EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Up10tion Talk All Things NOVELLA

HONEY10, we are buzzing with excitement over Up10tion‘s new album NOVELLA and its title song ‘Crazy About You.’ What is it about Up10tion and never missing? They have been on the K-POP scene for almost seven years now and their music is still as good as it was in the beginning.

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Make sure to stream the new album here.

Intrigued? Keep on scrolling to read our exclusive interview with the guys!

Your last comeback was with ‘Spin Off’ and showed us yet again how amazing a full-blown bombastic chorus can be. What was your favorite part of the song the first time you heard it? 
KUHN: The intro part was calm, but the latter part was intense.
KOGYEOL: I love the sentiment of the intro.
BIT-TO: It’s the rap part. I think it stands out the most.
SUNYOUL: The song was good, but I was worried. This is because I wondered if fans would feel attracted when this song is the title. There is still a lot of concern.
GYUJIN: I really liked the lyrical parts.
HWANHEE: Hm… Emptiness? “I felt brainwashed that I was crazy about you, but the emptiness and sadness were not just bad!”
XIAO: It was so nice from the beginning to the end.

The Connection album offered us some unit songs, which we were really excited about. Is there a member you’d love to team up with that you haven’t before? What would your unit name be?
KUHN: KUHN, KOGYEOL, BIT-TO. NOKOBIT
BIT-TO: I want to do it with HWANHEE. BITHEE..?
GYUJIN: I want to do it with HWANHEE! Under the name “We’re friends!”
HWANHEE: I want to do it with BIT-TO and KUHN. Rappers 2. Lol!
XIAO: For me, it’s SUNYOUL! The unit name is DONGYOUL? Haha.

Your upcoming album is called Novella and we are expecting to get an album full of stories we can immerse ourselves in. Speaking of stories. Do you have any book recommendations for us? What is your favorite novella?
KUHN: Harry Potter.
KOGYEOL: UP10TION’s new album Novella comes out like a book, so I recommend that.
BIT-TO: I really like the novel Fat Boy, My Life (Korean title: 뚱보, 내 인생). I don’t remember if it was an essay, so not a novel, but I remember having fun reading, it was fun.
GYUJIN: It’s The Old Man and The Sea!
HWANHEE: I don’t really read books but… The novel book is Dollar Gut Dream Store!
XIAO: I don’t really read books, but recently I read a book called Speech Bowl (Korean title: 말 그릇) because I didn’t know how to speak and wanted to express my opinion properly, and it helped me a lot with how to speak and how to convey my opinion properly.

As the new year, 2022 is just around the corner and your comeback is one of the first things you will start the year with. What are some of your goals for 2022? What do you want to achieve as a group and on an individual level?
KUHN: The goal of UP10TION in 2022 is to “finish the activities well without any problems” and “be healthy without getting sick.”
KOGYEOL: My goal for 2022 is to make people want to continue watching UP10TION. I want to make my own hobby in 2022.
BIT-TO: I want to be a singer who is someone our fans don’t need to be ashamed of in 2022.
SUNYOUL:  My goal is to be with HONEY10 in 2022. And, I hope that any kind of work won’t stop. I’m happy when I work.
GYUJIN: The goal of 2022 is to make UP10TION known to more people! And in 2022, let’s leave everything all the pressure behind such as focusing just on the body profile and just doing what I like.
HWANHEE: I hope everyone is less worried, happier, and more joyful in 2022.
XIAO: My goal is to grow further, promote well, and stay healthy. And I want to be on more stages, so I will try to be on that stage. I want to show you a different genre, and I want to show you better songs, and there are so many things I want to do!

For the past two years, the world has been quite different than before due to the Pandemic. How have you been spending your days inside? What do you miss the most about pre-covid life? But on a positive note, has there been a habit you have taken on because of the Pandemic that has improved your life?
KOGYEOL:  I think I watched movies the most, and I miss meeting HONEY10 the most.
BIT-TO: First of all, I think it was best to have HONEY10 in front of the stage in my life before COVID. I don’t have a habit that I improved.
SUNYOUL: What I miss is that I can’t meet HONEY10 in person, and I think it makes me miss HONEY10 even more.
GYUJIN: I hope the day comes when I don’t wear a mask. On the positive side, saving money? Haha
HWANHEE: I’m sure a lot of people are having a hard time because of COVID-19.. I’ve been practicing at home and at work, resting, and eating a lot. I miss performances with HONEY10 a lot. :(. It seems that nothing has improved in a positive way. I hope that COVID-19 will end soon and we get a world again where everyone smiles…
XIAO: I couldn’t go to a crowded place because of COVID-19, so I think I went to the studio, home, and company repeatedly. So, as I went to the studio often, good songs came out of it and I was able to include two songs in this album. What I miss before COVID-19 is the memories of meeting overseas fans and going abroad together.

What is your usual recording process like? Who records first? Who is the last to record? Who takes the longest? Give us the deets!
KUHN: Usually, vocal members record first, and rappers record last. I think HWANHEE takes the longest time to record.
KOGYEOL: The order of recording is random, and the member who takes the longest is HWANHEE.
BIT-TO: First of all, vocalists record, rapper line does a lot at the end, and SUNYOUL does a lot at the end. The one that takes a long time is HWANHEE.
SUNYOUL: Previously the order has not been decided often, but I think I mostly recorded as the last one. Since he does doubling, chorus, back vocal, and ad-lib of the members’ parts, the member who does it the longest is HWANHEE.
GYUJIN: The order changes depending on the needs! The member who takes a long time is gone currently.
HWANHEE: Um… I don’t think there’s anything like an order, and I think I’m the one that takes the longest. I like perfection more than I ever expected. That’s what I like. Hah!
XIAO: The order is set by the company, so it’s different every day, and the rappers do the last part. The member who takes a long time is HWANHEE.

