AMPERS&ONE
Two years after the seven-member AMPERS&ONE (앰퍼샌드원) made their debut, the K-pop group is enjoying its My First_ in North America tour — which kicked off yesterday (Feb. 17) in Miami.
KAMDEN, KYRELL, MACKIAH, JIHO, SIYUN and SEUNGMO are ethnically Korean, but hail from three different countries (South Korea, United States, Australia). (BRIAN is ethnically Chinese, but was born and raised in Canada.)
In this exclusive interview, which was conducted in Korean and English prior to the group’s kickoff date, AMPERS&ONE opened up about the difficulties of learning a new language, watching favorite shows like “The Office,” and why Chuck E. Cheese is on one member’s bucket list of places to visit.
🇺🇸KAMDEN (the leader of the group) and KYRELL (USA)
🇨🇦BRIAN (Canada)
🇦🇺MACKIAH (Australia)
🇰🇷JIHO, SIYUN and SEUNGMO (South Korea)
Question: It’s not uncommon for K-pop groups to have foreign members. But I believe that AMPERS&ONE is the only K-pop boy band that has more western members than Korean nationals. Was there a culture shock for any of you, especially when you were trainees?
🇺🇸KAMDEN: I spent my childhood here in Korea for a long time and heard about a day in the life of a trainee often from people around, so there wasn’t such a shock.
🇺🇸KYRELL: I was surprised by the Korean delivery system. Nearly every restaurant does delivery so you can get food anytime and it comes within 20 minutes!
🇰🇷SIYUN: I didn’t feel that much difference. There were many things I could learn and help with in terms of language.
🇰🇷SEUNGMO: It was interesting to see that foreign members always make sure to eat breakfast, whereas Koreans seem to value sleeping more than breakfast.
Q: How did you bridge the language barriers?
🇰🇷JIHO: Since the members are from various nationalities, we use a lot of Korean and English in our conversations, which was a bit difficult at first. But as time went on, both our Korean and English abilities increased, so I think it was a good effect for every member.
🇨🇦BRIAN: When we first debuted, my Korean was still really bad so it was kind of hard to communicate with the Korean members. But now that I’ve improved, a lot it has become easier.
Q: How does your cultural diversity affect your music?
🇺🇸KYRELL: It impacts our music a lot in terms of lyrics.
🇦🇺MACKIAH: We come from many different cultures where the music may be different, so I think that allows us to mix many genres in one.
Q: Foreign languages can be very difficult to learn for many people. How long did it take for you to become proficient in each other’s langauges?
🇰🇷SIYUN: I have an app for studying English, so I study on it when I have time. Also, I get a lot of help from the members. I think my pronunciation has improved since my debut.
🇦🇺MACKIAH: When I was just a few months old, I came to Korea with my parents and lived here for around seven to eight years. That allowed me to become fluent in Korean. Also, I learned English consistently with my father. When I moved back to Australia, I became more fluent in English. In Australia, I continued using Korean in my Korean communities and also went to a Korean school every Saturday with my siblings.
Q: When you hang out, do you speak in Korean or English? Maybe Konglish?
🇺🇸KAMDEN: Konglish all the way! [Laughs] Our group’s specialty is that we all try to improve and practice the language each member thinks they lack so that, you know, we can meet in the middle.
🇰🇷SEUNGMO: We talk a little bit more in Korean, and the foreign members usually talk a lot in English. I tend to use Konglish a lot.
Q: JIHO, you previously compared “ONE QUESTION” to bibimbap. I understand the analogy, but could you explain what you meant by that to our non-Korean readers?
🇰🇷JIHO: Korean bibimbap is a food that shows its best flavor when various ingredients are gathered and mixed. And I thought that the songs on [our album] “ONE QUESTION” were like the ingredients of bibimbap — each song’s charm being distinctly different and showing its best when they are all together.
Q: Can you please share a little about the artists you respect?
🇺🇸KAMDEN: I love and respect Sire lately. His music is so chill and it often makes me feel cool and more confident whenever I listen to it. I admire him to the point where, in the future, I hope to produce and sing songs like his!
🇰🇷SIYUN: I’ve been a fan of Baekhyun since I was a trainee, and I studied and imitated his tone, vocalization and singing style because he sang ballads, R&B and K-pop — according to their respective styles. It helped me to get my tone and style. I still listen to him a lot and learn from him.
