[INTERVIEW] Jewelry - "The Return of the Jewels" Part. 2

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

<#10_QMARK#>When we see your album's title track "Look At Me," we can feel that confidence in your music. In some ways, the opening stage of "Look At Me" reminds me of the famous musical "Chicago," which seemingly meets with former Jewelry's style. What do you want to express with the title track and this album?
<#10_AMARK#>Baby J: Yes, we did intend to exude a "Chicago"-like atmosphere on the stage!

<#10_AMARK#>Eunjung: When we promoted "Back It Up" last year, the outcome was not that good. So I figured the title of a song really determines the fate of the artists. (laugh) We hope to catch the public’s eyes and ears again with the title tune this time, just like its name, "Look At Me." We want to rise again and show off our sexiness and powerful performance.

<#10_AMARK#>Semi: But we are trying not to stick to a certain concept. Because we're bringing out a sexy concept this time, the next one will be with a beautiful ballad or a powerful hip-hop song. We want to keep transforming ourselves.

<#10_AMARK#>Eunjung: With this lineup, Baby J, Yewon, Semi and myself, we just rolled out three albums. We didn't have many chances to show our true colors yet. During the hiatus, we have shared thoughts about our future music style and concept. We realized that the public still misses former Jewelry's look. Interestingly, people really love our new album because not only does "Look At Me" capture former Jewelry's charm, but also what we have always wanted to try.

<#10_QMARK#>Then what do you expect to achieve by the end of the album promotion?
<#10_AMARK#>Eunjung: We hope to imprint our name 'Jewelry' in the public mind. And also we want people to see as a skillful group that makes them wait for the next album. Just like former Jewelry members Park Jung-ah and Seo In-young have succeeded, We want to model ourselves after the two. They have approached to the public in a friendly way and expressed their strong musical color.

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

<#10_QMARK#>You guys wrote the lyrics to "Party Rebel" by yourselves this time. Can you explain how the process of writing the lyrics went?
<#10_AMARK#>Semi: All of us wrote our own version of the lyrics to the whole song. And then we picked out good parts from the four different versions to make it into one.

<#10_AMARK#>Eunjung: Because rapper Baby J has experiences in writing lyrics before, we first cast doubt on other members' writing lyrics. But we now figured all of us have a gift for music. Combining the four lyrics into one was less hard than I had expected.

<#10_AMARK#>Semi: Now we all have the copyright to "Party Rebel" so we hope to promote the tune as the follow-up to "Look At Me."

<#10_AMARK#>Baby J: Then we can make money! (laugh) But anyways, we're still not sure about what the follow-up's gonna be. The most important thing right now is to focus on "Look At Me."

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

<#10_QMARK#>Starting with Yewon, Jewelry members seem to appear on variety programs quite actively. Is there any reason for putting more weigh on appearing on TV programs?
<#10_AMARK#>Yewon: I had once realized the importance of TV shows [for gaining more recognition from the public]. When I guest starred on a TV program, other guests kept calling me as 'Jewelry' and remebered who I am, though I had not dropped any new album as Jewelry back then.

<#10_AMARK#>Semi: Among the members, only I haven't made my appearance on variety programs yet. If there is a chance given to me, I'm willing to.

<#10_AMARK#>Eunjung: I think all our members have a sense of humor. We like to make fun of each other whenever we have a spare time. We wish there is a reality show for us just like "2NE1 TV." (laugh)

<#10_AMARK#>Yewon: If then, I can guarantee the show's viewership rating. (laugh) We don't care about people seeing who we are backstage. There are too many pretty girls in the music scene and I don't think we're a lot prettier than them. (laugh) Rather, we hope to show our own personality through a reality show featuring us.

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

<#10_QMARK#>When you first decided to join Jewelry, was there a big burden on your shoulders because the group was already well-known?
<#10_AMARK#>Yewon: I read many comments about us online, saying, 'You guys might have gained more popularity if you had changed the name of your group.' As you know, there is no original members in Jewelry now. However, Eunjung and Baby J had performed with former members Park Jung-ah and Seo In-young before. And it has already been 11 years since Jewelry burst into the music scene. We don't want to, and can't, remove everything from Jewelry yet.

<#10_AMARK#>Eunjung: I don't think we have to change our group name. Our sub-unit group named Jewelry S allows us to express a different look from the original.

<#10_AMARK#>Yewon: Our members may be keep changing but I'm sure Jewelry will never die. We try our best not to shame on the group's title. Above all, thanks to the name, people sometimes ask us "Are you Jewelry that is a skillful female group?" Such compliments give us a strong boost.

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

<#10_QMARK#>Any last comments for your overseas fans?
<#10_AMARK#>Eunjung: We check our foreign fans through our Twitter. It is really amazing that they know about us even though we did not go abroad to perform yet. So now, we hope to see our fans in the flesh by flying over to other countries soon.

Jewelry members show their accessories in their hands during the interview with Kstar10 in Seoul, South Korea on October 15, 2012. [Brandon Chae/10Asia]

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