YG’s new group WINNER showed their determination as singer-songwriters.

The five members proved they were worth the wait when the title track “empty” from their debut album “2014 S/S” unveiled on August 12 swept across 9 major South Korean music charts immediately after release.

They then moved on to seize the trophies on Mnet’s M Countdown and KBS 2TV’s Music Bank, fulfilling the expectation of the fans as the first boy group of YG Entertainment in 9 years since BIGBANG.

WINNER recently showcased their debut performance on August 15 at Jamsil Sports Complex when YG Family held a concert for “AIA REAL LIFE: NOW Festival 2014.” They commented, “We haven’t performed in Korea for a while, and it felt like we were home. It felt great.”

KANG SEUNGYOON thanked the fans by saying, “Out of all fans, those in Korea waited the longest for us, and I was grateful that we could show them our first performance. Their enthusiasm gave us a lot of energy. We did that performance before we made a debut on TV, and on SBS’s Inkigayo, we were able to sing with much confidence.”

LEE SEUNGHOON added, “With other YG artists, we were on stage for the first YG Family concert in Korea. I was tearing up thinking that we are really part of the YG Family. It was overwhelming. I was moved by the thought that we are one of the YG Family members, under the name WINNER.”

WINNER’s debut was more dynamic than any other groups, which heightened the expectations for their future. They want to steer away from being provocative and instead focus on showing themselves in music. To the question “WINNER is (blank),” each member came up with different answers, but they all pointed to one direction—they will become a group with infinite potential.

“WINNER is a delicious cocktail. It is a mixture of many kinds of alcohol and beverages. Our cocktail will be a whole new one. The ingredients we have are so individualistic that the outcome will be something that no one has ever tasted before.” (KANG SEUNGYOON)

“WINNER is tofu. The process of making tofu is time-consuming. There are soft ones and hard ones, and we also have many different sides to show. Tofu is also really versatile. WINNER is also like that, we went through a long period of training, and we want to produce music that is not too provocative but ‘soft’ and ‘approachable.’ ‘Familiarity’ is what we aim for rather than ‘dynamism.’” (LEE SEUNGHOON)

“WINNER is kimchi. Kimchi goes well with any food. It can also be used as an ingredient to cook something. Like SEUNGHOON said, we want to approach the audience with music that has diverse charms.” (NAM TAEHYUN)

“WINNER is space. Many researchers study space, but as you dig deeper, you get more new information. It is a place with infinite potential. We want to become a group like that.” (KIM JINWOO)

“WINNER is rice paper roll. You can choose your own ingredients to make your own roll. I want to produce music that the listeners can choose and listen. Rice paper roll is made of fresh and healthy ingredients, and we want to create music like that.” (SONG MINHO)

© YG-LIFE