With nearly a year under their belt, four-member boy group BXB, which stands for “Boy By Brush” is ready to take on the world in their latest comeback, Chapter 2. Wings. Through the tracks “The Black Cat Nero,” “Airplane,” and “Found You,” members Hyunwoo, Jihun, Hamin, and Siwoo, formerly of TRCNG, hope to show a new side of themselves with experimental sounds, reinterpreted nursery rhymes, and dynamic choreography.
Kpopconcerts.com had the opportunity to hear from BXB at their album release press conference about preparing for the comeback, the inspiration behind their music, and what they hope to achieve as they reach their debut anniversary.
During the conference, Hamin stated that Chapter 2. Wings is a “journey-like concept where the double title songs complement each other” and represents the different sides of BXB. Additionally, Jihun added that Chapter 2. Wings explored the theme of youth similarly to Chapter 1. Our Youth, their previous release. This time around, however, Chapter 2. Wings “includes remake songs and a slightly different style.”
“In Chapter 1, we mainly explored individual emotions, but in Chapter 2, I think we wanted to express the memories and freedom of traveling with friends,” Jihun explained.
Hyunwoo, the group’s leader, mentioned that filming the music videos for the album’s songs was a highlight of the preparations. But the process of working toward the comeback wasn’t without challenges.
“I think the most difficult part now is the dance performances. We are now in a place where public performances are frequent, and those are the most powerful dances we’ve performed since we became BXB,” said Siwoo. “It’s been a while since we’ve danced to the powerful choreography that we performed in the song ‘Black Cat Nero.’ Also, we have participated in the creation of both ‘Airplane’ and ‘Black Cat Nero,’ so it was a bit difficult to create the choreography points for both of them.”
Despite the challenge of balancing both choreography and production of the album’s songs, Hyunwoo noted that BXB enjoyed the creative process, particularly for the pre-release track “The Black Cat Nero.” The song has a long history that goes back to 1969 as an Italian children’s song originally called “Volevo un gatto nero.” In the years since the Italian song’s release, it has been covered by many artists in countries like Japan, North America, Finland, Denmark, and France.
BXB’s own iteration is a cover of a popular Korean version released by Turbo in 1995. In 2020, ATEEZ collaborated with former Turbo member Kim Jong Kook on a theatrical, rock-inspired version of the song. In contrast, BXB’s version retains the song’s tango roots but experiments with modern genres like Jersey Club and hip-hop. According to Hyunwoo, BXB was inspired by the global influence and fun nature of the song.
“We thought we might enjoy it, so we tried to achieve the black cat style. And we thought that the keyword ‘black cat’ itself suited us very well,” he explained. “Black cats have a very cute appearance, but they are also bold and dodgy and mature. We thought that such a mature look would suit us well, so we used that on this album.”
The release of Chapter 2. Wings on January 11 falls close to BXB’s debut anniversary on January 30. Towards the end of the press conference, they expressed their gratitude for each milestone and shared some final thoughts on their achievements to date.
“It seems like we were just a week away from our debut, but we are now thinking of celebrating our first anniversary. I think a lot about the congratulations we received from you all on our 100, 200, and 300 days anniversaries,” Siwoo shared candidly. “On the 100th day, we met the fans in person to celebrate. And although we couldn’t meet fans on the 200th and 300th, we celebrated through our livestreams, so it felt really good. That was the most memorable moment of 2023.”
Hyunwoo added that as BXB continues to move forward, he hopes that they can do promotions and maybe even a world tour in places such as North America in the coming year.
Hamin shared Hyunwoo and Siwoo’s sentiments. In a closing message to fans, he said, “As the new year dawns, I feel very honored and proud, and hope we’ll be able to share good news about BXB. I hope we spend a bright and hopeful 2024 together with BXB stages and songs.”
Be sure to check out BXB’s second single album Chapter 2. Wings, which is now available on all major streaming platforms.
Thank you to BXB and NACE PR for the opportunity!