Hello
It's WOOZI
Nice to see you
First [Q1. Thoughts on WOOZI's first mixtape "Ruby" Release?]
I'm releasing my first solo mixtape
So the song "Ruby" is that meaningful to me
I'm very happy
and I hope that our CARAT will listen to it a lot and enjoy it as well
The song "Ruby" [Q2. Introducing "Ruby"]
is mainly a very heavy rock-sounding song
and things to look out for are the several variations within the song
Rather than the lyrical message the ear-catching sounds and
(visual) video scenes work as the main points
It's a song with very flashy and powerful accents
that fit the title, "Ruby"
[Q3. What led you to release your first ever mixtape since your debut?]
I talked with my company got this great opportunity
and through this opportunity
I thought I should make something really good
I haven't worked on a lot of solo songs
so I was kind of hesitant when we were in the talks of doing this
but I heard that our CARAT were really waiting for this
so I gained the courage to try it
[Q4. Why did you choose "Ruby" as your first mixtape song?]
I thought about this a lot
After it was decided I would be doing a solo song
I thought a lot about "What kind of music should I do?"
SEVENTEEN is a "diamond"
and we have our "CARAT"
When I'm WOOZI, not of SEVENTEEN
but alone, as the singer WOOZI
I thought it would be better to be a different gem, and not a "diamond"
Then I also thought that it would be nice to work on some powerful music
which led me to think of the dark colored gem, "Ruby"
I think it started from keywords like that
Brainstorming keywords like that
were the first steps to "Ruby"
Personally [Q5. Why did you write your lyrics in English?]
I think language has a huge influence
And I think the effect that it holds is very strong
So it's not that I didn't think of Korean lyrics at first
but while making "Ruby" and working on it
I just had the strong thought that the language
that would really bring this song to life was English
I thought that giving this song the language that could best express the energy it holds
was the best I could do for the song
Episodes working on the song... [Q6. "Ruby" related episodes]
When working on SEVENTEEN songs or unit songs
Personally
I'm able to be very objective
I think I have better judgment
This is also a personal thought
but when I work on solo songs I think my judgment is blurred a little
"Is this right" "Or is that right"
Those parts were kind of difficult
so colleagues that do music with me
had to go through some trouble because of me
making lots of edits
I want to take this opportunity
to thank them
When first making "Ruby" [Q7. A twist in the composition of the song after the intro]
I just really wanted to reflect
myself into the music itself
so I threw the question of
"What kind of music does the singer WOOZI do?" to myself
I tried to provide an answer to that question with my music
The orchestration in the prelude
is kind of like "what people expect from me"
Just a side of me that is predictable
When you take a look at famous songs that many people know
there are a lot of emotional songs
so I kind of wanted to show
the WOOZI you previously know of in the intro of the song
So I started with a soothing orchestration
then changed to guitar
and changed up the mood
"This is the kind of music the artist WOOZI does!"
I guess I wanted to give that kind of impact
[Q8. What do you want to show from this mixtape?]
I wanted to show a completely different side of me
Of course, even that side is still me
There are of course various sides of me that I can show within SEVENTEEN
but I believe what I can show when I'm alone is also completely different
So I wanted to show you a side of me that is completely different
This song, "Ruby" [Q9. Working on the "Ruby" MV with the director]
As soon as it was done
I thought of one person
so I told the company
"I want to work with this director"
I was so sure of it
I knew I had to work with him
It's been a while since we've worked together
Personally [Q10. WOOZI's ideas stand out in this MV]
I think there are many parts of the MV that are closely related to the music
I think it portrays a lot of those parts
through videos, photos, or other forms
so this time it's not just leaning towards the musical side
I wanted it to actually be more heavily focused on the imaging, or fashion side
On parts that you can actually see with your eyes and enjoy
and that's how I requested it to the director as well
I told them that I wanted the MV to be "like watching a fashion show"
and I received a MV storyboard that fit what I was describing
I didn't have anything to add on to
The storyboard was so perfect we just filmed it directly as planned
When preparing the outfits I told our stylists too
I wanted them to not think about any of
my previous styles and tastes and to forget about any of our previous work together
That's why if you watch the MV, there are a lot of outfits
that I probably wouldn't wear a lot usually
That's why I liked it even more
It's the appeal of trying and achieving new things
[Q11. How did it feel to film a MV alone?]
It was tough
To be honest
I barely had time to change hairstyles
I was always short on time filming
so I had to concentrate more
On the day of the "Ruby" MV filming
I barely slept before going to the MV filming set
and yet I was too busy all day to even feel sleepy at all
When all 13 of us film, it's tiring because the wait time is so long
but when I'm alone, it's hard because it's such a busy process
When the song was complete [Q12. How the members reacted when first listening to "Ruby"]
I let the members listen to it
The song is kind of esoteric
It has a unique composition
Lots of variations and parts where the genre suddenly switches
so the song can sound kind of difficult
What I wanted to hear was
"Wow this is totally WOOZI music!"
I played the song for them
and fortunately, they gave me exactly that response
As soon as they heard it they said "This is totally your song"
"Only you can do this"
They told me that
so inside I thought "I did it, the song turned out as well as I thought"
so I was relieved
A lot did change [Q13. How is WOOZI now different from the WOOZI making his first solo song?]
but I think what changed the most
is time
A lot of time has passed
You could say I've gotten older
Not in a bad way at all
There were definitely lots of young
thoughts and mindsets in "SIMPLE"
and thoughts and emotions as a 26-year-old
making "Ruby" now
If you told me to make "SIMPLE" now I probably couldn't do it
just like if you asked me back then (during the "SIMPLE" era) to make "Ruby" I wouldn't be able to
That's why music
is so exciting and fun
This question also goes for why I'm looking forward to
SEVENTEEN's music in the next year and the years to follow
I think I mentioned this on stage too [Q14. How did it feel to win "Best Producer"?]
but I'm not sure if I deserve such a huge
title of "Best Producer" already
So many CARAT were happy
so that's all that matters to me
CARAT were really proud of me
and happy for me
and I was so thankful for that
I'm just so happy that
I was able to make our CARAT proud
Moving forward [Q15. Plans moving forward]
I can't tell you too much
but I want to say SEVENTEEN will always be by your side
Physically, that's probably difficult
Physically being together is going to be a little tough
but I'm still very excited
and curious to see which stories of ours
we will be able to share with you
and I hope you will look forward to it
I will always be trying my hardest
In 2022 [Q16. WOOZI's 2022 goals]
"Ruby" will be released in January
This video is being filmed in 2021
but starting with "Ruby" in January, 2022
I hope that the year will be a very
powerful one
I hope "Ruby" will be a good starter
[Q17. Last words for CARAT?]
I hope you will enjoy
my first solo mixtape, "Ruby"
I did talk big and say I wanted to show a completely different side of me
but all in all, I just hope that this will
stay with our CARAT as a good song
Just good music, good songs
and good memories?
I'll try to show you even more sides of me from now on
Like I did with "Ruby"
I'll continue to show an improved, better version of myself
so give "Ruby" lots of love
and give WOOZI lots of love too
This has been WOOZI
Please give "Ruby" a listen
Bye
Woo-ahhae