[ORβIT] TV Guide Alpha 211130

ORβIT x World

ORβIT is a Japanese-Korean group formed by 7 members who are overflowing with talents. Believing into a brightly shining future, they came together and now they are joining their hands across the sea to deepen their bonds. Bringing ideas together, reflecting the joy of what they have made themselves and the journey of moving forward as one. This beautiful orbit will surely lead them to the World.

Since their formation the Japanese-Korean group ORβIT was separated during their activities due to the Corona pandemic, but finally they reached their “complete state” and released their 2nd mini album “Alter Ego”. With creativity and performances as their weapon their aim for the World.

It’s the first appearance of the group. Please tell us what each member thinks are strengths of the group called ORβIT.
Heecho: When I thought about what could be the strengths of ORβIT, I asked the dancers and lyrics writers around us about that. They replied “I think it’s your mysterious side”. Because there are a lot of groups, it’s difficult to separate yourself from them, but I think our strength is also that there is our opinion in everything. Our views are reflected in the songs, in the dancing, in the costumes, in the album design and logo, and the members are also editing the footage.
Yoondong: Because we are a group in which all members truly love music, I think our strength is that we have a unified will. Also, we are 7 members with great dancing, singing and faces (laughs).
Younghoon: We are a group with a strong individuality and where each member has his own strengths. We are teaching, we are teached and I think our charm is also that our aura is like the ones of friends or family.
Shunya: By listening to the demos everyone decides on the selection of the songs, so the members’ colours appear in all all works. I think this leads to ORβIT’s unique world view.
June: I think, too, that we are a group in which our songs themselves are a weapon. I feel they can be well received both by people who listen to J-Pop and by people who listen to K-Pop. Our voices are also unique which is especially noticeable in ballads in my opinion.
Tomo: One of our strengths is also that you can see our growth on the creative side because I also write lyrics, Shunya designs goods and June makes the raps.
Yugo: That we are a group that has a unique colour and musicality. Our mysteriousness is fickle… normally we are noisy, so this gap is also a charm I think (laughs)

Please introduce the member next to you.
Heecho: Next to me is the kind oldest brother Younghoon. Normally he fools around, but on stage he does everything diligently.
Younghoon: Yugo is very passionate about work and I think he is the member who runs to grasp his dreams with everything he has. He is younger than me, but there is a lot I learn from him. He is my muse!
Yugo: Thank you very much (laughs) To make it short, Yoondong-san is someone kind. He praises my expressions during the practises for the live. I was very happy and I wanted to work even harder on the dancing and everything else. He is my older brother who always cares for me. There is a lot I admire about him, so I will continue to often watch Yoondong-san and learn from him to become a better man.
Tomo: What do you want to learn the most from him?
Yugo: I want to copy how he carries luggage!
Tomo: Great! (laughs)
Heecho: But Yoondong is no errand-boy!
Yoondong: June can speak English, Japanese and Korean and he is a member with amazing language abilities.
Heecho: However his Korean is not as good as I thought it would be (laughs). Out of the members he comes from the best university. He is someone smart and a hard worker behind the scenes, but he doesn’t show it.
June: Shunya is serious. I’m also someone serious, but I think Shunya has a weird seriousness.
Tomo: A weird seriousness, is that even serious? (laughs)
June: He is serious regarding work, but often he can be too much (laughs).
Heecho: He has a soft heart, and because he is an AB-type, he might have a dual personality. In the MBTI personality test which is popular in Korea right now, he got the same type as president Obama. He is also a very kind person.
TN: According to Google, Obama, and hence Shunya, is an ENTP
Younghoon: Also, he often drinks cider.
Heecho: In movies or animes, geniuses often drink and eat sweet things, right? I think that’s what he is longing for.
Shunya: Tomo might be the one who I felt has the biggest gap since our activities started. At first, my image was that he was someone tough, but as he opened up himself I understood that he is like a young boy with a playful heart. He is someone friendly and he always fools around.
Heecho: From my Korean point of view, his Japanese is the best. He is funny and has a talent for comedy.
Tomo: Please stop (laughs). Heecho-san is also the leader and someone who works for the group when we are resting. He thinks of ORβIT 24/7.
Heecho: Gimme a break~
Tomo: He messages the staff regarding the choreography and performing, and he is someone always working. Also, I don’t know whether the fans know it, but Heecho is actually really funny.
Heecho: …. I don't mind to work a lot because I get praised.
Tomo: Look, it’s funny how you whispered that!

