The Boss comments on their career in Japan and Korea + goals for the future

While lately the trend has been to perform catchy and strong dance songs, The Boss challenged themselves with their mournful ballad "Lady." After a mere three weeks of promotions for their latest single, the group will be leaving to Japan for the release of their 5th Japanese single "Love Days," in December. 

Member Injun explained the story behind it by telling that it's about a guy who tries to hold on to his girl after he was caught cheating on her. "Since the days before we debuted, our characteristic point has always been our distinct voices. I think 'Lady' is a song where you can really hear all our individual voices," Hyunmin added. 

The Boss's harmony is like a rainbow
Injun was also quick to emphasize that the group holds a great passion of succeeding as a group that not only produces dance music, but can stand out with its vocals as well. "All of us love singing and have great interest in it, so even if it isn't practice time, it's natural for us to sing as we go about our daily lives. We're like a rainbow," Karam said, making a connection between their voices and their friendship. "Our voices are good on our own, but together it becomes even better," he added. 

Maknae Jay was also praised for his dancing by his groupmates. "Jay is good at singing, but I've always thought he's a genius when it comes to dancing. He's really good at it," Hyunmin revealed. Leader Mika added that he had seen Jay for the first time when the latter was still in the 6th grade. "I was so shocked. He's confident and talented," Mika commented. Jay gave a shy smile when he heard his group members' compliments.

Lonely in Japan
The Boss debuted in 2010 with "Admiring Boy" but were quick to crossover to Japan with the release of their first Japanese single "Love Power" early this year. Without knowing how to speak Japanese and having to deal with the separation from their families and friends, Karam admitted that they had found it hard to cope at first. "It was a time when we learned a lot and came to realize a lot. We worked hard on our Japanese alongside our official debut. Our musical range greatly increased as well," Karam added. Exposure to a different kind of music culture gave them interest in different types of music, leading to a natural development of their musical senses and interests.

Though the members have been together for more as four years, the differences between their lives in Korea and Japan caused multiple conflicts between the members. They revealed, however, that the five of them grew closer and more attached to each other. "To reconcile, we approach each other quietly and offer an ice cream. Somehow that alleviates the tension," Karam added.

Being away from home also means being away from parents and friends, meaning that the members had to manage their lives on their own. The only member still in its teens, Jay, revealed that he had hard times during their stay in Japan. "I'm used to it now, but at the start there wasn't anyone else but the members and our manager. I felt very lonely when the only contact I had with my family was to hear their voices over the phone. Because of our schedules it wasn't possible to contact my family often. I managed to get rid of my loneliness through conversations with the other members. I had many heart-to-heart talks with leader Mika, so we've become quite close," Jay said. 

To the members of The Boss, there are no differences between fans in Japan or Korea. Injun remarked that they would often get the question, "There aren't any differences between the fans; the only ones are cultural. Japanese fans tend to home-make very fancy and varied materials, while Korean fans tend to homogenize everything neatly into one particular style." Hyunmin added that Korean fans are enthusiastic, while Japanese fans are mostly shy.

Monitoring other stars to improve themselves
With a continuously growing music business in Korea, many idol groups debut every year, and many of them achieve many things. It is normal that young groups such as The Boss themselves look up to groups who have already managed to get a fixed spot in the industry. Injun and Hyunmin in particular were quick to reveal their ideal girls being none other than Girls' Generation's Taeyeon and the members of KARA. 

Hyunmin revealed that the person who's been composing for them since debut has also written a song for Taeyeon, "I Love You," which was added to the "Athena" OST. "According to the songwriter, after she recorded for thirty minutes she came out and held a three hour long conversation in order to thoroughly understand the song," Hyunmin said. Hyunmin also added that because his own voice is husky, he prefers girls with a bright tone.

As known by many fans, The Boss looks up to top group TVXQ and chose them as their role model. Leader Mika justified their choice by saying that TVXQ's live performances are always outstanding. Mika commented, "We heard so many good things about them when their latest album was released. It's amazing how passionate they are on stage." Hyunmin added in admiration, "It's always so hard to predict what their next album will be like. We want to be a group like TVXQ which is constantly evolving and developing."

Growing ambitions and goals
With their growing ambitions, the group also has various goals they want to achieve throughout their career. One of them is a solo concert. "If we have a solo concert, our fans from all over the world can come and see us," they commented. When asked when the solo concert will take place, the boys chorused, "If we work hard, maybe next year?" 

In another related interview, the boys also mentioned that one of their goals is to stay active for a long time as a long-lasting group. They want to become true musicians that can digest any genre, and want to show new sides to the fans, revealing that there is no end to them.

The Boss has been showing their fresh and cheery attitudes during talks about their ambitions, as well as Korean and overseas activities. They have been slowly showing and improving their skills since they debuted, making the anticipation for their next Korean comeback grow even more.