“YG TREASURE BOX Opens”… TREASURE, The Birth of a Major Rookie Group in 2020
[일간스포츠=황지영 기자] YG has launched a rookie group in 4 years since BLACKPINK. They are a boy group being launched by the agency in 5 years since BIGBANG, WINNER, and iKON, with the biggest number of members. Under the heated spotlight, TREASURE will make their first step as the ‘major rookie group of 2020’.
Uncut Gems Found in TREASURE BOX
TREASURE is composed of 12 members selected through YG’s self-produced survival program, ‘YG TREASURE BOX’. Members DOYOUNG, HARUTO, YOSHI, BANG YE DAM, ASAHI, CHOI HYUN SUK, JUNKYU, PARK JEONG WOO, MASHIHO, JIHOON, SO JUNG HWAN, and YOON JAE HYUK are aspiring rookies with an average age of 19. The 12 members created a perfect harmony with their great looks and individual musical talents. 4 of these members are from Japan, which made the music scene in both Korea and Japan pay keen attention to the group.
YOSHI stated, “I received messages from my family. I feel proud since I received so much love and decided that I should work harder than now”. HARUTO passed on the attention he receives from Japan by stating, “We’re getting a lot of support. It’s way more than I expected, which I cannot believe. I would like to express my gratitude”.
The group began presenting various contents starting from January and began their full-scale debut project. They released self-produced contents such as ‘TREASURE MAP’, ‘TMI’, and ‘A 3 Minute TREASURE’ on YouTube while revealing their friendly and joyous charms. As a result, TREASURE’s official YouTube channel has over 1.38M subscribers and a total of 100M accumulated views. Furthermore, TREASURE became the fastest K-Pop rookie group to enter Billboard’s ‘Social 50’ chart and has successfully charted in for 6 consecutive weeks. They were also listed on Billboard’s ‘Emerging Artists’ chart for 2 consecutive weeks although they are yet to make debut. The members revealed their determination by stating, “I think the attention is because of the increasing attention on K-Pop in the globe. We will live up to the expectations”.
Their Debut Storm Begins
TREASURE’s ‘THE FIRST STEP’ symbolizes TREASURE’s first step towards the world, as the 12 shining dots gather to become one. Through ‘THE FIRST STEP’ series, the group will sing about numerous first experiences they will go through from now on. ‘CHAPTER ONE’, which will unveil on the 7th, will talk about a young boy’s emotions of falling in love for the first time.
The title song is called ‘BOY’, which is full of boyish beauty. It has a fierce track and dance break drop which allow the listeners to focus on the performance. The dynamically transforming track and ‘BOY’-like lyrics which contrasts with it make up the character of the song. The lyrics state how a young and naïve boy rush towards a girl irresistibly as he feels attraction for the first time in his life. YG explained, “TREASURE’s debut title song ‘BOY’ has a strong beat which carries the listeners’ body to the music along with a catchy dance break drop”.
Their physical album, which became available for pre-order last month on the 29th, already surpassed 170 thousand orders, setting the biggest sales record in YG rookie history. The members revealed their strong will by stating, “Our goal is to enter the Melon Top 100 chart. We would like to become a group that can give many people joy, like our seniors BLACKPINK. We would like to mark a page of history”. The agency supported the group by adding, “TREASURE is distinct from existing boy groups of YG. Unlike BIGBANG·WINNER·iKON who released lyrical songs in medium tempo with basis on Hip-hop music, they are strong from the beginning”.
The Thoughts by the 12 Members
TREASURE, with both passionate energy as teenagers and fresh charms, also focus on improving their inner selves. They read books about character and discuss how to act and react from now on with the members. BANG YE DAM stated, “Since I’ve been a trainee for a long period of time, I would like to present myself better in talent, character, charms, and many different aspects”.
What’s unique about TREASURE is that the group has 2 leaders. JIHOON explained, “Since we have many members, the agency suggested that it would be good to have 2 members leading the team, so I’m making a good synergy effect with CHOI HYUN SUK. I will continue doing my best”. CHOI HYUN SUK revealed his satisfaction on the members by stating, “It is a grateful opportunity for me to lead TREASURE with JIHOON. Thankfully, our members feel the same and are moving forward. I don’t feel any difficulties as a leader. I would like to continue to move on together”.
The members were touched by their debut. DOYOUNG stated, “I dance, and I sing. Regarding my debut after ‘YG TREASURE BOX’, it makes me excited and nervous on living a life as an artist, not as a trainee. I will work hard to become an artist who can grow”. HARUTO revealed his happiness by stating, “I’m in charge of rapping and in looks. It’s an honor to make debut in an agency I’ve always looked up to since I was young”. YOSHI emphasized, “I rap in the group. I’m happy and excited since I’ve prepared and dreamt of debut for a long time. It’s the beginning now, so I will do my best to present my better self for everyone”.
Vocalist ASAHI stated, “It’s an honor to make debut with the members in a great position” while JUNKYU asked, “I’m a vocalist. I’m happy and excited to make debut which I’ve dreamt of. I will do my best, so please show support”. PARK JEONG WOO, the main vocalist, stated, “Since we’ve prepared our debut for a long time, we will do our best to present our better selves. Please show support”, while MASHIHO, the dancer and vocalist, revealed his aspirations by stating, “It’s the beginning, so I’m going to start running”. SO JUNG HWAN explained that he is the youngest member and stated, “We did our best to present everything we have and prepared”. YOON JAE HYUK stated, “I’m a dancer and vocalist. I’m happy to make debut which I’ve sincerely desired. I will do my best, so please look forward to it”.
Today at 4 PM, 2 hours prior to the release of their album, TREASURE will say hi to the fans through their debut countdown V LIVE broadcast. They will then make their music broadcast debut on the 9th through SBS ‘Inkigayo’. Physical copies of ‘THE FIRST STEP : CHAPTER ONE’ will be available starting on the 13th through YG SELECT and nationwide retailers online and offline.
2020. 8. 7.
