Exclusive Interview: W24 on Their Music, Siwon Choi, CNCO, and Becky G

W24 spoke to K-magazine in an exclusive interview, and we discovered how their passion towards music began, how their friendship with Siwon Choi, from Super Junior, has grown up, which latin artists they wish to collaborate with, and much more!

So, if you’re an EVERY, keep reading, you’ll love what the boys told us!

W24 is looking forward to fill your life with music

We had an exclusive interview with W24, a south korean band that surprised us since their pre-release single “Love Me”. So, thanks to the warm synergy that Jong Gil‘s drums (the leader), Yun Soo‘s guitar, Ji Won‘s bass (ex member), Aaron‘s keyboard, and Ho Won‘s vibrant voice created, we got addicted to their music.   

Reaction that makes us realize they fully deserve their name, which refers to wanting their music to accompany their fans 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and certainly they have made it. Stop listening to them is impossible!

Besides that, we couldn’t avoid put them in a jam. That is ‘cause we asked them which of their songs would they choose to play 24/7 on EVERY´s playlist, and they said: “Maybe ‘Stay a moment‘ (‘Un momento quizás‘) could be a nice song to listen to for 24 hours. It’s actually our whole story as a band, and we would love for our fans to come on this journey together with us”.

However, don’t worry, because since their debut (march 18th., 2018) with the album Singing Dancing, until their most recent release “Once Upon A Time”, the foursome has come with a short but rewarding pathway. That left us with more than one song, like “SOSIME” or “Solfamiredo”, to add to our 24/7 dream W24 playlist. But, above all, they have impressed us with their skills (which they gained by constant practice) allowing us to discover their great passion towards music. 

You can also read: W24 regresa con nuevo sencillo “Joahaeyo (Me gustas)”

This is how their passion towards music began

Talking about it, in this exclusive interview the boys told us how everything began differently for each of them. On one hand, Yunsoo found his passion during high school, when he was in a rock band. While Aaron and Jong Gil discovered it when they started to practice at church. However, even though the vocalist Howon always enjoyed listening to music, he finally found “a deep passion for music” not long ago. Believe it or not!

Passion that can be seen, since W24 not only made us fall in love with their charms, personality and talent. They also get involved in the writing, composition and production of each of their tracks, like “Under the Tree”. Song they confessed that has been the one that took them more time to finish:

“Each song took us quite a while to first get together and (then) finish the arrangement. The recording for the songs actually doesn’t take that much time. The thing that takes the longest time to finish are lyrics, arrangements, and maybe the melody. We might pick ‘Under the Tree‘ as one of the songs that took the longest to finish its arrangement”.

Asia’s #1 band is W24

This track, “Under the Tree”, is characterized by its hopeful lyrics and the ease with which it makes us feel identified. Because, who hasn’t had a hard time? That’s why we asked W24 about any setback they have had to overcome during his three years of career and how they made it through:

“Each one of us had his own problems at least once during the three years. It‘s impossible to say that everything was merry and happy. The thing that we learned from this is that it’s very necessary to communicate all your feelings honestly and politely to each other. The way to overcome our issues is always listening to each other”. Certainly, an advice full of wisdom. Right, EVERY?

Moments that surely have influenced their journey into the south korean entertainment industry. And little by little have helped them value each of their experiences and triumphs. Like their participation in Asia Top Band, a worldwide competition where they not only faced several bands from all over Asia. They even represented South Korea and also brought home the very first place. We’re so proud, EVERY! 

Something that led us to address the topic with Jong Gil, Yun Soo, Ji Won, Aaron and Ho Won, and asked them about their experience in the competition: “The hardest moment during Asian Top Band was that each day it rained. It might be impossible to believe, but literally it rained every day that we had a competition. And the most memorable moment was obviously when we won first place, but also to be able to see all the countries come together to actually enjoy music together“.

This band sings in spanish too!

But beyond making their own music and being Asia’s number one band, there’s another characteristic that made W24 one of the most beloved Kpop bands, especially in Latin America. And that is the use of spanish to talk directly into the hearts of their fans, in their own language. This, thanks to the fact that Ho Won, having been born in Chile and living in South America for almost 19 years, can speak spanish fluently. 

Skill in which he has already included the rest of the members, because, as he told us, there’s one word in spanish that he commonly uses and now everybody knows: “One of the words that I use frequently is ‘este’. The boys always know that if I say ‘este’ it means that I’m stuck with any word or phrase“. So typical of non-native speakers! No wonder why “Stay a Moment” and “Under the Tree”, two of their most popular tracks, have their spanish versions too, “Un Momento Quizás” and “Yo Te Pacificaré”, respectively.  

