INTERVIEW Sechs Kies wants to perform abroad
Members of Sechs Kies poses at YG Entertainment's showroom in Hongdae, Seoul, last Thursday. They are, from left, Eun Ji-won, Kim Jae-duck, Kang Sung-hoon, Jang Su-won and Lee Jai-jin. / Courtesy of YG Entertainment
By Kim Jae-heun
Famed boy band Sechs Kies, which once swept K-pop fans in the late 1990s, hopes to go global under YG Entertainment’s management.
The five members are all in their late 30s, but none believes it is too late for them to go global.
“We have a dream now and it is to enter the global market,” Sechs Kies member Jang Sung-hoon said during a press conference for their new album at the YG Entertainment's showroom in Seoul, last Thursday. “It is about time, so we can receive more love. We were only active here last year when we made a comeback.”
Sechs Kies returned to the stage 17 years after they abruptly disbanded in 2000. It had been only three years since they debuted under the management of DSP Entertainment. Fans protested their breakup in front of the agency building, but DSP Entertainment officially announced, “Sechs Kies wanted to break up when they were at the peak of popularity and leave the celebrity lifestyle.”
Sechs Kies then appeared on popular TV variety show “Infinite Challenge” last April, reminiscing about the famed K-pop band of the 1990s.
For the episode, 5,000 fans gathered to witness the reunited Sechs Kies’ “guerrilla” concert at Seoul World Cup Stadium. After the show, the boy band signed a contract with YG Entertainment to seek a renaissance, only without rapper Ko Ji-yong.
The band leader Eun Ji-won said the group had been planning their comeback long before they starred in the TV show and it was not because they realized they were still popular during the episode.
After returning with an all-time hit remake album last December _ which the band said was a compilation of past hits _ this time, Sechs Kies introduced two new songs.
Tablo, a rapper of Epik High and popular producer Future Bounce wrote songs for Sechs Kies digital singles “Sad Song” and “Be Well” that celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut.
Q. Please explain your new album.
A. Eun Ji-won: This album celebrates our 20th anniversary: it contains not only our new songs but old hits that received much love from our fans. It was hard to find recorded versions of our best songs and we managed to find a concert version of the songs and put them on our new album.
Q. It is Sechs Kies’ 20th anniversary. What are your future plans?
A. Eun Ji-won: We are planning more songs in the second half. As we came back after 17 years, we are working on the songs that can satisfy our old fans in their 30s and our new fans in their 20s.
Q. Do you have plans for writing your own songs?
A. Eun Ji-won: YG Entertainment has a lot of talented producers and they can write songs for us. I believe we are not ready to write songs for ourselves as we are behind on the trends.
Q. What are your short-term goals?
A. Eun Ji-won: We want to focus on our musical activities as Sechs Kies. We may star in some TV shows but no members will seek an acting or other career for now.