110926 [News] CNBLUE, “From Shows in Supermarkets to Yokohama Arena, It Feels Like a Dream.”

“Taken over Yokohama Arena that they’ve dreamed of.”

Four-member boy band CNBLUE, who successfully ended their indie music activities and will make their official major debut in Japan, revealed their thoughts.

On Sep 26, before the 2011 CNBLUE Live in Yokohama Arena concert, they met with the Japanese and Korean press. More than fifty Japanese media and 30 Korean media were at the press conference. The huge number of attendees at the press conference reveals the growing popularity of CNBLUE.

Leader Jung Yonghwa said, “The first time we stood on the Yokohama Arena stage, we were doing a K-POP concert. I had this thought that it’d be nice if we could have a concert of our own here. Now our dream has come true;  I’m very happy.”

Lee Jonghyun said, emotionally and excitedly,“I remember when we used to have street performances, we once performed in a supermarket in Yokohama. Mothers and their children saw our performance then. Now we will be standing on the stage of Yokohama Arena.”

Before their Korean debut, they have been in Japan. That’s why they were very interested in Japan’s band music.  Jung Yonghwa saind “We’ve seen B’z on Summer Sonic in Japan. They’re so cool. We want to be like B’z too, keep doing cool music for a long time.” He added, “If we could have the opportunity, making an album with a Japanese band together would be a most honorable thing.”

CNBLUE was invited as guest (opening act) at the Linkin Park concert held in Makuhari Messe on Sep 10. Jung Yonghwa said, “We’re really worried that cans or PET bottles would be thrown at us. Luckily we had a happy time with the Linkin Park fans. We’re thankful to them. I hope we can be guests of other musicians’ concerts often. That way, we can build up our skills.”

They revealed that after signing with a major label, they will still make music of their own style. Jung Yonghwa said, “We’ve been learning hard to make music of various colors as a band. Though we’re debuting in the major music scene, our unique music style won’t change. We’ll keep doing music with what we’ve learned from our indie days, learning new things along the way too.”

CNBLUE’s last indie album is titled “392”, which means “Thank You Too”. Blending the Japanese pronunciation of “3 and 9” with “2”that means too much, a title was born. Drummer Kang Minhyuk said, “Just want to send our gratitude to the many fans who have loved and supported us so much.”

CNBLUE have been building their skills, doing band activities in Japan, where idols aren’t as common. They have never appeared on TV or other media, but have held more than 100 performances on the streets, in clubs, as well as in the form of one man lives.

CNBLUE was no.16 on the Oricon indies yearly chart in 2010, no. 9 on overall yearly chart in 2010 (klaritia’s note: the numbers got switched?). 392, released in 2011 as the last indie album, has been no.1 on Oricon indies daily as well as Oricon indies weekly charts.

The day’s concert was their last activity as an indie band. For an indie band to hold a concert in Yokohama Arena with a capacity of 15,000 attendees, it’s a rare phenomenon. The CNBLUE concert tickets were sold out minutes after sales opened. That’s evidence of their popularity in Japan.

CNBLUE has signed with Warner Music Japan, officially debuting on Oct 19.

Source: Nate
Chinese translation by : Sonotriste 
English translation by: Klaritia
Shared by: fizzy @ cnbluestorm