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Super Junior returns stronger – despite Choi Si-won’s absence.
AFTER weathering countless hardships and heartaches together over the last 12 years, Super Junior came out stronger and more united than ever despite the absence of Choi Si-won.
Six men of Super Junior, one of a handful of K-pop acts to have surpassed the 10-year mark, returned with the group’s eighth full-length album Play recently, celebrating the group’s 12th anniversary as well. The album came two years after Super Junior‘s last release as a group, the 10th anniversary album Devil and its reissue Magic.
Originally, the act had planned to return as a seven-piece unit: Leetuk, Heechul, Yesung, Shindong, Eunhyuk, Donghae and Siwon. But Siwon, surnamed Choi, decided to sit out the group’s promotions for Play after coming under fire over the death of a local businesswoman who died after being attacked by his family’s dog.
“Honestly speaking, we’ve contemplated a lot on whether we should hold this press conference or not. After finishing their military service, Siwon, Donghae and Eunhyuk worked real hard on our new album, and we all feel deeply sorry for Siwon not being able to join us,” band leader Leetuk said about Choi’s absence during a press conference for the group’s new album in Seoul. Choi’s vocals and image were not removed from the album and accompanying music videos.
“Through thick and thin for the last 12 years, we’ve always managed to stand strong together not to fall apart. And we realised that after overcoming hardships came other good opportunities. We will AFTER shooting two horror movies, Sean Lee (pic) is still waiting to experience creepy encounters.
“People tell me that the cast and crew of horror movies are more likely to experience such eerie encounters. And, I keep hearing of their experiences,” said Lee, who is also a deejay at local Chinese radio station 988.
His first foray into film was in 2014 when he accepted a cameo role in the local horror flick, The Transcend. Now, he’s the lead star in another horror movie, Headlines.
Headlines is helmed by actor-director James Wong Chee Keong, who is looking forward to taking his movie to China and other countries. The cast includes Wang Lei, Shaun Chen, Jordan Voon, Seck Fook Yee and Lim Mei Fen.
The movie is an anthology comprising three main stories; Lee plays the protagonist Yang Guang and is featured in the first and last stories.
In the first story, Lee plays an aggrieved youngster, who returns from abroad to investigate the try not to lose cheerfulness and a sense of humour, and try to fill Choi’s space,” Lee said.
Despite the sudden downsizing, the six bandmates were cheerful and perky as always, proof of their solidarity and the toughness developed in the turbulent K-pop industry.
The 10-track album is led by Black Suit, a high-energy dance pop number highlighted by a propulsive swing rhythm. In the song’s accompanying music video, six men, all clad in fashionable black suits, dance to the upbeat melody that recalls the group’s death of his father, who is an elder craftsman in the business of sacrificial paper offerings.
The final story sees a grieving older Yang Guang, now a paper effigy craftsman, who resorts to extreme measures when he is unable to accept that he has lost his wife. previous dance-driven hits such as 2009 breakthrough hit Sorry Sorry.
The album also includes tracks such as dance number Scene Stealer, modern pop piece One More Chance, Good Day For A Good Day, Too Late and IDo , all of which feature the bandmates as either lyricist or composer.
Asked whether the bandmates, having entered their 30s, found dancing more physically challenging than before, Eunhyuk confidently said: “People worry that we won’t be able to perform as well as before due to our age, but
As a newcomer, Lee said he applied some method acting during the shoot.
“I have heard that for scenes in which someone is drunk, it looks more natural to drink some alcohol and get drunk to acquire genuine flushed cheeks. Because, the makeup is usually too red and we tried our best in developing choreographies just like before.”
Eunhyuk went on to reveal that he hopes to sell over 300,000 physical copies of Play, making an impromptu promise that he and the band would sell black suits on a home shopping channel if they reached the sales goal.
The press event also saw honest remarks from Heechul, who had previously written via his Instagram account that he wouldn’t be able to participate in Play promotions due to a leg injury. In 2006, he was in a car accident that resulted in several pins being inserted into his fractured leg.
The group’s label SJ, however, confirmed he would fully participate in the upcoming group activities, saying: “He was just concerned about his leg pain ahead of the comeback.” During earlier activities after the accident, he performed on the stage, but tends to look fake.”
So, Lee drank a few bottles of alcohol to prepare for his scenes. However, having to sit around and wait for his turn to shoot, Lee’s head started to spin and his stomach churned from the affect of the alcohol. So, in the end, he had to suffer several bouts of vomiting.
As for his shower scene with actress Lim, who plays his wife in the movie, Lee revealed that he put in extra hours at the gym. “I just needed to work the upper body, and focus on the shoulders, chest, arms and back,” he said.
But the scariest part of the movie came when he and some other cast members had to perform a ritual using paper effigies that were made in their own likeness.
“I still recall when they started making those paper effigies that looked just like us. We still have the pictures, and it feels scary even when we’re seeing it now,” he recalled.
If the movie is well-received, Lee said he hopes to carry out the task that director Wong wanted him to do.
“James had earlier suggested avoided high-intensity movements.
“I’ve already apologised to fans about my earlier emotional rant on social media, but I’ve always wanted to give a full explanation of my health even though I knew that writing such a letter wouldn’t brush off the detractors,” Heechul said.
“Some rumours even said the accident was intentional so as to avoid my mandatory military duty. I’ve always been attacked by so many malicious comments about my participation in group activities, especially at times when I performed in the back line onstage.”
Heechul revealed that the choreography for Black Suit was also crafted taking into consideration his condition, as he couldn’t properly move his left leg.
The K-pop act, which consisted of as many as 15 performers at its height, rose to prominence in 2009 with massive hit Sorry Sorry. The multitalented band has also explored a variety of sounds through subunit activities, with some group members such as Heechul gaining fame across entertainment fields.
Other bandmates Ryeowook and Kyuhyun are serving in the military, while Kangin and Sungmin are on a break due to negative public opinion.
“I still remember our days in 2005 when we rode a big bus and got ready for our Inkigayo performance as early as 3am,” Leetuk said.
“I’ve been thinking about the definition of success lately, and came to the conclusion that for us, success means sticking together as Super Junior as long as we can,” he added. – The Korea Herald/ Asia News Network that I perform a stunt as a movie promotional tactic. He wanted me to fill my car with lots of paper effigies, then drive around town,and have someone follow me around and shoot a video to promote the movie,” said Lee.
The conscientious fellow admitted that he had hesitated when Wong initially proposed the idea to him because he was concerned that it would distract drivers, and cause them to lose their concentration when they should be keeping their eyes on the road.
Apart from promotional activities for Headlines, Lee’s schedule is also packed with cheerier projects.
These days, he is involved in the filming of 988’s first lunar new year comedy titled A House Of Happiness as well as the recording for the radio station’s Chinese New Year songs for the upcoming Year Of The Dog.
He also hosts two weekly radio shows on 988: Remember The Time (Sundays, 7am-10am) and PS Friday (Fridays, 8pm-10pm).
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