Recently, as Christmas approached, two members of the five-piece boy band VANNER, TAEHWAN and GON, released their rendition of the renowned Christmas carol "All I Want For Christmas Is You" conducted by MF International, infusing their own flavor and lively vibe to the song — a special track their fans can listen to every time the holidays roll around, allowing the listeners to feel the festive atmosphere and joyous spirit of Christmas even more.
Producer GLODY, who arranged “All I Want For Christmas is You,” described the overall introduction of the song, saying that the members reinterpreted the song in their unique style, providing a unique feel to the song. "Especially, the rap part, not present in the original, was directly written by GON, showing VANNER's distinctive color," he added.
Following the song's release, allkpop caught up with TAEHWAN and GON for an exclusive interview. The members discussed the release of "All I Want For Christmas Is You," what 2023 held for them," New Year's resolutions, and the upcoming VANNER comeback. Read on below to get to know more about TAEHWAN and GON!
Shout-out video to allkpop readers:
allkpop: First of all, congratulations on the release of your cover of "All I Want For Christmas Is You"! To start, I wanted to ask how you have been these days. What are you grateful for today?
TAEHWAN: First of all, thank you for interviewing us! We're pretty busy these days as we're preparing for a group comeback.
GON: I'm thankful that I'm alive today. For our TMI, we had our vitamin drinks today while having this interview.
allkpop: Let's talk about your new single. What was your experience like recording “All I Want For Christmas Is You” together as a unit?
TAEHWAN: We are also preparing for our comeback as VANNER right now, but the recording for "All I Want For Christmas Is You" took longer than our actual album. Because I had to focus on my English pronunciation, and it was pretty hard.
GON: I had Tanghulu during the recording, and that was memorable for me.
allkpop: I was wondering how you take care of your voice. What kind of warmups do you do, especially before taking the stage where you will be dancing and singing at the same time?
GON: We use a humidifier before we go to bed. I also talk a lot before taking the stage so that my voice gets warmed up.
TAEHWAN: I'm practicing trying to sleep while breathing through my nose when I sleep. I put a tape in my mouth while sleeping.
allkpop: You both said during an interview last year that you would like to learn more about musicals in depth. How is it going? Were you able to have the time to learn musicals?
TAEHWAN: I went to a concert by Ock Joo Hyun. She's one of the most famous musical artists here. I was able to learn about the music itself during the concert as well as the relationship between her and her fans.
GON: Even though I'm the main dancer in our group, I'm also trying to focus on my vocal skills, so I really try to listen to a lot of different genres of music.
allkpop: How do you usually balance your work life and personal life?
GON: I honestly don't have a boundary between the two because singing and dancing are all also just part of my private life. I don't really put my work life aside.
TAEHWAN: Since we've been preparing for our comeback, I haven't had any private time for myself. I'm always with the members, spending time together. But if I do get a chance to be alone, I like to just sit in my room and do nothing.
allkpop: It's been almost 5 years since your debut. Did you already feel or have experienced the moment you think that you’ve already “made it”?
GON: I haven't thought of that yet. Everyone has a different definition of success, but for me, I don't feel like I've reached that point yet.
TAEHWAN: My definition of success is simply having good people around me. With GON next to me, I feel great!
allkpop: Do you have a tradition within your group or family whenever Christmas and New Year come around? What’s the first thing you do when the first day of a new year arrives?
GON: I do the Korean traditional spiritual religion ceremony to contact the spiritual or ancestors, setting up food for them to enjoy. I usually spend time with my parents.
TAEHWAN: I take photos to reminisce about what happened in the previous years. When the new year comes, I try to think about what I can look forward to, which is having our solo concert this year.
allkpop: How would you summarize all the things that have happened in your life in 2023? What is the highlight of your 2023?
GON: 2023 was a very turning point for me. It's a very important year for me. If I could summarize my 2023, it would be 'Peak Time.'
TAEHWAN: I agree with GON. The highlight of my 2023 would be 'Peak Time' as well as everything that we achieved last year. 2023 was a very unforgettable year for me.
allkpop: What are you looking forward to the most in the year 2024? Do you have New Year’s resolutions?
GON: We're both looking forward to our group comeback that is coming up at the end of January.
TAEHWAN: I don't have any specific plans, but I really want to improve as an artist.
GON: I'm also looking forward to holding our solo concert.
allkpop: The following are questions for your fans to get to know you more! Could you recommend one song that you’ve been listening to these days?
TAEHWAN: I listen a lot to Zior Park's "QUEEN" these days.
GON: [scrolls on phone] Charlie Puth's "That's Not How This Works."
allkpop: What's your favorite Holiday/Christmas song?
TAEHWAN: There's a first-generation idol group called Fin.K.L. It would be their song titled "White."
GON: [scrolls on phone] I really like "Jingle Bell Rock.
allkpop: Do you like watching dramas or movies? What’s one drama would you recommend to the readers?
TAEHWAN: I really enjoy the 'Black Mirror' series on Netflix!
GON: I like the movie 'Hereditary.'
TAEHWAN: Scary movie?
GON: Yeah!
allkpop: Speaking of dramas, if you could live in a drama setting, what world would you choose to live in? Based on the dramas you’ve already watched.
TAEHWAN: I would like to be in the movie 'Frozen'! I think it would be really fun to live in a frozen type of world.
GON: I would love to be in the 'Harry Potter' world.
allkpop: What’s your favorite app, or what’s your most-used app on your phone?
TAEHWAN: I like 'Bubble.' It's an app I use to communicate with my fans. What I use the most is YouTube.
GON: I also like 'Bubble' and use YouTube the most. I'm surprised our answers are the same...
allkpop: How would you describe your fashion styles these days?
GON: I dress and style with mood but with a little bit of uniqueness. I like unique items. [shows his shoes on camera]
TAEHWAN: [laughs] [points at the shoes] Very big size! For me, because we've been practicing a lot these days, my style now would be just outfits for practicing.
allkpop: I heard that you’re both extroverts! What do you love most about yourself or your personality?
GON: What I love most about myself is that I'm able to express my feelings to people I love pretty easily.
TAEHWAN: I like that I'm a very warm person and that I give a lot of affection to people.
allkpop: I have three “would you rather” questions for you. Would you rather go to the past or the future, and why?
GON: I would like to go back to the past, so I can audition as an idol much earlier than I did.
TAEHWAN: I also chose the past so I could go back and spend more time with my father and have a warm conversation with him.
allkpop: Would you rather live forever or be remembered forever?
GON: I want to be remembered forever.
TAEHWAN: I would love to live forever. I'm still scared of dying. [laughs]
allkpop: Would you rather not care about what people think of you or care about what they think of you?
GON: I used to not care about what people think about me, but now, I get to think about it more.
TAEHWAN: As we started our careers, we, of course, have to think a lot about what people would think about us.
allkpop: Finally, do you have any final messages for the allkpop readers and your fans?
TAEHWAN: GON and I were able to do the carol "All I Want For Christmas You." I hope you all enjoy and love the song. And please look forward to our new album that is about to be released soon. Please give us lots of love and support!
Socials:
Instagram: vanner__official
Twitter: VANNER
YouTube: VT Entertainment
FaceBook: VANNER_Official
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