“I felt like this year was the Act 2 of my life. It really felt like I escaped through a hidden door in a room where I thought there was no way out. Through this experience, when I had thought it was the end, ‘so it isn’t the end.’ I think in many ways, there were many things that started this year, so I want to not forget this feeling from this year, and take strength and have a good next year.”
The members of LOONA had to go through an unintended hiatus while in a lawsuit against their former agency regarding their exclusive contracts. Legal disputes have made it difficult for the group to look forward to full-group activities, and the members have dispersed into groups and solo artistes.
Having started in a group, she was worried and anxious as she went solo. She was worried that fans might not like her ‘solo’ music. But now Yves knows. That the fans still believe in her and support her in her choice. So she has found the quite a bit of the ‘peace’ she had been hoping for.
Released six months after the release of her debut album LOOP in May this year, her new album, I Did, unravels various emotions that Yves faced in her process of finding peace as an artiste. It was natural that ‘peace’ became a hot topic in Yves’ round interview, held at a cafe in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 11th.
Quickly making her comeback “in hopes that fans don’t feel like it’s a long hiatus,” Yves said, “I’m so excited because they’re liking it the same way that I am, and I think I'll be able to perform less nervously and have more fun than when I debuted.”
When asked if she is calmer than before, Yves said, “I think so. Before I found a company, I was most anxious because I just wanted to be a solo artist. I also had many worries. When I debuted, even though it was the beginning steps of my dream, I was worried again about whether my fans wouldn’t like my [solo work]. But I really got the feeling that that my fans believed in me and supported me on my decision, so I’m definitely more peaceful in this album than in the last album.”
Why did she think that her fans might not like her music? “Since I’m now a solo artist, having been part of a group, I thought that there would also be many people who like Yves being in a group. I was worried about that, but while going solo I wanted to find a new me," Yves said.
This is how she came to be with her current agency, Paix Per Mil. Yves answered, “I was curious about the synergy between the company’s sophisticated music style and the emotions that I’m pursuing. I had a lot of fun while doing this, but fans might be surprised and feel awkward, thinking, ‘Oh? This is an Yves I’m seeing for the first time.’ I think I was very worried about that.”
While her debut song “Loop” introduced a house genre with rhythmic alternative beats, this title song “Viola” is a hyperpop song featuring a dreamy sound, and Yves’ refined vocals enhance the song’s charm.
Yves introduced the track, “somewhat unusually, ‘Viola’ starts with the hook and keeps repeating the hook at the end. When I hear this part of ‘I just need some space,’ I keep humming it. That’s the great merit of the title song.”
She said, “Isn’t there a characteristic aspect that the hyperpop [genre] can give? I think there are many unique elements that I can express, so when I thought of ‘music you can see’, I wondered if ‘Viola’ had an impact with the vibe of a title track.”
Yves originally wanted the second track “Hashtag” more as the title track. As soon as she heard the song, she thought, “Oh, this is the title track.” She said, “It feels like a song with a hip-hop vibe, which I’ve never tried before, so I felt like my ears were caught right from the intro. The topline is very unique. Usually, the song is divided into verse, prechorus, and chorus, but all the parts of (this song) feel like highlights. This is a song with strong points that I complimented myself, thinking, ‘Oh, this is all killing parts.’”
It took the longest time to record as well. Yves said, “You’ll know when you hear it, the topline of ‘Hashtag’ is very dynamic and there is a part where the English lyrics are very quick. There is a rap-like part with around a dozen words in it. I had to pronounce it correctly to convey it well, but I can’t. That part alone took me almost two hours, and I think I cried tears of joy when the recording turned out well.”
Yves had participated in composing “Strawberry Soda” and “Truman Show” by Loossemble, a group formed by LOONA members. Yves has not yet included songs which she participated in writing in her solo albums yet. Yves replied, “The company told me that they wanted me to fully trust them with the music, and to follow them.”
