MBLAQ, who has up ’til now been carrying the label of “Rain’s group,” has revealed through an interview that they wish to “get rid of [their] label as the idol group that Rain raised.”
Even before their debut, the boys were tagged with this name, and while it was easy for them to become popular because of such a nickname, the group found it difficult to show off their own talents during the promotions for their first album without being compared to Rain himself. The boys elaborated on their feelings: “At first, the burden to do well weighed [because we were trained by Rain] really heavily [upon our backs, and] as the burden got bigger, we felt that we didn’t get to show off all the talent that we have. So we tried to throw away those burdens as much as possible and worked hard to show everyone our development as new idols [instead.] Our hard work must have paid off, because we hear from people around us that we’re doing well and [seem more] relaxed on stage.” They were then able to explain that they “don’t mind being called ‘the idols that Rain raised,’ but […] would [prefer] ‘the MBLAQ that works hard.’”
MBLAQ was able to shed half of their ‘Rain’s idols’ label through winning first place on Mnet’s ‘M! Countdown’ with title track ‘Y,’ but still expressed wishes to improve even more and rid themselves completely of such a title. “All of us were really surprised by the unexpected first place win; [although] thoughts of how hard we prepared for this album came up, […] our CEO Rain’s face came to mind [more often.] After the broadcast, we spoke to Rain hyung, and he told us we did a good job, saying that this was just the beginning and that we should work harder. And he said that because we were now ‘first place singers,’ we should all grab a drink [to celebrate.]” Celebrating the obtaining of such a prestigious title evidently did not come easily to the boys, as they felt that although they “did get first place, […] [they’re] still lacking a lot to be [able to] be called ‘first place singers.’”
The talented idols then remembered that they would be nowhere without their fans, and acknowledged that their fans consisted not only of younger people, but of older noona (including celebrities) fans as well. “Our fans are of diverse ages,” MBLAQ explained. “Online, we have a lot of younger fans, and on music programs, the noonas come to cheer us on quietly. We’re idols, but none of us are underage, so we don’t fear ruining our image [or] being honest, and we think that’s why our noona fans love us so much. We want to show charisma onstage and a friendly, next-door neighbor image offstage.”
The conversation soon drifted to the boys’ appearances on variety shows, during which it was mentioned that they have recently become referred to as “entertainment-dols” while making audiences laugh in the presence of manager Rain. MBLAQ insisted that they were simply naturally funny people, saying, “all five members are fun on a regular basis; in fact, on television, we tend to level it down. We’re all really close and live together in a dorm, so there’s a lot of funny stories between us and it helps us increase our sense for variety. When we’re filming for television, a lot of sunbaes treat us well to get us noticed – [that’s probably] why we’ve been getting more attention lately.”
The boys summed up their thoughts by expressing their hopes to “show a different image than [other] idol groups.” They also aspired to work hard “so that, as musicians, […] our next album [can be created partly by ourselves.]
Source: Asia Today
Credits to KPop Live