[Toggle] CNBLUE: Of turning 30 and working with JJ Lin

It’s been over a year since CNBLUE last performed on our sunny shores – their last show, 2016 CNBLUE LIVE [COME TOGETHER] IN SINGAPORE – was held last February, and it looks like the quartet has an even better show in store for fans this time around.

Kicking off their 2017 CNBLUE LIVE [BETWEEN US] tour in Singapore this Saturday, they will also play at locations in Jakarta, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Taipei. This comes after their similarly titled mini album, 7°CN, was released in March to share the group’s growth in the seven years since their debut.

Ahead of what is expected to be yet another successful tour, the band took time off their busy schedules to speak to Toggle via an email interview, where they shared seven nuggets of information that you probably never knew about.

We don’t need sugar, spice and everything nice, because we have something better. CNBLUE shared that every concert is prepared with special care, and the set-list for their upcoming show was carefully selected to include songs that have never been performed here.

Them putting their best foot forward isn’t the entire story, however. The quartet shared, “We have great memories from our last concert in Singapore. We had a great time enjoying our concert with our passionate fans. The fans were so energetic which really made the whole concert experience enjoyable.”

“Most importantly, we’ll be working hard on trying to connect and communicate with our Singapore BOICE.”

No surprise here, for this dish has been crowned the unofficial favourite food of all visiting Koreans; CNBLUE’s favourite local food is none other than chilli crab.

“We always love going to Singapore. There’s so many delicious food and great places to visit,” they chirped. “But most of all, our fans in Singapore are what makes us want to visit again. We’re very excited to meet our dynamic fans again for this concert!”

BOICE, you know what to do.

“Seven years, eight years… We don’t realise how many years it’s been until a lot of people mention exactly how long (we’ve been in showbiz). None of us have really changed since debut. One difference we feel though, is when we go to music programs and most of the other artists are younger than us,” they deadpanned.

One good thing has come out of their wealth of experience in the industry, however. CNBLUE mused, “We’re celebrating our 7th year anniversary, so we took inspiration from our past experiences and feelings and expressed it through our latest album, 7°CN.”

Having moved out of their dorms, CNBLUE no longer live together like they did in the good ol’ days. As with anything, there are the positive and negative sides to such an arrangement, as the boys would be able to tell you.

They chuckled, “Living alone is quiet and we can spend our time freely but sometimes we do miss living altogether and being noisy.”

If they lived together, they might also be treated to leader Yonghwa’s culinary skills. He let on, “My character for ‘Cook Up A Storm’ was a Michelin Star chef and I got to film in China, Prague, Macao and many more locations. The experience was great and although I’m not that good, my interest for cooking really grew and I’m trying to improve.” (laughs)

Yonghwa shared, “My collaboration with JJ Lin (for ‘Checkmate’) was great. If we get the chance to, we’d love to work on future collaborations with other Mandopop artists as well, especially those who share the same type of musicality as us.

Before that happens, however, he will be having a solo comeback, which might be his last before his mandatory army enlistment. “For this album, I’m preparing things that I’ve never shown before. This album will be different compared to my first solo album title track ‘One Fine Day’. Please look forward to it!” he declared.

“Even though we’re nearing our 30s, we think we’ll always be young at heart. It’s always important to have the same mentality as when you first debut so even when we are in our 30’s we think that we’ll still be the same. We hope to keep making and share our music,” they shared.

Wise words indeed.

“Thank you for always supporting and showing us your love. We think that it is because of our fans that we were able to stay together as a team for the past 7 years. Please continue to show your love and support for us!”

2017 CNBLUE LIVE [BETWEEN US] will be held on July 1 (Saturday), 7pm at ZEPP@BIGBOX SINGAPORE. Tickets are priced at S$288, S$228, S$168 and S$128 (excluding booking fees) and are now available on APACTix. 

http://entertainment.toggle.sg/en/hallyubuzz/article/cnblue-of-turning-30-and-working-with-jj-lin-8987452

*싱가폴 공연을 앞두고 현지언론과 진행한 인터뷰인데, 다른건 이미 아는 내용이고 솔로앨범 이야기가 조금 있어서 번역해봅니다^^

용화: "("Checkmate"로 함께한) JJ Lin과의 콜라보레이션은 정말 좋았죠. 기회가 된다면 앞으로도 다른 만도팝 아티스트들과 콜라보해보고 싶어요. 특히 저희와 같은 음악성을 공유하는 분들과요."

그 전에, 그는 입대 전 마지막일지도 모를 솔로앨범으로 돌아올 예정이다. "이번 앨범에는 제가 이제까지 한번도 보여드린 적 없는 것들을 준비하고 있어요. 제 첫 솔로 앨범의 타이틀곡  '어느 멋진 날'과는 다른 앨범이 될 거예요. 많이 기대해주세요!"