[INTERVIEW] Jewelry - "The Return of the Jewels" Part. 1

Jewelry members Yewon (left), Semi (second to left), Baby J (second to right) and Eunjung (right) pose together during the interview with Kstar10, held in Seoul, South Korea on October 15, 2012. [Brandon Chae/10Asia]

In the mid-2000s, Jewelry was considered as one of the hottest bands in the K-pop scene. After making their debut in 2001, the glittering stars rolled out an array of smash-hits including “I Really Like You,” “Superstar” and “One More Time."

However, the quartet was out of the spotlight for a long time due to continuous replacement of members. After former members Park Jung-ah and Seo In-young left the group, not a small number of fans were disappointed to see the changes the girls have gone through to become the 'new' Jewelry.

After "practicing to death everyday during a year and a half-long hiatus," the girls are now back on the stage with "Look At Me," and have been attracting rave reviews with their powerful movements and sexy concept. The majestic sound of the vocalists were more than enough to remind the audience of the former Jewelry.

Successfully wrapping up a round of comeback performances over the weekend, Jewelry members Eunjung, Yewon, Baby J and Semi sat down with the magazine and revealed behind-the-scene stories for "Look At Me" and their hiatus at a cafe in Seoul on October 15.

Yewon poses during the interview with Kstar10 in Seoul, South Korea on October 15, 2012. [Brandon Chae/10Asia]

<#10_QMARK#>Congratulations on your return to the music scene. You guys had successful comeback shows on KBS and SBS over the weekend. How do you feel about the performances?
<#10_AMARK#>Yewon: After finishing our comeback show on KBS “Music Bank,” we were fully satisfied with what we did there. So we told each other, 'Yes, now it's show time' and 'We finally did it!' That night, I wished we had a liquor to drink but sadly, that didn't happen because we had so much work to do the next morning.

<#10_QMARK#>The current K-pop trend is leaning towards releasing digital singles, mini-albums and studio albums with a very short interval. What took you guys so long to make a comeback?
<#10_AMARK#>Eunjung: We didn't even realize that we've been taking such a long break. During the hiatus, we practiced everyday just like that we were set to make a comeback any time soon, like tomorrow or next month. During our year and five month-long hiatus, we did take a break but met up for practice on a daily basis.

Baby J poses during the interview with Kstar10 in Seoul, South Korea on October 15, 2012. [Brandon Chae/10Asia]

<#10_QMARK#> I assume that you guys were very nervous to perform at a stage in such a long time.
<#10_AMARK#>Eunjung: There is a funny story about Baby J. I know for a fact that she is not the type of a person who gets nervous easily. But she was shaking so hard on our first comeback show.

<#10_AMARK#>Baby J: I couldn't help but get nervous because I had to rap alone for my solo song 'Rhythm Ha!.' When you watch the show, you can see other members standing behind me but I didn't know how to handle such a big burden alone at that time."

<#10_AMARK#>Eunjung: Since I met her for the first time, I have never seen her going nervous like that before. I was listening to her voice through my in-ears and I event felt her short breath.

<#10_AMARK#>Baby J: That was only because we relaxed too much! (laugh)

Semi poses during the interview with Kstar10 in Seoul, South Korea on October 15, 2012. [Brandon Chae/10Asia]

<#10_QMARK#>Semi [who is the youngest one in the group and appeared as one of the finalists in Mnet’s singing competition program “Superstar K”] has shown live performance on "Superstar K." Has that experience helped you when you were performing in front of the audience?
<#10_AMARK#>Semi: My experiences from “Superstar K” are great assets but on the other hand, it also helped me to get more stagefright. The experience remains to be the most frightening memory of my life. So if I were to stand alone on the stage, I will be frightened by it again. But as I'm performing with my girls now, I am no longer nervous about singing in front of the crowd.

Eunjung poses during the interview with Kstar10 in Seoul, South Korea on October 15, 2012. [Brandon Chae/10Asia]

※ Any copying, republication or redistribution of 10Asia's content is expressly prohibited without prior consent of 10Asia. Copyright infringement is subject to criminal and civil penalties.