“Are we YG-like?”: WINNER’s color and strategy (overall)
[Dispatch=나지연기자] It was dynamic. It was special. Boy band WINNER was finally unveiled. It is YG’s first one in 9 years since BIGBANG. The beginning was different, as expected. An unprecedented fashion show marked their embarkation on the journey to the music world.
At 5:30 pm on August 6, WINNER was at Seoul Conrad Hotel for the Grand Launch of “2014 S/S.” It was an event to announce their official debut of their album “2014 S/S.” After greeting the audience on the runway, they attended a press conference to show their determination.
WINNER came out to the real world after 10 months of preparation. This is a story of their very special first greeting, music, and their tales.
◆ WINNER’s beginning= Their first greeting was special. When the venue was lit, the music filled the room, and male models appeared on the runway. The models were wearing outfits that were worn by WINNER members in previous teaser videos. The 400 audiences were left awe-struck.
But the highlight was WINNER. Starting from the leader KANG SEUNGYOON came KIM JINWOO, LEE SEUNGHOON, SONG MINHO and NAM TAEHYUN. They were dressed in unique suits, walking confidently. Their proud yet relaxed looks led the audience to applaud enthusiastically.
They delivered short greetings as well. LEE SEUNGHOON commented, “Just a year ago we were an uncertain A TEAM of Mnet’s survival program “WIN,” but in a year we are making a debut as WINNER. I can’t be more thrilled to be on stage.”
◆ WINNER’s Color= Tracks from their album were also unveiled. It was a medley of some songs from the debut album “2014 S/S.” 10 songs, all of which are written and composed by the members, were filled with strong hiphop, synthetic sounds, dance, R&B and more.
The title track was unveiled as well. The double titles were #1 “empty” and #2 “COLOR RING.” They are both sentimental and quiet medium-tempo tracks. It was unexpected as many thought the titles would be of an upbeat dance genre.
KANG SEUNGYOON commented, “For the 10 months after finishing ‘WIN,’ we tried to find WINNER’s color. Instead of sticking to a particular genre, we tried hard to produce songs that could relate to the public in terms of melody and lyrics. Our songs are genuine. That’s our color.”
◆ WINNER’s dream strategy= The debut event was simply special. The Executive Producer, YANG HYUN SUK, personally attended it to root for the newbies. It was a proof of his affection for the group. He commented, “It was much better than I expected.”
WINNER successfully portrayed their true selves. It sets them apart. YANG added, “YG has strong hiphop color. But I thought WINNER should be different to other YG artists. I didn’t want them to be a typical dance group either. I hope these considerations will contribute to the success of the group.”
At last, WINNER and YANG said, “I hope we can break people’s perception that WINNER is a performance-focused group. WINNER has the ability to touch people’s hearts. Self-composed songs will add a competitive edge to WINNER. I hope the public can relate to the album.”
WINNER’s debut album “2014 S/S” will be unveiled on August 12 while their offline version comes out on 14 of the same month. Their first official performance will be at YG Family Concert on August 15.
2014. 8. 6.