In Korea you seem to live separated in 3 groups. I would like to ask you about how it is to live together?
Heecho: I’m living with Yugo and June, but once the members gathered at my place and we watched the popular drama “Squid Game” together. Shunya is not good with grotesque things, so I think he doesn’t really know the plot.
Shunya: No, it’s not like that! But it’s scary when there is a lot of blood…
Heecho: He was scared but managed to watch it until the end.
Younghoon: He was the most scared.
Heecho: However it was the episode that made me realise how cute Shunya surprisingly is (laughs).
Younghoon: I’m living together with Tomo, but I always forget to dry my clothes after washing them. A weird smell ends up appearing and I have to run the washing machine again (laughs).
Tomo: It would be good if I noticed that, but I’m the same (laughs).
Yoondong: I’m living with Shunya and I was surprised that he can eat spicy things.
Tomo: Shunya’s stomach and guts are strong!
Shunya: After coming here I got used to it. Spicy Korean dishes are just not spicy but also very delicious, aren’t they? Yoondong-san helped me a lot because he paid attention. Just like I forget to turn on the washing machine, leave the house and when I come back (I think) it has finished.
June: You forgot to turn on the washing machine before hanging the clothes (laughs)
Shunya: That’s right. That’s why I’m worried he will be upset one day (laughs)
Yoondong: When are you going to do it~! (laughs) But Shunya throws away the trash, right?
Shunya: …. That’s how we get along (laughs)
Yugo: We communicate each day and with our life in Korea we deepen our bonds, right? We don’t think of it as something to expect, but I want to be active while feeling gratitude.
Heecho: The Japanese members also started to understand Korean and I feel a little relieved.
Tomo: I can understand a bit of what is said, but talking (in Korean) is still difficult…
June: Even when you don’t understand it, you say “Nee” (yes in Korean), don’t you?
Shunya: That’s how we survive (laughs)

What is your favourite song from the mini album “Alter Ego”?
Yoondong: I like the intro, the bridge and the chorus of the title track “Eclipse”.
Shunya: We decided on the songs while exchanging our opinions, so I have confidence in all songs. Among them, there is the pop and cheerful song “Hana” which was already in the works when we prepared the album “OO” and I was the one who actively approached everyone and said that I wanted to do that song. It’s a type of song I never imagined doing with ORβIT, so I was happy that it was included. It seems like a song that will be important to us and our fans.
June: It’s a song that can make everyone excited at a live, right? The song that I wanted to do is “Shady”. The lyrics are related to the meaning of the album title and the lyrics are in relation to the term “different personality”. You don’t know yourself that you have a dual personality, but the other person does… like this. I think it would be interesting for the fans to take a deeper look into it. I like the melody of the song and the balance of singing and rapping is good.
Heecho: I personally prefer ballads over dance tracks, hence if I had to choose one song, it would be “With”.
Younghoon: I like “With” too. The lyrics that Tomo wrote are really good.
Yugo: My favourite song is also “With”. Tomo also wrote the lyrics for “Showersnow” of “OO”, but I like that it takes a different perspective on the snow of the same winter.
Tomo: I'm glad to hear you saying this because I wrote the lyrics so that people can feel my personality while not having the same perception of snow. Since it was decided that the 7 of us would come together, I changed the contents of the lyrics. Yugo also added his feelings for the members into the lyrics of “Forever” which you wrote, right?
Yugo: When I couldn’t sleep, I opened the window and while thinking of the seasons and times that have passed until now and what is coming, I wrote those lyrics. I think it has become a text that not only the fans but also people who don’t know us can relate to.
June: When I’m writing the rap parts, I’m adding what I’m thinking and when I’m writing the whole lyrics like I did for “Shady”, I’m thinking of it like the story of a movie. Starting by deciding on the title, the concept and the theme from the start, I write the lyrics.

