Super Junior: Nothing Junior About This Super Band
August 02, 2008
1, 2, 3… 13?
Thirteen of the hottest, most
talented boys in Asia under one single band? No way! But it's true, alright. And
they've been setting about wrecking havoc in all the young girls' hearts from
day one. Meet Super Junior, one of Korea's leading boy bands and heartthrobs,
every single gorgeous one of them.
Bursting onto the K-pop scene in
2005, the then 12 member band released their first album, Super Junior05
(Twins), which met with a warm reception. Their first single "U," a catchy
R&B ditty quickly took the charts by storm, sweeping many an award, and
cementing Super Junior as one of the rising names to look out for.
Kyuhyun was then added to this rambunctious band of brothers in 2006,
and 12 became the magical 13. In 2007, the band launched their sophomore effort,
Don't Don. The album did extremely well, and was among the top Korean albums of
the year.
Now, MTV Asia brings you a much-envied tete a tet session with
the delectable boys. Just six of them, but who's complaining? Leeteuk, Eunhyuk,
Siwon, Sungmin, Donghae and Kyuhyun get set to share what love means to them,
how to avoid getting recognized, and some of their weird habits.
***
Welcome to the MAAs as first time nominees of Favorite Artist of
Korea! The theme surrounding this year's MAAs revolves around the letter 'M.'
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the letter 'M?'
Siwon: Super Junior – M!
Leeteuk: Music! MTV! Man!
You've always had radical hairstyles and outfits. With the constant
changing of image, what is the real Super Junior like?
Eunhyuk: The
hairstyles and outfits have ranged from cute to wild. But we're more colorful
and are much more multi-faceted in personality and character than that.
Having said that, your new album is a remarkable departure from the
bubbly image of your first. What are some of your thoughts on this change?
Leeteuk: The first album portrayed us as more boyish and adorable. As
for the second album, we have grown up a little more, and so this is us in a
more manly light.
Right now there seems to be quite a large number of
Korean boy bands coming, and they're mostly all going down the K-pop and ballad
route. So how do you distinguish yourselves from them musically?
Leeteuk: Well first and foremost, we have 13 members. So that's already
a huge difference, and a memorable one to boot. And each and every one of our
members has a different and unique voice. Aside from that, we also do other
stuff like acting and DJing. So we have a more well-rounded portfolio.
Speaking of which, I think one of your most memorable shows has got to
be Full House, the home-stay chronicle with Anya and Eva. I'm sure a lot of us
are curious to know how that came about, and whether Super Junior is planning to
open their home in future again.
Leeteuk: The Full House experience was
a very moving and rewarding one. We learned a lot from it, and we're also really
glad that we've been able to share a bit of the Korean culture with our foreign
friends. If there's ever the opportunity, we’d definitely like to be doing this
again.
Erm… Well actually I didn't think of that but now… Let's just
move on, eh? With 13 people in a band, the leader (Leeteuk) is usually the one
who's the main spokesperson. And some of the members are also more outspoken
than others. So in that case, how do all the members get equal representation in
the band?
Eunhyuk: Well, each of us have our own talent and contribution
to the band. Kyuhyun is vocally powerful, Sungmin is our poster boy of cuteness,
Donghae is a good dancer.
Donghae: Shiwon has the global face, and
Euhyuk is known for his rapping. So in a way, we all get a fair share of showing
what we're good at.
What about the younger ones then? Donghae, Sungmin
and Kyuhyun. Do they get bullied all the time?
Leeteuk: Yes. It's mostly
what they're there for! [Laughs]
Living and touring together all the
time, what are some of the weirdest habits of some of the members?
Siwon: Every time I go on a holiday, I always carry the most bags.
Sungmin: He brings almost everything possible, and he organizes them
neatly.
Leeteuk: So if we need exercise equipment, or even some kind of
medicine, we'll just go to him. He's the best possible roommate to have.
Siwon: We always have some kind of a bet to see which roommate we'll
get.
You've been on the tour the past couple of months for the Super
Show. Why isn't Singapore one of your stops?
Leeteuk: Well yeah, we've
actually been going to a lot of other places in Asia. We did the first show in
Thailand, and we're planning nine more stops. We'd actually have loved to make a
stop at Singapore. Why haven't you called us?!
Ahhh I see. Our bad.
Don't worry. I'll be sure to speak to my boss about it.
Super Junior:
YEAH!!!
A lot of your songs talk about love. What exactly does it mean
to you, anyway?
Kyuhyun: Love is sweet.
Sungmin: I haven't
really known what love is all about actually.
Awwww. Soon, soon.
Leeteuk: Love is being lovesick.
Oh dear. Why so negative?
Leeteuk: I haven't had very good experiences with it. [Laughs]
Oops okay I'm sorry!
Donghae: Love is romantic.
Siwon:
Love is patient.
Finally, tell us a little-known fact about Super
Junior.
Eunhyuk: Well, in all our reality TV shows we are usually very
honest about ourselves, and so our fans know most everything about us.
Leeteuk: Even to the point of knowing about Eunhyuk's smelly feet.
[Laughs]
Eunhyuk: No! No!
Alright, I believe you, I do! Thanks,
boys, for talking to me. Good luck! And… bye!
Labels: kpop
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