For their seventh mini-album, CRAVITY explores the passionate love of youth and the journey of overcoming struggles to welcome a new dawn.
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From global stages, traveling the world, and going on tour, it’s not easy to top the year CRAVITY had in 2023. “After our concert in the Philippines, we all had dinner together and then were walking outside when a fan recognized us and called out our names,” recalls Minhee during their trip last year to the Philippines for their world tour, a definite highlight for many Filipino LUVITY (the name of their fandom). “It was touching that they recognized us in that short moment! I’m really thankful and still clearly remember it, so I want to go back and perform in the Philippines again soon.”
But never one to rest on their laurels, the nine-member boy group, composed of members Serim, Allen, Jungmo, Woobin, Wonjin, Minhee, Hyeongjun, Taeyoung, and Seongmin, kicked off their 2024 with style in a comeback that not only showcases a new approach to their music, but one that has even more creative input from the members themselves.
ALWAYS BE SHINING
Filled with the bright energy of youth, CRAVITY went hard with the recent release of their 7th mini album, EVERSHINE. The body of work encapsulates how intense young love can be, leading to a rollercoaster of emotions many Gen Z can relate to. In the quiet of nightfall, the beauty of the afterglow is revealed, reminding us that even in darkness, there’s a promise of a brighter sunrise.
“Our previous albums focused more on the positive and optimistic parts of youth, but in EVERSHINE, you can see from our photos that the sun sets and there is a darker side to our group’s style too. A lot of our fans will see that it’s new and different from what we’ve done before,” shares Hyeongjun.
This type of energy can be heard throughout the focus track Love or Die, reflecting CRAVITY’s signature energetic sound. The fast-paced drum and bass rhythm intensifies their devotion to love. Other highlights from the varied album include the bright and cheery Cherry Blossom and Over & Over, an upbeat banger that Allen both co-wrote and produced. EVERSHINE is the latest chapter that tells CRAVITY’s present and future, as evidenced by, among other things, the participation of some of the members in the writing process and further exploration of their musical synergy
We had the chance to chat with the boy group as they opened up about their new era, style, performing in the Philippines for the first time, and more. Read on below for what they had to say.
2023 was an eventful year for the group. What were some of your favorite memories from the past year?
MINHEE: Meeting our international LUVITY last year while we were on tour was the most memorable for me.
SERIM: I also think our first world tour was my favorite memory from last year.
TAEYOUNG: Our first world tour was really memorable and I especially remember San Juan because we had a great performance and our members had a fun time at the beach together too.
ALLEN: My favorite was filming our ‘Cheese’ music video in LA because my mom came to our shoot and stayed with us until the end. I was happy I could share my work with her and show her what I’ve been working on.
HYEONGJUN: For me, it was this past December when we had our year-end performances. It was a precious opportunity and we worked hard to prepare good performances so it was memorable for me.
SEONGMIN: Similar to HYEONGJUN, I’d pick our year-end performances because we performed at all three major broadcasting stations and we prepared really cool performances with our dancers.
WONJIN: Our CEO came to see our show while we were on tour and it was great to have dinner all together after.
WOOBIN: My favorite memory was our first MASTER:PIECE concert in Seoul that kicked off our world tour.
JUNGMO: My favorite was playing games with our members at the airport when we had a short break. Hanging out together like that is a precious memory to me.
How different is EVERSHINE as compared to your past releases?
ALLEN: The style and sound of our title track is really different from what we’ve done in the past.
HYEONGJUN: Our previous albums focused more on the positive and optimistic parts of youth, but in EVERSHINE, you can see from our photos that the sun sets and there is a darker side to our group’s style too. A lot of our fans will see that it’s new and different from what we’ve done before.
If you could describe Love or Die in three words, what would those be?
JUNGMO: MASTER:PIECE, SUN SEEKER, EVERSHINE because these three albums all created ‘Love or Die’ to be what it is now.
Aside from the lead single, which song/s from EVERSHINE are you most excited for people to hear?
WOOBIN: ‘Over & Over’ created by ALLEN! After me, now many of our other members are writing music to include in our albums so I’m excited to see the reactions from our fans.
MINHEE: ‘Worst Thriller’ because it’s a concept that we haven’t really tried before and I think our fans will be looking forward to it.
HYEONGJUN: ‘Over & Over’ because it’s one of my favorites from the album and I’m curious about LUVITY’s reactions since ALLEN made the track.
SERIM: I’m excited for everyone to listen to ‘Cherry Blossom’ because our comeback is in the spring and I think this track will really suit the season.
