GRID Entertainment’s first boy group, POW, hit the K-pop music scene on October 11, 2023, with the mini-album ‘Favorite.’ With their explosive energy and captivating tracks, which are perfectly captured by their group name — an onomatopoeia for an explosion — the band is determined to make everyone's heart race. 

Through the album featuring the pre-release single of the same name, the title track “Dazzling,” “Slow Dancing,” and “Amazing,” Jungbin, Yorch, Hyunbin, Dongyeon, and Hong, who embrace the motto, “Creating culture every day,” displayed their unique, chic styles, solidifying their name as one of the emerging rookie boy bands, keen to unveil their team’s colors. 

“POW is a team that empathizes and interacts through music,” said the members. “We will show you the POW who is capable of both vocals and performance.”

In an exclusive interview with allkpop, the five-member group reflected on their debut preparations, their excitement about meeting fans, the connection they feel with each other, and more. 

You can watch the full interview video below or scroll down further to continue reading the interview to learn more about the quintet!

VIDEO INTERVIEW:

allkpop: Hi, POW! First of all, I want to congratulate you on your debut! Could you please share with us your experience as an idol so far? You're just getting started, but what are the things you are looking forward to the most?

Hyunbin: I'm looking forward to meeting our fans the most! I met a lot of fans in Korea through the ‘POW HOUSE STAGE’ not long ago, so I want to meet our fans from various countries around the world!

allkpop: How did you find the preparations for this debut? The members trained and some even participated in survival programs. Now that you've finally debuted, how does it feel to introduce yourselves as part of POW? 

Yorch: Now that I realize that I'm not alone, I don't feel lonely anymore. I like these moments because I feel like the members make up for my shortcomings. I was happy and excited about my debut. It was really fun to meet the fans on stage.

Dongyeon: I am proud to introduce myself as a member of POW. When I was eliminated from the survival program, I thought that I should start a new life from today rather than being sad, and I came all the way to today with that promise. So I felt a great sense of accomplishment. I am happy to meet such good team members.

allkpop: What are the things you've realized as you prepare for this debut? What were the most fun and challenging things of the process? And how did you overcome these difficulties?

Jungbin: While preparing for our debut, I realized a lot about the importance of the members. I was able to do things with the members that I wouldn't have done if I were alone. I realized a lot about the synergy that influences each other. I felt that we were getting more and more closer and connected before our debut. But in order for that to happen, it was difficult to coordinate and agree with each other. At first, it was really difficult to coordinate opinions because each person has lived in different environments and thinks differently. But we talked a lot about our thoughts in order to understand each other and think about the other person's position. Through many conversations, we were able to understand each other more and become closer.

allkpop: I was wondering what your first impressions of each other were.

Jungbin: First of all, Hyunbin, he's a fun person who uses dialect. And Dongyeon, he is quiet and doesn't talk, so it might be hard to get close to him! He was that kind of friend. Hong is a handsome younger brother. And Yorch… I was like, “Wow, Yorch!”

Dongyeon: When I first saw Hyunbin, he looked cute. When I saw Hong, I thought, “This guy is the visual!” When I saw Yorch, I thought, “Wow, he's a bit quiet?” When I saw Jungbin, I thought, “Wow, he talks a lot?”

Hong: Jungbin is a brother who takes good care of me. Hyunbin is a very funny brother. Dongyeon is a brother who teaches dance well. Yorch is like a celebrity.

Yorch: When I first saw Jungbin, I thought, “He talks a lot.” Hyunbin is tall! Dongyeon doesn't talk much. Hong is a baby. It's like that.

Hong: I'm a baby~

Hyunbin: I think I have the same impressions as everyone. Since we first met, Jungbin has been very talkative. He had a chatty image. Dongyeon is a bit opposite to Jungbin, I think he was quiet and had the image of a model student. From the first time I saw Hong, I thought he had a similar image to me, a bit of a free spirit. He was like a reed. Yorch was like a dandelion flower. Dandelions are flowers that grow well wherever they are located. I would like to call Yorch a dandelion flower because he seemed to get along well with us from the moment we first met.

allkpop: "Favorite" was released ahead of your debut album. Did you scroll through SNS to find out your fans and the public's reactions to the song? Were you satisfied and confident enough for this song to be the album's pre-release single?

Hong: I've read a lot of comments about this. I think I gained a lot of confidence because they told me a lot of good things and praised me even when I was lacking.

allkpop: Could you please explain to us the concept behind your mini-album, 'Favorite,' as well as the four tracks in it?

Jungbin: The concept of 'Favorite' is a memory of the five boys' summer days. The songs that embody POW's passion for friendship, love, and dreams that make summer days brilliant are “Favorite,” “Dazzling,” “Slow Dancing,” and “Amazing.” “Favorite” is a pre-debut song that first showed POW's team color to the public and fans. “Dazzling” is our debut song. You can also feel the vocal characteristics of the five members. Even though it is an easy-listening song, it has a strong middle tone, so you will be able to sing along easily. And for “Slow Dancing,” Yorch and I participated in writing the lyrics. It's a song that has a lot of meaning to us. “Amazing” is the song that shows the strongest performance among the four songs, so you can discover POW's unique charm.

allkpop: Which song from the album is your favorite?

Jungbin: Of the four songs, “Favorite” is my favorite. It's the song that contains my favorite lyrics. “I feel like you're looking into my heart. I feel like there's only two of us in the world.” This part is my “favorite” part.

Yorch: My favorite song is “Slow Dancing.” I like this song because it has a hip-hop vibe and reminds me of warm winter. I hope everyone feels warm while listening to this song.

Hyunbin: My favorite song is “Favorite.” As it is a song that was pre-released, it can show off our team colors well. I think it's a very meaningful song because it's the first song we released to our fans.

Hong: Out of the four songs, my favorite is “Amazing.” I think it's the song that shows POW's performance the best. I think I like “Amazing” the most.

Dongyeon: “Amazing” is my favorite. It best captured POW's dreams and passion. When I listen to “Amazing,” I feel like I can move forward even when things are difficult.

allkpop: You filmed several music videos for this debut. Do you have any memorable or fun behind-the-scenes stories from the MV shoots? Was the flow smooth?

Hyunbin: I think what impressed me the most was that we played soccer among ourselves. During "Favorite," there was a scene where Yorch and Jungbin played soccer. The concept of the music video for "Amazing" was soccer, so we all played, kicked the ball around, and had fun.

Dongyeon: During the filming of "Favorite," the members took off their clothes and did a lot of workouts during the break time to film the swimming scene. Wouldn’t it have had the effect of making my body look a little better?

allkpop: For "Amazing," you were dancing in the middle of the street. What was your experience like learning and mastering those? Did it take a lot of time?

Hong: We prepared for a very long time. There were some difficult movements or ones I was doing for the first time, but I was able to learn them with the kind help of Dongyeon.

allkpop: Lastly, please leave a message to everyone who will read this interview! Feel free to also share with us your goals as a rookie group!

Jungbin: POW is a team that empathizes and interacts through music. As all five of us are vocalists, we will do our best to deliver better music.

Hyunbin: We will work hard to show you POW's charms. Please watch and show a lot of interest!

Yorch: I want to create happy memories with our fans with our debut song "Dazzling."

Dongyeon: We will show you the POW who is capable of both vocals and performance, so please give us a lot of interest!

Hong: Please continue to watch us and cheer for us until the day when POW goes to meet the fans in many cities in person!

POW: Thank you!

Socials:

Instagram: pow_grid
Twitter: POW_grid
YouTube: POW Official
TikTok: @pow_grid