Group member Kang Min of VERIVERY, who is debuting as a solo artist after seven years, expressed his determination in preparing this album.
On the 23rd, Kang Min held a release interview for his first solo album "Free Falling" at the Jellyfish Entertainment Co. building located in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
When asked how he felt about debuting as a solo artist seven years after his debut, Kang Min opened up, saying, "I'm so nervous. It's not the first time, but it's the first time doing it alone. It's kind of exciting and nerve-racking."
He said about the reason for his solo debut, "Suddenly I had something I wanted to say. So I told the company, and the company responded positively. I'm grateful that this opportunity came up, and I'm trying my best to work as hard as possible so I can be satisfied with this promotion."
Kang Min said he first proposed going solo to the company from late last year to early this year. He said, "While holding individual and group fan meetings, I wanted to say these things. I was impulsive, and the company people were impulsive too. They said they definitely wanted to release it by the end of March."
The new album "Free Falling" captures Kang Min's time standing on the boundary between boy and man, and calmly unravels the anxiety and wavering encountered in the process of taking steps forward without a finished form or a future filled with certainty. For the title track of the same name, Kang Min participated in the overall production process and put his thoughts and feelings into it. Both the music and visuals refrain from relying on a specific setting, focusing on the subject's attitude and mood to naturally reveal the emotions and time Kang Min is experiencing now.
Kang Min mentioned the album's keyword as "anxiety," saying, "I thought being honest about what's appropriate for the current situation was something I could do well. It seems I ended up talking about anxiety."
When asked specifically what makes him anxious, he said, "It's a profession that needs to be loved, and you need to be loved to have a sense of worth, isn't that the duty of an idol? If you are not loved, your sense of worth becomes unclear. I think there were times like that; I was thirsty for love itself, and I wanted more. That made me anxious while at the same time making me happy."
When asked if he had these thoughts while holding fan meetings, he said, "I talk about these things a lot with fans. Talking made me think about them, and even after it's over I worried a lot by myself. Also, when I performed again, what if I wasn't satisfied, or what if another cool idol appeared and people stopped liking me? I was in a period of worry. I was happy during fan meetings, but after they ended I was always beset by those worries."
He wondered whether the voting influence of "Boys Planet" might have had an effect. Kang Min said, "I think that influence is big. Isn't it something decided by fans' love? It's also the program where that is most plainly visible, and after doing the program I felt more grateful. So all my thoughts seemed to be amplified a bit more. Gratitude, happiness, and at the same time anxiety. So I think I started to talk about it."
When asked whether preparing this album had eased that anxiety at all, he confessed, "I think if I receive more love and have more fans, I'll overcome it. The process of finding that is fun, and that's good. I'm anxious that this happiness might disappear. Being an idol is something that continues only if you are loved, and from a grateful heart comes a sense of duty and responsibility that led to deep thoughts. I think it's the anxiety that comes from responsibility."
[Photo] Jellyfish Entertainment Co.
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