TXT (Big Hit Entertainment)

TXT, the newest boy band from BTS’ agency Big Hit Entertainment, made a grand debut on Tuesday.

It is Big Hit’s first band in six years since BTS’ debut in 2013. The highly anticipated five-piece act consists of leader Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun and Hueningkai.

At the showcase, TXT, which stands for Tomorrow by Together, performed “Crown,” title track of the five-track EP “The Dream Chapter: Star” and showed a music video that was released the previous day. The boy band gave a cheerful and bright performance, matched with powerful and iconic choreography that was in sync with what Big Hit is known for.


Even before the debut, the band members were one of the most anticipated rookies, coming from the label that created global sensation BTS. TXT released their new EP via streaming sites on Monday and also made a TV appearance on Mnet. The album has already topped iTunes Top Album charts in 44 different regions, including the US, Russia, Brazil, Spain, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mexico, Singapore, Norway and Saudi Arabia, among others.

The music video of “Crown” has been racking up viewers on YouTube, garnering 12.8 million views as of the time of reporting.

Following are the full excerpts of the Q&A during the showcase:


Q: TXT’s debut album topped iTunes chart in 44 countries and the music video of “Crown” hit 10 million views within 13 hours since release. How do you feel about such big attention?

Beomgyu: It’s surreal to debut, but even unbelievable to obtain such a great outcome already. We are humbled. I want to thank fans who have waited for so long and the Big Hit family. We will work our best.


Q: Can you explain about your debut album?

Soobin: Our album is a story about boys. When boys hit adolescence, they often feel like they can’t do anything by themselves. But when they meet friends in the same age group, they have the courage to do a lot of things together. The album features that excitement of meeting good friends.

Yeonjoon: During my puberty, I released my anxiety by listening to music and dancing. When I met members who shared similar dreams, I felt I am not alone. I thought a lot about my middle and high school days when I was recording this album. I think many people can relate to the songs.


Q: The title of your leading track is unique, which is “Crown” in English and “One Day Horns Sprouted in My Head” in Korean. What does it mean?

Taehyun: Imagine if you wake up one day with a horn on your head. You will feel confused. It portrays growing pains of reaching adolescence. The sudden changes during this time can be confusing, but because I met (friends) I am excited and my heart is beating.


Q: Can you explain about your choreography and dance moves?

Yeonjun: The song has popping and unique dance moves that show the great energy of the five members.



Q: What kind of advice did Big Hit Entertainment CEO Bang Si-hyuk give you?

Soobin: He emphasized on the importance of practice, which is basic for confidence. He would say: “Practice hard and be free on the stage. You will realize the importance of practice when you go on the stage.” These are words Bang told BTS as well from the beginning. BTS still always practices hard before going on the stage.

Hueningkai: He emphasized teamwork. “Please cherish the team’s value.”


Q: BTS mentioned TXT during the award ceremonies earlier in the year, as well as at the Grammys. Were you surprised?

Yeonjun: BTS is a seonbae (senior) and the members are much higher than us. Because they are performing all around the world, we don’t get to see them often. We were very surprised when BTS mentioned our name, saying “Please look out for TXT.” It’s such an honor and we are grateful for their heartfelt advice.

Beomgyu: I am a great fan of BTS seonbae. When I ran into BTS members at the company, I was so nervous and didn’t have the guts to talk first. But they gave us wonderful advice, such as think of the team first, become awesome artists. They said they are cheering for us as well.



Q: What is your goal this year and in the future?

Taehyun: Big Hit artists communicate through their album. With our album, we want to become artists who communicate with fans.
Soobin: It will be great to win the rookie award this year. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime award, so it will be great to win the prize, because we have prepared hard and waited long for our debut. There are a lot of talented rookies this year, so we will work even harder.


Q: You are dubbed the “little brother of BTS.” What do you think of this nickname? Do you receive pressure because of such hype and anticipation as Big Hit’s next rookie?

Soobin: We are honored to have that nickname, and I am not sure if we can be called that. We are grateful. We will work hard and not cause any trouble to our seonbae.


Q: How did you get to be picked as a member of TXT? What are your charms?

Taehyun: Lovely could be my charm.

Yeonjun: During the audition I think the company saw my passion, and I fit the image that Big Hit is going for.

Beomgyu: I am the entertainer of the group, with my energy that never ceases. I also am the only member who uses dialects.

Hueningkai: My cuteness, I think.

Soobin: I am not a charismatic leader, but more of a supportive leader, who takes care of members and cheers them.


Q: Soobin, you are the leader of the group. Why do you think you were picked as the leader?

Soobin I am not the oldest, but my age is in the middle. So I think other members feel closer to me and are more comfortable.


Q: How did you pick “Crown” as your title track among five songs?

Taehyun: “Crown” explains what we want to say through the song. We can also show a great performance that matches our voice well with the song.


Q: Do you have producing and composing abilities similar to BTS members like Suga?

Beomgyu: I am working hard on writing and composing, but fall much behind the ability of (BTS). When my ability improves, it would be great to have my songs in an album in the future.

Hyueningkai: Me too. My producing ability is still insufficient, but I will work hard to compose good songs.

TXT performs "Crown" at debut showcase

Q: Hueningkai, you are the only non-Korean member. Are you adjusting to life in Korea?

Hueningkai: At first, my family was worried a lot, but now I am used to Korean culture and the language and I feel comfortable. The members take care of me very well, also because I am the youngest member of the group. I am very grateful.


Q: Hueningkai, What brought you to Korea?

Hueningkai: I was born overseas. But after a few months, my family moved to China and lived there for a long time and then moved to Korea. My mom is Korean and my dad is American. My dad was a singer in China so I got acquainted to music from early on. I took an audition from Big Hit and thankfully made it. I also felt like I matched well with Big Hit’s music style.


Q: All the members blood type is A except for Beomgyu who is AB. Do they get sulky often or do you feel differences?

Beomgyu: Other members are all blood type A, but they don’t sulk often. Everyone is open with a good heart, so we get along well.


Q: Are there some aspects you are disappointed about the album in terms of genre or adding more hip-hop music, which Big Hit is famous for?

Taehyun: All the members like hip-hop, but we also like other genres. The five songs from the album are all different genre, to show our varied taste in music, so we are not disappointed.

Yeonjun: “Cat & Dog” in the album is hip-hop genre while members’ mumble rap.


Q: What kind of input did you give for the album?

Beomgyu: Although our self-composed songs are not in the album this time, we are continuing to compose songs. Yeonjun also came up with the hand gesture of our logo TXT.


Q: The song “Crown” talks about growing pain. What kind of growing pain did you have before the debut? What kind of hardships did you have as trainees?

Yeonjun: I was a trainee for the longest time among all members, for four years. The hardest part was waiting, because I was really earnest and wanted to make my debut.

Beomgyu: I have the shortest training period in the group with two years. When I joined the TXT team, it was hard to catch up with other members. But they were very understanding and helped me a lot, so now I am comfortable as a band member.


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