You are entering your seventh year as an idol group which is quite an accomplishment. What would you tell Up10tion of 2015 that is just about to debut? What advice would you give your younger selves?
KUHN: Take care of your health!
KOGYEOL: Do your best in what you’re given.
BIT-TO: 2015 UP10TION, let’s do well! This place is scarier than you think. If you don’t work hard, it’s hard to survive. I hope you cheer up.
SUNYOUL: I’d like to tell UP10TION to work hard and to work hard again. I will skip the advice because I don’t think I can give advice to my junior self yet.
GYUJIN: It’s “Don’t be conceited, break yourself”.
HWANHEE: Aigoo… I hope that you show us your skills that you prepared and practiced without regrets on stage.
XIAO: Hmm… Each and every memory is precious, and I think idol rookies and all idols are amazing. I don’t think it’s enough for me to give advice yet. We’re all doing well in our positions. All the idols are so cool and amazing.

Up10tion is known for giving us fantastic pop songs, with strong vocals, amazing rap sections, and stellar performance. What is a genre of music you haven’t tried before as a group and would love to explore next? Any concept you’d love to try?
KUHN: I want to try something unconventional like cyber funk.
KOGYEOL: This is the concept I wanted to do, so I want to pull it off well.
BIT-TO: The concept of our comeback is the music style that I wanted to try… I don’t know what concept I want to try next yet.
SUNYOUL: I want to sing a song with a concept like ‘WILD LOVE’ again.
GYUJIN: I’m proud that I did a concept that I wanted to do this time!
HWANHEE: I wanted to try the genre of this album, and if I try again, I want to try a very strong concept like ‘I burned it up!’
XIAO: Personally, the music genre I want to try in the future, is something sexy and I want to try the Moombatton genre in the chorus.

Sunyoul has been dropping amazing covers on YouTube that we thoroughly enjoy every single time. What has been your favorite cover to do yet? Which song would you love to cover next? 
SUNYOUL: I like ‘Speechless!’ I think the more people listen to the song, the higher the value because this video had the most views. There’s no song I want to cover yet! I tend to choose songs spontaneously.

We love your Instagram feed especially since your selfie game is super strong. Kogyeol and Xiao especially are always killing it! Do you have any selfie-taking tips for us?
KOGYEOL: I take a lot of selfies and choose the best one.
XIAO: I want to make the feed cool, so I tend to upload black or dark colors to suit the feed rather than colorful colors. And I usually upload pictures taken by others.

Since you are a group and have been together for 6 years, what is something you always do together? How do you spend some quality time as a group? What does a usual day for up10tion look like?
KUHN: We sometimes laugh and talk while having a small conversation among us.
KOGYEOL: We chat a lot as friends do.
BIT-TO: Our daily lives are very innocent young people 🙂 It’s no different from ordinary men.
SUNYOUL: We don’t always hang out together like we don’t hang out 24 hours a day, and we spend our daily lives on our own, but when we meet, it’s comfortable and nice as a family.
GYUJIN: When we meet, we have fun promoting and communicating. Then let’s spend our daily lives like this!
HWANHEE: I think it’s our daily routine to just drink coffee and dance and sing together. I think I see them more than my family.
XIAO: When we get together, we talk to each other a lot, joke around a lot, and play games a lot. It’s the same time friends spend together. When we’re together, we laugh a lot, have fun, joke around a lot, and have a good time.

And last but not least, what is something you want HONEY10 to take away from the Novella album? What are you looking forward to the most during these album promotions? 
KUHN: Listen to UP10TION’s new story armed with emotions. And I hope that HONEY10 likes it.
KOGYEOL: I’m looking forward to challenging a new concept, and I want you to play our music.
BIT-TO: First of all, it feels new to be back with a new song, and thank you for waiting for us to be able to perform for HONEY10 after a long time.
SUNYOUL: UP10TION wants to send a message that they want to be with HONEY10. And I always have a hunger for the stage, so if I don’t work, I think my daily time feels a little meaningless. So, I’m always excited and happy about our comeback.
GYUJIN: I think it’s important to cherish the memories between the beginning and the end! I’m so happy and proud to be able to show a new performance to HONEY10 after a long time. It’s a shame that we can’t meet in person due to the pandemic.
HWANHEE: The song ‘Crazy About You’ itself is my style, so I feel a little awkward because I made a comeback with a sad and happy song, but I’m excited and happy to meet HONEY10.
XIAO: I’m so excited and happy to tell HONEY10 a new story. Thanks to our fans who always wait for us, we can make a comeback like this, and those times are exciting and fun. HONEY10! Let’s make a cool book together.

BRB going to read all of those book recommendations! Up10tion has been such a joy to talk to and we wish them well in the future! What do you think about those subunits? Which genre would you like to see Up10tion try next? What do you think about Novella? Let us know in the comments down below, on Twitter @TheHoneyPOP, and don’t forget to talk to us over on Facebook and Instagram!

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