#i definitely have been overexaggerating to myself the effects of finishing a year and a half of art school

[mental-skillness]

it would explain so much

[monstaxeurope]

Shownu:  Beauty+ Interview

Shownu is a bit unique. He has almost no desire and strong ambition that is common in the entertainment industry. He's not overly excited and doesn't brag about the promotions in America that heated up overseas press in the beginning of this year.

 "(I want) to have a beer with our members after successfully finishing our schedule" is all he says. On KakaoTV's <Face ID> Minhyuk said: "I don't know what kind of person he is. He seems pretty busy but doesn't really do anything, he's mysterious." He said it jokingly but he's not actually wrong. He does his best and with no complaints accepts all the work given to him, just like an athlete. In this era where vanity is "eating up" the society his healthy and honest appearance might look mysterious to someone. Especially if a person doubts "could a human, who is exactly the way he looks from the outside, actually exist". You should meet Shownu. He doesn't really hate anything. It's faster if we just talk to him about the things he likes. He likes baseball hats, cars, games and analog (things). He recently watched <Fight Club> and liked it. "Brad Pitt's character remains in my memory. It was interesting how he expressed the fictitious character. The movie was also visually fresh." "Did you watch the movie because you paid homage to it in the ‘Love Killa’ MV?" "No."(laugh) Do you know what I mean?

After watching <Face ID> I noticed you have a lot of apps on your phone and you're subscribed to a lot of youtube channels. How would you explain your day with apps, youtube content etc.?   SH: When I wake up in the morning I listen to youtube music mix whether I am going somewhere or I'm exercising.‘R&B pop to enjoy a drowsy afternoon’‘Chill hip hop that makes your dirty corner of the room seem hip’ etc., it depends, I choose the one I like at the moment.I also listen to this before sleep. I also watch exercise knowledge or diet management videos on youtube a lot. I practice doing it when I need to take care of myself more. There are times we play games with members too. In the evening I watch 20-minute movie summary of an originally 2 hour long movie. Recently I've been watching a lot of cooking videos too.

You released 3rd full album <Fatal Love> and promoted song ‘Love Killa’. How would you rate this album and stage? SH: I got hurt here and there a lot in the past but this time not only me but also all of the members had no injuries, we were able to finish with no problems so I'm happy. Our fans loved it too. I especially like that ‘Love Killa’ has a clearer concept when compared to our past tracks. MV had a theme too. I think we expressed the precise colours of our music and stage well. The choreography wasn't stronger or more agressive than in the past, but we stood on stage with more confidence than ever. This gave us power while promoting.

Where does that confidence come from? SH: Should I say we took a bit more of a relaxed approach this time, our image is not as strong as it was in our past releases. Love Killa's colour is clear so we discussed between us a lot and while practicing it we gained a lot of confidence. I feel like our understanding of the song got better.

If you watch ‘Love Killa’ stage you can see only Shownu wears a crop top now and then, whose decision was it?  SH: I never said I was gonna wear a short jacket.(laugh) I think it was on the MV set when I first wore the jacket and it was short. Rather than saying I was the only one wearing a special outfit, we all wore different clothes. Someone wore a crop top, someone only wore a jacket with no shirt inside it, someone a shirt with tattoo patterns, someone covering all with a turtleneck.

Since your debut Monsta X got a lot of attention for lifting shirts and showing abs on stage, what do you think about that kind of performance? Do you have the confidence that this is Monsta X's colour? SH: While thinking about music colour, ideas like ‘how would it look like if we show some skin here, what about a tattoo shirt in this part’ pop up, so we decide on a performance we think would suit our song the most. It'd be nice if you think of it as an artistic approach to match the song's vibe. I never thought it doesn't fit well or that it feels foreign.

Monsta X always shows a strong energy on stage, but what about practice, how powerful is it? SH: Not as powerful/strict as you'd think. It's much better to dance to the song twice than doing it 10 times alone in the practice room. That way I get more energy and that kind of practice is more effective. Tension goes up when someone is doing the same movements next to you. That doesn't really happen no matter how much you practice in front of a mirror alone. I get exhausted quickly if I dance alone.

What do you mostly have in mind when dancing on stage? SH: If there is a move I don't like when practising, I concentrate on it and practice that part more. But after that I don't really think about it on stage (anymore). I only think about how I'll do it in the practice room. If I overexaggerate and try too much on stage it's rather a failure. It also doesn't look pretty.

Do you believe in yourself this much because you know you practiced a lot beforehand? SH: That is also the case, but even if I don't practice a lot I don't really think about it on stage.(laugh)

You took major steps in your career this year with the release of first full album in the USA, 8th mini album <Fantasia X> and 3rd full album <Fatal Love>. It will most probably stay in your mind as an eventful year. Do you have a feeling Monsta X took a step forward this year? SH: Truthfully, I'm not sure if we made a leap forward.(laugh) It's just something like ‘We did our best this time too, we promoted actively this year too’. We've been saying we want to become singers, a team, who keep developing and show growth since long time ago, but I'm really not sure if we made a leap and if we showed any growth. I do think we did our best. We had a strong will to confront everything in front of us all the time with no need to look back later. I do think ‘I need to do better next time’ sometimes, because it's not always a ‘very satisfying result’. ‘We finished it well, we worked hard, we need to do even better next time’. This way I'll make more effort (in the future).

