\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div> \t\t\t\t\tMartin<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBIGHIT MUSIC<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tJames: <\/strong>Unfortunately, we lived together, right? [Laughs.] <\/em>When you go to practice together and go back home together, you eat together, you watch stuff together, everything kind of just comes naturally. At times it\u2019s hard. It\u2019s kind of rough, like here and there. Especially on the holidays, when it\u2019s suddenly quiet. When everyone goes back home, suddenly it gets quiet, and then you\u2019re like, \u201cSomething\u2019s missing.\u201d You kind of feel the decibel \u2013 it\u2019s not there.<\/p>\n \n\tWhat else have you done to bond as a team?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tMartin: <\/strong>We went to Universal Studios.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tKeonho:<\/strong> After we finished our song camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tJames: <\/strong>We milked our time there to the very last second. We ran all over the place to take rides.\u00a0\u2026 But recently, we went to Six Flags. Actually, personally<\/em>, I like Six Flags. Really personally.<\/p>\n \n\tMartin:<\/strong> I mean, Six Flags has much more extreme rides.<\/p>\n \n\tJames:<\/strong> Six Flags was exciting. You can feel the adrenaline, you feel like you\u2019re gonna die! [Laughs.]<\/em> But no! X2 was like\u00a0\u2014<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s the scariest ride I\u2019ve<\/em> ever been on.<\/strong> [Laughs.]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tJames:<\/strong> When we took off our shoes for the ride, it was nerve-wracking.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tMartin: <\/strong>We knew it was going to be something [big].<\/p>\n \n\tNow that you guys are debuting, I\u2019m curious if you have any short-term goals, looking to the end of the year. And how about longer-term goals \u2014 like five years, 10 years?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tJuhoon: <\/strong>Short-term, since we\u2019re just debuting, our goal is to show who we are to the audience and make sure that they understand who we are.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tJames:<\/strong> Just trying to be at our best at introducing ourselves to the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tKeonho:<\/strong> I\u2019ve never thought about long-term goals, but, I think\u2026 Now, I\u2019m just curious. Curious about myself five or 10 years from now, I guess I could say I \u201cwant the whole world to know our name,\u201d yeah. [Laughs.]<\/em> That\u2019s actually lyrics from one of our songs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tHave you gotten any advice from other HYBE artists or BIGHIT MUSIC artists that has stuck with you?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tMartin: <\/strong>BTS gave us the advice to do well by the people that you\u2019re working with, the staff. And I feel like that\u2019s all that matters. To hit a long run, you\u2019ve got to be good to the people around you. You\u2019ve got to show love.<\/p>\n \n\tJames:<\/strong> Yeah, I think in the end, we make up CORTIS, but at the same time, the staff and everyone included \u2014 they\u2019re all part of CORTIS. It\u2019s all a big team and big family.<\/p>\n \n\tJuhoon: <\/strong>Another piece of advice BTS gave us is that a lot of people may think it\u2019s the end once you debut. But actually, the debut is just the beginning, so there\u2019s no need to be perfect. Show improvement and keep evolving as you go. That\u2019s been helping me a lot for where we are right now in this particular moment in time when I\u2019m just about to debut.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tIn terms of preparing for your debut, I\u2019m sure there\u2019s a lot of things that you\u2019re doing for the first time. Is there anything from the process that was surprising to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tJames: <\/strong>Today! [Laughs.]<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tMartin:<\/strong> We did a lot today. This is our first-ever interview. <\/em>So today was a busy day, and it was actually pretty fun to just try all these new things.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tJames:<\/strong> It\u2019s the first full day we didn\u2019t have dance class, but it\u2019s full with other schedules. It\u2019s just so fast. Everything is fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tMartin: <\/strong>Yeah, exactly! I was gonna say the same.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tJames<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBIGHIT MUSIC<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tJames: <\/strong>And, like, even now, at 11:30 pm, I still feel like it\u2019s lunch time. Everything went by so fast. I feel like I haven\u2019t done anything yet. But now it\u2019s like, the day is kind of coming to an end. It\u2019s like, what?<\/p>\n \n\tSeonghyeon<\/strong>:<\/strong> Usually we would have one class for like six hours, but now, we\u2019re doing a variety of things throughout the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tJames:<\/strong> I think also because we\u2019re used to repeating the same thing for a very long time, and now it\u2019s like \u201cthis, that, this, that, this, that\u201d is thrown at you, yeah?<\/p>\n \n\tIs there anything you\u2019ve been doing to try to stay calm and not be as nervous?