Beast returns with year's 2nd album

Beast members Lee Gi-kwang, from left, Son Dong-woon, Yong Jun-hyung, Yang Yo-seob, Yoon Doo-joon, and Jang Hyun-seung pose in this file photo for the seventh album "Time." / Courtesy of Cube Entertainment

By Kim Ji-soo

Boy band Beast is back with a second album this year to the delight of fans. Members Yoon Doo-joon, Jang Hyun-seung, Yong Jun-hyung, Yang Yo-seob, Lee Gi-kwang and Son Dong-woon looked tired but glad about the special album celebrating their fifth anniversary as a music group.

"It's been a long time since we released two albums in one year. I hope to have a good time with fans," said the band's front man Yoon Doo-joon during a press conference at CafeCube located on the first floor of the band's agency, Cube, in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul.

Outside, the usual throng of young female fans waited for the chance to see their favorite stars.

The special album("Time") features the ballad "12:30" written by member Yong Joon-hyung. "We attempted to convey a softer image of the band this time, which is appropriate for the fall season," said Yong.

In order to live up to their name, Yong said the group will give a spectacular stage performance. "You will know it when you see our stage performance." Yang Yo-seob said fans can expect to see dynamic choreography, which will show that people can move and dance to ballads. The idea for the special album came about when Yo-seob blurted out a possible special album during their promotional performance for their mini-album "Good Luck" earlier this year. The members said they were worried that creating another album would be too fast, but thankfully, Yong had already written several songs, which where then added to the special anniversary album.

Five years after their debut, Beast has become among the hottest K-pop groups acclaimed by both music critics and fans. They took off in earnest in 2011 with the full-length album "Fiction and Fact," which produced several hits. Then, in 2012, Beast toured 17 cities in 12 countries in Asia, Europe, North America and South America. The group will kick off an arena tour throughout Japan in November.

When asked whether the band's teamwork has changed over the past five years, Yong said, "Some people say that the fifth year is a critical time for teams, but we are not so conscious about what people say ... We speak up and tell each other things if we have to." The band was also asked which they prioritized more — group activities or individual activities. Usually, each member in a new K-pop group actively promotes the group and then rejoins the other member in creating the music.

"I think group activities come first, and we know we should produce as much music as we can while we're young," Yoon said.

Jang said "Individual activities are not that bad. If a group's identity is strong, I don't think that individual activities will eat into group activities, so that the strength of the individual personalities actually adds to the group's synergy." He has worked twice with fellow Cube star HyunA as a duo, producing the hit "Trouble ㅡaker."

The group's identity largely drives its slow songs, Jang pointed out. "I would say our identity grew over the years. People like our ballads, and it's true that we had great success with ballads," Jang said.

"Also, our strength is that we can both perform live and do choreography. Add to that our maturity as a group," he said.

While the majority of the band's songs are written by Yong, other members also contribute to the music. Each of the six members have expressed a desire to do a solo album as well when the right time comes.

When asked whether the members felt the pressure to write their own music, with increasingly more foreign critics opining that K-pop could use more artistic freedom, Yong replied at length: "What I heard is that foreign producers are interested in how Korean music is made, where there's usually one composer writing and editing. Also, K-pop songs use many codes used, while foreign songs use only a few codes." He added that such freedom and versatility leaves more room for growth in K-pop. "Given time, I think K-pop and K-pop groups will be regarded as world music and world musicians," Yong said.

For the special album's title track "12:30," Yong said he used solid rhythm, piano sounds and as dubstep, creating a song with a lot of beats and rhythm that one can enjoy listening to. Yong chose the title "12:30" because "it's the hour that makes me sentimental."

Meanwhile, Lee recently appeared in the entertainment reality show, "Jungle's Law" and said he was thankful for the good response of the fans about the show.

When asked about how they feel as they celebrate five years of doing music together, Yong said, "It felt kind of odd" and "I felt happy yet slightly sentimental." He added: "I guess I was thinking ‘five years already?' So many thoughts raced through my mind." Son recalled an incident from the group's early days where the chairman said if their parents get invited for a dinner it was a sign that the Beast will not be dismantled and continue as a group. "I remember our first stage performance and all that," said Son. "It's great to be here five year later with fans."

The group got its name Beast from an American choreographer who used to say "So beast" to mean good or excellent. "We didn't have any other potential names so we grabbed that one," Yang said. Because of the name and because of the popularity of toned, muscular K-pop group members around the time of the group's debut, the members said they worked on perfecting their abs and body. "But it's not us, I think," Yang said, jokingly.

The group's fan club is named Beauty, so the band members were asked where their individual "beauties" were. The members jokingly booed the reporters for asking a sensitive, personal question. More and more Korean stars are opening up about their dating lives and relationships. For instance, Super Junior member Seongmin recently announced that he was getting married, but some stars remain cautious opening up about their personal lives.

Aside from work and music, what do these men in their 20s do in their free time?

"I enjoy martial arts and boxing," baby-faced Yang said, surprising reporters.

"I concentrate on soccer, and I have discovered the joy of traveling as well," Lee said. Front man Yoon said traveling tops his list of interests as well.

Son mentioned his interest is also in traveling, saying "I would like travel around the world and then to space."

Jang said his interests are just like those of guys his age. "Song and dance ... just like others in 20s."

Yong said he enjoys working in the studio, which pulls the music out from him. "I also like to watch K-dramas."

How do they feel about being K-pop artists who are just beginning to flourish despite the harsh competition? "You know they say K-pop lags behind J-pop, which is closer to U.S. pop and all," said Yang. "But we see that despite the many things that we lack, we still produce stellar music," Yang said, adding that he's proud that the K-pop genre is being recognized. With their special anniversary album, Beast faces off with rivals Seo Taiji, Kim Dong-yul and other K-pop groups.

"We will do our best," Yang said.

"We will try to show our individual features and hope that the fans and hopefully, the larger public, will like it," Yoon and Yong said.