Photo = STARSHIP Entertainment

 

MONSTA X’s HYUNGWON shared his honest thoughts on results and behind-the-scenes stories from working on the album.

 

SHOWNU X HYUNGWON met with Hanteo News at STARSHIP Entertainment’s headquarters in Seoul on the 19th and spoke about working on songs and the future of the unit. On this day, HYUNGWON said, “The top two things in life that don’t go the way I want are results and money,” adding, “I’m thinking that I should not dwell on them and just walk my own path.”

 

His attitude toward results was calm. HYUNGWON revealed, “I think that if I chase those two things, rather than having them chase me, I’ll end up being swallowed uncontrollably by them, so I live with the mindset of following my own path as much as possible.” SHOWNU also shared, “The standards for good results and bad results have become vague,” adding, “I think what’s more important is being active for a long time and having opportunities to be together with the fans even as time passes.”

 

The B-side tracks on this album are songs HYUNGWON created after thoroughly calculating the strengths of the two members. HYUNGWON explained, “They are songs I made while thinking about the strengths that come out when hyung and I work together,” adding, “I worked on them with goals in mind: a song that would be good to perform at a festival, a song that could show performance, and a song that could bring out our voices well.” The song he made with their voices most in mind is ‘Superstitious,’ the song he thought would be good to perform together at festivals is ‘In My Head,’ and the song through which he wanted to deliver a message to fans is ‘Accelerator.’ HYUNGWON introduced it by saying, “It’s a song that carries the meaning of asking them to trust us and follow us together.”

 

HYUNGWON, who sent more than 10 songs to the company but ultimately included only four on the album, said, “I felt like my head would hurt if I started worrying about things at the company level too, so I tend to do my best in my role, send the songs, and then accept the decision.”

 

His sources of inspiration are also diverse. HYUNGWON said, “I have a lot of random thoughts in everyday life, and I often get keywords from there. Sometimes, when I watch movies or dramas, I bring in the atmosphere from a line or the visual mood.” He shared that track 7, ‘NO AIR,’ is an extension of ‘Wildfire,’ in which he expressed his emotions by evoking fire on his first concert solo stage, and that he made the song while imagining himself alone by a lake.

 

There were also his own standards for selecting his solo song. SHOWNU revealed, “I received more than 30 demos, and since it was almost the first solo stage I was showing, I chose the song while thinking a lot about the stage and shaping the mood and concept.” HYUNGWON explained, “When I did my first solo stage, I did it with the theme of fire, but this time, I wanted to express the same love through the opposite element, water,” adding, “I thought I could express parts like falling deep into water or rising back up from the water well through choreography, so I came to make it.”

 

They also spoke about gradual growth. HYUNGWON said, “I think growing step by step is not only about the result, but also the process,” adding, “Continuing to show yourself steadily without stopping is also step-by-step growth.” He continued, “Recently, I watched senior Rain’s music video, and I felt that he keeps challenging himself, trying new things, and practicing without settling for his position,” adding, “As someone in the same line of work, I received a lot of inspiration, and I thought a lot about how I also want to keep climbing step by step.” SHOWNU said, “I think what’s more important is wanting to do this for a long time and being able to stay with the fans for a long time.”

 

They also opened up about the difficulties of the preparation process. SHOWNU said, “It was hard because we prepared by making time here and there in the middle of promotions, but since it was an album and stage we would share with the fans, I prepared hard and focused while thinking about a sense of release.” HYUNGWON shared, “The tour, the unit album, and drama filming all overlapped, but I felt like I didn’t want to let go of any of them, so I endured it with the mindset that I should do everything I can when I’m able to do my best.”

 

They also shared moments when they felt loved by fans. SHOWNU said, “I remember a message on Bubble where someone wrote about something difficult they went through, but in the end, they were able to overcome it because of me,” adding, “It feels amazing and also makes me grateful that I was able to become strength for someone.” HYUNGWON said, “Sometimes when I go on Bubble, fans often leave comforting messages, and I end up thinking a lot while reading them alone,” adding, “When I felt that they waited for me during my year and a half in the military, I truly felt their love firsthand.” He continued, “When I see them waiting and cheering for us while sweating so much on hot days, it also makes me think that I should work even harder.”

 

Regarding the long-term direction of this unit, HYUNGWON said, “With the release of our second album, I feel like we now have our own narrative and stories as the two of us,” adding, “I hope we can continue moving forward in our own way with sides that we couldn’t show as a team or sides that weren’t expressed before.” SHOWNU smiled brightly and said, “Personally, I think it would be really nice if we could continue long-term.”

 

SHOWNU X HYUNGWON’s second mini album ‘LOVE ME’ will be released through various music streaming sites at 6 PM on the 21st. Attention is focused on whether the unit SHOWNU X HYUNGWON, returning after about three years, will showcase greater expansion through this album.