[WINNER Story ③]Is the name “WINNER” awkward?

[일간스포츠 엄동진]

▶ Didn’t the name WINNER sound too much?

The competition with Team B in “WIN” show would not have been easy.

(KANG SEUNG YOON) “Anyway, we could not just like winning. We would have felt like dying if we lost. Anyway y was not that good. We have been with them for years, so it was really hard to compete against them. And that made us look like enemies. That was harsh for us”.

(LEE SEUNG HOON) “But of course we could not lose. We thought that if we lose, we should join the army. The show made us nervous in many ways”.

B.I and BOBBY from Team B are appearing in “Show Me the Money”.

(KANG SEUNG YOON) “We feel bad for them. We sometimes come across them, and every time we see them, they get thinner. We have that experience, too. Anyway I like it. Those pains make grow you as a singer. I hope that experience helps them”.

– Senior YG singers have become big stars who do world-tours. Do you think WINNER can be like that, too?

(LEE SEUNG HOON) “We stood on the opening stage of BIGBANG’s Tokyo Dome concert and it was awesome. We felt like walking on the Milky Way, or on the sky. We have that goal. Now we are only dreaming of it but we will do our best to realize the dream”.

– What was head producer YANG HYUN SUK’s advice for you before your debut?

(SONG MIN HO) “Mr. YANG and other staff told us that we should never feel small anywhere. Since staff have done their best for our success, if they see us small, that would make their heart break. So, he said that we should always be confident.”

(KANG SEUNG YOON) “You know, Mr. YANG is not talkative. He just said us ‘Do good’ and that actually cheered us a lot.”

(LEE SEUNG HOON) “When we were doing “WIN”, TAEYANG said, ‘I’m still dreaming. I still do my best every day for my dream’. He told me that we should keep our first resolution and do our best at every moment. He said he was dreaming to become like Michael Jackson, and we hope to be like TAEYANG. I think we can grow by learning from him”.

– I have a personal question. Is the name “WINNER” awkward?

(KANG SEUNG YOON) “At first, we did. Being called ‘WINNER’ made us feel awkward. However, I think the name of all the other groups is like that. BIGBANG is the same. Haha. ‘WINNER’ is better. Haha”.

(LEE SEUNG HOON) “Since our name is WINNER, we should really become a winner to live up to the name. I love the name now”.

(SONG MIN HO) “Say we are standing on the stage of a music award. Everything ends when our name is called”.

– What’s the color of WINNER?

(KANG SEUNG YOON) “We want to become a group who is white to black. White is the color of nothing. It’s a basic color. White can be changed into any other color too. First, we wanna try many things without distinction between genres. Black is a color which is created by combination of every color. Ultimately, we want be like black, doing all styles of music well”.

– Stars change after they get popularity. So what would WINNER be like?

(KANG SEUNG YOON) “I’m not sure about that. Of course I can just say that we will never change, but that would dissatisfy people if only a little piece of us changes actually. I think every person changes. So people always say that keeping the first resolution is important. Thinking every member’s good personality, I think they will become even better. We all will try to not change.”

2014. 8. 25.