BoyNextDoor in a concept photo for “19.99.” Image: Courtesy of KOZ Entertainment
Many consider the age of 20 as the gateway to adulthood—including the K-pop boy group BoyNextDoor. But while the members admitted they feel “pressured to act like a grownup,” working on their third mini-album “19.99” allowed them to come to terms with the experiences that adulthood has in store for them.
Five months after their second EP “How?”, BoyNextDoor—consisting of Jaehyun, Sungho, Riwoo, Taesan, Leehan, and Woonhak—explored the “pivotal moment of a 19-year-old transitioning into 20 years old” through their own perspective, as told in their new mini-album “19.99.”
It features the songs “Dangerous,” “Gonna Be A Rock,” “Skit,” its title track “Nice Guy,” “20,” “Call Me,” and “Nice Guy (English version).”
Woonhak, the group’s youngest member, admitted that even though he’s only turning 18, there are moments when he feels pressured to act a certain way since he’s approaching adulthood.
“All the other members are about to turn 20 or just turned 20. We infused stories only we can tell at this stage of our lives into this album,” he said at a media showcase in Seoul. “Earlier this year when I imagined turning 20, I was scared because I felt like I had to act like a grownup all of a sudden and I felt some pressure.”
While the album captures the group’s journey to adulthood, Leehan reiterated that they want to stay faithful to their goal to show an “approachable, honest, and grounded energy” to listeners. “It tells our own stories. In the past, we relied on imagination and drew from people’s experiences. But with ‘19.99,’ we infused our personal journeys in [its] music,” said Leehan.
Jaehyun chimed in, saying, “We aim to create music that’s genuinely down to earth. We try to highlight, even the unpolished things that are part of it.”
BoyNextDoor during their “19.99” media showcase in Seoul. Image: Courtesy of KOZ Entertainment
Growth and growing up
Even though “19.99” is a departure from the group’s “kitschy” concept, Jaehyun pointed out that it’s normal for groups to show “new faces” in each comeback, saying it’s also BoyNextDoor’s responsibility to do so.
“In every new album, you’ll feel that there’s a huge transformation [in every group]. We [likewise] really want to show a new face of the group. We consider it our responsibility that we have to blow people away with something new and fresh every time,” he said. “That’s what we try to be mindful of every time we put out a new album.”
Touching on their creative process, Sungho said while its title track “Nice Guy” is “more flirtatious” than their past releases, it’s proof of BoyNextDoor not forcing themselves to be boxed into a certain concept. “From the get-go, we wanted our unique gestures to stand through the piece of music. If you’ve heard our music from our debut single, we don’t limit ourselves to a certain genre.”
“We always try to come up with music that captures what we want to say and the identity of our group through that album,” he continued. “With ‘Nice Guy,’ I don’t think it’s a departure from what we showcased before. It’s just showing a new facet and new color we have—also with the various tracks in the album.”
BoyNextDoor while performing during their “19.99” media showcase in Seoul. Image: Courtesy of KOZ Entertainment
On the other hand, Jaehyun shared that to pull off the lyrics of “20,” he reminisced about his earlier days by visiting his old school and a playground in his old neighborhood.
Taesan, for his part, said “Call Me” was an emotional song for him to write as it contained snippets from a letter he received from his dad.
“It’s a song that comforts other people, [and] I called my dad through the process. Although I wasn’t really going through a difficult time, my dad sent me a long message which brought a lot of consolation to me,” said Taesan. “I thought it could bring comfort to others. So I used the words that my Dad used in the letter to the song.”
Woonhak is aware that BoyNextDoor will go through a change in their maturity as soon as “everyone becomes 20.” Despite the initial pressure to act like a grown-up, he said that when it comes to the group as a whole, they want to instead focus on working hard to be named a “national icon” which takes one step at a time.
“In terms of our music and album, we will try to capture the thoughts and ideas we have next year. [In focusing on our] album ‘19.99,’ we’re now at a turning point where we’re becoming adults… we want to keep showing you growth and how we’re growing up,” he said.
BoyNextDoor while performing during their “19.99” media showcase in Seoul. Image: Courtesy of KOZ Entertainment
At some point, the members of BoyNextDoor had sentimental expressions as Sungho talked about adulthood as a “pivotal moment” in one’s life. “Many people have experienced or will experience this age at one point or another,” he began.
“Through this album, we want to deliver a relatable message to everyone. We will try to bring our unique stories in a more mature way to the public so more people will get to know us,” Sungho continued. “We want to be more ambitious and raise awareness on the group.”