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fromis_9 talk about being motivated by pressure and working on their new mini-album 'Midnight Guest': "We will strive to make 2022 the year of fromis_9."

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fromis_9 talk about being motivated by pressure and working on their new mini-album 'Midnight Guest': "We will strive to make 2022 the year of fromis_9."

They always say the best adventures happen after midnight and fromis_9 are proving just that.

Much like the quiet yet liberating spirit of late nights, the 9 Way Ticket act is delivering a sense of freedom and excitement in their latest mini-album, Midnight Guest. Across five tracks, the nine-piece act—which comprises Saerom, Hayoung, Gyuri, Jiwon, Jisun, Seoyeon, Chaeyoung, Nagyung, and Jiheon—walk us through an evening of fun and mystique, painting the dull night with the vibrant sounds of pop and dreamy R&B. 

"By telling a story that adds a bit of excitement to our mundane everyday life, we want to instil a sense of hope that the joys of life we once enjoyed will soon return," fromis_9 tell Bandwagon. 

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With each track adding to the story—especially their lead single 'DM', Midnight Guest pieces together a message of revelling in simple joys and having courage even amidst the unknown. In that sense, the new mini-album also marks fromis_9's fearless venture into a new chapter of their musical journey, especially as they continue to reach new heights. 

"The five tracks of Midnight Guest each play their integral part in telling a story. We want to bring a dash of refreshing energy to listeners through the music and performances we present through this story," says Hayoung.

Bandwagon caught up with fromis_9 to talk about making it globally, growing up with their fans (who they lovingly call flover), and the stories behind their latest EP, Midnight Guest. 

Congratulations on the release of Midnight Guest! What are you most excited about for this comeback?

Jiheon: Within Midnight Guest, there is a clear narrative you can follow through the five tracks of the album under the theme of ‘an escape at dawn’. I personally enjoy riding through the full story, and I’m excited to share the experience with all our fans and listeners. 

On another note, just as our appearances change entirely in our visual concept when the clock strikes midnight, I turned of legal age this year! I was the last one in our team to become an ‘adult’ in Korean age. With Midnight Guest marking our first comeback as a group fully consisting of adults, I’m excited to see what this album will come to signify in the story of fromis_9’s growth and how it will serve to show our maturity.

Walk us through your lead single ‘DM’ and what the song means to you. 

Hayoung: 'DM' is a song about a daring confession of one’s feelings to a crush. We strived to fully convey the feelings of a heart-racing from both excitement and nervousness, which will hopefully speak to many of our listeners’ personal experiences. Our members really immersed themselves into the lyrics in the recording process to the point of tears, so we would be happy to see the listeners relate to the lyrics as well.  

Jiwon and Seoyeon, you both participated in writing and composing the track ‘Hush Hush’. What was it like working on the track? 

Soyeon: 'Hush Hush' came together through an extended process of revisions and rewriting. In the process, Jiwon told me one day that she had been out to Han River (A river that flows through the heart of Seoul) to refresh herself when refining the lyrics to the song.

To join her in the venture, I went on a late-night expedition to a playground nearby, got on a swing and organized my thoughts around the song. After a meticulous approach as such, we were satisfied with and perhaps quite attached to every little part of the track in its completion.  

Jiwon: It was a track we worked on with a vivid image in our head, based on an imagination of the city at the break of dawn becoming a playground of our own. Seoyeon and I had a lot of fun with the visual approach to songwriting, and it was more memorable because we also had the chance to guide our members towards that image we had envisioned through the studio recording. I’m curious to see if such intricacies of the process will be something those listening to the song for the first time are able to sense. 

Do you all have plans to continue to be more involved in the songwriting and production of your songs in the future?

Jiheon: The stronger we grow as a team, the more we want to get involved in songwriting and production. We are always working towards the goal and will definitely showcase our own creative work when the right opportunities arise!

How does Midnight Guest stand out from your releases so far?

Nagyung: A highlight would be the level of dedication we put into building performance of greater impact. An example where we feel the effort clearly shows is a part of the opening sequence to the choreography. There is a part where we let our hair down in the sequence. It might seem simple, but it took a staggering amount of care and practice for the entire team to get perfectly in sync. 

Your fans always say that fromis_9’s music is their source of comfort and joy. In your own words, how would you describe the music that fromis_9 makes?

Hayoung: I believe that our music is an avenue for communication between us and our fans - flover. We truly love sharing our music with flover and are grateful for the opportunity to do so, and we want our music to serve as a source of consolation and a friend to them. 

Chaeyoung: Music serves the purpose of being a friend through difficult times, of amplifying joy during times of happiness. It’s an immersive part of our everyday life that closely stays by our side, and that’s the role we want our music to play for flover as well. 

Seoyeon: As our members have mentioned, we love the moments when we see that the emotions and messages that we wanted to convey through our music have actually reached flover. Those are the moments we will always work for.

You’ve had a great year, with your first music show win and topping multiple music charts across the country. And most recently, ‘Midnight Guest’ broke over 80,000 pre-orders, marking your highest pre-order numbers to date. How do you guys feel about your growing global success as a group?

Gyuri:  The first thing that comes to mind is our flover. We are eternally grateful for the amount of love they have sent our way for these amazing achievements to come true. We receive greater support than we can imagine with every comeback.

We are proud of ourselves, and at the same time, feel a growing sense of responsibility towards returning that love by continuing to improve. 

Do you feel any pressure to continue this momentum? How do you cope and deal with the pressure as individuals and as a group?

Saerom: I think the pressure is only an initial part of what we feel. Rather than trying to cope with it, I think we’ve come to a stage where the pressure functions as more of a driving force for us to want to establish fromis_9’s own colour. There are so many people who help us and care about us that we are just busy trying to meet their expectations!

It’s almost been four years since you debuted. How do you feel you’ve all grown as artists and as friends?

Nagyung: The past four years have truly felt like a gift and one I enjoyed every moment of. I have definitely grown through the wide range of challenges we faced over those years, and I am motivated to show more diverse sides of ourselves as artists moving forward.

With our members, our bond has grown stronger together as partners and simultaneously as each other’s closest friends. The sense of belonging and stability derived from our relationship is my favourite part of being in fromis_9. 

Gyuri: We’ve grown close enough to be able to know how each member is doing just by looking into their eyes. Having 8 other team members that understand each other so deeply and are willing to venture forth by each other’s side in this journey is the best part of being in fromis_9. 

Jisun: We not only work together, but the immense amount of time we spent together has led us to growing into friends who share intimate thoughts and personal musings. I believe the relationship we have built will drive us forward towards mutual growth.

What are some goals you hope to achieve together as a group?

Saerom: I think our goals are clear-cut at this point. For the year ahead of us, a concert where we can meet flover in person is the goal of foremost importance. Our long-term goal is to stay on a path of unwavering growth towards becoming better artists.

Beyond Midnight Guest, what other exciting things does fromis_9 have planned for the year?

Chaeyoung: To be honest, all of our energy is focused on the Midnight Guest album at the moment. We had our first-ever win on a music show last year alongside many other achievements that we could never dream of. We are also excited to see what lies ahead for our new album and upcoming plans.

Jisun: It’s too early to say what plans we have specifically, but we are looking forward to more chances to meet and interact with our flover in person. Just as flover have been saying, we will strive to make 2022 the year of fromis_9!

Go on an adventure with fromis_9's newest mini-album, Midnight Guest here. 

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