different side of me than when
I'm with Infinite. I want to show people styles and genres I haven't been able
to do, and show that there's a different charm to me.
Key: Through this
unit, I hope many more fun projects will be created in the future. I hope
people will take this well-produced music and look to me like they're enjoying
it with me.
You have many members
in both SHINee and Infinite. How does it feel being just the two of you?
Woohyun: There are
pros and cons. Since there are many members in Infinite, (fans') reactions are
bigger, but here it's a bit quieter. It's nice that the waiting time was short
when filming our music video, but it's just the two of us doing everything.
When we were filming our music video, we stayed up shooting for two straight
days, so it was hard. There's no time to rest in between.
Key: It's not like
neither of us can't talk, but we don't speak very well during interviews. Maybe
it's because there are less chances to say something short (and let the other
members talk instead).
SHINee are seniors,
but both (SHINee and Infinite) are top idol groups. Isn't it lucky that friends
can promote together like this?
Key: That's why we
have no complaints when doing this.
Woohyun: Should I
say it's a beautiful atmosphere? Since we're friends, everything works out
well.
Key: It's to the
point that we still can't believe it.
24 years old is not
that young. As celebrities, you must have deep thoughts about each of your
fields.
Key: For us, this
is probably the year where we have to accomplish the biggest things. I have
many things in store. My goal is to produce better results than what I've done
so far. I hope many good things will happen not just for SHINee, but for myself
as well.
SHINee hit the
jackpot last year. You even won a gayo daesang.
Key: That's true.
In my case, I did musicals on top of singing. I'm learning music these days.
Instead of thinking that I have to write a song, I'm at a level where I should
know more about how things go around.
What about you,
Woohyun?
Woohyun: Putting
out an album with Kibum is a new project in itself. I hope there are good
results. I think I'll be active in different fields and not just this one. I'm
still composing and I believe there will be opportunities for me to communicate
closely with more fans through dramas or variety programs.
You have a lot less
solo promotions than I expected for you to have when you debuted.
Woohyun: The CEO
doesn't push for me. Haha. I think of it like he is saving me (for the right
time).
As men, what does the
age 24 entail, in terms of non-work-related situations?
Key: I'm trying to
be apart from my parents these days. It's not a bad thing. It's just that I
want to create a foundation where I'm able to be independent.
Woohyun: I'm
similar. We've been working for a company since a young age. If we try to go on
vacations alone, we'd have trouble because our social skills are so weak.
That's why I'm trying to take it step by step on my own.
How long do you think
your friendship will last? What is a friend?
Woohyun: I think
being happy when we're together is friendship. Where we can confess anything
and say whatever....
Are you really
friends without secrets?
Woohyun: That's
right.
Key: I don't think
deciding things like "let's be friends for a long time" and
"let's not fight" is friendship. Just going where your heart takes
you and being comfortable is good, and having that last for a long time is even
better.
What is one thing you
definitely want to happen through ToHeart?
Woohyun: I haven't
said this before, but I want us to do a concert in a small theater or any place
we can have sincere conversations. I also have a tiny wish that we can release
at least 20 albums.
Key: Letting the
world know about this project is my goal. I want to confidently show people our
results.
The people around you
must be jealous.
Woohyun: I think
it's really fun. Doing work of this sort with a friend.... I'm content with
that....
Credits: iMagazine, @sfinee
Translations: kimchi hana @shineee.net
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