[INTERVIEW] P1Harmony: how a team of talented individuals creates synergy

Members of K-pop boy band P1Harmony speak during an interview with The Korea Times at a studio in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, July 16. Korea Times photo by Yun Da-been

P1Harmony returns with feel-good song 'Doom Du Doom'

By Dong Sun-hwa

What does a rookie K-pop group need for survival?

A gifted vocalist, a dancer and a rapper are a must, but they may not be enough. Nowadays, a new K-pop act also needs a member who can produce distinctive music for their team, as well as an English speaker who can communicate fluently with international fans and media outlets.

In this sense, boy band P1Harmony is all set. The sextet dropped its fourth mini-album, "HARMONY: ZERO IN," on July 20, which is fronted by the lead single, "Doom Du Doom." Members Intak and Jongseob participated in penning the lyrics of all songs, with Keeho and Jiung taking part in composing one of the tunes ― "Different Song For Me."

Since debuting in 2020, all P1Harmony members have been involved in the creative processes for putting together their albums. In April, they even started a new project, titled "P1-POST," for which they release their self-written tracks based on stories sent from their fans.

"Whenever we put out a fresh album, I feel the pressure to write better lyrics," rapper Intak said during a recent interview with The Korea Times at a studio in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. "It was no exception this time, but that burden helped me take a further leap. It will be great if people pay extra attention to the lyrics when they listen to our new tunes."

Jiung, a reserved yet passionate vocalist, agreed.

"Working on music is always challenging because we always experiment with new genres and melodies despite our relatively short career," he said. "We poured a lot of effort into making our own songs this time, but I am not quite sure if our fans will like them."

Nevertheless, frontman Keeho believes that the members, who all have different tastes in music, are influencing each other positively.

"The fact that we have different musical tastes has helped us create diverse melodies," he explained. "If I work alone, the song will have my vibe only. But if our members combine various melodies, it can have a sundry mix of charms and feels. I think we are inspiring each other."

Intak, left, and Jiung of K-pop boy band P1Harmony pose during an interview with The Korea Times at a studio in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, July 16. Korea Times photo by Yun Da-been

The "P1-POST" project is another testament to the members' hunger and thirst for their own music. According to Jiung, the goal of the project is to offer a glimpse into their songwriting process and interact more closely with their followers by listening to their voices and presenting them a series of songs. "Speaker," their first creation for the project, came out on April 15.

"When our fans send us letters with their stories, we organize a meeting to decide which story we should pick and then make it into a song together," Jiung said.

Theo elaborated, "We usually choose a story that we find relatable."

Keeho added, "Although I cannot remember the exact number of these fan letters, a lot of our followers have sent us letters to share their stories with us. Their topics vary. Some of them talk about their affection toward their companion dogs, while others touch on issues linked to loneliness. We love reading their letters as they are so genuine and real."

These days, P1Harmony members dedicate plenty of their time to learning English, too.

"All members are very enthusiastic about learning English and they all have improved a lot," Keeho, a Korean Canadian, said proudly. "When we headed to London earlier in July to perform at the K-pop festival HallyuPopFest, we were told to greet the audience using Korean. But our members suddenly began speaking in English on stage and I was quite surprised by their fluency. Maybe they wanted to have a closer interaction with the spectators."

Keeho thinks Jiung is the best English speaker and Intak is the most passionate learner.

"In the case of Intak, he always asks me how to say something in English," he said with a smile. "I like seeing him working so hard."

Soul, left, and Keeho of K-pop boy band P1Harmony pose during an interview with The Korea Times at a studio in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, July 16. Korea Times photo by Yun Da-been

As an individual, each P1Harmony member is full of personality. Intak is a humorous guy who wants to become a fashionista, while Soul is a "potato man" who used to eat French fries every day. In the case of Theo, he eats "yukhoe" (raw beef) up to three times a week, although he knows he should be wary of food poisoning in summer. Jongseob is a bookworm and Jiung is a meticulous planner. Keeho is a friendly leader who knows how to mingle with different people.

"We did need some time to adapt to each other in the beginning, but now, we can understand one another very well," Keeho said. "We are truly one team."

As a group, P1Harmony has hit an apex in its career recently, selling more than 100,000 copies of its new album within the first week of its July 20 release, according to album tracker Hanteo Chart. This is nearly a 20 percent jump from the sales of its third mini-album, "DISHARMONY: FIND OUT," which sold 86,000 copies upon its release in January.

In May, the FNC Entertainment stars also had their first global tour, "2022 P1Harmony LIVE TOUR [P1ustage H: PEACE] in USA," playing 11 concerts in nine U.S. cities. Tickets for all concerts were sold out in 30 minutes, according to FNC.

"I actually did not know that P1Harmony was that popular in the U.S.," Korean Japanese member Soul said with a shy smile. "It was amazing to see so many audience members, who reacted wildly to our performances."

The members were bashful to talk about their global popularity, but they picked their youthful energy and performing skills as their competitive edges.

Jongseob, left, and Theo of K-pop boy band P1Harmony pose during an interview with The Korea Times at a studio in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, July 16. Korea Times photo by Yun Da-been

"We always try to do our best and our company helps us a lot, too," Keeho said. "I do not think we have any special recipe for success, but it seems our followers love seeing our vibrancy, energy and free-spiritedness."

Jongseob added, "We strive to entertain and communicate with our fans during our shows, so I think that is why they come to see us."

The lead single, "Doom Du Doom," is grabbing people's attention as well, with its music video exceeding 10 million views on YouTube as of Thursday. "Doom Du Doom" is a feel-good hip-hop track with a catchy guitar sound, which tells people to proceed how they want.

"Honestly, when I first heard 'Doom Du Doom,' I thought it was not quite similar to our previous releases so I wondered if it would be able to reveal our music style," Keeho said. "But after recording it and filming its music video, I came to love it. I also began feeling more confident because I learnt that P1Harmony could pull off such a new concept."

Wrapping up the interview, the singers picked five songs to recommend to people who are not yet familiar with P1Harmony. They were: "Do It Like This" (2022), "Bop" (2022), "Scared" (2021), "AYAYA" (2021) and "Pyramid" (2021).

"I immediately fell in love with 'Do It Like This' and 'AYAYA' when I heard them," Theo said. "I hope P1Harmony can continue to release songs like these."

Jongseob said, "In the case of 'Pyramid,' it is an impactful tune highlighting our unique vibe. And 'Bop' can boost people's confidence when they listen to it."