Is there a specific part that you feel is lacking? SH: We're not attached to charts that much, but it's always good to get a lot of attention. There's nothing that I feel is lacking, I just think ‘we should always try our best, let's do better next time’.

Was there a reason for your US promotions to be focused more on vocals than your unique strong performances? SH: It wasn't a strategic change. The album's title and theme are ‘All About Luv’, so everything about love. After collecting songs with that theme I guess it just ended up being a more sensitive album. I like albums like this too.

5th place on Billboard 200 Chart, attending Jingle Bell tour 2 years in a row etc., you're showing good results in the US and overseas market in general, what do you think is the reason you are exceptionally popular overseas? SH: It might sound like an obvious answer but I think we got a big amount of fans because a lot of older and younger K-pop artists established the foundation there. I don't know if it's because our group's atmosphere is good but everytime we come from stage or come back from meeting the media, everyone talks good about us. It also helps a lot in the US market to have members who are good in English. One thing is that the whole album is in English, but for fans (us speaking English) might make it even more special and easier to support us.

Is there a Monsta X song you especially like? SH: I like "All I Do". Because it's a song with a medium tempo.  

You participated with OST 'I'll be there' for drama <Tale of the Nine-Tailed> and featured in PREP's song 'Don't look back'. Is there a genre or a specific style of song you'd like to try?  SH: Not really. I get thoughts like 'This song fits me well', 'This one doesn't work well for me'. But I also think 'What could I be good at?' 'I'll Be There' was a really hard song for me. 'Why is this song this hard for me?' I was really curious what the reason was. I don't express my opinion that much when it comes to song and album concepts. I just want to become a person, who sings songs given to me well and is good at expressing myself when it comes to dancing on stage.

You are participating as a judge on audition program <Cap-Teen>. What do you focus on when watching an applicant's performance? SH: I think I mostly look at (the applicant's) charm and the feeling they give off. Even if they don't dance really well, if their face expressions are good and they are witty, it can still be considered charming. I personally like a simple and refreshing style of dancing.

I feel like you will think of the past while filming <Cap-Teen>? SH: Can't help it, the memories come to mind, yes. The times, when I had no definite plans yet, wasn't a trainee or part of a company yet. And to be able to give even the slightest advice to them is very meaningful to me.

What was your goal when you first debuted 5 years ago? SH: 5 years ago I had this vague thought ‘I want to become the best, I want to become number 1 singer’. That's because I knew nothing at the time.  Now I think ‘Let's be nice to our fans, let's be grateful’. If our fans personally come watch us on stage or if they only watch our videos. ‘Let's do our best for all kind of stages’ is our main thought. I think all of this makes us more grateful.

So you're trying your best to be good to your fans? If we look at Shownu related keyword search there's a ‘video call fansign’. You said ‘I left my jacket opened just for this fansign’ and it became a hot topic. SH: Am I really? I don't think that's me. I am not good when it comes to flirting and making witty comments. I also lack in freshness and don't have the strengths I should possess as an idol, which always makes me feel sorry for the fans who like me. There must be fans who want selfies, but I rarely take them. They just don't come out well. Nevertheless I can upload them after using photoshop so I've been trying to take more lately. It's still hard though. So I'm trying to repay fans in other ways.

This year is almost at its end, what kind of thoughts are in your head now that only 1 month is left? SH: Firstly, I want to finish this year well and turn over the "year 2020" page. I hope it ends well with no problems. As of now team promotions are really precious to me. There's a member who released a mixtape, another one is an MC, our individual activities are increasing this way. I want to keep working like this, doing some individual activities while also doing our best as a team.

When new year comes, one can feel fear and anxiety. Do you have this feeling when you think of the future? SH: I am not someone who thinks of this deeply, I don't live looking far into the future. Just doing my best and working on things in front of me at the time got me far all of a sudden. I don't feel anxious about the future, I think doing my best now will help me grow with time. I believe I'll get there at some point.

And, what is in front of you right now? SH: We have an English interview later at night. Then, I need to concentrate on our dance practice for our special stage that's going to be a part of year-end award ceremony next week. My goal is to pull off these well.

Do you have a favorite Christmas song? SH: ‘This Christmas’. It's a very old song and I heard it since I was young. I like it because it's less known than other carols. A lot of singers covered this song, but I especially like Donny Hathaway's version of it. I liked Chris Brown's version too but I've cut ties with him.(laugh)

This magazine's name is BEAUTY+ so I want to ask, what is something you considered pretty recently? SH: I think the staff gathered here today for the photoshoot are really pretty, because they're doing their respective work very well.

뷰티쁠 BEAUTY+  | Scan Reference Translation KR-ENG: Monsta X Europe