WINNER Thanks Fans and Open Up About Their Comeback
WINNER has made a comeback in a year and five months with their new album “EXIT:E.” While their album claimed top spots right after its release, the group sat down for an interview to share their thoughts about their long-waited comeback.
Q. How do you feel about having made a comeback in so long?
A. Lee Seunghoon: We finally came back. First of all, I think this comeback is that much more meaningful and active. That’s why I like this album a bit more. We poured our heart and soul into it, so it did excite and worry us at the same time. We went back to our roots to prepare for this album, so I want to enjoy this comeback as much as I can.
Q. What worried you the most about this comeback?
A. Song Mino: Since our hiatus was so long, we gave it our all and we feel confident about this album. Many fans also waited for our comeback, so it worried us if this album will do justice. We worried about being forgotten or having lost fans.
Q. But you rose to first place in the music charts after the album release. How do you feel?
A. Nam Taehyun: We did rise to first or second place in the beginning but our rank has fallen a bit now. The members promised each other to not take the music chart rank to heart. We’re just thankful for being remembered despite our long break. If the song proves to be good, it will remain in the charts. For example, Park Hyo Shin’s “Wild Flower” is still in the charts. We want to become a team who gets remembered for a long time like that.
Q. Is there a special reason to why your hiatus was so long?
A. Kim Jinwoo: There were rumors that we were pushed back because of iKON. It is true that iKON debuted during our hiatus. We were actually supporting iKON’s debut. Our hiatus was long because the overflowing love we got for our first album was a bit overwhelming for us. We were afraid that our second album would not do well compared to our first one. That’s why our preparation process got longer and longer. We continued to prepare until all five of us were fully satisfied.
Q. Then how satisfied are you about your new album?
A. Nam Taehyun: First of all, we listened to our title song “Baby Baby” and wondered if this kind of genre matches well with us. Surprisingly, it did match us well and I was very proud. Honestly speaking, our first album wasn’t fully satisfactory to us disregarding how well it did in the charts. We thought we gave it our all during that time, but looking back to it we just say, “What were we thinking?” I think it’s telling us that we’ve matured that much more. We are very satisfied with our new album compared to our last one.
Q. What do you want to show the audience through this comeback?
A. Kang Seungyoon: First of all, I want to thank our members for being serious about music. Everyone diligently participated in this album. I also want to say thank you so much to fans who have waited for us all this time. We will show mature and down-to-earth sides of ourselves and make WINNER fans proud. We haven’t been on many TV shows yet, so we will try to greet fans through various TV shows in the future.
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