[Interview] Will EXID Become the Next Big Thing?

One more team has decided to join the fray in the already crowded sea of girl groups in the music industry.

The new six member group, EXID, composed of Yoo Ji (21), Dami (22), LE (21), Jung Hwa (17), Hye Ryung (18), Hani (20), has decided to take the leap into the sea of sharks and debut.

EXID, which garnered a lot of attention as the first group produced by hit songwriter Shinsadong Tiger, drew even more attention when MBC’s Infinity Challenge invited the group to appear on the show before its official debut.

Furthermore, the fact that four of the EXID members (Yoo Ji, Hani, Hye Ryung, and Jung Hwa) were former trainees in JYP Entertainment agency for three to four years also received a lot of buzz.

Thanks to these headlines, EXID was able to enjoy a rather advantageous start compared to the many other girl groups. However, after the group made its debut, these incidental elements didn’t compare to the attention EXID received, thanks to the group′s eye-popping talent and performances that met the high expectations of the fans.

We were able to meet with EXID off the stage and got a little taste of the members’ overflowing charisma during the interview.

The group name EXID, is that pronounced as ‘E-X-I-D’ and not ‘Exid’?

“‘E-X-I-D’ is correct and the acronym stands for ‘Exceed in Dreaming’. The name was personally given to us by Shinsadong Tiger and signifies our goal to always give our best effort in order to exceed our dreams. Furthermore, if you search for ‘EXID’ online, a motorcycle bearing the same name will appear in the search results.”

There was an issue with EXID being known as ‘Shinsadong Tiger’s Girl Group’ before its debut.

“That’s why we try even harder. We feel a lot of pressure not to disgrace the name of Shinsadong Tiger oppa. We also enjoy being referred to as “[Shinsadong] Tiger cubs”.

You could have made your broadcasting debut on Infinity Challenge, a show that many celebrities would have loved to appear in. What happened?

“We didn’t know we were going to appear on Infinity Challenge. At that time, we were in our track suits and didn’t even have time to put on makeup during the recording of our debut title song. We hid because we didn’t dare reveal our faces [to the public]. When we think about it now, it was definitely a missed opportunity.

What if you get another opportunity [to appear on Infinity Challenge]?

“I’d show off all my individual talents. All our members are quite funny and bizarre. They have many bright and funny sides to them. And they are definitely different from most girls. They are quite coy. I don’t know how to say this… in fact we are [like] guys. We are not a girl group,” said Jung Hwa.

Bizarre, you say? Do you have any nicknames for each other?

“Yes, we do. Yoo Ji is our ‘mom’ since she takes such good care of the members. Dami is the ‘ajussi’ with her favorite blue track suit and absolutely zero feminine charm. Hani is known as our ‘unemployed uncle’ thanks to her pajamas, Harry Potter glasses, and her books. Hae Ryung is our ‘grandmother’ and she talks and acts in a slow manner, and also loves nuts. Jung Hwa is the ‘ajumma’ with her high tone and distinctive way of talking. Lastly, LE is the ‘stepmother of Cheongdam’ with her meticulous speech and her sophisticated look. It is especially funny when the ‘grandmother’ and ‘ajumma’ are having a conversation together.”

It seems like your dorm life is very interesting just by listening to your nicknames.

“Our daily life is a sitcom. It would be really funny to make a reality program [out of our daily life]. We don’t worry excessively about our image. Once we get our names out there, we will reveal all our bizarre pictures. Some fans might be shocked."

"We also like funny stage photos that are used by the reporters and even save and look over some of them with each other. Sometimes we even send the funny pictures to Shinsadong Tiger and once, he was so shocked that he joked and said ‘Wow, that’s really ugly. Let’s cancel our contract.’”

What do you talk about in your dorm these days?

“[We talk about] things like ‘What’s our schedule like tomorrow?’ Whenever we get home, we take a look at our replies in our official cafe and also check out our YouTube and cover dance videos. Furthermore, we also read our fan mail and especially enjoy getting messages from our international fans who [incorrectly write in Korean] ‘We support you’ through the aid of a translator.”

There are many girl groups nowadays. Do you have a secret plan to capture the hearts of the public?”

“We were directly involved with the production of our album, from the theme, to our outfits and hairstyle. As expected, the final product of our debut album also received a lot of our own opinions and inputs. In fact, I even wrote the lyrics for the intro I Do,” Hani said.

Now that you mention a song, what about the title song Whoz That Girl from your debut single Holla. It seems a bit different from the existing hit songs from Shinsadong Tiger.

“We weren’t simply concerned about making a hit song; we added our own style to make it EXID’s song. Instead of showing an individual style, our song showcases the various colors of all our members. For example, the album was produced in a way to highlight our lead vocal Yoo Ji’s singing and LE’s rap skills."

"We also took out the unpleasant electronic sound and used something that was easier to listen to in its place. People can listen to our song over and over without getting tired of it.”

The relationships of idol group members are a hot topic these days. What is the dating atmosphere like in your agency?

“Dating is not allowed. Since we know that our concentration will go down once we start dating, we don’t complain or ask ‘Why can’t we date?’ We just humbly accept the rules. Hopefully, we will be able to date when the time is right.”

Your song is about love. Isn’t it difficult to immerse yourself with that kind of emotion if you don’t have a lot of dating experience?

“None of our members have dated a lot. We are all pretty much in the same boat, maybe because of our similar ages. We usually experience it indirectly through the stories of our friends or from movies.”

Most rookie groups’ goal is to win the Rookie Award. Besides the Rookie Award, does EXID have any other goals?

“First, we want to spread our name [to the public]. Our goal is to make people recognize us at first glance. We will do our best, just watch!”

Photo credit: AB Entertainment

Reach reporter Park HyunMin on Twitter @happygato!

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Exid 20120320 Yoo Ji (EXID) 20120320 Dami (EXID) 20120320 Le (EXID) 20120320 Jung Hwa (EXID) 20120320 Hye Ryung (EXID) 20120320 Hani (EXID) 20120320