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tJames:<\/strong> We\u2019re nervous! [Laughs.]<\/em> Yeah, we\u2019re just nervous.<\/p>\n \n\tMartin:<\/strong> I think all we can do is just get used to it, do more, if it\u2019s possible. I feel like, as we do it, we\u2019ll start to find more \u201cknow-how,\u201d right? And that\u2019s how it will kind of brush off.<\/p>\n \n\tMartin, I know you worked on a lot of CORTIS\u2019 music, and you already have experience working on music. Do you have a favorite song or piece of art that you\u2019ve worked on so far<\/strong>?<\/p>\n \n\tMartin: <\/strong>Wow. I mean, I contributed to a lot of other senior artists\u2019 tracks, such as ILLIT\u2019s\u00a0 \u201cMagnetic,\u201d TXT\u2019s \u201cDeja Vu,\u201d et cetera. Working for other artists was fun. It also really influenced me to write and produce for Color Outside the Lines<\/em>, our album. So for me personally, I just feel like the songs in our album\u2026 \u201cLullaby\u201d was one of my favorite pieces that I worked on, because it wasn\u2019t working for someone else. It was really expressing myself. We get to release it, put our own words on it, put it together, recorded with every member\u2019s voice. The process of that was pretty fun, and hope I have more chances to have beats and songs I work on be used for our team.<\/p>\n \n\tWhat was it like when you first saw your name in the credits in a public setting?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tMartin:<\/strong> It was definitely surreal, unbelievable, but I was trying to stay humble at first, and I wasn\u2019t trying to get on any high horses. Just stay as who I am, because I was still a trainee back then, and still am. I feel like I\u2019m just trying to stay humble as much as I can. That\u2019s the most important thing, that\u2019s number one.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tJuhoon<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBIGHIT MUSIC<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tJames, I know you also worked on a lot of other artists\u2019 choreo, and you have a background in sports as well. Is there any influence there between sports and choreo?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tJames:<\/strong>\u00a0 I think my sports background definitely did influence me with just\u2026 discipline. I think discipline is a big thing \u2014 a mental state to carry through all kinds of different crafts. When you have to hone your own craft, the only thing you can really do is have discipline. Ice hockey taught me that. And through dancing, I was able to find different ways to learn, or even online, on YouTube, finding different artists to follow. My favorite song I participated in, personally, is \u201cGO!\u201d from our album. \u201cGO!\u201d was a song that really came from a very organic space, because we actually were in the studio, fooling around. It was our first day in L.A. at the time, and we didn\u2019t expect much from that day. But suddenly, \u201cGO!\u201d just pops out. Before that, everyone was kind of calm, but then everyone was jumping around and shouting all over the place. So the energy in the studio was very nice. Even with the choreo, \u201cGO!\u201d was choreographed wiht us five in the practice studio. Like, in two, three days. It was very fast. It\u2019s like we got into this flow state. Everything went by very smoothly. So definitely \u201cGO!\u201d was a very memorable experience,<\/p>\n \n\tWould the other members also say that \u201cGO!\u201d is the favorite?\u00a0 Are you excited that that\u2019s the first song that\u2019s coming out?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tSeonghyeon<\/strong>: <\/strong>Yeah, definitely. I like it. And yes, we all like it. [Smiles.]<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tJuhoon: <\/strong>Yeah, one of our favorite tracks on this album. I think it\u2019s the best track to come as an introduction song. It really has our daily lifestyles, our vibes. It really introduces who we are.<\/p>\n \n\tJuhoon, we discussed a few weeks back about how you were scouted, and how you felt like if you didn\u2019t take this opportunity to join, it would be missing a once-in-a-lifetime chance.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tJuhoon:<\/strong> At the time, I was a middle-school student, so I was studying hard. But one day, suddenly I was approached. It was kind of chaotic. I had the chance to visit the company and see the members, and see what they make. I really felt like this team is different. Their music is really unique, and I really loved their personalities. So I thought that it would be a great chance to join this team. And also, since I thought they were cool, I thought I might be cooler when I joined the team. That was a big point.<\/p>\n \n\tWhat were your first impressions when you met?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tJames:<\/strong> This one might be rough. [Laughs.]<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tJuhoon:<\/strong> It\u2019s been a while\u2026 Seonghyeon and Keonho, they were really nice to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tKeonho:<\/strong> <\/em>Wow!<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tSeonghyeon<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBIGHIT MUSIC<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tSo Martin and James weren\u2019t? [Laughs.]<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tJuhoon:<\/strong> James, I didn\u2019t really have a lot of chances to talk with him at first. He was just like a big brother. So yeah, at first, it was a bit cold, I guess. [Laughs.]