Seven-member girl group under TR Entertainment and Universal Music Group, TRI.BE - consisting of members SongSun, Kelly, JinHa, HyunBin, Jia, SoEun, and MiRe, returned to the K-Pop scene with the new record 'W.A.Y,' which stands for "We Are Young." This marks their first comeback in about 6 months since the release of their third single album 'LEVIOSA' on August 9, 2022.
allkpop's previous interview with TRI.BE on their third single album can be seen here.
Well known for their powerful performance and charismatic stages, TRI.BE comes back with a surprising change by focusing on showcasing its limitless youth. The title track, "WE ARE YOUNG," is an easily relatable tune as it sings about how everybody can make mistakes when they are young; at one point in time, everyone has been new to what they are currently used to, unwarily making the wrong decisions, experiencing both fear and excitement while taking on challenges and trying out new things. Instead of being afraid of failure, "WE ARE YOUNG" encourages both TRI.BE and ‘us’ to bring out the confidence of facing new moments by shrugging off pressure with the chant “we are young!”
With the recent official logo change and their musically colorful second EP, 'W.A.Y,' TRI.BE is keen on showing the audience how young and bright the members really are. Through numerous contents, both offline and online, TRI.BE’s fans are already aware of how jolly the group is, and the new touches to their music, looks, and branding aim to synchronize TRI.BE’s performances to their actual and natural moments. Being authentic to who they are as people is an important message that links to the catchphrase “we are young.”
"STAY TOGETHER" serves as an intro to the EP by expressing the excitement of a new challenge, referring to TRI.BE’s intended change to take place from now on. The title "WE ARE YOUNG" is a throwback to the 2000s via techno-pop, simple drums, and morphed vinyl sounds – the choreography comes from none other than Lia Kim, the renowned dancer & choreographer from the world-famous 1MILLION Dance Studio. "WITCH" is a rather different inclusion that was originally aimed to trick the fans into assuming the comeback’s concept. Pre-released on TRI.BE’s YouTube channel well before the release to serve this purpose, "WITCH" utilizes majestic strings and choir in an indie pop genre style. "WONDERLAND" is another addition to the new chapter of TRI.BE by highlighting light and bouncy melodies through a nu-disco groove and dreamy pad sound. The final topping is "WOULD YOU RUN -Original ver.", which was supposed to be TRI.BE’s debut track back in 2021. As "WOULD YOU RUN" is the title track of TRI.BE’S first EP 'VENI VIDI VICI,' the original version is a gift to the fans who have been curious about what only TRI.BE knew until now.
To commemorate TRI.BE's return, the girls caught up with allkpop to discuss their album, the album-making process, the inspiration behind the group's self-made choreography for "WITCH," the goal of meeting fans around the world, how they deal with pressure, and more. Keep reading to know more about TRI.BE!
Unfortunately, Jinha was still unable to participate in the comeback as she's still focusing on her health.
You can watch the interview on our YouTube channel, or if you prefer, you can read the interview below.
allkpop: Please tell us more about 'W.A.Y,' including its concept, message, and overall sound. Could you please tell us what you hope to convey through the album?
SongSun: 'W.A.Y' is an album that has a millennial concept. It introduces a new world and chapter for TRI.BE.
SoEun: The title track "WE ARE YOUNG" talks about as time goes on, you can run into new experiences and be afraid of failure, but it's okay because you're young. And you can just shake it off by saying that anything can happen and everything is new. So, if you're ever feeling down then "WE ARE YOUNG" is a magical track that can help you kind of go through those hard moments with a lot of confidence in yourself.
allkpop: Is there a reason you chose February 14 as the release date for the album?
Jia: February 14 is Valentine's day and this release is kind of a very sweet present for the fans because it's introducing a new image and side of TRI.BE, which is also a very sweet concept. February 17 is also TRI.BE's 2nd anniversary, so this week is really just a special time for us.
allkpop: It's been about 6 months since your last comeback with 'Leviosa.' In what way did you spend the break between the two comebacks?
SongSun: During that 6 months, we were communicating with our fans whenever we could. We were also preparing for the pre-release tracks "WOULD YOU RUN" and "WITCH" and also this album in general. We spent those 6 months just preparing for this 2nd mini-album.
allkpop: 'W.A.Y' talks about how everyone has been new to what they are currently used to. For instance, you as an idol, took on so many challenges while experiencing fear, pressure, or anxiety, at the same time excitement on finally debuting. What were you thinking when you first debuted, when you were new to the K-Pop scene/industry?
HyunBin: We had a moment where everything was new to us when it was our first time in the K-Pop scene. We did experience a lot of fear and pressure because the goal of anyone in the K-Pop industry is to be successful, so that's something we are looking forward to and as well as what we're afraid of. But because of this, we were able to push through to where we are right now. Just going into K-Pop itself can be exciting as well as a very pressuring experience, but just working hard will probably be able to make us achieve that goal.
allkpop: How do you deal with such pressure of being an idol, and what do you enjoy most about being one? How do you balance things out?
