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Taeyong for Madame Figaro Hommes China July 2023 Issue – Interview
Ten years ago, Taeyong made his debut through the pre-debut idol group SMROOKIES of SM Entertainment in South Korea, and officially entered the public eye, starting his life under the spotlight. During this period, he moved forward in a down-to-earth manner, and his personal profile gradually filled with lines of notes about his groups and teams. Along with the release of various works, he accumulated the achievements of ten years of hard work. When you strip the settings off these prefixes and vocabulary combinations, Taeyong’s past ten years have been a stage of his life that revolves around music and dreams. All the hard work and brilliance are gathered in one place, pointing to his unwavering professional beliefs.
In June of this year, Taeyong’s first mini-album “SHALALA” was released through various major music websites, and the MV of the title song “SHALALA” was also released through the SMTOWN channel. For him, the release of this solo album is the first attempt on the theme of “Lee Taeyong’s own story”, everything is brand new; drawing a full stop to a stage of his life with such a meaningful work is not only an affirmation of oneself, but also the grand blooming towards pure passion and pursuits.
In the summer of Seoul, the outdoor filming location is full of lush plants, full of vitality. The colors of the vegetation are distinct, with light greens and dark greens against each other, and you can see the bright blue sky when you look up, with the winds blowing and occasional clouds floating. The weather is clear and the mood is comfortable. During waiting times, Taeyong squatted on the grass, carefully scrutinizing the intertwined vines growing under the bushes, his back huddled up like a child. Paired with the lush vegetation, wind and sunshine, at a glance, the pervasive youthful air was pure and natural.
This is a side of him that is different from the stage. When he completely devotes himself to work, the aura he exudes is completely controlled, revealing his quiet and gentle nature, and the life-likeness is extremely moving. Moreover, these bits and pieces can be felt one after another when interacting with him, like a spring breeze. On the day of filming, Taeyong arrived at the venue on time. As soon as he entered the door, he greeted the filming team in Chinese, and Taeyong’s smile was very soft. The make-up was completed quickly, and the shooting went extremely smooth. He kept saying “thank you” and “congratulations” all the time, as if he was trying to mobilize all the words that expressed friendliness and thankfulness in his Chinese inventory, and his eyes were bright and sincere.
In addition to his pure youthful spirit. Taeyong showed a strict attitude towards work and strong working abilities. Due to his professional enthusiasm and high level of cooperation, this cross-border shooting was extremely efficient. The staff of the filming team spoke highly of this, and expressed deep appreciation for Taeoyng’s excellent professional quality and self-cultivation.
Years of training and work have honed Taeyong’s extraordinary physical fitness and professional ability. On top of a gentle and friendly attitude, he showed respect and cooperation to colleagues, and actively pushed to advance the work process. This is probably another meaning of pure youthfulness in the field of work, it not only brings a sense of freshness and comfort to those around you, but also creates a comfortable and cooperative atmosphere; Beyond appreciation, it also has practicality. It is focused and serious, crisp and clean, and also provides emotional value.
This year is Taeyong’s 7th year since his debut and his 10th year in the industry. The then eighteen year-old boy has already shown a stable security and excellent sense of control in his ten years of experience. In early June, Taeyong’s first mini-album “SHALALA” was released, and starting his solo development. Many of the songs in it were made by himself, and he had invested a lot of effort into it. During this shoot, we spoke about the album and what he has been up to recently.
He believes that this album is closer to himself in terms of content and style, and contains the essence of his inner self, revealing, “This is my first attempt with the theme of ‘I’, and everything is brand new. I also made a lot of songs in the early stages of preparations, if you compare those songs back then with the songs on the current album, the latter will be more clean, pure”. Taeyong’s tone is very sincere. “There are many things i don’t know, and i will also have many shortcomings, but because of my passion and belief in music, and working hard to persevere, this album feels very much like my own.”
Taeyong put a lot of thought into the overall production of the album “SHALALA”, from the songs to the lyrics, including his own memories and fragments of his life. This album is akin to a commemorative gift, with memories of his present life as a blueprint, recorded and written in the form of music, leaving deep traces in Taeyong’s self-growth. The music that he produced with his heart has also aroused huge resonance from the fanbase, such as “RUBY”, a representative that arouses high empathy.
