K-Pop has given us so many diversely talented artists as groups and soloists, with a substantial increase in the quantity of talent. Because there are so many new and veteran musicians, it can be spectacular and overwhelming to launch and quickly find your footing, but the award-winning, six-figure-album sales-earning rookie group CRAVITY has rightfully earned the achievements they’ve garnered in just under a year. Yes, a year.
The group launched in April of this year with nine members, ranging in age from late teens to early 20s, and a sound that operates in a nostalgia-heavy appreciation of the early ‘00s boy band pop, to a little mix of R&B and electronic. It’s with this appreciation for music before and what music has become, or what it can evolve into that instantly makes CRAVITY feel like they have established their interests as artists. Part of that new modern shift in music is that an artist can have a little more freedom to experiment with different genres and or inspirations, so in two EP’s composed of seven songs each, they make a poignant introduction to a group that feels necessary to the next wave of K-Pop talent.
Part of that journey as rookie group involves merging various styles as artists, and the group has obviously found their niche — so we were thrilled to speak to CRAVITY (comprised of Serim, Allen, Jungmo, Woobin, Wonjin, Minhee, Hyeongjun, Taeyoung, and Seongmin) about how they get to know one another better, celebrating major milestones as new musicians and day to day life outside of performing as a K-Pop powerhouse unit.
Firstly, congratulations on your debut year! You’ve released two albums already and that’s a pretty impressive start as a rookie group. What was it like when you all listened to your first song together?
CRAVITY: Thank you so much! Since it was our first album, we paid a lot of attention to record the songs with as much emotion as possible. Therefore, when we first listened to the mastered tracks, we were all anxious and excited to hear our voices for the first time. There were definitely some points that could have been done with better execution, but in general we were all happy with how everything came out.
Being that you’re a Taiwanese-American born in California, what was it like making that transition to South Korea and K-Pop, Allen? I’m from California too, so we have to give a shout out to The Golden State merging with K-Pop!
Allen: First of all, shout out to the Golden State shining ever so brightly lighting up the way for K-pop to enter the US markets. Haha, I’ve been into K-pop ever since I was in middle school, so my adolescence has been hugely influenced by Hallyu culture. By listening to K-pop, watching Korean TV shows and dramas I’ve been exposed to some parts of the Korean culture that led me to take Korean as a foreign language class in high school, so transitioning from Cali to Seoul wasn’t as big of a problem for me. The only difficult part was the long and cold winters and also being homesick during holiday seasons. Other than that, I sometimes forget that I’m the only foreign member on the team because the members treat me as if I’m Korean. They always say “Allen is so Korean, he speaks Korean better than me…. etc.”
How would you break down a typical day for Cravity? More specifically, if you don’t have a stage performance, what is the day to day life of Cravity like?
CRAVITY: We usually spend time practicing or relaxing to take care of each of our conditions when we have some free time. We normally spend time in the dormitory and try to avoid any outdoor activities due to COVID-19. We spend our time in our own way, which can be something like oversleeping than usual, watching movies or playing games. We usually heal, recharge and build our own energy when we have a chance to take a day off.
With there being nine of you, there are unique bonds and relationships that you form because everyone has a different personality. Is there something you all try to do together outside of music that has helped you get to know each other better?
CRAVITY: Since we’ve been practicing and spending time together for a long time, we didn’t find any big issues while staying together. We try to be considerate and understand each other’s feelings whenever we interact and communicate with each other. When we started living together, we took some time to have conversations on a regular basis after our schedule. Having lots of conversations helped us to think and understand each other more.
What has been the best part of living together as a new group?
CRAVITY: The best part would be living and spending a lot of time together, allowing us to have less time to feel empty and bored. It also seems that we are all becoming closer to each other and are able to build more and more memories together over time. As we get along, we feel like we’re becoming more like a family.
I’ve read that Wonjin is a big fan of anime. I too enjoy a good anime marathon, so I have to ask, what’s the one that you would recommend as a favorite?
Wonjin: I enjoy watching animations, but I’ve been really enjoying watching Korean webtoons recently. My favorite webtoons are called ‘A Guide to Proper Dating,’ ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint,’ and ‘Yumi’s Cells.’ Especially among them, I like ‘A Guide to Proper Dating,’ the most! This webtoon is not just about romance, but it shows a variety of characters from couples with a lot of different sides. It’s also impressive that different stories flow within a couple, depending on the strengths and weaknesses of each character. The emotions of each character are expressed very well, and it’s good to see each of them growing and becoming more mature through the story.
Your first EP sold over 100,000 copies and that’s just as a debut artist. What was that moment like when you realized that you all achieved such a big milestone on your first album?
