Close Your Eyes (CLOSE YOUR EYES) is once again detonating a powerful flash in the music industry with limitless transformations.
Close Your Eyes's first digital single "Overexposed" (OVEREXPOSED) is an album themed around the state of "overexposure," where an image is lost due to excessive light. It contains the boys' narrative of vowing to prove their existence in the most radiant pose even in that fleeting moment when everything seems about to be erased. Having mainly showcased lyrical and dreamy R&B music through three mini albums during their first year after debut, they expanded their musical spectrum significantly with this album by taking on hip-hop and Brazilian baile funk (Baile Funk) genres.
Close Your Eyes held an interview at the OSEN building in Mapo-gu, Seoul before their comeback and discussed the new album.
Leader Jeon Min-wook, who is preparing for the group's first comeback of the year, said, "When we first debuted and up to the third album there was a freshness simply because we were a new group, but now that a year has passed since our debut and this is our fourth album, I thought we should show a clearly different side than before," expressing his determination.
The title track "Pose" (POSE) is a dynamic song that modernly reinterprets 2000s hip-hop sounds. When asked about his first impression of the demo, Song Seung-ho said, "At first it was a very unfamiliar genre and felt awkward, but as we shot the music video and performed, I gradually got hooked," he said. Meanwhile, Jeon Min-wook, who said he usually enjoys listening to hip-hop, revealed his excitement, saying, "Rather than being difficult or unfamiliar, I had a strong expectation that we could show a completely different side."
In particular, Close Your Eyes has proven exceptional pride in their musicality, being called a "hit factory" among the public since their debut. Jeon Min-wook unhesitatingly cited "good music" as the team's greatest strength, saying, "One of the things I personally feel most proud of is that the music is really good," and emphasized, "Visible stages are important, but in the end I think music is the most important, and the music we make is so good that that is our biggest strength." Song Seung-ho also expressed strong confidence in the new album, adding, "I like our songs so much I could listen to them as lullabies in a quiet space," and "I've heard from many people around me that this new song is so good."
This album's sincerity shines more due to the members' active participation. Jeon Min-wook and Jang Yeo-jun participated in writing the lyrics for the entire title track "Pose" and the included song "What If I Miss Love? (What If I Miss Love?)." Regarding the lyric-writing process for the title track, Jeon Min-wook shared behind-the-scenes, saying, "I considered that an image should be clearly evoked from a single word or a single line of lyrics," and "Because it's a song we will perform, I paid attention so that just a specific word could bring our appearance on stage to mind."
The included song "What If I Miss Love?" is a vintage R&B track that captures the anxiety that paradoxically comes when love shines most brilliantly. Jang Yeo-jun, who participated in writing the lyrics, said, "I received the guideline 'if you miss love' and spent the most time thinking about how to unfold it," and "Having recently toured and looked at the fans, the emotions I felt occupy the largest part of my love, so I wrote the lyrics thinking of the fans," conveying his sincerity. In response, Kim Sung-min praised the song, saying, "I felt it was truly warm lyrics that would resonate with the public."
Kenshin's contribution, who directly participated in the choreography production, is also noteworthy. Kenshin said, "It was difficult because it's a new genre, but I studied by watching many videos of dancing to the Brazilian funk genre," and added proudly, "Because I participated directly rather than simply doing the choreography given by the company, my affection for the album grew and its meaning deepened."
Their goals are clear as they leap into a new genre. Jeon Min-wook said, "I want people in Latin cultural regions to know us, and I want K-pop to be recognized as being able to do this genre well." Kim Sung-min stated, "A big goal is to reach No. 1 on the music charts," expressing his bold ambition, and Majingxiang added a playful wish, "I hope fans, after seeing the performance, feel it's not just cool but 'so fun' and follow many of the point dance challenge moves."
[OSEN]