The pre-debut Korean boy group New And.B, consisting of former B.I.G members J-Hoon and Jinseok, as well as I-REX and BGC member Yijun, was first announced in January 2024. Shortly after, they began promoting in Japan. The Hallyu+ team are grateful to be among the first to interview the group. In this interview, we were able to gain insights into their aspirations and worries, as well as the trio’s future plans.
Q: Hi, New And.B. Please introduce yourselves to us!
J-hoon: Hello, I’m J-hoon, the funny member and leader. I’m so excited about the interview as it’s our first time as NewAndB.
Jinseok: Hello. I’m Jinseok, the cute member and the vocalist in NewAndB. Also, I’m the Maknae in NewAndB… again haha. I like being a Maknae.
Yijun: Hello. I’m the rapper, Yijun. since I have a very deep and sexy voice it’s such a pity that I have to say hello via writing.
Q: Considering all three of you have promoted as idols previously, what are your feelings going into your re-debut as New And.B and what are you most looking forward to as a group? ( question asked by @Klapouchy )
J-hoon: To be honest, as I’ve been working as Idol for 11 years there’s nothing special in re-debuting. As we are professionals, we are confident that we can appeal to the image of “rookies with experience”.
Jinseok: The best thing is that I can work with the ones I love the most. I’m looking forward to making precious memories with them for even longer.
Yijun: it feels like a dream to be able to work as an idol again, I’m so grateful to the members for helping me make my dream come true again. I will never give up and will devote myself to this team.
Q: What are some new challenges that you wish you want to face? (question asked by our member ( question asked by @fromisSakura )
New And.B: We want to do everything we have been wanting to do before, as well as show our fans what we couldn’t show before. We want to make our music and concepts that fit us the best.
Q: What is a long-term goal you’d like to achieve (either as an individual or as a group)? ( question asked by @Klapouchy )
J-hoon: I used to have a fixed goal before. But I felt that life didn’t go as planned. So rather than making a future goal, I try to do my best every day and I think this will bring the best results too.
Jinseok: My goal is to have a world tour as NewAndB. Many big groups do so, and I want to do the same. I want to visit countries I’ve never been to, enjoy my time with fans, and learn about different cultures.
Yijun: I want NewAndB to rank high in music charts. That’s the dream of many idols. My goal is to be ranked in the top 50 which will make me very happy. We are currently working on an album in which we participated in the composition and the lyrics so please look forward to it~
Q: Has there been any sense of rivalry between you three?
J-hoon: I always think that I have to do better in performances when practising. That thought became my motivation. It is a friendly rivalry haha.
Jinseok: I don’t think we do. As each member has his unique role, we help each other. But to be honest, I think I never helped them with performing… I think I gotta go to practice right now…
Yijun: I think it’s not the time for me to have a sense of rivalry as I recently joined the group. But I might do it next year haha.
Q: How long have you trained for before you became an idol? What was trainee life like? (question asked by @Lilac)
J-hoon: I trained for 5 years. I was a trainee in several companies and I met Yijun there! That’s how it all began and now we are in a group. No one knows what will happen in the future.
Jinseok: I began my training when I was 16, I was so introverted and insecure back then. Making my trainee life somewhat hard. I was the only trainee in the previous company, so I thought It would be harder for me, but J-hoon always took care of me. After all, now I’m here with him as one group again haha.
Yijun: I debuted before the rest of the NewAndB members when I was in my early 20s, but the team was disbanded. I became a trainee again after that to become an idol again for a few years. That was really tough for me. But in the end, my dream came true again. I love you guys and love the fans that I’ll get to meet in the future~!
Q: What do you find more difficult, remembering new choreography or lyrics of a new song? (question asked by @UMJI MOODS)
J-hoon: I’m not bad at memorizing but it’s kind of hard to memorize new choreographies. I had a hard time practising when I was working in B.I.G. Now I got better and faster haha.
Jinseok: I’m very good at memorizing lyrics. Once or twice singing would do. Choreography, however, I am a little slower than that but I’m comparably fast in both. But working as an idol is not about memorizing fast. I lack a little in performance and I think it could also be my charm haha. I hope you enjoy watching it though haha.
Yijun: I’m really bad at memorizing things. It takes me 3 times more than the rest of the members. But if I do memorize things, I don’t forget them. I think it could be because I’m always careful and detailed hahaha.
Q: What do you consider yourself to be your happiest moment when on stage? Do you have any memorable interactions that you’ve shared with your fans before?
J-hoon: As an idol, My happy moment is when I’m on the stage. I get the feeling that I’m so loved and I really want to give it back to the fans also. I love to see the fans laugh so I joke around a lot. I feel so happy when fans laugh.
Jinseok: I think being on stage is amazing! Even when I’m so tired and worn out, I don’t feel it. It really is the happiest moment. I remember performing in an Arab country and I was soooo nervous as it was my first time performing in front of such a big crowd. But they welcomed us so much that I had so much fun.
Yijun: I forgot how it felt like to be on stage again before performing in Japan a while ago. I made so many mistakes as I was so nervous but I was so happy to be back on stage, I even cried with joy. I wished it would never end. I hope I can be happy on stage and make fans happy too.
Q: Where do you see yourselves five years from now?
J-hoon: I think I will still be working as an idol. I’m kind of old as an idol as I debuted a long time ago. I want to work as long as I can if there are still fans that love us. You will love us until then, won’t you? I trust you.
Jinseok: I want to say that I’m on a world tour after 5 years. We have a lot of frequent flyer miles haha. I see myself living happy days.
Yijun: I’m unfamiliar with this life yet so I can’t even predict my life next year. 5 years, is even harder haha. But I hope I will still be an idol then.
Q: Now for a fun question time, what’s your go-to coffee/tea/milkshake order? (questioned asked by @Klapouchy)
J-hoon: I only drink ice-americano. I don’t even know what they sell in cafes. Don’t they only sell ice-americano? I love it haha.
Jinseok: there’s a saying in Korea, “Ice-americano even if you are deathly frozen”. It means to drink ice-americano even in freezing winter. I’m that kind of person, I will drink ice-americano even when the temperature is -30°C.
Yijun: I like ice-americano just like the other members. But in winter, I drink a different thing. It’s strawberry juice. Strawberry is a winter fruit and it’s really delicious. I strongly recommend it.
Q: For the last question, considering we’re still in the early months of 2024, what’s your New Year’s resolution? (questioned asked by @Klapouchy)
New And.B: The year 2024 is when NewAndB debuted. It’s a precious year for us. The goal for this year is to show those who don’t know us our best. Proving that we are really idols. I think it will be a memorable year as we will go through a lot of turning points. Hope people love and support us! Thank you ~!
GFX BY @yerm
PROOFREAD BY @Polaris_Tae
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY @Chococo
