It seems improbable that Pledis would surrender creative control after four years of moulding their young recruits – but the band say the relationship is based on mutual trust.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes we\u2019d make something and it would come out differently than the company had planned,\u201d says S Coups, \u201cbut I wouldn’t necessarily call it a fight”. <\/p>\n
“It’s more like convincing them to come over to our side and understand our vision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seventeen finally made their debut in May 2016, with an hour-long live showcase on South Korean TV, followed by the release of their first EP, 17 Carat.<\/p>\n
At that point, the line-up was settled as (deep breath) S Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon and Dino. <\/p>\n
From there, they’re divided into a vocal team, a hip-hop team and a dance team. The band\u2019s name is derived from tripartite set-up: 13 people + 3 units + 1 band = 17.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
S Coups, born in 1995, is the oldest member of the group and its official leader – a role he approaches with humility.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try to listen to what every member has to say and have everybody aligned on the same path,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy goal is to make sure we can last as long as possible, so we can make as much music as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to say the band lacks hierarchy: Woozi takes charge of the music and Hoshi leads the choreography, but each member is encouraged to contribute. <\/p>\n
US-born Joshua plays guitar, Seungkwan is the strongest vocalist, The8 is the resident fashionista.<\/p>\n
As the name suggests, they’re more than the sum of their parts. Each member brings a different flavour, but when they perform together, they move like a pack.<\/p>\n
Fans have even observed that when Seventeen rehearse, the squeak of their trainers is so in sync that it sounds like one shoe, not 26.<\/p>\n
But it’s not always so smooth. <\/p>\n
The8 (real name Xu Minghao) threw out his back in one rehearsal, Seungkwan has undergone corrective ankle surgery, and S Coups only recently returned to the stage after damaging his anterior cruciate ligament.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m great now,\u201d he smiles, acknowledging that injuries are an accepted part of the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe choreo is so physically exhausting, our bones and ligaments and muscles are tired all the time,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nS Coups is the band’s official leader. If not for his knee injury, he would have had to complete military service this year<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n
As the band know all too well, hard work doesn\u2019t guarantee instant results.<\/p>\n
Seventeen\u2019s debut EP sold just 1,400 copies in its first week and it\u2019s taken a decade to reach the point where they can achieve millions of sales in pre-orders alone.<\/p>\n
Along the way, their sound has progressed from the frothy pop of 2015\u2019s Adore U to the broody, syncopated EDM of 2017\u2019s Don\u2019t Wanna Cry and the genre-hopping exuberance of 2020 single Left & Right.<\/p>\n
More recently, they\u2019ve experimented with Amapiano, deep house and distorted guitars. And last year\u2019s mini-album FML raised eyebrows for its atypically downbeat title track.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m getting so numb to this life that it feels like I’m shrinking away<\/i>,\u201d sang The8 over an old-skool hip-hop groove.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we were putting together the album, some of the members were going through a rough time,\u201d explains Wonwoo. \u201cOur mindset is reflected in the songs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when we honestly, openly talk about our feelings, it really helps to get rid of the negativity.\u201d<\/p>\n
As if to prove it, FML’s sister single, Super, was an upbeat celebration of the band’s internal strength: “I love my team, I love my crew<\/i>“.<\/p>\n
Speaking through a translator in Seoul, S Coups, Wonwoo and The8 all pick Super as the perfect primer for any newcomers (Jeonghan, who also joins the Zoom call, opts for the posse cut Very Nice).<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s such an intense song, it really shows Seventeen\u2019s presence,\u201d says Wongwoo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe day before they play Glastonbury, the band will be appointed the first ever Unesco goodwill ambassadors for youth<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n
The two singles propelled Seventeen to new heights. The FML EP was the biggest-selling record of 2023, shifting more than 6.3 million copies and winning album of the year at the Asian Music Awards.<\/p>\n
\u201cI expected it to do well, but not this well,\u201d laughs S Coups.<\/p>\n
To get new fans up to speed, the band have just released a 33-track compilation, 17 Is Right Here, collecting all of their singles to date \u2013 as well as a new track, Maestro, that acts as a manifesto for their freewheeling sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cMix and match, it’s our thing<\/i>,\u201d raps Vernon. \u201cCrazy is the new normal!”<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cIn a way,\u201d says Wonwoo, \u201cthe song is us applauding ourselves for all the effort that we’ve put in, and the journey we\u2019ve had to take to stand where we are right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
But even the world\u2019s biggest-selling artists have goals.<\/p>\n
Glastonbury is part of a plan to expand their audience even further \u2013 with a world tour on the cards for the end of the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d like to reach fans in as many countries as possible, because we don’t really get to see them that often in person,\u201d says S Coups.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still believe that we have a long way to go and we want to become even more successful.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2 hours ago By\u00a0Mark Savage,\u00a0Music Correspondent Pledis Entertainment Seventeen’s mini-album FML was the biggest-selling record of 2023 The biggest act on Glastonbury\u2019s Pyramid Stage this year isn\u2019t Coldplay or Dua Lipa. In fact, you might not even have heard of them. The act in question is Seventeen – a K-pop boyband that boasts a whopping […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[67],"tags":[2154,1872,2458,9103,182],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37061"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37061"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37063,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37061\/revisions\/37063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}