<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tJames: <\/strong>I feel you. [Laughs.]<\/em><\/em>\u00a0Yeah, I can be quite intimidating when it\u2019s the first time meeting someone. For me, I\u2019m a very, very, very introverted person. It\u2019s hard for me to talk the first time meeting someone. So yeah, I fully understand. <\/p>\n \n\tJuhoon: <\/strong>[Laughs.]<\/em> <\/em>And for Martin, since I knew that he did training for the longest, I really looked up to him. I really thought that he was cool. He can sing well, dance well\u2026<\/p>\n \n\tMartin:<\/strong> Thank you. [Laughs.]<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n \n\tSeonghyeon, I\u2019m curious to hear more about what type of angle you bring to the group creatively. I know Martin does a lot of song production, and James does a lot of the choreo. And we talked a lot about how you will come up with ideas very quickly.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tSeonghyeon: <\/strong>Great question [laughs]<\/em>. I think my ideas are really\u2026\u00a0 I wrote the top line of \u201cWhat You Want.\u201d And \u201cJoyRide,\u201d I wrote a lot of the lyrics.<\/p>\n \n\tJames:<\/strong> It turned out nice.<\/p>\n \n\tHow would you say you work collaboratively with the team?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tSeonghyeon: <\/strong>I think just by talking a lot. We share our opinions back and forth. I try to bring new ideas to the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tWhere do you get your inspiration from these days?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tSeonghyeon:<\/strong> Just\u2026from what I\u2019m doing, right? From whatever I\u2019m up to these days, things that are close to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tKeonho, you do a lot of the video production, right? How did you get into that?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tKeonho: <\/strong>I first got into video production just from growing up watching a lot of different artists\u2019 music videos, but also a lot of movies. When we were in L.A., we tried to make a music video for \u201cGO!,\u201d just the five of us, and it was very new to me to contribute our ideas for our own songs, and for it to actually come to life. It was so fun. The ones after that, \u201cWhat You Want,\u201d \u201cFaSHioN,\u201d \u201cJoyRide,\u201d and \u201cLullaby.\u201d It was so fun, and I want to be able to keep doing it that way, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tDid you storyboard different concepts, or save things on your phone that you thought were cool?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tKeonho:<\/strong> Sometimes we just write down all of the ideas in the laptop or our phone. We have to send it to our company. I\u2019m not good at drawing, but I\u2019ll draw well enough for them to understand the vision.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAre there any films or music videos that you particularly really like?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tKeonho: <\/strong>I think \u201cLullaby,\u201d because it\u2019s very raw and the video came out raw as well. And even while we were filming, it felt like we were just hanging out together. The new perspective of seeing us felt fresh and when we saw the results, watching the video accompanied by the track, it felt more artistic too.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tKeonho<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBIGHIT MUSIC<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tDo you feel that the members understand your visions and ideas that you bring to the table?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tJames:<\/strong> We kind of plan our videos together, even with storyboarding and all the demos. We come together in one room, talk for several hours, and write down every single idea, and funnel the great ideas and then put everything together. In the process, we argue a lot\u2026 When it comes to really shooting the video \u2014 at times, it doesn\u2019t go as planned. And so, there are a lot of things that went unexpectedly well, and there are a lot of things that, turns out, aren\u2019t achievable as planned. Through those experiences, we were able to learn and have a feel of like, \u201cOh, this is achievable, and this is not. Maybe we can improvise.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tNow that you\u2019re debuting, is there anything that you think you\u2019ll miss about these days as trainees?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tJames: <\/strong>Just going to eat.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tMartin:<\/strong> Yeah, going out to eat.<\/p>\n \n\tJuhoon: <\/strong>Yeah, that\u2019s big.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tMartin: <\/strong>Yeah, and we used to ride bikes all together. But now we can\u2019t. We don\u2019t really have the time..<\/p>\n \n\tJuhoon:<\/strong> We got our van now. [Laughs.] <\/em>We can\u2019t really ride bikes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tJames:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know if I can say this or not, but sneaking out to PC bang<\/a> [a type of Korean internet cafe where people pay by the hour to play video games]. <\/em>Just fooling around outside. I think those types of things, we\u2019ll miss from time to time.<\/p>\n \n\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-rollingstone-2022\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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