She said, “When I write lyrics and compose songs, my emotivity and colour come out. On the one hand, I wanted to include such things, but on the other hand, I was also curious about the different sides of me that the company saw, from a third party perspective. I agreed to have all my songs be done by the company up until this album. I will have a lot of time after the tour, and I’m aiming to include my songs starting with the next album. Please listen to it lots."
Would Yves be satisfied with the end product of a third party’s interpretation of her? “Yes!” Yves said. “I was satisfied and had a lot of fun, and I was grateful for this process. While promoting as part of a group, I had a fixed position. As a member in charge of girl crush, only promoting as that powerful character, I thought I possessed only that colour.”
On the other hand, the company saw a different Yves. Yves was content, saying, “my colour and character that the company made for me seems to have a dreamy and still girl-like feeling. I’m grateful that they discovered such a unique part of me, and should I say that the framework of my thoughts has broadened? I’m really happy because I feel like my mind map has expanded in terms of music production and visual aspects.”
Yves started as part of a group and ended up on stage as a soloist. Asked if she ever felt anxious or lonely because she was “alone,” Yves said, “Uh... I still often feel a little anxious, but fortunately, I made Powerpoints even when I was active in a group. When I show something, I want to show it properly. I tended to give my opinions a lot back then too, so I think I had few difficulties in my solo activities.”
She added, “For the worries and anxieties that come anyway, I contact the members almost every day and we listen to each other's songs and talk, and I relieve my stress by getting support from them. I feel reassured. I feel like I get a lot of strength from my members.”
“What’s funny about my personality is that I’m pessimistic and positive at the same time. I mean, if you’re a perpetually pessimistic person, you can be trapped in those thoughts, you get lethargic and I think your behaviour could really become twisted, and imagining the worst is like looking under the mattress of your heart. It makes me think, ‘You should be prepared because this could happen,’ and I feel like I’m preparing for all sorts of situations, so I’m pessimistic and a little positive at the same time… I think I’m a person who practices and does various activities.”
Regarding the big challenge of going “solo” this year, she said, “I was very worried and anxious, but I really want to compliment myself for what I started. I was also very worried about the LOOP album promotions, but I think I did well, so I want to give myself a good appraisal just for doing well there.”
Also, she spoke again, “Until a few years ago, I was the type of person who, instead of affirming myself, had to receive affirmation from people around me, telling me that’s right and that I did well, in order to think, ‘Oh, that’s right. That’s what I’m good at.’ I’m so happy and thankful when I get good reviews and results, but now when I affirm it myself? That’s when I’m the happiest.”
Yves “really looked for” the reactions when she released a song. She looked back, “I used to be impacted [seeing negative reactions], but [now] I think of it as feedback and become stimulated to work harder. They didn’t find the new side of me as awkward as I had feared. There were many people who liked it as well.” The one reaction to her last album that gave her the most stimulation was, “Go back to being in a group.” She laughed, saying, “Wasn’t that too quick a judgment? I thought that perhaps it was out of interest.”
What Yves wants to hear with this album is, “She pulls off the hyperpop genre well too.” She said, “I think I’m very thankful when even for the sides of me I don’t know, the fans say, ‘that’s very like Yves.’ I want to hear those words again this time,” she hoped.
Yves, who released I Did and started promotions on the 14th, will hold her first solo tour “The Apple Cinnamon Crunch Tour”, starting in December. She will visit Berlin, Germany on December 4, Warsaw, Poland on December 7, London, England on December 9, Paris, France on December 12, and Rome, Italy on December 15.
Regarding the background of the unique and long tour name, Yves explained, “If you look at the poster, there’s a picture of a girl I drew, so like that, since it’s really my first solo tour, I wanted to give it a little more relaxed, kitschy, and free feeling, rather than a grand feeling. I think I put many fun elements into the tour name and the poster too.”
When asked why she was holding the tour in Europe, Yves replied, “I already really like Berlin, so I’m so grateful to be able to perform my music in a place I like,” adding, “I find it very meaningful and it gives me motivation to do better. I also think that I better turn everyone in the audience that doesn’t know me as well into my fans.”
(Source)
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