Broadcast date: Nov. 15
Starring: iKON, B.A.P, Joo Woo-jae, Lee Ho-jung, B1A4, N.Flying, Twice

It was a special Sunday night on the V app as two strong rookie boy bands iKON and B.A.P went live an hour ahead of releasing their new songs, to do a countdown with fans and talk about the album.

The seven members of iKON tuned into the app at 11 p.m., ahead of dropping two new singles “Apology” and “Anthem” at midnight.

iKON (Naver V app)

The boys casually chatted about the upcoming songs, answered questions from the fans and shared what went on behind the scenes of creating the songs and music videos.

They talked about working with YG’s star producers Teddy and Kush for the first time for their songs. “In the past, it was B.I. who directed the music, but through working with Teddy and Kush, we learned a lot,” said Yunhyeong.

B.I said he felt like a big fish in a small pond when they were making the music on their own, but this time, he was able to learn and get help from the star mentors.

“Although we were very nervous when recording (with them), we were able to give it our most,” said Jinhwan.

iKON (Naver V app)

“(Teddy and Kush) were not as scary as I had thought,” said Bobby. “They listened to our opinions.”

The members released behind-the-scenes footage from each music video. “Anthem” is a freestyle song with folksy music and lyrics,’” B.I said in the released clip.

Jinhwan and B.I (Naver V app)

Finally, at midnight, the boys released R&B track “Apology” -- which the members described as a song talking about men’s farewell -- and hip-hop track “Anthem,” featuring the new subunit composed of B.I and Bobby.

After watching the music videos, the excited members thanked the fans. The live show was streamed by 285,469 viewers and racked in over 14.8 million hearts, proving iKON’s ever-surging popularity.

The six members of B.A.P. started their show at 11:15 p.m., ahead of dropping new EP “Matrix,” their first album in 21 months.

“This album features the story of six members,” said leader Yong-guk, who produced the EP. “The five-track album has B.A.P’s love song and a song dedicated to the fans.”

B.A.P (Naver V app)

When asked to choose his favorite song on the album, Yong-guk said, “Excluding the lead track ‘Young, Wild & Free,’ I like the fan song ‘Take You There.’ I didn’t write the song on my own but all the six members wrote the lyrics.”

Yong-guk (Naver V app)

“When I heard the song ‘Take You There’ for the first time, I liked it so much that I was happy to let our fans listen to them,” said Dae-hyun.

At midnight, the boys released the album and the music video of the lead track “Young, Wild & Free.”

The members said “thank you” in English and Japanese for the fans outside of Korea.

Jong-up and Young-jae (Naver V app)

“For the fans who have waited for a long time, thank you for loving us and we will repay your long wait,” said Jong-up, wrapping up the hour-long live show.

Earlier, Twice came on for a surprise broadcast at 7:55 p.m., where the girls dressed up in cute costumes to thank the fans and everyone who supported them since their debut a month ago.

Twice (Naver V app)

Then, B1A4 broadcast their special show at 8 p.m., featuring the five members showing the curious viewers around their house and each of their rooms -- with most of them being messy.

B1A4 (Naver V app)

The four members of N.Flying popped in at 6 p.m. from a coffee shop, where they learned how to make coffee and other beverages from a professional barista to give them out at their fan meeting at 7 p.m. They also live-streamed part of the fan meeting, where the four members performed their songs.

N.Flying (Naver V app)

Jun Jin (Naver V app)

Also on Sunday, models Joo Woo-jae and Lee Ho-jung tuned in on the V app, while Jun Jin from Shinhwa went live from inside an airplane from Shanghai, China, to Incheon, Korea.

Joo Woo-jae (Naver V app)

Lee Ho-jung (Naver V app)

Naver’s real-time broadcasting app V allows fans to interact with their favorite K-pop stars through live broadcasts. The app is available for Android and iOS. For more information, visit www.vlive.tv.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)

Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.naver.vapp
Apple App Store https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1019447011?mt=8