Before you were separated in Japan and Korea and worked, but this time the production happened while the 7 of you were together. Were there huge differences in how you communicate and such?
Yoondong: The recordings before were also separately, so I was the most happy that we were able to prepare while talking together.
Younghoon: We were together, we could talk directly with each other and say our opinions, so a lot of things were quickly decided.
Yoondong: In addition, June taught me about the details of the Japanese lyrics and gave me advice on the pronunciation.
June: Actually, normally we talk in Japanese. But when we talk deeply and seriously, it is in Korean. When there are only the members, I end up interpreting, but among the staff members there are also people who can speak both languages, so it’s no problem at all.
Shunya: One year has passed since we made our debut and finally we were able to talk together about creating music, MV shootings and lives, and I felt this is our true form. Heecho-san directs the recording and he teaches the members a lot also regarding dancing. When we practised in Japan, I tried to figure out where I was putting too much energy into, but thanks to his advice regarding where and how to align our performances I was able to learn a lot about how to show myself.
Yugo: I also put too much power into dancing, so I also got advice from him. I’m also thankful that the big brothers gave me specific advice, such as here it would be good to sing like this.
Tomo: I’m bad at communicating via text, so it was really good to be able to discuss while seeing the facial expression of the other one. My strength is R&B, but this time there were a lot of songs that didn’t apply to me. I challenged various music genres while receiving advice and by singing difficult songs like “Forever” or “With” I think I was able to grow as a vocalist.
Heecho: In the end it’s smoother to make an album and discuss the live performances while seeing each other’s faces. I think the fans will also be delighted with the environment that the 7 of us were able to create together and I also think that it is an album that will be attractive to people who don’t know about this situation. We did everything we could, so it’s time to let go and in my mind I switched to the preparations of the next album already.

Please tell us of your future dreams as a Japanese-Korean group with a global perspective.
Tomo: Due to the influence of covid, frightening times continue, but now we just have to work hard on what we have to do and what we can do. That we were able to show us 7 being together made us happy and I hope to communicate and be active in order to make EαRTH happy.
Shunya: There are members who can speak both Japanese and Korean and Jun can also speak English, so I want to work hard to be able to go out into the world. I hope we grow into a group that can make the most of each one’s specialities.
June: Since coming here, I started thinking that I have to learn more Korean and learn English properly… ORβIT is a group in which each member’s individuality is strong and everyone can do many things in their own way. The image is that the group is the place where everyone can do what they want and come together in the end. Also we can work hard thanks to the support of EαRTH, so I would like to express my gratitude to them.
Yoondong: I didn’t expect to be active with people from a different country, but everyone is kind and besides cultural differences we get along while working. I want to keep this good atmosphere going forever.
Younghoon: It’s the same for me. I would like to work with them not just as colleagues with whom I happen to work together, instead I would like to maintain this relationship as normal friends who talk about singing, dancing and being on stage. This is my dream.
Yugo: I hope that we can continue to create an environment where we, whose individuality is strong, can be just like who we are.
Heecho: I don’t have dreams.That’s because for example, the ceiling could collapse while I’m talking about this, or the car could have an accident on the way home. Hence, I don’t look into the future, and it’s important just to enjoy the present as much as you can and do your best. To be honest, I have no idea how being a Japanese-Korean group will affect our future activities. After all, what we want to do is music and since I was a child I was taught that countries and languages do not matter when it comes to music.I want to enjoy the present and continue our activities with maximum effort.