LUN8 is Fantagio's first new boy band in seven years, featuring the eight members: JinSu, Chael, Takuma, JunWoo, DoHyun, Ian, JiEunHo, and EunSeop. The group's name holds the meaning that the members, like moonlight, are determined to illuminate the night. With a mission to share positive energy through the group's powerful dance and vocal performance, LUN8 is ready to take over the K-pop world.
On June 15, 2023, LUN8 made its debut on the K-pop scene with the mini-album 'CONTINUE?', the first chapter of their journey. It embodies LUN8's ambition and determination to take on challenges and never give up, just like re-starting the game by pressing the "CONTINUE?" button after you lose.
The record consists of five songs, with the double title tracks "Wild Heart," a catchy song that conveys LUN8's strong confidence and passion, and "Voyager," a Lo-fi pop-punk song with the lyrics expressing the boys' journey.
Aside from the captivating title songs, there are also three album B-sides: "XX," a pop-rock genre lyrically reflecting LUN8's strong passion for their dreams. Next is "We Like It," a song that stands out with its intense synth sounds, with a message of embracing the freedom to do what you want and enjoy what you like. Lastly, "Live In The Moment," a disco pop song that combines funky old-school style tracks with groovy melodies.
To commemorate LUN8's debut, the boys sat down with allkpop to talk about their first album, their training preparations, first impressions of each other, and more. Continue reading to know more about the newest boy group, LUN8!
Shout-out video from LUN8 to allkpop readers:
allkpop: Introduce yourselves to everyone!
JunWoo: Hi! I am JunWoo, the main dancer and the mood-maker of LUN8.
JiEunHo: Hi! I am JiEunHo from LUN8. My position is rapper and I have a golden ratio.
Chael: Hi! I am Chael of LUN8. I am 23 years old and the oldest. I am the rapper in this team. Thank you.
EunSeop: Hi! I am EunSeop, the youngest in the group and a vocalist.
DoHyun: Hi! I am DoHyun from LUN8. I am one of the mysterious characters and the rapper in this team.
Takuma: Hi! I am Takuma. I am in charge of dance and charisma in LUN8.
Ian: Hi! I am Ian, the dancer with strong visuals in LUN8.
JinSu: Hi! I am the leader and main vocalist of LUN8, JinSu.
allkpop: And share today's TMI about yourself!
JunWoo: I ate a hamburger for lunch.
JiEunHo: I drank vanilla latte a few minutes ago.
Chael: I ate gummy candy as soon as I woke up this morning.
EunSeop: I am wearing shorts today.
DoHyun: I bought yogurt this morning. However, I couldn’t find a spoon, so it’s still unopened and I can’t wait to eat it.
Takuma: This morning we had another video shoot.
Ian: I had pork cutlet for breakfast.
JinSu: Thanks to other members who woke up earlier than me due to a schedule I woke up two hours before I needed to.
allkpop: As this marks your first appearance as LUN8 in the K-Pop industry, we wanted to ask you how you feel about finally debuting as an idol after all the training, that you are now part of LUN8.
JunWoo: I feel very excited but also nervous now that we are finally debuting. I feel like this is a new beginning. We are planning to do a lot of activities and trying our best in everything. So please look forward to our journey.
Ian: First of all, I am very happy that we are finally debuting and I just can’t wait to finally let the world know about the existence of LUN8 and what kind of group we are.
allkpop: Since LUN8 is a new group, we’re wondering, what were your first impressions of each other when you first met.
JinSu: The first impressions of everybody differed greatly. However, one common thing was that everybody was very introverted at that time and didn’t talk much to each other. So, all of us thought that each of us was a bit cold.
DoHyun: Due to Ian’s strong visuals and image I would have never thought I would get along with him or get close with him when I first saw him. However, having spent time with Ian I noticed that he has a cute personality and a fragile heart. So his personality turned out to be different from the first impression I had of him.
allkpop: Please tell us more about your debut mini-album “CONTINUE?”. How was the preparation process? When you had a hard time, what were some of the things that helped you overcome those hardships?
JunWoo: Our debut mini-album “CONTINUE?” reflects the idea that we will never give up and that we are going to restart over and over again, the same way you press the “continue” button after the end of the game to start from the beginning. This is the overall message of the album. When I was going through a hard time and felt like giving up, my family was the one who helped me hold it together. Thinking of my family has really motivated me to keep going and finally arriving at the debut.
Takuma: Since this is our debut, everything was new to us. I found the entire process, such as recording and music video shooting, to be a lot of fun. We felt more and more excited as the date of our debut approached. We were really looking forward to it.
allkpop: The album contains a total of 5 tracks, with the double title songs “Voyager” and “Wild Heart.” Could you please introduce the two title tracks? Tell us your personal favorite among all the tracks as well!
JunWoo: Our title track “Wild Heart” is an energetic pop rock song that captivates the ears with its lively whistling sound and rhythmic drum sounds. Our other title track, “Voyager,” is a dreamy Lo-fi pop punk song featuring mesmerizing synth riffs and refreshing electric guitar sounds.
Chael: My favorite song on the album is “Live In The Moment” because it’s a very easy listening song and it’s a great song to listen to when you go for a drive, for instance. So this is my favorite.