MiRe: It would be a lie if we said it's not pressuring to be an idol, but then at the same time, it's very exciting because we have our fans TRUE. It's really the fans that keep us going and the fact that we can communicate with them and see them in person are some of the factors that make us push through that kind of pressure. For balance-wise, just every comeback, TRI.BE is focusing on showing the better TRI.BE, giving a better experience and performance to our fans. So just kind of keeping that in mind is what keeps us on track and allows us to bounce off all the pressure.
allkpop: The album conveys such a timely and important message. How significant do you believe the album's message is at this time and in this society?
SoEun: When anyone is trying to do a challenge or just try out something new, it's very normal nowadays, especially, to be afraid of just walking into unknown waters. The album 'W.A.Y' talks about just as if when you were young, you were not afraid of making mistakes; people nowadays should do the same, they should not be afraid of making mistakes or failing - it's always okay to mess up. So, having that kind of confidence and thinking about how we used to be when we were young is kind of the message that we want to put forward to this album. And, whenever we say the term "we are young" can sometimes be accepted as a very negative term at times, but then that's not always the case, it has its merits like you are very energetic, you are confident, you're not afraid. So those are the things that we want to put forward as the message at this time and in society.
allkpop: The album also encourages both TRI.BE and 'us' to bring out confidence. How do you keep yourself going in the face of so much pressure? Also, what piece of advice would you give to those who are afraid, particularly young people, to help them gain confidence?
MiRe: Whenever, especially young people nowadays, they are afraid, the best thing that I think to do is to go to someone that you trust. It could be your friend, your family, or just anyone who you believe is on your side, and then you kind of talk about the hardships that you're going through nowadays. Especially now, a lot of people can find it very hard to communicate and just talk about these kinds of things with other people. The piece of advice that we would like to give about getting confidence is don't think that you're alone. When you're in a very hard situation, always try to look out for people who can help you and reach out for help. Don't be afraid to ask for help.
allkpop: In your opinion, do you think it's important to take on challenges and try out new things? In what ways do you think it helps us in discovering ourselves?
Kelly: I think that putting yourself out on a new challenge is a very good opportunity to find out more about yourself and that could be something you never knew, even new sides of yourself that you never knew. It's only this kind of moment when you try out something new and challenge yourself, you get to discover something that was always in you until now. I recommend not being afraid and just being open to new challenges because that will definitely help in finding who you are as a person.
allkpop: Do you have any memorable and fun behind-the-scenes moments while you were filming and shooting the music video?
SongSun: In the scene of the music video where the members are in the laundry room with all the washing machines, we spray a lot of bubbles in the music video set, and we had to go barefoot. We were throwing bubbles at each other, blowing bubbles and everything, and that was the most real.
SoEun: In the scene where we were just playing around with the food, and the cereal at the beginning of the music video. The food was actually expired so that's a very fun fact, but then we really never have experienced playing around with food like food fights and just kind of throwing food in the air. That was a very new experience and a fun moment for me.
allkpop: Could you please tell us about the album's creative process, including the recording process? What was your overall experience of the album-making process?
SongSun: As always, TRI.BE gets to participate in the album-making process quite more, so especially this time, as you saw in the "WITCH" performance video, the choreography was made by us ourselves. How was the experience of making the choreography?
SoEun: The track itself is actually very difficult to understand in terms of the story, the message behind it, and just the overall feeling that you need to give off through the performance. We really had a hard time making the choreography for "WITCH," and we had moments when we kind of wanted to give up in the middle. But after seeing how it actually turned out, it was really exciting for us to see that we successfully pulled off making a meaningful choreography for one of the tracks in this new album.
MiRe: I want to say something about the title track "WE ARE YOUNG" because the track is very different from our previous music. It was a new experience for us to have fun together, just playing along with the title track because that's how "WE ARE YOUNG" is. The overall album-making process, the recording, making choreography, and preparing for the music video shoot, everything was very exciting for us.
allkpop: What was the most difficult thing while preparing for this album?
SoEun: The hardest thing preparing for this album, especially for the title track "WE ARE YOUNG," was having fun and the reason for that was, not because we did not have fun, it's just that our previous tracks were always being synchronous, whether it be the choreography or the performance, everything kind of has to be very sharp in sync. But this time, that was not the case, the point of "WE ARE YOUNG" was really just to have fun, and it was difficult for me to think about how we would show up in the music video, so I had to discuss it with the members about how they would have fun. That's probably the most difficult thing for me.
Kelly: For me, it was actually understanding "WE ARE YOUNG." The reason for that is, not because the track is difficult or anything, but, in the beginning, I thought the only thing I had to do was to smile and have fun, but it wasn't really pretty so I had a lot of research and thinking about how I would have to express my feelings and just express the track. I felt that the track was actually sad at the beginning because of the lyrics about how everyone shouted "we are young." Those kinds of mixed feelings were kind of difficult for me to organize and understand.
allkpop: You stated in our previous interview that even if some things are changed at the last minute, you still get to deliver the final product. How do you improve your group's teamwork or help each other when you're under time constraints and have to deal with it so quickly?
