Tomorrow X Together prides on telling ‘powerful stories’ through music
Tomorrow X Together members (from left) Soobin, Beomgyu, Yeonjun, Taehyun, and Huening Kai. Image: Courtesy of BigHit Music
It’s been five years since Tomorrow X Together (also known as TXT) made their debut. And for Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Huening Kai, “minisode 3: Tomorrow” is the perfect record that brings together their journey and goal to tell powerful stories through music.
The quintet was reminiscent of princes coming out of a fairytale book in their matching black ensembles adorned with lace at a media showcase in Seoul, South Korea, as they opened up about their sixth mini-album and what they thought of their five-year careers in the K-pop industry.
“I might be bragging but these kinds of music and visuals [in this album] are something that only Tomorrow X Together can create. I have confidence in that,” said the group’s leader Soobin. “We worked so hard on it and I hope our music touches more people.”
Tomorrow X Together members. Image: Courtesy of BigHit Music
“Minisode 3: Tomorrow” was crafted as a culmination of the quintet’s past albums “The Dream Chapter,” “The Chaos Chapter” and “The Name Chapter” which touches on the persona’s “nostalgic tale” and eventually, determination to take control of his past experiences and childhood dreams.
“The album feels like an overarching story of everything we’ve done through the years,” Huening Kai said. “It is even called ‘Tomorrow’ which explains why we want to convey messages we’ve been giving since our debut.”
The record was also brought together with the purpose of the group to tell stories of friendships, temptations, and forgotten dreams. In hopes of sharing their own narratives through music, it includes the tracks “Deja Vu,” “I’ll See You There Tomorrow,” “- — — — ·-· ·-· — ·–,” “Miracle,” “The Killa (I Belong to You),” “Quarter Life,” and “Deja Vu (Anemoia Remix).”
READ: Tomorrow X Together weaves storylines of past work in upcoming mini-album
For the group, the title track “Deja Vu” fuses multiple genres while staying true to the group’s signature sound. “It meshes the rage genre or emo rock and K-pop together. It’s a hybrid pop. I was especially curious about how K-pop and genre would sound together,” said Taehyun.
“It’s fresh and new, but it feels classic Tomorrow X Together because my bandmates are so good at making things their own and because parts of the lyrics remind you of our past tracks,” Beomgyu added.
“In the beginning, there’s a part, ‘I ran away countless times’ which ties back to our debut track ‘Crown’s’ lyrics ‘wanna run away’ or ‘LO$ER=LO♡ER’s’ ‘in a car colored gray, running away.’ The lyrics are linked,” Huening Kai said as he chimed in.
On why they take pride in ‘storytelling’
Among the highlights of TXT’s identity is the use of a storytelling tool that tightly knits their past work whenever they release new music. Despite being challenging, Taehyun finds pride in this aspect as it solidifies their identity.
“We can find something new from our past installments and that is what’s intriguing about our storytelling and lore, and we want to keep doing this,” he said. “Through this album, we felt the power of our own story. We cannot confirm what themes and songs we will return with but it’s clear we want to continue talking about our feelings and experiences.”
Yeonjun is aware their overall lore might be hard to understand for some, but he pointed out that it’s not challenging for the group because it comes from the members themselves.
“This kind of storytelling might seem obtuse but it’s about our story. It’s told from our hearts. It’s not challenging for us. It’s very interesting and that’s a unique color that we have,” he said.
Soobin. Image: Courtesy of BigHit Music
Beomgyu. Image: Courtesy of BigHit Music
While touching on the creative process, Huening Kai admitted the “most difficult” moment for him is the preparation itself. “For me, the time before the comeback is the most difficult.”
“While preparing for a comeback, there is no certainty that it will do well and that people will like it,” he continued. “I talk about my worries with the members, and we overcome them together.”
On TXT’s goals
TXT celebrated their fifth debut anniversary on March 4. It hasn’t been an easy journey for them, but the members noted they have each other and their fans (or MOAs) to get through the ups and downs. This led to Yeonjun expressing his gratitude to his bandmates and fans for being his “greatest sources of strength.”
“It’s because of my members and MOA that I can overcome hardships and move forward,” he further added. “When I have a hard time, I can rely on the members, and these are forgotten when I see MOA smile.”
Yeonjun. Image: Courtesy of BigHit Music
At some point in the showcase, Soobin recalled how the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the K-pop industry. “The time of the pandemic was the most difficult for me,” he said while noting how the lack of contact affected their drive to perform well.
“There was not very much contact with fans at the time, which led me to have a lot of complicated emotions while performing,” he continued. “But I was able to deal with the emptiness with my members and the agency. This gave me the strength to endure and push through.”
Taehyun. Image: Courtesy of BigHit Music
Huening Kai. Image: Courtesy of BigHit Music
Meanwhile, Beomgyu confessed he’s still amazed at how much time had passed since their debut. But he carried this as a reminder to work harder in the years to come.
“Thinking about the past five years, I felt that it went by so rapidly. I want to be with our members and all of the MOAs for a long, long time. Going forward, I just want to bring great music and share it with you,” he said.
