[Interview] CNBlue's ELLE Girl Interview!

We will say the truth. The interest of on C.N Blue started from Jung YongHwa. The fantasy drama created by the Hong Sisters, ‘You’re Beautiful’ didn’t get nearly close to the view ratings for IRIS, but still, in many ways; this drama had its own specialties. One of it being that the drama carried the face of the new star, Jung YongHwa.

Jung YongHwa starred as the guitarist in the popular band A.N.JELL. Whenever the female lead, MiNyu, was stuck in a situation, he played the role of the fantasy character that would come and save her without any words, gaining the interest of many. But later you could find out that he was the leader for the soon to debut band, C.N Blue. The rumors that they were a band that already had 2 albums out and also those they were highly skilled had interested many. What? They were going to stand as the band group in a place dominated by ‘entertaining’ idol groups? This was the reason that we invited these 4 guys despite of their practice for their upcoming showcase.

Jung YongHwa, Lee JongHyun, Kang MinHyuk, Lee JungShin. The C.N Blue members that dominated the set were first of all, very tall. The long legs and arms and the good looking faces wasn’t a band, but more like flower boy idols. No, if you compared their faces to idols we met so far, their visual appearance belonged in a higher level. The members greet us in a nervous and excited faces. The person leading the mood was oldest, and the leader, Jung YongHwa.

The filming started first with his solo cuts. As if acting helped him to get accustomed to the camera, he stated to pose very comfortably. He laughs and jokes around with the staff members and smiles a lot because he doesn’t like awkward moods. He seems like the guy who loves people and let go of all the bad sides to a person. (Idk what this means)

Next up to the camera was Lee JongHyun. He was the same BuSan person like YongHwa, and he even considers YongHwa as a brother. When he smiles, he looks like ‘Matimoto Joon’. However, he had the manly side that answered every question clean, and dry. With the face similar to a Japanese actor and the quietness of a man from Kyung SanDo, he was interesting. The 91-ers that entered together, Kang MinHyuk and Lee JungShin were still very shy. Being their first photo shoot, the nervousness was still there, but they focus hard on the words of the photographer. From a glance you can tell that they were the kind dongsaengs that used formal tones to their hyungs. Kang MiHyuk had the surprising formal adult side to him and the serious Lee JungShin turns out to be the happy, fun kid that spreads happiness on to the set.

Due to the serious and sincere models, the filming continued on without a problem and the photographer finally showed the okay sign. Weren’t they too serious and quiet for new stars to be debuting soon? We even questioned if they were the same guys with so much charisma on the Live Japan House shows. However these were the guys determined the let the public know of band music where everything is set on the idol music. If we borrowed the words of MiSil, they were the guys dreamed of an ‘overly high blue’ dream. It could be their secret weapon that they will show everything with their skills. Then the interview started with C.N Blue, who was waiting in the start line quietly in the midst of all the screaming.

[EG] How did the four of you guys end up meeting each other?
YongHwa: We were all fans of music and interested in bands. In detail, we were chosen by the casting director and through an audition, we ended up getting into FNC Music. I was first an internet ullzzang (laughs), and the casting director came down to BuSan after seeing my picture in an ullzzang site.
JongHyun: I found out about this later, but that same casting director met with me after meeting with YongHwa hyung. I liked singing since I was little, and since I was learning music then, I was really happy to get that chance.
YongHwa: The three of us without JungShin and a lot of other people went to that audition. Since JongHyun was also from BuSan, we connected as soon as we met, and MinHyuk caught my eyes because he was dressed in his school uniform. You know, because most of the people who come to auditions dressed really nicely.
MinHyuk: On that day the hyungs sang really well. I thought I was going to be eliminated. We got to know each other then and even called each other. We asked each other, “Did you get contacted?” But the funny thing is, the 3 of us got in the audition.
JungShin: Because of my brother that was a music mania, I always had an MP3 in my ears. In high school I fell in love with photography, and when I was out in HongDae for a photo shoot, I was contacted by the casting director. In the beginning of C.N Blue, one first left because of personal issues so I just ended up joining naturally. I was really nervous, but the hyungs and the same age MinHyuk took care of me well.

[EG] Unlike others, you guys start out as an indie band in Japan
YongHwa: It wasn’t something formal that we went to Japan to be in a band, but we went to Japan to study where the idea of a band is more recognized. It was the idea of our company, but we were interested because it was a chance for us to improve on our skills.
JongHyun: Skills are skills, but we saw and listened to a lot. And at first none of us could speak Japanese. But in order to survive out there we needed to learn Japanese. By the end, we ended up learning the simple conversations without a problem.

[EG] If you guys can choose any memorable episodes in Japan?
YongHwa: There are so many. At one point we even had a robber come into our place, but that person didn’t steal anything, but just took a shower there. We didn’t have anything he could take anyway.
MinHyuk: More than anything, out performances on the streets is memorable. As many of you know, in Tokyo, the transportation fees are expensive. In the summer we would have to carry our guitar, drums, and lamps all by ourselves.
JongHyun: At one point we were taken to the police station during our performance. As if we were the president, we were guarded by the police on the way there. It was the biggest police station in Harajuku, but the place was so nice like a café.
YongHwa: I was so serious, but these guys were taking pictures and joking around with the police officers. (LOL)

[EG] Didn’t you guys ever think “Why are we doing this in Japan?”
JongHyun: Never. Since it was what we liked to do, we enjoyed it.
YongHwa: We thought that it was hard, but we never wanted to quit. We needed to put in our efforts to gain skills, and without the skills, we wouldn’t have even been recognized.