🇦🇺MACKIAH: Recently I have enjoyed listening to Dave, who is a UK artist. The way he tells stories through his lyricism and the different vibes he brings is very inspiring for me to become better myself.
Q: When you have free time, what do you like to do? And sleep is a valid answer!
🇰🇷JIHO: I like to write lyrics and top lines for my songs. When I want to do something active, I like to go bowling with the members.
🇨🇦BRIAN: I like to play games, go shopping and hang out with friends.
Q: From the outside looking in, your life can seem very glamorous. But what is your day-to-day life when you’re not performing or appearing on shows?
🇰🇷SEUNGMO: Even when we’re not performing on stage, we spend most of our time preparing for our performances. We practice a lot for lessons and our shows. When we have time to spare, some of us have time for our hobbies and some of us just sleep. For me, I’ve been taking time to write songs or sleep lately.
🇺🇸KYRELL: There’s no better feeling than being on stage! Even when I’m not performing, I think my day-to-day life still revolves around my work and my art. I like to work out so I can dance better and look better. I’m slowly getting into shopping so I can upgrade my fashion. And we spend a lot of time practicing and eating. [Laughs]
Q: What is the last good show or film you’ve watched?
🇺🇸KAMDEN: I enjoyed “Inside Out 2”! Something I particularly loved about this movie is how it sort of taught me a lesson of carefully thinking about my own emotions before attempting something — whether that be starting a new task or trying something new. That was something I found insightful.
🇨🇦BRIAN: There’s a show called “The Office” and it was probably the first show that I’ve ever watched from the beginning to the end. It’s a really fun watch!
🇰🇷JIHO: Before my debut, I used to watch a lot of shows and Netflix series. But after my debut, I didn’t have much time to watch them. The last one I remember was “Twenty-Five Twenty-One.”
🇰🇷SIYUN: I don’t usually watch dramas or movies, but recently I watched “The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call.” I’ve been enjoying and re-watching lately!
🇺🇸KYRELL: I recently watched “Mamma Mia” for the first time. I always knew songs like “Dancing Queen” and “Mamma Mia,” but I’d never seen the film, so it was great to be able to associate the characters and scenes to the music. It made the music so much more fun to listen to.
🇰🇷SEUNGMO: I don’t usually watch long series, but “Harry Potter” is the only one I’ve ever watched and still remember.
🇦🇺MACKIAH: The most recent one I have watched is “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire”!
Q: One of the complaints from fans is that many K-pop groups tend to play maybe three or four big cities and that’s it. Your North American tour is quite extensive. What made you decide that you would hit some of the smaller markets, as well as bigger cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago?
🇺🇸KAMDEN: We truly hoped to introduce and share what AMPERS&ONE represents and meet [our fandom] Andears (앤디어) from all many different places as possible. I am looking forward to creating unforgettable memories.
🇺🇸KYRELL: I think the biggest reason is that it’s our first time meeting our fans in the U.S. and we wanted to allow as many fans to see us for the first time!
Q: I don’t know if your schedule will allow time for sightseeing, but are there places you’d like to see during your time in America?
🇺🇸KAMDEN If I had the time, I wanted to go to my hometown, Seattle, and revisit the neighborhood I used to live in.
🇨🇦BRIAN: I would love to go to the beach and go eat some New York pizza!
🇰🇷JIHO: I’d love to visit the vintage shops on the street. And if I go to Boston for the first time in a while, I’d love to visit the school I used to go to.
🇰🇷SIYUN: I don’t have a specific place to go, but I’d rather spend time with members eating delicious food, shopping and getting a feel for what it’s like to be on the streets of America!
🇺🇸KYRELL: I’ve always loved In-N-Out Burger, so I’m hoping we can stop there. [Laughs] But I would love to visit Times Square, see all the amazing memorials and monuments in D.C., try some Texas Barbeque and see The Bean in Chicago. There’s so much, honestly! I think it would be so great to go with all the members.
🇰🇷SEUNGMO: I want to go to Hollywood and take a lot of pictures. I want to walk around the city of New York listening to music. And I want to go to Times Square.
🇦🇺MACKIAH: If I got the chance, I would love to visit Chuck E. Cheese with the members. It looks like a fun place to eat and do activities. As a child, I watched many videos on YouTube that were filmed in Chuck E. Cheese and it was always on my bucket list.
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