[Exclusive] JANUS sits down for an interview with Saturn Magazine | The Rookie Project (1 Viewer)

[Juniverse]

Introduce yourselves.
Together: Dreaming darkly! Hello, we're Janus.
Kyungho: I'm Janus' leader, Kyungho.
Haru: I'm Haru, in charge of rap.
Joonyoung: I'm Joonyoung, vice leader.
Siheon: I'm Siheon, the main vocal.
Chawon: I'm Chawon! It's my job to lift my members' spirits.

Explain your debut single. What is it about?
Joonyoung: We wanted to stand out as a group, so we wanted a concept no one had done before. We spent a lot of time researching ancient mythology, and we found out about mythical demons called Oneiroi.
Kyungho: Oneiroi are the personifications of dreams. We wanted to be everything our fans dreamed of and more. Our concept revolves around sleeping to escape, dreaming to imagine, dark beginnings, and lost endings.

Who are your favorite artists?
Haru: I like listening to newer groups lately, like Kep1er and Tempest!
Chawon: I'm a big fan of The Weeknd and Dua Lipa.
Joonyoung: I listen to everyone, I don't really have a favorite.

Explain the trainee process -- how were you picked?
Siheon: I was personally invited to the company because the CEO saw a video of me singing. At the time I was in a music class with Chawon, and I pleaded with the CEO to let him join too. I really wanted to debut with him, he's my best friend.
Chawon reaches over to pat his hand and they share a smile.
Haru: I auditioned for a lot of companies, but I was turned away by many of them. StanAce was the last one I auditioned at, I told myself if I didn't get in, the idol life wasn't for me.
Kyungho: I was a trainee at SM Entertainment, slated to debut in NCT. After a while, I realized that wasn't the right path for me, so I auditioned for StanAce.
Haru: He didn't like Sticker.
Kyungho: That's not what I said!
Joonyoung: I joined because I thought Kyungho was cute.
Joonyoung is shameless as Kyungho covers his face.

If you weren’t an idol, what would you be doing?
Haru: I'd still be in France, probably working at my father's bakery.
Joonyoung: I would probably move back to Thailand.
Chawon: I would be training to play soccer for a living.
Chawon mimes kicking a soccer ball.

Any talents, or charms?
Joonyoung: I'm the only member who can cook well. Haru knows how to bake, together we're a good team.
Haru: Rap! It's been my passion since I was young.
Chawon: I can make any of the hyungs happy with just my smile.

Who would you love to collaborate with?
Siheon: I'd love to collaborate with I'VE. I think our concepts are a bit similar, and I think we would work well together.
Haru: I want to collaborate with Constellatio! Our debut dates are very close and I think we could help each other improve. We saw they already mentioned us in an interview of their own, we were all very flattered. @badcrookshanks @Hakunama_Tata


How did you feel after performing on your debut stage?
Kyungho: I think I speak for all of us when I say we were shocked. It finally set in that we were a real group. Most of us are considered "too old" for the industry now, we were afraid of fading into obscurity, but seeing the amount of fans who showed up really surprised us all.
Joonyoung: Like Kyungho said, there was no guarantee we would debut, not just because of our ages but because of how small our company is. So it was amazing to know we stood out from other groups debuting around the same time. We were happy to bring pride to our company.

What are your goals as an idol?
Haru: Our concept is quite intricate, spanning across Roman and Greek mythology. We also have our own lore, though it is mostly separate from our music. Our company told us, depending on our success, there is a possibility of producing a long-running web drama for us. If that happens, we hope people will watch and connect our acting to our music.
Siheon: And while we hope that people around the world enjoy our music, we aren't too concerned about the market outside of South Korea, at least for now. We hope to build up a big enough fanbase in our home country and then expand.

Recently, fans have been remarking on your inactivity. One hardcore fan even sent a truck demanding better treatment. What are your thoughts on this?
Chawon: It truly isn't our intention to leave our fans with no updates. We've all been very busy lately preparing a surprise to thank them for supporting us.
Haru: Soon we will be uploading something we hope everyone will enjoy!

Anything final you’d like to say to everyone reading this interview?
Kyungho: Please look forward to our future activities. We won't disappoint you!

 

[badcrookshanks]