By Durga Chakravarty

New Delhi, Jun 16 (IANS): K-Pop sensation SEVENTEEN, labelled as "Performance Kings", have a message for their Indian fans. The "self-producing" idol group say that their "Carats" are a great source of happiness for them and that the group will bring our best performances to you them as the first chance they get.

SEVENTEEN consists of thirteen members -- S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino.

Addressing their fans, whom they lovingly 'Carats' in India, THE8 told IANS: "We are incredibly thankful for all your love and support. You are a source of such great happiness for us, and it gives us the energy to keep moving forward.

"I hope SEVENTEEN is also a part of those small moments of happiness in your everyday life. Most importantly though, we hope you stay healthy."

Jeonghan, who is under the vocal team of SEVENTEEN, added: " We know better than anyone else how much love and support you send our way, and for that, we will always try to become better versions of ourselves. We haven't been able to meet face-to-face for a long time, but we are thinking of you. We will bring our best performances to you the first chance we get!"

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.

Talking about how they SEVENTEEN's sound has evolved since their debut, Woozi, who is the leader of Vocal Team said that it's hard to define the band by a specific sound.

"Because we've tried many different genres and styles thus far. At its core though, there was always 'sincerity' to our music. We work on new music envisioning the 13 of us performing the song, and through that process, we end up with the music that feels most 'real' and 'natural' to us at that point in time."

He adds: "changes in our sound are a reflection of the organic course of change SEVENTEEN have been through, with our latest releases always closely mirroring where we are today."

With K-pop becoming a phenomena globally, the genre has seen several notable groups come up.

What makes SEVENTEEN different from others?

Main Vocalist Seungkwan feels that there are times "we see ourselves in the practice room and are amazed by how well we get along. We've heard before that our performances uniquely take advantage of the fact that we are a big group, and I think it's true."

"A lot of the works representative of SEVENTEEN are born from that synergy between our thirteen members, across music, performances, and even in our YouTube series 'GOING SEVENTEEN.' Only because it's a great team, the distinct characters and strengths of each of our members also shine through in our performances."

Decoding what has made K-pop a global phenomenon and what makes K-pop so popular among all age groups, Mingyu from the Hip-Hop Team think it "invites its listeners and audiences to really enjoy the music together."

"There are many different ways for fans to engage in it. For instance, it is fairly common in K-pop that there are parts of a choreography that are easy for anyone to follow. Elements like these are an invitation for the audience to dance with those on stage, to join in on the fun."

On behalf of the band, he says: "We also hope to bring in a wider range of audience to enjoy our music together."

SEVENTEEN are known as one of the most notable self-producing idols in K-pop, and you have always been producing for themselves since debut.

Asked how do they keep challenging themselves as artistes and how does SEVENTEEN keep music and songwriting fresh?

Joshua say: "I think our mindset revolves around the thought of everything just being the 'beginning'. We always say 'Our next album is the most important' rather than thinking 'We've come this far.'"

S.Coups chimes in by saying that a thing about their members is that they are "full of ambition, in a good way!"

"Knowing the thirteen of us, I know that we will always strive to present something better and push the limits. So I have faith that we will always keep our work fresh and new," S.Coups said.

Hoshi credits the fans!

"We have our fans-CARATs-always waiting to hear more music from us, supporting us to see us improve. They drive us to always move forward, to strive for more. I don't see us reaching a limit anytime soon.

"And as our world expands, I think it's natural that our work also takes on different shapes and forms."