Songs greatly received by their latin fans, so much that in less than a couple of months they were flying to Chile, Argentina and Ecuador with their Stay A Moment tour, in 2019. Experience that they want to repeat, and add more countries to the list: “The things that we enjoyed the most in Latin America were the culture and the feeling that they have. The food, the people, the air, everything was great. Our goal actually is to perform in all the countries!“

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But there’s even more, ‘cause they have also done their own versions of many popular spanish hits, like: “El Perdedor”, by Enrique Iglesias, and “Creo En Ti”, by Mexican band Reik, among many others.

And if you wonder how W24 chooses which cover songs to do and if they have a favorite, we also have the answer: “We actually don’t have a standard in choosing cover songs. We sometimes are asked to do some of them, sometimes we just choose the most fun song at the moment, etc. I think our all time favorite cover songs are different for each member: ‘Mirotic’, ‘Passion’ , etc“.

This might interest you: Las canciones en español de W24 que amarás

W24 and Siwon Choi: From hoobaes and sunbae, to close friends

Do they also cover songs from western artists? Yes, they have covered some of the most popular ones at the moment, like “Everything”, by Michael Buble. And, of course, those unforgettable songs from Kpop, like the medley they did of Super Junior.

Medley that takes us on a refreshing journey through the biggest hits of the Kings of Kpop, from the oldies to the newest ones. And we asked them to share their whole experience: “We were actually kind of sad because we didn’t have that much time to finish the medley to show to Siwon. We were really worried about how it was going to sound, but very thankful that he really liked it. We were able to gain a deeper friendship and family-like relationship with him. W24 loves him very much“.

We have all witnessed this friendship since they appeared on Choi Siwon’s Youtube channel as their very first special guests (aside from Super Junior) for his famous section Fortune Cookie, specifically on episode 39. There, the idol revealed that he met the foursome at Musing Bank, and how he even took part of the korean version of “The Blessing“, with Aaron and Jun Soo. Also, W24 were the ones who made the soundtrack music of his hyung’s channel, as punishment from a game. They did an awesome job! 

Japan, rock and… collaborations with CNCO & Becky G?

And yes, there is still much more to know about this band from J ARMY Entertainment. When we asked them about their greatest asset, they refer to their versatility and not having any specific music genre that define their music: “W24’s charm is the fact that we don’t have a designated genre. Usually bands tend to do only one type of genre, but we like to call ourselves an all-rounded band. We do focus a lot on the story that we want to perform and show to the audience” .

Ability to reinvent themselves that certainly they want to keep testing, to prove that versatility is also a synonym of W24: “We want to try out just rock. A song that says “Hi I am Rock!”

Genre that, due to their upcoming debut in Japan with the agency World Entertainment, maybe we could listen with this foursome some time in the near future. 

Therefore, recalling that rock is an essential part of the popular sounds of Japan, we needed to know more about the future of W24 in this country: “We started with social media so that we could get friendlier with the Japanese community first. As the pandemic finishes we are definitely visiting Japan to do amazing things there. We want to do busking, showcases, everything!” 

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In the same way, their desire to keep learning and collecting skills still stands. Something we noticed in this exclusive interview with W24, when we asked them about other musical instruments they wanted to play, and they were really interested in this subject. Yun Soo told us he wants to try the drums, Ho Won is currently learning acoustic guitar, while Aaron wants to play the bass, and Jong Gil is ready to continue his studies and become a great pianist. They’re very devoted to their work! Wow!

Also, we found out in exclusive interview with W24 that if they had a chance to collaborate with a latin artist, the boys of W24 are more than ready for that moment. Can you imagine who they mentioned? “Actually, two artists come to mind. We think it would be fun to collaborate with Becky G and also CNCO. It would be nice to see what kind of picture we could make as a band together with these artists”. And we’re so ready and eager for this to happen! 

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In short, W24 is a south korean band whose music you don’t have to miss, it’s very diverse in sounds that surely you’ll find a song that suits your taste. And if you already know them, you must already be an EVERY. That’s what happens when you play their music: You listen to them 24/7! Right?

Before finishing this exclusive interview with W24, Ho Won send a message in spanish for all EVERY in Mexico and Latin America: “To all the EVERYs who are going through COVID-19, we want to tell you we love you so much, and that we know the pandemic will end soon so we can go to see you all. We look forward to the day we can meet again, a little more mature, living the same lives. We miss you. See you soon!”

EVERY, don’t forget to watch the video greeting that W24 sent all over from South Korea! And let us know your favorite part from this interview.

Photo: J ARMY Entertainment

PhotoArt: Leidi González Ramírez