Seventeen’s past, present, future culminates with ‘17 is Right Here’

A relationship lasting for years will inevitably lead to burnout — which Seventeen has always been aware of. But for their leader S.Coups, building strong trust is what kept them together for years.

Not even a two-day “Follow Again to Seoul” concert the night prior could dampen the energy of the 13-member group as they emerged as excited as ever at a press conference in Seoul, South Korea. 

Looking dapper in all-black suits, S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino looked back at their almost nine-year career and why they decided to release a greatest hits album in this stage of their careers.

“It means so much [for us to release this album] because we look back at how we come so far and we’re entering a new beginning. It’s a good turning point,” said Mingyu.

The album includes the group’s hit songs and beloved classics, along with the addition of four new songs: the title track “Maestro,” Hip-Hop Team’s “Lalali,” Performance Team’s “Spell,” and Vocal Team’s “Cheers to youth.”

Touching on “Maestro,” the group’s chief producer Woozi said the title track brings together the group’s previous tracks “Adore U,” “Very Nice,” “Oh My!” “Fear,” “Rock With You,” “Cheers,” and “Super,” through the lens of a distinguished musician who takes control of his music.

Noting that other artists would usually compile their greatest hits and call it a day, Jeonghan said Seventeen doesn’t want to just do the usual thing. Instead, they want to show the “best sides” of themselves through these additions, staying true to their “new beginning.”

“We consider the best album as a best quality album, not just the best album. Instead of just compiling all the past hits that we had, we wanted to add what we’re feeling these days, what is our determination, and we also added the vision that we want to share with our Carats,” Jeonghan said, referring to their dedicated legion of fans.

Finding strength in each other

From their debut in May 2015 to the present, Seventeen takes pride in being self-producing artists including their music, choreography, and other elements of what they show to the public. This, along with their mutual trust were among the things they take close to heart as they navigate their time together as a group.

“When I look back, I could get an idea about what trust I need to go forward. Nine years have built that trust among us,” said S.Coups. “We have so many goals that we want to achieve, and we always talk about it among ourselves. That is the strength of the trust we have accumulated over the years.”

Chiming in, Hoshi said they, too, won’t hide the fact that they’re fans of other singers. He hoped other artists would look at how far Seventeen has come as an inspiration to go further on their own terms.

“We are fans of other artists. There are a lot of newer artists these days and aspiring artists,” Hoshi added. “If they see 13 of us going forward, I want them to think that these groups can go a long way [on their own], and I want them to admire us.”

‘Fate’

Strengthening friendships — especially in a group as big as Seventeen — will always be a challenge for all groups. This was acknowledged by Hoshi and Seungkwan themselves. However, they pointed out that might’ve played a role as to why their relationship remained strong through the years.

“I think it’s fate. How can I meet such great people? There are 12 guys and there are people that you don’t like. All of us are such great people and they’re all my best friends for life,” Hoshi said.

Seungkwan, on the other hand, said the group had their fair share of arguments, fights, and negative conversations. But they would rather see this as something to laugh about together.

“We can’t always be all friendly and ‘I love you’ all the time. We always argue, we always fight and bicker every day,” he said. “We have memories that are positive and negative which we can laugh about later — because it’s just one of the moments we share together.”

This led to Seungkwan declaring that because they’ve been through a lot together, their bond will last for life. “Because we have so much love among the members, I don’t think anything can break our bond. Nothing can break our bond.”

But of course, the group makes sure to put in the work to maintain their mutual trust. “We always have an outing every month. We eat dinner together every month,” S.Coups said while recalling there are times they would “lack the will” to communicate together.

“We always leave out a date every month to talk, and we get to understand each other,” he further added.

At some point during the press conference, the group — particularly Mingyu — said a lot of things are in the works for Seventeen, including an upcoming album, a new concert, their annual “Caratland” fan meeting, and festival performances. This led to him wondering if they could fit everything into a year before immediately changing tune, saying they will pull it off.

But while more activities await Seventeen in the coming days, S.Coups vowed they would do their best. “We’re going to pour our heart and soul into it because day by day, I’m so grateful that we get to live a life like this,” he said. After all, keeping themselves busy shows their dedication to doing their best and repaying the love they received, not just with their music.

“All of our members and our Carats, we want to do our best to return the love that has been poured onto us. We want to show the most Seventeen-like side of us which is new each time,” added S.Coups.

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TAGS: K-Pop, Seventeen