CRAVITY: To be completely honest, it was really hard to believe that we sold that many albums right off the bat. We’re super grateful to our fans for supporting us and showing us tremendous amounts of love right as we debuted. We’ll make sure to continue to work hard to repay their love and support and continue to grow as artists so that many people would find happiness through our music.
I was so happy to see you win your first music show trophy a few weeks ago, and you were so clearly grateful for your fans as well which was very sweet to watch. Did you do anything to celebrate your first big win?
CRAVITY: We received a lot of congratulations, but more than anyone else, LUVITY truly felt happy about our first big win and they’ve congratulated us the most. We think all of the great opportunities and this trophy was only achievable due to our LUVITY. When we were giving the award speech, our voices were all trembling and we were so nervous that we couldn’t say much about it. After, we delivered our sincere message to the fans through V-live, it was short but we hope that our feelings were delivered well. Overall, it was an overwhelming, unforgettable day that we would never forget.
From your first EP, “Jumper” instantly became my personal favorite and it has an addictive chorus, so from a listener’s perspective — I have to say it’s an unforgettable track. Is there one song that you would say a majority of you feel best represents you as artists?
Serim: I would definitely say “Jumper” too! I think I can dance and sing to it with full confidence.
Allen: I agree! I’d say “Jumper” would represent us best as we’re full of energy and our soaring passion takes us to new levels as we prepare to take on and conquer the new world.
Jungmo: The track called “Believer”. This track has a deep meaning that our fans ‘LUVITY’ and us believe in each other no matter what.
Woobin: I think it would be the “Believer.” The mood and lyrics of this song totally represent the mindset and attitude of all of us right now. We are all so passionate and cheerful!
Wonjin: I’d say “Jumper” too! Jumper is the song that perfectly shows CRAVITY’s teamwork. We had so much fun preparing for it, the song itself is very exciting, and also the high tension and energy of CRAVITY matches with the track very well.
Minhee: I loved the “Flame” from the beginning. I really wanted to show this song not only to our fans but also to the public.
Hyeongjun: “Break All The Rules” for sure! Not only because it is our debut song, it’s a song that allowed us to show ourselves for the first time to people around the world. In addition, it’s a song that shows our desire and ambition not to be trapped in a frame.
Taeyoung: I feel the same as you! I really love “Jumper.” We all enjoyed performing it the most and it seems that our energy and joy while on the stage are well expressed to represent who we are.
Seongmin: Our song “Star!” If there weren’t LUVITY, I don’t think there’s much meaning in singing and performing if there wasn’t LUVITY for us. The song “Stars” is meant to represent LUVITY who occupy such a huge meaning to us.
I love that you all incorporate some of the early ’00s boy-band sounds, but also play with other genres like funk, pop, R&B, and more. Are there other concepts or music styles you’ve talked about trying in future music?
CRAVITY: We talked about trying out music that would be fun to perform on stage and could be enjoyable to whoever is watching. We also talked about trying out music that would easily be recognized and received by the general public. Since our songs are a bit experimental with its sounds we’d like to give our listeners a breath of fresh air by switching things up from time to time.
When you stepped into the studio for the second EP, did you feel any less pressure having debuted? Or did that success make the album process any different?
CRAVITY: It is true that there have been certain difficulties, but through making new attempts and trying out for different things we definitely learned a lesson. We felt honored that so many people showed us lots of love right as we debuted; it made us practice harder and harder to show greater sides to us for the Season 2 album. In general, everything including being on the stage, looking over the camera in a right angle became more natural than before. For example, while recording the second EP, we eagerly put our own emotions and opinions to it. We totally enjoyed preparing the album and we all wanted to show it as quickly as possible.
I can imagine it’s been hard for you to not be able to interact with your fans at events or concerts because the world is a little different right now. What’s one activity you are most looking forward to when things begin to change?
CRAVITY: Whenever we perform on the stage, we try to imagine us and LUVITY filling up the stage together. If we could be with LUVITY, all the stages would be more fun, happy and encouraging. We would love to hear LUVITY’s energetic shout outs and supporting messages while we are on the stage performing. It would be so wonderful if we could have a concert with LUVITY and this is what we are all looking forward to the most.
Both EP’s close out on a perfect note with “Star” and “Breathing” being two wonderful standouts, so it feels fitting to conclude discussing those two. What was your favorite part about the process of crafting more emotionally driven tracks?
CRAVITY: All of us enjoy listening to the sentimental songs and we were happy to include songs that could convey our emotions. While we recorded the songs, we tried to keep LUVITY and their love and supports in our mind. Each of us tried to share our opinions with the vocal directors so we could express our innermost feelings through the songs. We truly hope that these two songs can be a consolation or a support when you feel exhausted.
Thank you to CRAVITY for chatting with us, and make sure to stream Season 1. Hideout: Remember Who We Are and Season 2. Hideout: The New Day We Step Into available now!
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