By Hasan Beyaz
To celebrate CLOSE YOUR EYES' comeback with 256th Note, we caught up with each member individually.
Vulnerability isn't something SONG SEUNGHO performs quickly. When a track on 256th Note – CLOSE YOUR EYES’ fourth mini album – calls for something fragile or honest, he slows right down, reading every line closely before deciding how plainly to sing it, resisting the urge to reach for drama when restraint says more. That same instinct disappears entirely the moment he's off stage. Ask him about group decisions and he'll tell you, without hesitation, that he's the "anything's fine" member, the one who lets the collective call take the lead over his own preference.
Stage nerves are the exception to that easy-going streak. SEUNGHO is candid about it: steady through practice, then visibly flustered the second a performance goes live, a tension he's had to work through since his earliest days with the group, when the nerves cost him more than he'd have liked. With this era, he wants CLOSER to see something different, a version of the group that isn't performing composure for the camera so much as actually enjoying being on stage.
Get to know SONG SEUNGHO in our Meet the Member interview series with CLOSE YOUR EYES below.
When a song asks you to sound vulnerable instead of confident, what do you do differently in the recording studio?
SONG SEUNGHO If a song calls for a fragile, honest feeling, I think I really read every single line of the lyrics and pay close attention to them. And I try to sing it as plainly and simply as I can!
What do you hope CLOSER understand about you after this album that they didn't before?
With this album, I want to show CLOSER a side of us that's free and just enjoying the stage. We'll be showing you something different, so please look forward to it!
What do you think your personality specifically brings to the group dynamic?
I have a cheerful and outgoing personality, and I like creating a positive atmosphere, so I always try to make the team feel brighter and more energetic.
When something unexpected happens during practice or on stage, what does your personality usually do in that moment?
In practice, I'm pretty unfazed when something unexpected happens, but on stage I get very flustered, so back when I didn't have much stage experience, I made a lot of mistakes and it was really hard.
When the members need to make a decision as a group, what role do you naturally find yourself taking?
I listen carefully to the members' opinions, and usually I end up in the “anything's fine with me” role, going along with whatever we decide.