Interview: P1Harmony On Their Music, Their Friendship, And Their Upcoming Tour
P1Harmony are fresh off their biggest comeback to date, and are heading to Australia in September! I was lucky enough to interview the group and get to know them better.
P1Harmony, a six-member boy group who debuted in 2020, have just had their most successful comeback ever, with their album HARMONY: ALL IN hitting #51 on the Billboard Top 200 and #8 on the Top Album Sales chart. The music video for title track, ‘JUMP’, meanwhile, hit 10 million views in the first 24 hours and now sits at 21 million views.
I recently had the chance to interview the members — Keeho, Theo, Jiung, Intak, Soul, and Jongseob — and it was a lot of fun hearing what they had to say about their inspirations, their group dynamic, and their dreams (including performing in the North Pole…?!).
Jenna: Congrats on the release of your HARMONY: ALL IN. Can you tell us a little about the creation process? Was there anything that was a challenge?
Keeho: I definitely feel like the biggest challenge I encountered while preparing this album was the choreography. Our lead single 'JUMP' has the craziest choreo and having to prepare for it was a lot. I think we had to practice for more than 10+ hours a day multiple times. But because I really like ‘JUMP’, it was a fun challenge to overcome.
Most of you participated in writing the songs for this album. Where do you get your inspiration from?
Jiung: I tend to be inspired based on my experience and my imagination.
Jongseob: I have a notebook where I write down some ideas that come to my mind. I usually get inspired by the ideas in the notebook, or I listen to the song first and write down the key words that come to mind.
What is each of your fave tracks off the album?
Keeho: 'More Than Words’ because I personally worked a lot on it! It's like my little baby. Also, I'm just a huge fan of Afro-beats and we had a lot of Afro-beat inspirations on the track.
Theo: ‘JUMP’ is my favourite song on this album! I think this is my favourite verse of all the P1Harmony songs!
Jiung: My favorite song on this album is ‘Love Me For Me’ because it fits with my voice well.
Intak: My favorite song on this album is 'Love Me For Me'. It’s cute and trendy which really fits with P1Harmony.
Soul: My favorite song on this album is ‘Love Me For Me’. I like the meaning of its lyrics, which are about how loving yourself is important.
Jongseob: I like ‘More Than Words’ the most! I feel like it’s the song I’m most attached to because it took the most effort and time to make.
The music video for title track ‘JUMP’ is super fun — what was your fave memory from filming it?
Keeho: We did a lot of scenes on moving sets. We had to do stuff on a treadmill, on a huge turn table that actually turned, and so much more! I think it was difficult to make it look effortless but I love how it turned out in the music video!
Soul: There was a scene using wires which was really fun, because I’ve always wanted to try it.
‘JUMP’ is about your passion to go further together — what motivates you to keep “jumping” as a group?
Jongseob: The six of us are each other's biggest driving forces and passion. As much as we have accomplished our thoughts and dreams, I think we want to jump into a bigger future. And, of course, our P1ece, who are always with us, are a big part of what drives us.
‘Love Me For Me’ explores the idea that self-love is the most important kind — how do each of you find ways to love yourself?
Theo: I've never found a way in particular. I love myself just the way I am.
Intak: I think it’s important to keep understanding and remembering what I love about myself. That’s how I try to find and maintain a way to love myself.
What is ‘New Classic’ to you? What defines cool?
Keeho: I think being cool is to have your own style. To be your own character and to be able to express that unapologetically. That's what 'New Classic' is about! Make a new classic that works for you and only you.
Jongseob: For me, 'New Classic' means P1Harmony itself.
‘Heartbeat Drum’ is really effective in getting listeners’ hearts beating — but what makes your heart beat fast?
Jiung: Whenever I perform and work on music, my heart beats fast for sure.
Intak: Standing on the stage and listening to P1ece's cheers. Nothing beats my heart louder than that!
‘More Than Words’ is about expressing love in more than words, while ‘I Am You’ is about comforting one another. How do the P1Harmony members express their care and comfort for one another?
Intak: We figure out what each other's needs are, we’re understanding, and we encourage and be considerate of each other.
Following on from that and on the topic of ‘harmony’, how do you maintain harmony as a group? Especially in the creative process and when you’re touring? What makes your bond stronger?
Jiung: We talk a lot, so we try hard to get to know and understand each other's thoughts and feelings.
