“Always be energetic, greet the loudest, and look confident!” (Yourz)
Before the interview began, a thunderous shout echoed down the waiting room hallway. It was a cry full of rookie passion. Behind those fresh eyes was a fierce determination to crush any stage they stepped on.
And for good reason, the road to debut for Yourz was intense. One member even broke into their military savings to start trainee life, while another left their home country to come to Korea.
Armed with extraordinary passion, they have officially entered the music scene. Yourz secured their debut through the SBS-TV survival audition ‘Be My Boys’, sharing their ambition to sing songs of hope by bringing together diverse voices from around the world.
Dispatch met Yourz on the 12th in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. We talked about their desperate journey to debut, the process of working on their debut album ‘Orange Record’, and their burning desires.
RUSHing Toward Debut
The path to debut was far from easy. Bohyun took a leave of absence after completing his second year as a nursing student. “My parents were strongly against it,” he revealed. “So, I used my military savings to live on my own and start as a trainee. That’s how I jumped into the survival show.”
Junseong failed auditions throughout high school and only became a trainee at 20. “Actually, I prepared for another survival program for about a year but didn’t make it. Fortunately, I passed ‘Be My Boys’ immediately and was able to get here,” he shared.
Jaeil gave up Korean traditional dance to choose the path of an idol, stating, “I loved K-pop stages and music so much.” Yeontae and Sechan are the maknae line, having successfully debuted after challenging the survival program at the young age of 16.
The Japanese members had similar struggles. Haruto dropped out of university to come to Korea. Hyo previously failed to make the cut on ‘Boys 2 Planet’. “I couldn’t give up on my dream. I focused on studying Korean to show more of my charms,” he recalled.
“I used to be active in a Japanese group called ‘Ebidan Next’. Then, after seeing the performances of our seniors, BTS, I started dreaming of becoming a K-pop idol. I want to become a globally famous idol just like them!” (Kai)
RUSH RUSH
Their debut track is ‘Rush Rush’, a blend of powerful band sounds and upbeat pop. Junseong introduced it as a “cheerful expression of the desire to approach you without hesitation.”
Since the members came from different agencies, getting in sync wasn’t easy. They even disagreed on the title track. Bohyun explained, “‘Rush Rush’ was the only song we were unanimous about. We all agreed it best captured our journey.”
The members also had to set aside their individual strengths and colors. Sechan noted, “During my trainee days, I hardly ever did refreshing songs. Implementing a bright and fresh vocal style was the hardest part.”
“We wanted to show a high-quality debut stage, as if we were always a team rather than a group formed through a survival show. We were practicing our synchronization until 5 AM even the day before the showcase,” Bohyun said.
The point choreography is the ‘Running Dance’. Jaeil shared, “I thought showing our passion was the most important thing. During practice, we fired up our passion, shouting ‘Let’s crush the stage!'”
An Unstoppable Sprint
Yourz is now in their second week of music show promotions and are starting to truly feel the meaning of the stage. During the survival show, they were so chased by competition that they couldn’t properly hear the fans’ cheers. Now, they are experiencing that support firsthand.
Junseong said, “I realized that the fans’ cheering guides and the way they look at us are actually part of our performance.” Kai added, “It’s made me set a firm goal to hear more of the fans’ cheers while going on a world tour.”
They’ve also developed an appetite for awards. Junseong showed a desperate look in his eyes, saying, “I really want to win a Rookie Award to make our fans happy.” Bohyun added, “I want to sweep every single stage and every single award.”
Ironically, their greatest weapon is their ‘difference’. All eight members have different backgrounds in their race toward their dreams. However, under the name ‘Yourz’, they aim to create a single synergy. The members declared, “The real sprint starts now.”
“We have a wide age range. Some members have professional experience, while others are still students. Our backgrounds are diverse, including Korea, Japan, a Mexico-Japan mix, and a Philippines-Japan mix. We want to grow into a group that can evoke a wide range of empathy!” (Hyo)