[EG] YongHwa first became an actor by participating in the drama, “You’re Beautiful”
YongHwa: I came on the plane to Korea and did the audition. I never had acted before, but the fact that I was an actual guitarist in a band earned me some points. But the director or the writers never told me why they chose me.

[EG] It shouldn’t be easy acting for the first time.
YongHwa: Jang GeunSuk, Park ShinHye, Lee HongKi were all pros since they were young, and I thought to myself, “Wasn’t I just a raw amateur?” I never rested from the 1st to the 16th episodes. So aside from the sleeping I took the scripts anywhere with me and memorized the lines. Because the role of Kang ShinWoo is already handsome, I think that is why the public view it so well.
MinHyuk: In real life, he is a really fun hyung, but I was surprised seeing him act on TV. Of course the funny hyung was nice too.
JungShin: We called him often monitoring his drama. “Hyung, we are enjoying this. But, for us to see it is a bit embarrassing.”

[EG] Since you already came in the entertainment world, you should have been less nervous
YongHwa: Drama or other programs, I’m nervous everyday about my schedule. And since I have my C.N Blue members with me, I’m really full. The solo actititives are what Jung YongHwa showed, but now I will put in my all to show C.N Blue.
JongHyun: Hyung tells us a lot of tips. Yesterday he told us what to do for today.
YongHwa: I’m a newbie too, but I started first. In order to show more of that pro side, I told them let’s show our best. I’m the leader, but there is nothing I have to be mad about. We all match each other well.

[EG] JongHyun has an image that matches the band well
JongHyun: Like a guitar maniac? Haha. Before I used to listen to R&B and HipHop. Getting into a band made me research more about bands, and I started falling in love with band music. I really want to meet the Japanese band “Bump of Chicken”

[EG] In the teaser that was released, you had that tough image
JongHyun: I like that concept. Every day I try to act more manly. I need to focus on my manly side more if I want to appear that way.
YongHwa: JongHyun doesn’t have that fiery personality because he is a BuSan man, but he doesn’t get really mad.
JongHyun: I’m the only O type blood while the other members have A type blood. When the three of them get mad at each other, I’m the one who is laughing. Especially, YongHwa hyung is a Triple A blood type (meaning that he gets mad often) (LOL)

[EG] MinHyuk looks like a naïve student. We can’t imagine him playing the drums.
MinHyuk: When people first see me, they could be awkward and bored. But since I was little I loved doing active sports. Sport like soccer, baseball, basketball I bet I could do better than my members. I’m pretty sure I could show my powerful drummer sides.
YongHwa: MinHyuk has the clean personality so clean the room in Japan. He is nice to everyone around him and he didn’t change at all from the time I first met him. (Minhyuk's recognised as CNBlue's mother, btw)

[EG] He seems quiet, but very popular around girls
YongHwa: That is right. I always talk a lot around girls, but when MinHyuk is quiet; all the girls are like “he is so cute!” Are you guys that happy just looking at him? (YES YONGHWA, I AM! BD )

[EG] JungShin in the youngest in the team, but is the tallest
JungShin: When I was a freshman in high school I was stressed out because I was so small. Going into high school, every year I grew 10cm and now, I got over 187cm. They say that my growth hormone is still active. The doctor told me that if I want to stop growing, stop playing sports and just play my bass. (laughs) (So tall ._.)

[EG] We also heard that you are very greedy when it comes to clothes
JungShin: It happens to me and YongHwa. When we get into our dorms and do online shopping, we ask each other, “How does this look?” When I lay down to sleep, I think of what shirts and pants to wear tomorrow.

[EG] You seemed really serious, but after talking for a while you seem a bit 4-D
JungShin: Since I tend to stay away from strangers, people tell me that I seem scary. But once I get to know someone, I’m really friendly and nice to them.
YongHwa: JungShin’s world is really different. If are with him then you end up feeling happy too. JungShin ended up coming in late, but we were happy to have a skilled rapper and bass player.

[EG] On January 14th, the Bluetory album is released. What kind of songs are in it and which songs do you recommend?
YongHwa: If you say band in Korea, most people think of rock. We are putting the alternative rock feel, with ballad, hiphop, and rap. There are 5 songs on our mini album. The title song, “I’m A Loner,” the song I contributed on the lyrics, “Y, Why,” and songs like “Now or Never” that we translated into Korean. We think it is an album that anyone can enjoy without and heavy feelings.

[EG] The thing that you guys are focused on the most, is it the showcase?
YongHwa: We are practicing day and night. I think we don’t have enough songs though. We are really nervous since this will be our first performance. I also went around telling everyone when I was in Korea first, so I’m feeling anxious. But I know that we will do well.

[EG] Don’t you guys want to dance and show extravagant performance like the other guys around your age?
YongHwa: The songs aren’t songs that you can simply dance to and the bigger problem is that, dancing is like rat poison for us. (laughs) We will become the band that shines the most when we have our instruments. If we wanted to be dancers, we wouldn’t have gone to a band company in the first place.

[EG] The moment you guys have been dreaming of is in front of your eyes, what do you guys each want?
MinHyuk: I wish that our first step will be a good one. Too plain for you? That is all I can think of (I love him sfm)
JungShin: That our album will be widely known and loved by many. Being more greedy, I want win the newcomer award at the awards this year
JongHyun: It will be great to get C.N Blue loved, but I hope that people will enjoy rock music more. It will be better if Korean band industry can improve because of us and think comfortably of us. We will make stages so that all of us can jump around and play.
YongHwa: From the start we won’t be able to show all of our music, and all of our sides. Step by step we will work on it. Until we become the grandpa band.

Source: ELLEgirl magazine
Translated by: CNBlueMoonlight @ CodeAzzurro