This album marks the close of your Harmony album series — what do you hope listeners take away from this album in particular, and the series overall?
Theo: My goal is to make music that you can listen to and enjoy without much thought.
You’ve been touring the United States as well as performing in Seoul in the past year — what has been your fave concert memory so far?
Soul: I had the most fun when I did a solo freestyle dance performance
You’ll be touring Canada and Latin America very soon, what are you most looking forward to?
Keeho: Going home and seeing friends and family! Headlining in my own hometown is definitely going to be a humbling experience so I'm very excited! Also I've never been to Latin America so I'm very excited to see our Latin P1eces and their energy!
Intak: I'm really looking forward to it. There are many countries that I've never been to before, so I feel very excited to see P1ece living in each of the different countries!
If you could go anywhere else you haven’t been yet, where would you like to go?
Jiung: I want to visit Argentina these days. There's an Argentine-style barbecue called Asado and I really want to try it.
Soul: I want to go to the North Pole.
Can Australian P1ece expect to see you down here anytime soon? What do you want to say to your Aussie fans?
Theo: Of course! I’ve mentioned it a lot before, but Australia was the most memorable place I've ever visited. I will definitely go on a trip later!! And P1ece in Australia! We’ll get there soon, so stay tuned!
(Note: since completing this interview, P1Harmony have announced they ARE coming to Australia: they’ll perform in Melbourne on September 20 and Sydney on September 22. YAY!).
I’ve been in bed with the flu for the past two weeks (sorry there was no newsletter last week!), so there’s a lot to catch up on. Here are some of the recent releases I’m loving:
HARD by SHINee: HARD is SHINee’s 8th full album, released in time for their 15th anniversary. The title track, also called ‘HARD’, lives up to its name, especially with its sexy, catchy hook. There’s a lot to enjoy on this 10-track album, but my fave song is ‘Sweet Misery’, with its sublimely breathy vocals and addictive synth layers.
‘Hear Me Out’ by EXO: The second pre-release from EXO’s upcoming album EXIST after ballad ‘Let Me In’, ‘Hear Me Out’ is a funky, smooth track clearly influenced by old school ‘90s R&B. It’s a straight-up bop.
‘Halli Galli’ by Plan B: Plan B are a new five-member boy group who officially debut in August with the album 1%. ‘Halli Galli’ is a pre-release digital single that offers insight into what the group is all about — it’s a catchy, fun tease of what’s to come.
‘Twenty’ by Swan: The solo debut of PURPLE KISS maknae Swan is a sweet ode to coming-of-age that showcases her rich vocal texture. It comes with a very pretty music video, a b-side ballad ‘Be My Everything’, and English versions of both songs.
‘Psycho’ by Jun: This is the first solo comeback for Seventeen member Jun, and it’s short, snappy, and unsettling in a satisfying way. It really comes alive with the choreography, which allows Jun to show off his dance skills.
Ahead of BTS maknae Jungkook’s solo debut on July 14th, his previous solo songs, ‘Still With You’ and ‘My You’ — gifts for fans released for free on Soundcloud — have been officially released and added to streaming platforms. This follows the Soundcloud solos of RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, and Jimin also being released officially to coincide with their own solo debuts (seventh member V is expected to make his solo debut later in the year, and his Soundcloud songs will be made official then, too).
This is all really awesome, but it begs the question — what about the sub-unit Soundcloud tracks? Will they ever see the light of an official release?
The most desired song is, of course, the rapline’s ‘Ddaeng’, released in 2018. Fans have been begging for it to be added on Spotify for so long it’s become a meme. With RM, Suga, and J-Hope having all made their solo debuts, it’s kind of surprising ‘Ddaeng’ still hasn’t been released along with their other prior works.
And ‘Ddaeng’ isn’t the only BTS song on Soundcloud that deserves an official release — there’s also the beautiful ballad ‘4 O’Clock’, a collab between RM and V (which, granted, MAY come out when V debuts), and ‘I Know’, a lovely fan song from RM and Jungkook. And while we’re at it, it would also be awesome to officially get the Jin and Jungkook version of Suga/Agust D’s ‘So Far Away’ and the Soundcloud remixes of ‘Spring Day’, ‘Young Forever’, and Jungkook’s ‘Euphoria’.
We just want complete and satisfying playlists. That’s not too much to ask, right?
With love,
Jenna