CLOSE YOUR EYES is a K-pop boy group under Uncore that was formed through JTBC survival program, Project 7. With a mix of members from South Korea, Japan, and China, and ranging from previously debuted idols to trainees, the group consists of seven members: Jeon Minwook, Ma Jingxiang, Jang Yeojun, Kim Sungmin, Song Seungho, Kenshin, and Seo Kyoungbae.
On April 2nd of this year, the group made their official debut with their first EP, Eternalt. Just six days after that, they earned their first music show win with their title song, “All My Poetry (내 안의 모든 시와 소설은).” In July, CLOSE YOUR EYES released their first comeback with their mini album, Snowy Summer. Now at the end of the year, the group is back once more with their third mini album, Blackout.
Following the album’s November 11th release, HypnoticAsia spoke with the boy group about Blackout, their career journey, and their bond with each other.
With Blackout being your third mini album, what did you hope listeners would feel from its musical direction?
Jeon Minwook: Through this album, we wanted to portray our breakthrough and we wanted to move forward. Everyone has things that we are afraid of, and maybe we would sometimes encounter some limits in life. But, when you listen to our music and this album, we hope you can break through the limits with us, and maybe we can just bloom together. I hope our music would be a great medium for that.
“X” was chosen as the opening song in the album, and sets a very strong tone. What made it the right track to introduce this new era of CLOSE YOUR EYES?
Jang Yeojun: We already released two albums before this. Our debut album and our summer album had quite different styles as well, but they were more refreshing to listen to. Just like our team name, though, we want to show you good songs you can listen to when you close your eyes. Through this album, we didn’t want to just focus on a certain concept or style. Instead, we wanted to show various types of our charm. We prepared a more mature concept that’s very dynamic, and a little different from our first and second albums.
The album reflects themes of growth and transformation. Which track do you feel represents the group’s evolution the most, and why?
Song Seungho: I choose “SOB.” For this song, some of the members tried to rap for the first time, and we also prepared a very powerful performance for it. In a way, this song made us evolve.
Seo Kyoungbae: I choose “X.” When I was recording this song, I thought it was quite difficult. But, because I was trying to do something difficult and learn it step by step, I found myself and my skill improving a little bit.
Jeon Minwook: For me, I choose “X,” too. When looking back, our debut album was more focused on freshness and boyhood, while the second one was kind of playful and mischievous, like kids playing. With this album, and especially through the song “X,” we’re able to kind of show a more mature side of us, especially for the performance part. When we were thinking about our team by ourselves, I also thought maybe this kind of playful and precious vibe represents us more. But, when I saw our members doing the performance for “X,” I felt surprised, like wow, this also fits us very well. That was when I thought CLOSE YOUR EYES had our evolution, from this moment, where we evolved as artists.
Your teamwork has noticeably strengthened since debut as well. What has changed the most in how you communicate or collaborate behind the scenes?
Ma Jingxiang: Since our debut, we have become much closer. I think every time we get together, we talk a lot, we have meaningful conversations, and we also give lots of compliments to each other. We are preparing the stage and performance together, and we’re kind of going through everything together, so these processes have naturally made our teamwork much better.
Jang Yeojun: We’re also all working towards the same goal, so that gives us a lot of synergy. Every member has a really great personality, and we get along very well, so we can give feedback to each other without really having any kind of small disagreement. Even though we are really busy, we make certain to have time to communicate with each other. Our team is the best!
As a group formed through a survival show, how have your individual roles within the team naturally settled over time?
Kim Sungmin: Actually, we haven’t really decided this position is for this member, or anything like that. We didn’t make that kind of decision. But, while we are preparing for a comeback or while we are promoting, we would find that maybe one member is really good for this moment, or maybe he has a strong part here. That’s how we really get to know our strengths these days.
Each member has a different style and personality. How do you balance individuality while still presenting a unified group identity?
Jeon Minwook: In my opinion, every member has a different personality. Individually we are all different, but as a group, I would say all of our members are very innocent and very awkward. We don’t have any members that wouldn’t want to try things or that would only take parts for themselves. We really have a great relationship, and we’re very happy with each other. When thinking about like a workplace environment, we have our space where we feel free to express ourselves. Even in school or in an office, there wouldn’t be a group of people with all the same characteristics, right? So despite us having different characteristics and personalities, us CLOSE YOUR EYES members all have the same goal. That makes us very harmonious as we seriously chase our dreams, and I think that’s like our group’s superpower.
CLOSE YOUR EYES’ latest album, Blackout, is available now on all streaming platforms.
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Interview: Ephney Tsai
