Pre-orders up 40%... BoyNextDoor returns today (Nov. 15)

BoyNextDoor

[Kstar Jhon] The group BOYNEXTDOOR is back with a new album, "HOW?".

BOYNEXTDOOR (Sungho, Liu, Myungjaehyun, TaeSan, Leehan, and Unhak) will release their mini second album "HOW?" and the music video for the title track "Earth, Wind & Fire" at 6 p.m. today (May 15). With this comeback, the group will be embarking on their third activity and will showcase a differentiated musical world based on their 'Kitsch Core' style.

◼ Coming back in a steep rise...Global fans are interested in them

Boy Next Door's upward curve has gotten steeper as their activities have continued. The pre-orders for the new album were counted at 571,600 copies as of the morning of the 12th, three days before the comeback, which is nearly 40% higher than the final pre-orders for the previous mini album "WHY..." (414,451 copies).

In addition, the trailer film and track spoiler video for "HOW?" surpassed 1 million YouTube views on March 29 and March 13, respectively, and keywords related to the comeback were among the top X (formerly Twitter) real-time trends and search queries on Weibo, China's largest social networking site, during the promotion period, demonstrating the global fan interest in the new album. Boy Next Door will continue their upward momentum and showcase their 'mainstream' presence in this activity.

Highlights of "First Love Story Trilogy"...Members' own lyrics inspire peer empathy

Their second mini album, "HOW?" is the culmination of their "First Love Story Trilogy. In terms of time, it covers the story in between their debut single "WHO!", which sang about the excitement of first love, and mini album "WHY...", which depicted the pain of a breakup. Each track on the new album contains a variety of situations and emotions that anyone who has experienced their first love might have gone through at least once.

In particular, Myung Jaehyun, Tae San, and Unhak participated in the composition and writing of five songs, including the title track. They honestly express their feelings of first love in their own language, which resonates with their peers as they are going through their youth.

◼ 'Earth, Wind & Fire', the title track with the essence of 'kitschcore'

The title track "Earth, Wind & Fire" depicts the fluctuating emotions of love, which is like nature that cannot be controlled. The members' imagination and personality stand out as they compare love to nature such as earth, wind, and fire.

In order to express their emotions more clearly, Boy Next Door incorporated the style of 'kitschcore' into this album. 'Kitschcore' is a combination of kitsch and normcore, which means natural cool, and refers to Boy Next Door's wit with a kitschy sensibility with the friendliness of 'boys next door'.

'Earth, Wind & Fire' is a perfect example of this 'kitschcore' sensibility. The unique music video with the earth and space as the backdrop, the music with hyper pop elements, and the fresh performance are all areas where you can feel 'kitschcore'.

Meanwhile, BOYNEXTDOOR will meet with fans around the world through their comeback show "BOYNEXTDOOR TONI3HT" (BOYNEXTDOOR TONI3HT), which will be broadcast simultaneously on Mnet, M2, and Hive Labels' YouTube channel at 8 p.m. on the 15th, the day of the album release.

[Kstar Jhon / Photo courtesy of KOZ]