By Durga Chakravarty
New Delhi, Apr 25 (IANS): K-Pop sensation SEVENTEEN, labelled as "Performance Kings" among many other titles, consists of thirteen members -- S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino.
They have come out with their very first English single 'Darl+ing' and hope that their fans, whom they lovingly call "Carats" feel closer to the popular boy band through the number.
Talking to IANS about what their first English single 'Darl+ing' stands for and how it fits in your fourth full-length album, Vernon from the band said: "'Darl+ing' is a sweet love song. We wanted to express our affection for everyone who's with SEVENTEEN every step along the way. The plus sign is an emphasis on the idea of 'being together,' the idea of CARATs, our listeners and SEVENTEEN coming together as one.
"The placement of the plus sign in front of 'ing' also signifies the fact that it's an ongoing relationship that is very much in our present."
Vernon, who is a member of SEVENTEEN under the 'Hip-Hop Team', added that it is an "important goal" for them "this year is to really connect with all our listeners, to build an experience we share as 'TEAM SEVENTEEN.' So we poured our most honest thoughts and feelings into the upcoming album. With 'affection for our listeners' being one of those emotions, 'Darl+ing' is a starting point to an album that most transparently shows who we are, to date."
What was the process of creating their first English single and what can the listeners expect from it?
Dino, who is under the 'Perfomance team' shared: "We hope "Darl+ing" will relay that heartwarming feeling of 'being together' with a loved one. We've always wanted a song that our fans in other parts of the world can better connect to and understand more easily, and 'Darl+ing' is the song that reflects our wish to do so. We hope CARATs will be able to feel closer to us through "Darl+ing."
"We are also transitioning into Spring here in Korea, and I think "Darl+ing" is a song that bears the warm sentiments of the season. We hope to share the uplifting energy of a newly starting season with CARATs through the song," Jun pitched in.
Vocaliser DK decrypted about what makes 'Darl+ing' relatable to listeners across the globe?
DK said: "I think the fact that being able to spend time with a loved one is the best feeling in the world stands true no matter where you are. If our new single "Darl+ing" is able to remind our listeners of those moments of happiness, then I think we've done our job in sharing a song that serves as a connection between us and all our listeners across the globe."
SEVENTEEN made their debut in 2015, with the EP '17 Carat'. The album became the longest-charting K-pop album of the year in the US and was the only rookie album to appear on Billboard's "10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2015" chart. Just like other K-Pop bands, Seventeen too have an ever-burgeoning fan base. They currently have 9.1 million followers on Twitter, over 8.9 million Instagram followers and over 4,418,390 following on Facebook.
How did a group of 13 boys come up with the name SEVENTEEN for the band?
Joshua, who is from the Vocal team told IANS that "SEVENTEEN is made up of three units - hip-hop, vocal and performance."
He added: "Each one of us and each of our units possesses distinct strengths of their own, but when the thirteen of these unique characters come together as a team, it adds up to exceed the value and energy of the mere sum of 13. Our group's name is the sum of 13 members made up of 3 units that perform as 1 group (13 + 3 + 1 = 17)."