Loosely Translated and Paraphrased from Japanese:
- Cheon Sang Ji Hee is a group where the members have had solo activities in the past in South Korea?
Stephanie: Yes. The members of the group have had solo songs before Cheon Sang Ji Hee's official debut in April 2005. This is everyone's first debut in Japan besides Sunday.
- Yeah, Sunday debuted a year ago in Japan right?
Sunday: Yes. But I knew being solo and being in a group would bring different types of tension. Of course it was also encouraging. Of the four members of Cheon Sang Ji Hee, three of them it is their first time in Japan. We took great care with the first recording and I think they found a lot of difficulty with the language barrier.
Dana: This was my first time in Japan, with all the activities, living environment and recording, it was very overwhelming.
Lina: When I tried to record with the Japanese accent many of the staff looked a little annoyed with me. Still, the staff was friendly and worked with us to overcome these problems.
Stephanie: When I heard we were going to debut in Japan I was very happy. But when we actually began recording, I felt a lot of pressure. After the singing was done and everyone was satisfied, I think a lot of people will want to listen!
- Your debut song 'Boomerang' deals with a cheating relationship. The single-minded thoughts of a guy the girl loves. In the end, he decided to say goodbye but the girl's strong will carries the song.
Lina: Yes, strong emotions were necessary to sing this song.
- Yes, the four vocals contributed to a very strong atmosphere and much needed momentum for the song.
Stephanie: Yes. We wanted the sound to leave a very strong impression.
Dana: The phrase I like is '今夜も獲物探す/ tonight I will find my prey,' having this much free expression is really fun.
- Looking into the content of the song, I feel that it will do well in the charts.
Sunday: Really? That's great! 'Boomerang' is a song that was made for our South Korean activities. I though singing the same lyrics in Japanese would be hard. However, a strong image of women is expressed in the dance. A version will also be released with the PV so please look forward to it!
- The b-side is 'Do You Know?' In comparison to 'Boomerang' it has a very gentle melody.
Sunday: Yes, it has a cute girl image and is filled with positive feelings. The song has me as the main vocals while the other three help with the chorus. We all like the song, and with me as the main vocals I get to sing the way I want to!
Lina: This is a style of song that is sung in Korea, so it was very fresh to work on it. But since we are an a cappella group, it worked also.
Dana: In Korea we do a cappella and R&B songs in addition to having good beauty and harmony. We hope to sing more songs like this in the future in Japan so please look forward to it!
Stephanie: For all the songs I helped with the choreography! A cappella, dance, songs of different genres, Cheon Sang Ji Hee delivers many independent styles. One day, I hope to do a live concert.
- I look forward to that. However, with working in Korea and studying Japanese, you also have two more months in Japan right? Your Japanese must being really good then!
All: Not yet.
Sunday: I've gotten into the habit of saying they still aren't there yet (laughs). They work hard every day studying Japanese, so they remember things quickly (laughs).
- Oh yeah, that's right (laughs). We forgot that Sunday has perfect Japanese.
Stephanie: Yes, Sunday is our Japanese teacher! We work hard to look good for the Japanese public.
Sunday: Oh no, I'm still not fluent yet (laughs). I have to be careful talking in front of these three. But please, continue to watch the four of us and cheer!
Original Article
Source: Barks
Date: 1/16/06
I never read this interview before...glad that they overcome the language barrier and everything. now they having fun converse in japanese...and the staff was seriously funny these days with their jokes and such...love how hard they work...