Among them, the lyrics of “Back to the Past” are also very touching, and it looks back on fond memories from his everyday life. Taeyong shared some interesting stories about birthdays in his childhood, “When I was a child, my parents would hold really good birthday parties for me at home. The neighbors on the street, my mother’s friends, and my friends would come attend together. Whenever it was like this, I felt very happy. My parents would specially prepare lots of yummy food, and they would also order fried chicken for me. Fried chicken is my favorite childhood memory.”
Those good memories are all preserved by his music, and they follow the flowing melody slowly forward. This is a very gratifying part of being a singer, using your professional ability to reap the fruits of your own labor, and bringing emotional resonance to yourself and to others.
In addition to the new attempt of this album, Taeyong also revealed some things that he wanted to try but failed to achieve, “I think traveling around the world to work and meet fans is already a good trip. But never having traveled alone, I always wanted to try a trip where I go through adversity alone and overcome it.”
The obsession with traveling probably stems from Taeyong’s longing for nature. Having entered the industry at a very young age and trained diligently all the year around, only he knew the pressure and struggles he endured. After so many years, his way of relieving stress is “being close to nature”, “No matter how difficult it is, as long as I look at nature or feel the wind, my heart will be healed. I feel my eyes have been detoxified a little, and the fatigue has disappeared a little. Compared with playing games or other hobbies, natural rest is the most soothing. So when I feel very tired, I will choose to let myself relax in nature. I also wanted to share this method with everyone”.
A this stage, Taeyong has been busy with NCT activities, “Because we want to show fans a better stage performance, we have been preparing for performances and recording”, and through the preparation and songwriting work of this solo, he feels that he has gained a lot, and is confident to sprint towards a better performance in the next stage, “Because during tema activities, the stage is completed together with the members, and everyone works hard together, so I don’t think there is any problem with my energy. But when I do stage activities alone, sometimes I feel that I don’t have enough energy. But through the stages this time, my physical fitness has really improved a lot, and this growth is my biggest gain”.
The release of the solo album is not only an affirmation of Taeyong’s past ten years, but also a new test and challenge. The stages of soloists and groups are very different, ans to shoulder the responsibility of an independent stage and show better control requires more follow-up efforts. As Taeyong said, the overall style of this album is more purely self-expression, expressing his sincerity through music. To summarize; judging from the feedback from fans, his works have been well received, and he himself has also been well accepted. The love and consideration given by everyone is particularly sincere and warm, and the trust delivered to each other is just as certain. As for the future, since courage and faith are already in place, all that’s left is to continue to move forward with a calm attitude and unchanging enthusiasm. The road ahead is long, and fate will always have a better arrangement waiting.
Q&A
Q: This year is the seventh anniversary of NCT127, as the leader, how do you feel? During these seven years, what memorable moments do you have with your teammates?
TY: It has been seven years, time flies, and all the roads we have traveled as a collective as NCT 127 are memories for me. Whether it is a public performance or meeting and interacting with fans, every moment is our fond memory. If I were to choose from them, it would be my birthday this year. All the members gathered at the time, and we talked a lot together, which made me both happy and touched.
Q:Is there anything that can be revealed in advance about the activities in the second half of the year?
TY: Everyone is working hard to prepare NCT 127’s album, so please look forward to it.
Q: Which song from this album is your favorite, and why?
TY: Actually, I like many songs in the tracklist, and the song “RUBY” is my favorite. Because many fans told me that they love the song “RUBY” very much, and shared with me their own “Ruby” (pet) stories, those stories are very warm, I think everyone can empathize and relate to this song, so I like it very much.
Q: What would you like to say to your Chinese fans who have always supported you sincerely?
TY: Dear Chinese fans, look at me, I am Lee Taeyong. Everyone’s support is a powerful motivation for me to show a better and cooler side of myself. I will continue to work hard and train hard. This magazine shoot is very interesting. I tried a mood that I have never done before, so I hope you look forward to it. I also hope that we can meet soon. I love you, my “besties”, congratulations!
translated by: @/127central