Boy band Nowadays' members test how well they know their fans on FanTalk

Rookie boy band Nowadays says it wants to understand its fans a little better, aiming to learn about what makes them tick and what they expect

Boy band Nowadays poses for the camera during a FanTalk 2 video interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily and Celeb Confirmed. [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

Rookie boy band Nowadays says it wants to understand its fans a little better, aiming to learn about what makes them tick and what they expect.

Being the first boy band in eight years to hail from Cube Entertainment, an agency home to hit idol groups like (G)I-DLE and Pentagon, Nowadays showed off its bubbly energy when the members sat down for an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily and Celeb Confirmed for the FanTalk 2 video series.

FanTalk 2, the second season of Celeb Confirmed's FanTalk series, allows K-pop idols to guess how their fans would’ve answered questions about them. Nowadays tried to guess the answers through a “balance game,” where there are two choices given for an answer to a single question.

On the tricky question of why the boy band's fandom, named Day_And, liked them —with the answers being either their cuteness or good looks — the members struggled to find the answer.

“I've mostly heard from fans that we look handsome,” said Yoon. “They said that was why they began to dig into us.”

“I agree. I think the fans fell for our handsome looks,” said Jinhyuk. “I think they start thinking we are cute after they fall for us, when they look at the little things we do.”

The two members turned out to be wrong, with over 56 percent of fans saying they liked them for their cuteness. The members promised they would try to understand their fans better.

The boy band’s music was also the forefront of the questions answered by fans. Nowadays is known for being a group in which the members write their own songs. The members tried to guess whether the fans anticipated the band's songs or its performances more.

Boy band Nowadays poses for the camera during a FanTalk 2 video interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily and Celeb Confirmed. [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

“The fans know that we are involved a lot in the making of our music,” said Hyeonbin. “But we haven’t exactly been able to show it to them. I think they would anticipate much from our songs. “

“Yeah, we already have impressed our fans with our performance capabilities,” said Siyun, agreeing with Hyeonbin. “I think they are more curious about our songwriting capabilities.”

Both members were correct.

The songs for the Nowadays’ new release, “Nowhere,” were released on Aug. 27, including lead track “Why not?,” “Heart vs head” and “Troublesome.” The songs were released a month and a half after the digital single “Rainy day.”

“When I write lyrics, I try to immerse myself into the role, the character,” said Siyun. “It is about putting together a story and trying to think what that character would say and act like.”

Boy band Nowadays poses for the camera during a FanTalk 2 video interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily and Celeb Confirmed. [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

A Cube Entertainment veteran, Hui of boy band Pentagon helped the Nowadays members through the recording process, looking over their session for 16 hours.

“He was really considerate and thoughtful when he was guiding us through the process,” said Siyun. “We learned so much from him.”

The fans also got to choose whether they preferred planned trips or spontaneous trips with the boy band. Member Siyun said that the fans probably answered the latter, citing the boy band’s vlog they shot in England.

“If they had seen us packing our luggage, they would say the latter,” said Siyun. “Yeonwoo, especially, packed so much, and I think fans might get exhausted.” The members were wrong, with 53 percent of the fans stating they would prefer a planned trip.

Nowadays has been overseas quite often for a rookie boy band, with the group performing once in Turkey as part of the 2024 K-Culture Fest.

Boy band Nowadays poses for photos during a showcase held on Aug. 27 at the Yes24 Live Hall music venue in eastern Seoul. [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

“We covered songs by our seniors, such as BTS and Tomorrow X Together,” said Siyun. “We were met with so much applause, and the crowd sang along as well. It was amazing to see.”

Group member Yeonwoo pushed even further, saying that he wants the boy band to become more famous, hoping it will be able to perform in the esteemed Tokyo Dome in Japan.

Nowadays showed much ambition for this year.

"We have to go for the rookie award this year," said Siyun. "It is an award you can only shoot for as a rookie."

The members also showed high hopes for their latest album. "We want to reach No. 1 on a live music show this time," said Hyeonbin, reminiscing on how Nowadays was nominated for No. 1 on the SBS live music program "The Show" (2011-) with the song "OoWee."

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]