SongSun: In the beginning, it was very hard for us because everything was so sudden. But then, now, we are very used to this time when things kind of change last minute. We are always preparing for that in the back of our minds. We are always thinking about how this can change like if this does change and we have to be ready. So, the solution for that is just always being ready and expecting something to change at the last moment and not being surprised. We're very professional when it comes to that.
allkpop: The members helped create the choreography for "WITCH." How did you come up with the catchy steps, and how did you work on it together as a group? How long did it take you to choreograph it, was it difficult, and all that?
HyunBin: The motif behind "WITCH" is actually the Netflix series 'Wednesday.' You'll notice that visual-wise and choreography-wise, there are a lot of references to the Netflix series. During the making of the choreography, we got together and discussed how we'll be able to express the overall feeling of 'Wednesday' but in a very TRI.BE style. We incorporated the viral TikTok challenge related to 'Wednesday' and we tried to put those kinds of dances into the choreography and try to make that feeling come. Those kinds of discussions took place and actually didn't take that long. For us, it was a very fun process.
allkpop: TRI.BE already choreographed songs of your own. How about writing, composing, or producing a song for TRI.BE? Is that something you'd be interested in doing?
Jia: TRI.BE is used to making choreography ourselves and we have a lot of fun doing it. A lot of the members are very interested in composing and writing tracks. In our free time, out of the blue, suddenly someone would sing the song that we're working on, something that comes to [our] mind. I think it would be very fun and a very nice experience to get together to take care of writing, composing, and producing a song in the future.
allkpop: Among the 5 tracks from the album, which one is your favorite?
MiRe: I choose "WOULD YOU RUN - Original Ver." because it's actually my favorite track from back when it was actually first in existence because that was supposed to be our debut track. We have known the song for a very long time. I chose "WOULD YOU RUN - Original Ver." because it has always been my favorite, it's very exciting and good to listen to because of the beat and everything.
HyunBin: I choose "STAY TOGETHER" because it kind of sounded like a fan song to me. It feels like you're literally singing "stay together" with everyone, with all the members and our fans; it's a very heartwarming track.
Kelly: I choose "WONDERLAND" because I feel like the overall vibe of the track fits the title "WONDERLAND." My favorite part of the song is the beginning where Mire sings "Deep down the rabbit hole," so that's kind of my personal taste.
SoEun: I like the title track "WE ARE YOUNG" because it's very exciting, and it shows who TRI.BE is, what we actually are like. It fits well with our image and personality.
Jia: I also choose "STAY TOGETHER" same as Hyunbin because it's very heartwarming and it's kind of like a fan chant where we can sing along together. And I imagine being able to see our fans later on.
SongSun: I choose the title track "WE ARE YOUNG" because it's cool.
allkpop: This month marks TRI.BE's 2nd anniversary! Congratulations! What do you believe has been the biggest change in your career thus far?
Jia: I think the biggest change is that we've become a lot more professional because in the beginning, when we just debuted, we didn't know anything. Everything was new to us, like the stage cameras during our performances, content, and music. But now, after 2 years have passed, I feel the members are a lot more experienced and a lot more professional when it comes to taking care of things and making things happen.
SongSun: I think the biggest change is confidence - confidence in who we are, confidence on stage, just showing people who we actually are in our personalities. Those are the biggest differences that we've seen since our debut.
allkpop: How do you plan to celebrate this career milestone?
SongSun: Because our album 'W.A.Y' is just in time for our 2nd anniversary, I'm looking forward to celebrating it with the fans together on stage, sharing new performances and music.
Jia: TRI.BE will probably be celebrating this milestone with the fans together at a lot of online and offline fan meetings that are supposed to take place now.
allkpop: Do you have any specific goals for your comeback? Are there any long-term goals you'd like to achieve for your group?
MiRe: Through this comeback, I wish a lot of people can recognize just how charismatic TRI.BE is, the confidence that we have, our music and performances.
HyunBin: It would be very nice if we could go overseas to see international TRUE, especially this year now that the COVID-19 regulations have been lifted worldwide. I'm really looking forward to being able to meet our fans all over the world.
SoEun: For our long-term goals, I wish that people who listen to TRI.BE's music can gain confidence. It doesn't matter if it's through this comeback music or in the future. I wish that anyone who gets to know TRI.BE and listen to our music can gain the confidence that they well deserve and feel proud about themselves through TRI.BE's music.
allkpop: Please leave a message for everyone who's reading (and watching) this, as well as your fans around the world.
SongSun: To anyone who's reading and watching the interview, I wish that everyone could feel better about themselves and just gain confidence through our music because the music that TRI.BE provides is very positive and endearing. I wish everyone to feel better and have a better experience after listening to TRI.BE's music. I wish TRI.BE can get to meet our fans all over the world, see them in person, and have fun together.
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