Group VERIVERY spoke about their feelings stepping in front of the public after a hiatus of 2 years and 7 months.
Recently, at a café in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul, an interview was held to commemorate the release of VERIVERY's fourth single,
Regarding the hiatus, Kangmin said, "Actually, I think I was really scared during that break. Even while promoting, I became afraid, and the members were afraid while preparing the fan meeting. Many people are showing interest, but will this interest turn into love? What if we don't actually receive love— I was afraid. I don't think I confronted the challenge of this album. But now I think it's time to do it, and I felt everyone has grown, so we released the album," he confessed.
So what level of "love" would quench this thirst? Kangmin said, "I think we're people who practiced and poured our youth into performing and releasing albums. No matter how much love we receive, won't that remain a grievance and a thirst? I think it's an unquenchable thirst," and Yongseung said, "All artists need this kind of grievance and thirst to develop well; they use it as a motivating keyword to prove themselves and repay fans." VERIVERY added in unison, "Turning recognition into love is the ultimate task."
So did this global fan meeting help relieve some of that thirst? Yeonho said, "First of all, I think there are many kinds of grievances. The grievance of not being able to meet fans for two and a half years seems to have been eased, but the grievance of not being able to release an album or not being able to show our stage to more people seems less relieved."
Kangmin also chimed in, "I think it's still more relieved. I think there are still many thirsts that haven't really been relieved. Each member has their own ambitions and thoughts. Now that we've re-signed and established a new foothold, we'll try to quench our thirst," he said.
Looking back on VERIVERY's footprint, they are classified more as a group with clear ups and downs rather than stepwise growth. However, that also means they have had multiple opportunities.
Yeonho recalled, "Our group received some attention from 'Road to Kingdom,' but it was during the COVID-19 pandemic so we didn't feel it directly. Then we experienced times when we faded again; even after ranking first with 'Tap Tap' the attention dropped. This time, appearing on 'Boys Planet 2' brought attention again."
Yeonho continued, "In the past, seniors and people in the music industry used to say that if you endure you win, and I think we're a team that endures. Some teams grow stepwise, some like us go back and forth, but I think if we quietly endure and keep going, opportunities will come eventually, so such opportunities seem to come quite often."
Kangmin said, "We also say 'opportunities are regrettable' sometimes. We know those highs and lows well. But those opportunities were also created by us, so I want to give a good evaluation that we made them; it's regrettable, but now we just have to seize them. I don't want to be discouraged by regret; I think we have the will to seize it this time."
Leader Dongheon said, "It's a bit tiring to be in such a roller-coaster team, but it's fun. Being part of this team, I think we're preparing with the excitement of our debut, with our original spirit, having fun."
When asked about VERIVERY's charm that differentiates them from other groups, Yeonho said, "I actually think our chemistry is very good. Fans like our family-like and friend-like sides. I want to say that I hope people who are interested in us will watch that kind of content and our humorous sides."
Yeonho added, "This new song 'Red' is an intense track that can also show maturity. Offstage we're mischievous and have puppy-like sides, so I hope people will watch those sides."
Meanwhile, VERIVERY's new song 'Red' will be released today (the 1st) at 6 p.m. on various music sites.
[Photo] Provided by Jellyfish Entertainment
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