EunSeop: My favorite song is “XX” which talks about our strong passion to pursue our dreams. Whenever I hear this track it gives me energy and power to keep doing whatever I’m doing.
Ian: My favorite track is “Voyager” because this song’s refreshing vibes and the group’s unique and refreshing vibes match well. I feel that this is really our song that suits us well.
DoHyun: My favorite song is “Wild Heart” because the whistling sound and the band sound match very well. I think that this combination is mesmerizing and charming.
JiEunHo: Like DoHyun, I like “Wild Heart” the most. I really like the fast-paced vibe of the music and the rhythmical fast beat.
JunWoo: My favorite song is “Live In The Moment” because it’s an easy listening song and the lyrics have a very happy vibe.
Takuma: My favorite song on the album is “We Like It” because it has a very addictive and simple synth sound. Its message of doing whatever you like freely has really helped me overall.
allkpop: Share with us some fun and interesting behind-the-scenes stories from the filming of the music video!
JiEunHo: When we were shooting the music video for “Voyager” some of the scenes were shot on the beach. However, that day the wind and the tide were very strong. We were filming our group dance when suddenly a gust of wind swept us away. However, we managed to adapt quickly and successfully finished the video shoot.
allkpop: This marks the first chapter of LUN8’s journey! What pushed you to take the challenge of being an idol? Is pursuing music something you really wanted to do ever since, and do you have a role model?
Chael: What really motivated me to pursue this career when I was in elementary school was watching EXO and specifically Kai perform in the “MAMA” music video. This is why Kai is my role model. Actually, I have several role models – EXO's Kai, ASTRO's Cha Eun-woo, and NCT's Mark.
JinSu: I really liked to sing since I was young. I went to various academies to develop my singing skills. I had a chance to participate in an audition which led me to my current company, Fantagio. My role model is Korean singer Jung Seung-hwan since I’ve taken vocal training very seriously from a very young age.
JunWoo: I was watching senior K-pop groups perform on TV and it motivated me to pursue this career. I used to play sports, such as football and basketball, when I was young. And overall, I had a lot of energy, so I used to dance a lot as well. My current role models are EXO's Kai, Usher, Chris Brown, and Bruno Mars.
EunSeop: I’ve really liked to sing since an early age and I was also dreaming of becoming an idol. At first, I didn’t have the courage to pursue this career since being an idol is such a hard thing. But watching all the audition programs on TV, I thought to myself that I should just go for it. My role model is ASTRO's Sanha.
allkpop: Are there any musical genres you would like to explore in the future?
Takuma: I would like to try hip hop in the future. I also like rock that features on our album, but I also listen to hip hop, so I would like to try this genre.
Ian: I would like to try a sexy concept in the distant future once we have performed for a really long time.
allkpop: What kind of a group do you want the public to see you as?
Chael: I want LUN8 to become a group that could bring joy and happiness to everyone just by looking at us.
allkpop: Where do you envision yourselves a few years from now?
JinSu: I would like us to be able to perform songs in any genre in a few years.
allkpop: Now that you’ve officially debuted, what are the things you are looking forward to the most? Tell us your short- and long-term goals as well.
JiEunHo: Our short-term goal is to win the rookie award this year and our long-term goal is to stay together and perform as a group for a very long time and show our fans various sides and charms of LUN8.
allkpop: Your fans wanted to ask about your favorite emojis. The ones that you believe represent you!
JunWoo: My favorite is the emoji with a warm smile.
JiEunHo: My favorite is the heart emoji.
Chael: My favorite is the cat emoji.
EunSeop: My favorite emoji is a character with words written in front of him, saying “Hello,” “Bye,” etc. It has round eyes and is always smiling.
DoHyun: My favorite emoji is a billiard ball with the number 8 because it represents our group. So recently I’ve been using it a lot.
Takuma: My favorites are the fox emoji, the purple heart emoji, and the purple devil emoji.
Ian: I like the deer emoji because it sort of looks like me and represents my character well.
JinSu: My favorite is the smiling emoji with eyes wide open. However, the emoji that represents me really well is the turtle emoji.
allkpop: JiEunHo’s phone case cracked when you shot the cover for EXO’s “Monster.” Your fans wanted to ask if you can give the backstory of it!
JiEunHo: Actually, the phone case wasn’t cracked during the shoot, but even before that. I just dropped my phone and the case cracked. However, the case itself was intact and only the cover protection film was scratched. As soon as I took it off, the phone looked brand new.
allkpop: What’s a song or artist that you have been listening to a lot lately?
Chael: I’ve been listening to EXO’s “Don’t Go” because it’s pleasing to listen to and it gives me energy. Actually, the songs that I listen to the most these days are LUN8’s “Voyager,” “XX,” and “We Like It.”
Ian: LUN8’s “Live In The Moment” is my top favorite at the moment.
JunWoo: Currently, my favorite song is LUN8’s “Wild Heart.”
allkpop: Any message for your fans around the world?
JinSu: Please look forward to our journey because we are going to give you great performances and always try hard regardless of what we do.
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Good luck boys👍