[INTERVIEW] AOA: Musical Sisters' Harmony - Pt. 1

AOA members Jimin (left), Mina (second to left), Hyejeong (third to left), Seolhyun (center), Chanmi (third to right), Yuna (second to right), and Choa (right) pose in a studio for their debut album "Angel's Story," dropped on July 30, 2012. [FNC Entertainment]

Year 2012 has presented extremely large variations of girl groups in the local music scene. About 200 members from 40 female bands have stood on the stage just this year alone.

Like angels falling down from the sky, the AOA members surprised the viewers with the well-mixed concept of a girly dance group and a band. With their experience built from hard training and a strong mindset, AOA busted out powerful moves and played instruments for the debut single “Elvis.” The eight angelic girls are composed of two units, a band unit, AOA Black, and a dance unit, AOA White.

Marking a month since their debut, Kstar10 had a brief but unique interview session with the seven angles on the set of Mnet’s music show “M! CountDown,” in Seoul on September 6.

Seolhyun

AOA member Sulhyun poses for her profile picture in their debut album "Angel's Story," released on July 30, 2012. [FNC Entertainment]

We are mostly eating when we are in our vans. I think our fans will be surprised by the amount of food that we eat. We do sleep but most of the time we eat because we don’t get to eat on time, mostly. We like to eat rice cakes. We all love to eat rice cakes.

My parents supported my dream of becoming a singer and they've never opposed it. The only thing that they were worried about is whether I can actually achieve my dream. My parents and I were worried up until the point where I signed my contract with FNC Entertainment, but now, they always tell me how proud they are of me.

We have never fought with each other before. Seriously! I think it’s because we spent so much time together as trainees and nothing has changed even after we moved into our dorm. It feels like having a sleepover with friends every night for us. (Laugh)

Choa

AOA member Choa poses for her profile picture in their debut album "Angel's Story," released on July 30, 2012. [FNC Entertainment]

I was once hooked on eating smoked salmon. It tasted so good all of a sudden and I couldn’t stop eating it. I had salmon for all my meals and I ran out of my allowance.

Our manager said that we eat more than other boy bands. We not only eat a lot for a meal but have many snacks too. We spend a lot for our food expenses--about 50 thousand Korean Won [about 44 U.S. Dollars] for just a drink to give around to each member.

I hope CNBLUE’s Jung Yong-hwa makes us a song again. He gave us a beautiful ballad for our debut album and I wish the next tune would be filled with more pop sounds. Although our group sings songs that suit the general public's taste, I’m sure we can do great when trying a new genre as well.

Hyejeong

AOA member Hyejeong poses for her profile picture in their debut album "Angel's Story," released on July 30, 2012. [FNC Entertainment]

We have three rappers and that's one of the features that differentiate us from other groups. This was apparent in our album too. Since we have more rappers than other groups, I think we can do something that other groups can’t do.

My parents got interested in the entertainment business earlier than I did. I also wanted to be a TV personality but I was a bit shy, so my mother applied for a supermodel contest on behalf of me. She supported me and backed me up so I could be a trainee of FNC Entertainment. She told me, ‘I've set you free in the sea, so now you swim by yourself.’

I love stretching and yoga. I do it every day, and I am so interested in it. I wasn’t that flexible at the beginning, but I got much better as time went by.

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10 아시아 Reporter : Lucia Hong luciahong@
10 아시아 Lee Hye Ji hjlee@
10 아시아 Editor : Monica Suk monicasuk@