Although new to the scene, MLD Entertainment’s newest boy group T1419 seems like they are ready to conquer the world. The boy group raised the expectations with their pre-debut single ‘Dracula’, which was released in October 2020 and they officially debuted on January 11, 2021, with Before Sunrise Part. 1’ and ‘Asurabalbalta’ as the lead single. The rookie group exclusively sat down with Team NH to discuss their journey so far, a message for fans, upcoming comeback, and much more.
In the K-Pop scene, T1419 has set themselves apart with their own special traits. The members are comprised of Korean and Japanese members who aim to bring out the best of both worlds. Uniquely, the members have a system of being represented by their code numbers instead of their real or stage names. Every member has selected their representative code with a meaning. Member On’s code is T07 since it’s his favourite number, while Noa (T82), Kio (T25), Kevin (T48), Gunwoo (T28) and Kairi (T24) have settled for their date of birth. Member Zero chose T02 since it’s his mom’s favourite number while Sian brought out the romantic in him and chose T21 as it is his parent’s wedding anniversary date. Leo coolly settled for his uniform number T33.
The name ‘T1419’ might sound quite different but there is a meaning behind it as it represents ‘Teenagers who met at the age of 14-19 that express their passion through music.’ When asked about it and their initial reactions on hearing their group name, On honestly expressed, “When I first heard our group name, I thought it was very unfamiliar to us. However, now we are very attached to the name because it has our own special meaning.”
The group name also expresses the desire to communicate the problems that teenagers face in the 21st century through their music as having grown up with this generation, the group have shared similar challenges altogether. Sian says, “In Korea, our generation is called the Z generation, and I think it is special that we can give sympathy to the same generation. As we grow up, I think we will be able to sing not only for teenagers but also for various generations.”
Recently, T1419 celebrated their 300 days anniversary and while they slowly try to adapt to the changes as K-Pop artists, they also do not forget to look back at their trainee days and spoke about how it has changed. “We were practising since when were trainees to achieve our dream, but after the debut, we are trying hard to prepare and find ourselves well with the trainee mindset,” shares Gunwoo.
Back to the present, amongst the struggle of attaining their place in the industry, T1419 has found their strength and motivation in their fans ‘EDELWEISS’, which means ‘pure and precious memories and hope.’ The love of their fans and their own talents have also earned the group their first Potential Award at the 2021 Asian Artist Awards, which was held on December 2. Leo mentions his gratitude towards EDELWEISS for always being by his side. He adds “Our fans always tell us good things when we do fan sign event or communicate, it gives me strength a lot.” For any artist, fans are known to be their backbone and biggest strength and Kio agrees by stating, “When I was having hard times, I get supported by letters or messages. If I could describe EDELWEISS, it would be “Energy.”
Despite being a group loved by thousands of fans worldwide, the group is very modest when answering how they would like to get their fan’s support and love. Kairi says “Every time I read fan messages or letters from EDELWEISS I feel very supported,” while member Zero adds, “If EDELWEISS gets energy by watching our stage, we also are encouraged by them.”
Unfortunately, T1419 have been unable to meet their fans personally after their debut due to Covid-19. However, the group is undeterred and have plans to expand themselves into the Japanese music industry as they wait to meet the other fans. With a number of Japanese members in the group, their future activities in Japan seems definitely promising. While discussing their upcoming Japanese Debut, Noa shares, “After our debut, we didn’t have much time to meet fans overseas due to Covid-19, I think we will be able to have more chances to meet our fans now. We are also preparing really hard for our debut in Japan. I think we can show our synergy between Korean members and Japanese members through our debut in Japan.”
Following their debut with ‘Before Sunrise Part. 1’, the group has already made two comebacks with ‘Before Sunrise Part. 2,’ and its title track ‘Exit’ and ‘Before Sunrise Part. 3’ with its lead single ‘Flex’. The final instalment of the four-part ‘Before Sunrise’ series is highly anticipated and Kevin gave us some hints about their next album, “We planned ‘Before Sunrise’ as a four-part series, and there’s the last series left. So we are preparing hard for the last series. Will we prepare a mini album and full album in the future though? I also can’t wait for our future.”
However, before the final part of the ‘Before Sunrise’, the group has released their digital single ‘Red Light, Green Light’ on December 2, 2021. If you are still hung up on Squid Game then T1419’s comeback single is something to look forward to. Noa further explains the concept of the track, “The song ‘Red Light, Green Light’ tells a story of nine boys chasing their dreams. Plus, we compared ourselves to the Korean traditional game called ‘Red Light, Green Light’. Our choreography also expresses the rules of the game, so it will be very fun to watch.”
The much anticipated single was released just yesterday but it already has over 1.4 Million Views. With strong choreography, strong beats and catchy tunes, T1419 definitely brought about a different ‘Red Light, Green Light.’
Among all the songs that T1419 have released since their debut, Kevin recommends ‘FLEX’ as a song that they would highly recommend to their new listeners since he believes that, “the song is very good to refresh. Whenever something fun happens, we want to give you the impression that our music makes you feel better.”
Being a nine-membered group, each of the members certainly stands out individually with their talent, charisma and performance. However, the members are also musically knowledgeable since they listen to a wide variety of music ranging from Billie Eilish to EXO’s Baekhyun. When asked to recommend some of their favourite songs to their fans, Zero recommended ‘Attention’ by Charlie Puth, Gunwoo picked ‘When the party’s over’ by Billie Eilish, Kairi mentioned ‘Sunflower’ by Post Malone and Swae Lee and Leo suggested ‘Push My Luck’ by The Chainsmokers. Other members suggested notable Korean songs – On recommended ‘Run With Me’ by SWJA while Noa picked ‘White Lies’ by Summer Soul; Sian mentioned ‘Big Picture’ by Younha, whereas Kio recommended ‘What a Mess’ by Giriboy. Finally, Kevin revealed his inner EXO-L and recommended ‘Amusement Park’ by Baekhyun, adding that it’s an amazing song that people should listen to.
T1419 expressed their desire to come to India to meet their fans and also prepared many fun contents to share with EDELWEISS and as we reached towards the end, the group shared, “If COVID-19 gets better, we hope to meet Indian fans as well and enjoy Indian culture in the near future. Please look forward to it. Thank you.”
Want to know more about the talented T1419? Check out their fun ‘This or That’ video where they tell us what they like best!
Get to know more about the group on our ‘Chai Time with T1419’ that will be released very soon!
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Written by Akhila and Snigdha
