Since 2015, the 13 members of SEVENTEEN have been singing and dancing their way into hearts around the world. And with the arrival of the K-pop group's new repackage album, SECTOR 17, the party continues.
For S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, HOSHI, Wonwoo, WOOZI, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino, providing comfort and quality music for their fans — known as Carats — is expected. Their world is filled with the glitz and glam that entices many to the genre of K-pop, but there's also a maturity and grace to the way they perform their songs.
SECTOR 17 adds four new songs to SEVENTEEN's 2022 album Face the Sun: "CHEERS," "Circles," "Fallin Flower (Korean Ver.)," and "_WORLD." Now a seasoned group, their love for self-producing and creating memorable songs are on full display.
Split into three units — hip-hop, vocal, and performance — the group is involved in everything from lyric writing to choreography, and has built a stacked discography that spans genres, concepts and topics. While the group were known for cheerful concepts early on, this album is laced with more versatility and nuance, showcasing their growth as artists.
As SEVENTEEN release their latest repackage and prepare for their upcoming North American tour (which launches Aug. 10 in Vancouver, Canada), Joshua, Vernon and unit leaders HOSHI, S. Coups, and WOOZI discuss SECTOR 17, their upcoming tour, and what makes the group special. Despite now being K-pop heavyweights, the guys are humble and friendly — and above all, just happy to be doing what they love.
Face the Sun was your first Billboard 200 Top 10 charting album, what did that accomplishment mean to you?
Joshua: We were just very thankful. It was a very humbling experience for us, because without our Carats, we wouldn't have been able to reach this new milestone. It was a very humbling experience. It also reminded us that there are so many people by our side rooting for us. That thought made us want to work even harder to work harder for our Carats.
"CHEERS" is a very high-tempo song. How does it relate to SEVENTEEN's journey as a group, and specifically to the leaders who perform it?
HOSHI: The last time we released a song by SVT LEADERS was 2017, almost five years ago. There is a unique color and charm to SVT LEADERS that clearly deviates from that of SEVENTEEN's as a whole. We wanted to clearly mark this new beginning for SEVENTEEN with a new track with the three leaders, and also mark down how far we've come.
S.COUPS: For SEVENTEEN right now, I feel like we ourselves are one of the biggest sources of inspiration to each other. "CHANGE UP" — the first SVT LEADERS track — was released two years after our debut. Naturally, "CHANGE UP" felt more like a song of a newcomer unafraid and willing to take on challenges. We now have much greater confidence in ourselves and our team which we've built through the seven years together. "CHEERS" is a manifestation of that confidence, and pride we take in SEVENTEEN.
What do the four new songs on SECTOR 17 add to the album?
Vernon: SECTOR 17 is the world we find after our journey to Face the Sun. In Face the Sun, the album ends with the song "Ash." Out of the ashes, you are able to find a new world which is SECTOR 17. That's how the story continues.
Do you guys have a favorite out of the four new songs?
Joshua: For me, it will be "_WORLD."
Vernon: I like "_WORLD." I like "Circles." Yeah, I think those are my two best songs.
Why do you choose those?
Joshua: "_WORLD" definitely marks the new start after renewing our contracts. It's a new beginning for us as a team. It marks a new beginning to our new journey.
Vernon: I think I'll choose "_WORLD" too. It's easy listening.
Vernon, WOOZI, and S. COUPS, I know you helped write on "_WORLD." What was your contribution and inspiration when making this song? Why do you think it's a fitting single?
Vernon: I wrote the first part of the second verse, the part where I rap. "I'm not knocking on heaven's door," that's an obvious reference to Bob Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door."
Bumzu [SECTOR 17 producer and longtime SEVENTEEN collaborator] wanted me to write something that reminded [him of] some sort of dreamland or wonderland. Maybe something where Alice might fall into. I write about whipped-cream clouds, and how I'm stepping on the sunset with my All Stars on. It was fun.
WOOZI: "_WORLD" is a song that centers around the idea of a "new world." Since this current chapter of ours began from the mindset that we are now marching towards new heights, we put a lot of emphasis on the story we tell through both our 4th studio album Face the Sun and its deluxe edition, SECTOR 17.
"_WORLD" felt like the right song to bring that story to a climax. At the same time, the goal of presenting a side of SEVENTEEN that contrasts with the side we showed through "HOT" was another factor that went into consideration.
S.COUPS: "_WORLD" is a meaningful track in the context of SEVENTEEN's story, but it's music anyone can listen to with a light heart. It has the sort of energy that can brighten up your day, the sort that is iconic to SEVENTEEN. We hope our listeners will be able to breeze through this summer with "_WORLD" as their soundtrack.
What does the title SECTOR 17 represent for you guys?
Vernon: A new world. A new ideal world for SEVENTEEN and Carats together.
This album seems to largely be about your hope for the future and having no limits. What do you hope fans gain from the messages in this album?
Vernon: A positive outlook on life.
Joshua: Life in general.
Vernon: Hope for the future, you know? We're on this journey together. Searching for a new world together.
Joshua: And even if you're going through hardships right now, those hardships eventually pass. You should definitely look forward to a brighter future, is what we want our fans to gain from this album.
Are there any standout memories from preparing the album or filming a music video?
Vernon: [The "_WORLD"] music video was really fun shooting. They did a really good job in the set design. We were really astounded. So the location we shot, it's originally a... what do you call a hyugeso in English? A place where you can take a break when you're on a highway.
There are a lot of those kinds of places in Korea. It's that kind of place, but no one uses it anymore. We've shot a couple of times in that location. They did such a good job with the set design, it looked like a totally different place. It really felt like a dream shooting there. It was fun.
How would you describe SEVENTEEN's growth as a group?
Joshua: We're definitely more confident than before through our growth. The growth of our Carats and the amount of support that they show us just gives us so much confidence.
We're allowed to explore a lot of diversity in genres because of our Carats. We don't have to be concerned whether or not this genre's going to match us or suit us because whatever we do, we're confident that our Carats will love it. We're able to be more honest with our feelings and our storytelling through music because of that growth.
Vernon: Carats are the main reason for our growth. That just really fuels our ambition. We're so grateful and at the same time, we're just so hungry for more.
You guys released an English song as well with "Darl+ing." Why did you guys want to release that?
Joshua: To show how thankful we are to our international fans. Even if we released — like beforehand — all Korean songs, they would try to interpret it and translate it in order to understand our lyrics. It was kind of like a thank-you gift to our Carats. We're really thankful for the response because our Carats loved it a lot.
Vernon: Yeah, and it was about time. We debuted in 2015. It's 2022. We just really hope that our international Carats would love it. And I think they did. I loved it.
What are you guys most excited about at this point in your careers?
Joshua: Well, something that's coming soon for us is our tour — our US tour — which is coming really soon. It's been a minute since we've been on tour, so we're really, really excited for that. Like you said before, Billboard, our new milestone, that was really big for us too in our career.
How will this tour be different from your last tour?
Joshua: We're going to be performing a lot of songs that we haven't performed yet in front of our Carats.
Vernon: The last tour was in 2019, and it's 2022. And we've released so many more new songs since then. That's definitely something to look forward to.
How does it feel to be performing live for your international fans after such a long time that you couldn't?
Joshua: We're just really, really, really, really excited. I can't emphasize that enough. We want them to take away an experience that is greater than watching the show. We just want to make a lot of good memories for our Carats.
Vernon: Since COVID, our latest concert [Seoul, 6/25 and 6/26] was the first show with an audience presence. It was amazing. We had so much fun there, which is why we're just so excited for our tour — to meet all the Carats around the world. To share that same energy with everyone.