JUNGMO: I pick ‘Cherry Blossom’ because I secretly gave a spoiler about the lyrics and I’m curious to see our fanS’ reactions to it once it’s released.
ALLEN: ‘Over & Over’ because it’s my self-produced song and I want to see how our fans react to it.
TAEYOUNG: ‘Over & Over’ since it’s the first song that ALLEN made and included in our album.
SEONGMIN: I’m excited for ‘Cherry Blossom’ because it’s almost springtime and I think our fans will really enjoy listening to it.
WONJIN: I’m curious about how our fans will react to ‘Mr.’
EVERSHINE marks your 7th EP. How do you guys keep things new and fresh while still retaining that signature CRAVITY feel?
ALLEN: As long as our voices remain the same, I think we’ll always have that same CRAVITY signature sound. Our group is good at trying out new genres but we always pull it off in our own CRAVITY style.
Some of you participated in writing and producing some of the tracks on the EP. What was the experience like getting to work on the songs?
SERIM: I participated in writing lyrics again and it was another great experience. I liked writing for ‘Love or Die’ and ‘Mr.’ because the concepts of the songs are fun and clear. I think the songs came out really well.
ALLEN: I’m thankful for the opportunity to write lyrics again and compose this time too. I’ll continue to do my best for all the opportunities I’m given.
Aside from the music, fashion and style also play an important part with any comeback. What was the inspiration behind the visual style for your new era?
HYEONGJUN: I tried out tooth gems for the album photos this time. I had said to our company before that I wanted to try it out and I’m glad I was able to do it this time.
WONJIN: This album has more emotional and sentimental songs and I thought having long hair that can blow in the wind would help with that vibe so I’ve been growing my hair out.
You performed in the Philippines last year as part of your MASTER:PIECE World Tour. What was that like performing for your Filipino fans?
MINHEE: After our concert in the Philippines, we all had dinner together and then were walking outside when a fan recognized us and called out our names. It was touching that they recognized us in that short moment! I’m really thankful and still clearly remember it, so I want to go back and perform in the Philippines again soon.
SERIM: I loved our Filipino LUVITY’s energy and I really want to go back and perform for them again.
JUNGMO: Our Filipino LUVITY were so passionate and although we were there to give them energy, we ended up receiving more energy from them in return. I want to go back and give them strength and energy next time!
HYEONGJUN: It was our first time in Manila so I was excited to see how many LUVITY would be there and perform for them. I had a great time there and I felt so much energy from them so it was a really meaningful time.
SEONGMIN: During our performance in the Philippines, our fans celebrated my birthday! I was there to perform and make our fans happy but I was touched that our fans made me feel so loved. I received energy from them and was able to perform well because of them.
TAEYOUNG: We went to a lot of new places during our MASTER:PIECE tour and although it was our first time in the Philippines, we received a lot of love and I had a really nice time there.
ALLEN: Before going to the Philippines, our Filipino LUVITY told us that Filipino fans are really passionate so performing there would be a lot of fun. We definitely felt that energy and passion while we were performing!
WOOBIN: We did our first concert in the Philippines during the tour and it was our first time meeting our Filipino LUVITY in person. Even though it was our first time, meeting our fans there felt familiar and I could feel that we know and trust each other really well.
WONJIN: It was really nice to perform in the Philippines and we had some extra time during our stay there so it was nice to enjoy the city too.
What are you most looking forward to in this new chapter for CRAVITY?
MINHEE: CRAVITY tried a new concept this time so I’m very excited to see how LUVITY will like it.
HYEONGJUN: We weren’t able to get a win on a music show last time, so I hope we’ll be able to this time.
SERIM: There were times when I felt really emotional and teary when I listened to ‘Love or Die’ and I hope our LUVITY will feel those similar emotions when listening to the song and seeing our performances.
WOOBIN: Personally, I think WONJIN’s visuals are crazy for this comeback. I’m excited for his visuals!
WONJIN: I think my visuals are crazy too…just kidding. We actually have a lot of different genres of songs on this album and I hope you all find a song that you love.
TAEYOUNG: I think our members tried out a lot of new things while preparing for this album and I’m looking forward to seeing them during our promotions.
ALLEN: For this album, I was able to showcase my first self-produced track so I’m most excited about seeing our fans’ reactions to it.
JUNGMO: All six tracks on this album are so good that I’m excited to see what will be LUVITY’s favorite.
SEONGMIN: I’m excited for what kind of memories we’ll make with our fans during this chapter and hope that our LUVITY loves our performances.
Photos courtesy of Starship Entertainment
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