“It exposes our ambition to go higher”: An interview with rookie K-pop group Ghost9 on their 2020 success

Among the K-pop artists who debuted in 2020, Ghost9 are a boy band worth keeping an eye on. The group’s recently released title track, W.ALL, is enough to blow away pandemic blues, delivering powerful stories and performances. Fired up with confidence after their success on the European iTunes K-pop chart, the nine-piece discussed their fans’ gratitude, their unique showcases and their ambition to be an icon of the K-pop scene.

How does the second EP [W.ALL], compared to your debut?

Kang-sung: I think the last album’s concept was to build the basics and identity of Ghost9. In this album, we wanted to show how confident we are and how we’ve grown. Also, I tried to communicate with my fans more, and I wanted to show them more impact because of the short period of our promotion.

Tae-seung: I paid a lot of attention to our visual image and tried to show the concept of “guardian” in the choreography.

Congrats on setting your highest record on some of the European iTunes charts. How did you guys feel when you hear the news?

Jin-woo: Thank you so much for listening to our music even though we’re still a rookie band. I’ll do my best and work harder.

Shin: I couldn’t believe it at first. It took a little bit of time to understand, and I was just grateful.

Prince: We are very thankful to every one of our listeners and we hope to repay them in every way possible. We love you.

Jun-seong: I was so happy, but I still feel like I’m not good enough to deserve it, and I’ll have to work harder.

Could you give a message to the fans behind your excellent result?

Dong-jun: I appreciate all the fans who support our music and us.

Woo-jun: Thank you so much for liking us from far-away countries; we will do our best to reach your hearts.

I think it’s quite severe you’ve worked hard during a pandemic. How do you keep yourself motivated these days?

Jun-seong: Feeling grateful and tiny things are what motivated me. For example, I can’t have a face-to-face fan signing event, but I’m thankful that I can meet my fans at on-call events.

Kang-sung: “If I do what I have to do silently, I will do better in the future.” I hope you all cheer up.

Tae-seung: It’s hard to meet fans or perform on stage, but I’m motivating myself by imagining it.

You’ve held some showcases on the rooftop of landmarks, such as the 63 buildings and the heliport in Busan. Could you tell me why you have promotional events in these particular places and where you want to perform for the next showcase?

Jun-hyung: Mostly, that’s because in those places the scenery is beautiful, and also we wanted to show our identity of “ghost” as a concept. At the same time, it exposes our ambition to go higher.

Shin: Nothing has been decided yet, but I hope that we will gradually go up to fit the term “skyscraper idol”.

Jin-woo: Because the group name is Ghost9, it’s kind of like a real ghost that comes up from here and there and it kind of feels like that! Next time, Dubai!!

This is the first step and the first time you have stretched out. What is your ultimate goal as a K-pop rookie group?

Dong-jun: Eventually, the band will be an icon.

Prince: My personal goal is to reach deeper, get closer with fans, become friends and know them better. To love and appreciate our fans, we have to get to know them better.

Woo-jin: We will let our fans know our names and meet them as soon as possible.

Jun-hyung: Our ultimate goal as an artist of K-pop is to be on a stage that is the biggest in the world. Together.

The editorial unit

For further information visit Ghost9’s Instagram page here.

Watch the official video for W.ALL here: