“All-rounder” singer Bang Ye-dam made his full-fledged solo debut after leaving TREASURE
Recently, Bang Ye-dam conducted an interview at Star News office building in Jongno-gu, Seoul to commemorate the release of his first mini album “ONLY ONE” on November 23rd. This album is more meaningful as it marks his first step as a solo singer.
Earlier in 2013, Bang Ye-dam appeared on SBS’s “K-pop Star 2” and won 2nd place with favorable reviews. He was named “Korea’s Justin Bieber” and “Little Michael Jackson” for his attractive voice and outstanding performance. After training under YG Entertainment for 7 years, he debuted as a member of the boy group TREASURE and received huge love.
Bang Ye-dam suspended his activities with TREASURE in May last year to improve his producing ability then left the group in November of the same year after terminating his exclusive contract. Moving to the new company GF Entertainment, he released his first solo album “ONLY ONE” in August this year.
◆ Reaching the highest satisfaction level with his first solo album after leaving YG & TREASURE
Bang Ye-dam’s title track “Only One” is a neo-soul genre song in which you can feel the musical perfection when black music is mixed with his perfect singing skills. Prior to this, his pre-release track “Miss You” also drew attention and the album also topped the iTunes Album Chart in 12 countries.
When asked why he chose the theme of love and breakup for his album, Bang Ye-dam said, “Even if it’s not something I actually go through, I try to feel that situation well”, adding “I’m doing a job that needs to create empathy, so I wanted to talk about the theme of love in various ways, deeply and realistically”.
Despite the burden of standing alone as a solo singer, Bang Ye-dam confessed that he really enjoyed the album preparation process. The male singer has boasted excellent musicality since he was young, during his team promotions and while making songs for others, such as Winner’s “I Love You” and Kang Seung-yoon’s “Born To Love You”. Regarding his satisfaction in terms of music, Bang Ye-dam confidently said, “100%. This is my album so I need to feel satisfied about it first. I poured out everything I can do in this album”.
◆ Parting ways with YG Entertainment to satisfy his great desires for music
Bang Ye-dam spent a long time as a YG trainee and debuted with TREASURE but he left the group after only two years and three months. In this regard, he shared, “I had a dream and vision that I’ve been drawing ever since I was a trainee”, adding “After making my debut in a team, I learned and experienced many things. However, I think I always had a desire to do more in music, to strengthen my producing abilities and to convey the inspiration and ideas I have more freely”.
He confessed, “There was fear. I discussed with my acquaintances to receive advice and gain courage. Of course. Working with TREASURE members was so much fun and happy, but in my heart, I still had a question about whether I was doing the right thing, so I guess I was not 100% happy”.
Revealing that he faced many difficulties after leaving a big agency and stand alone, Bang Ye-dam smiled and said, “I’m still satisfied that I can directly convey my thoughts, my emotions and raw feelings now”.
When asked if he still maintains a good relationship with TREASURE members, Bang Ye-dam said, “We contact each other on holidays and are still keeping in touch well. When I decided to leave the group, the members were very surprised at first, but then they began to understand me and support my decision”.
Expressing his sincere affection for fans, the male singer said “I’m sorry to fans who had been looking forward to his performance in a team. I didn’t have a chance to clearly tell this to them so I want to satisfy their regrets with this promotion. Now, I won’t go anywhere and I’ll do my best. I know fans have been waiting for a long time. I’m back and I’ll communicate with them more and work hard to make them feel proud of me”.
Lastly, Bang Ye-dam said, “I want to hear comments about how my skills have developed. I hope people enjoy this album”, adding “On the day of the album release, I didn’t check the chart and only spent time playing games. Charting performance is important but I still try to enjoy it as much as possible.”
Source: Daum
