{"id":11526,"date":"2025-09-09T10:47:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T10:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/11526\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T10:47:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T10:47:08","slug":"monsta-x-on-the-x-album-tenth-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/11526\/","title":{"rendered":"Monsta X on ‘The X’ Album & Tenth Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tOf all the muscles that Joohoney<\/a> strengthened during his mandatory enlistment in the South Korean military, his mind was the most important. To carry out day-to-day tasks, the 30-year-old rapper found he needed to build up a solid mental core \u2014 and that stability has neatly carried over into his equally demanding civilian life as one-sixth of K-pop<\/a> powerhouse group Monsta X<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tExplore\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve always loved the phrase \u2018just do it,\u2019\u201d he explains to Billboard, sitting next to bandmates Shownu, Minhyuk, Kihyun<\/a> and Hyungwon in a cozy L.A. studio (the final member, I.M, is recuperating from an injury back in Seoul at the time of the interview<\/a>). \u201cIt was in the military that I took that further and started thinking, \u2018No brain, no pain,\u2019\u201d he continues. \u201cRight now, that\u2019s pretty much been my approach. No matter what kind of challenge I\u2019m faced with, not to get caught up in the moment and keep moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tStill, there was a lot to consider while making their latest EP, The X, which is at once a celebration of 10 years together and a long-awaited return to form. Now having all completed their compulsory, 18-month military service apart from I.M, the six members of Monsta X were more than eager to pick up where they left off. \u201cIt\u2019s been four years since, as a group, we\u2019ve released a new album,\u201d says honey-voiced Kihyun. That\u2019s nearly an eternity in a landscape that moves as fast as K-pop. The gap weighed heavily on the recording process. \u201cThat was my mindset,\u201d he adds. \u201cWe had to show what we got.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe result is a display of remarkable stamina. Sophisticated B-sides (\u201cSavior,\u201d \u201cTuscan Leather,\u201d \u201cCatch Me Now\u201d) speed light years ahead of peers, unrivaled in their sensuality. But ground-shaking, Dem Jointz<\/a>-produced banger \u201cN the Front\u201d sends the boldest message \u2014 Monsta X remains at the top of their game, it seems to say, leading the charge not only for their generation of K-pop, but also setting the standard<\/a> for an entire industry that they just took extended time away from.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThat spirit is borne out by the chest-puffing lead single \u201cDo What I Want,\u201d which I.M mentions over email that he hoped would \u201cshock\u201d fans. \u201cYup, it\u2019s been a while since I crushed this race, ya\/ You already know I have the pace of a stallion,\u201d his writing partner Joohoney brags in its lyrics. This isn\u2019t empty bravado, either. In the intervening year-and-a-half off, he made 40 songs<\/a>, mostly while on vacation. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I felt like I needed to catch up on lost time once I got back,\u201d the rapper shrugs. \u201cI knew that I\u2019d get back into a rhythm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tToday is yet another test of the group\u2019s endurance. While never-ending rounds of press spread into the evening, Monsta X sets a tempo and refuses to waver, cracking jokes and hyping each other up while taking stabs at English. As always, no time or effort is being spared in the lead-up to KCON LA<\/a> \u2014 a homecoming to the stage Monsta X first played<\/a> just months after debut \u2014 and the subsequent album release. Recently, though, there\u2019s a new wrinkle in the members\u2019 schedules: shooting TikToks, which they manage to squeeze into a short break between two sit-down interviews.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThese days, the trend is short form,\u201d explains Minhyuk. It\u2019s not exactly a development to his liking, he says, tossing his hands up in faux indignation. \u201cBut I can\u2019t change the world.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tRegardless of whether he\u2019s putting on extra ire for comedic effect, there\u2019s truth to what Minhyuk is saying. \u201cIt feels like we\u2019ve moved away from a culture of appreciating the whole music<\/a> video, the whole song,\u201d he adds. \u201cBecause now it\u2019s become more like, \u2018Is there a moment that is going to go viral?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe critique almost makes you forget that the singer is only in his early thirties. Yet, while the six members aren\u2019t quite elder statesmen of K-pop, they\u2019ve witnessed some of these seismic changes take root over the past decade. <\/p>\n

\n\tWhat really stands out, though? The ways the industry has remained just the same: Monsta X was originally formed in 2015 by a brutal Mnet reality show, which put talented young hopefuls through the wringer for a potential spot in the lineup. These programs still abound<\/a> to this day, despite the mental and physical toll they take on contestants.<\/p>\n

\n\tReturning to a similar show as a mentor earlier this summer, Kihyun felt like he had just stepped back in time. \u201cAll of this must be really tough,\u201d he recalls thinking during the taping. \u201cI\u2019ve been in their shoes, so I felt like I knew exactly what [the trainees] were feeling.\u201d It stirred a mixture of sympathy and awe inside him: their earnestness took him back to the start of their journey, not knowing if \u201cmaking the cut\u201d would even translate to success in the real world. As he considered the \u201cchallenges they will have to face,\u201d he realized those were once ahead of him, as well.<\/p>\n

\n\tMonsta X debuted as a group of adults aged 19 to 22, which is hardly common practice, since K-pop labels seek to maximize viable years for their boy groups. Kids are frequently scouted as early as elementary school, \u201cwhile they are still very much growing up and figuring themselves out,\u201d Minhyuk points out, scratching the back of his neck. \u201cIt usually means that idols are learning to manage and reciprocate the love and attention they are getting from their fans before they ever really learn to take care of their own mental health.\u201d He continues, \u201cJust being honest with you here, I personally think it\u2019s one of the bigger flaws of the K-pop industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe offers a piece of wisdom to his fellow idols. \u201cMy wish would be for those in K-pop, those who are making music, those who are performing for audience\u2026 Learn to put yourself first,\u201d the singer says. He doesn\u2019t have all the answers, but hopes those at the top, too, can work toward putting guardrails in place. Joohoney, who took a hiatus to manage his anxiety<\/a> in 2020, doesn\u2019t mince words: \u201cI also think it\u2019s important for the companies leading the K-pop industry to really support and respect their artists,\u201d he says, bluntly enough to startle a laugh out of his members.<\/p>\n

\n\tOne such show of respect is allowing groups to determine their own identities. In the last decade, \u201cthings have already changed a lot\u201d in that regard, Kihyun notes, though offering input remains a constant push and pull. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIdols aren\u2019t just carrying out what their companies have planned,\u201d he says. \u201cWe see more involvement than there was before. And yet, it doesn\u2019t mean that everyone gets to have entirely free rein, right?\u201d In an ideal world, the vocalist adds, it would be \u201cso fulfilling if they get to have agency and [create] albums they feel inspired to create.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn that arena, they\u2019ve long been pioneers. While Monsta X operates under the direction of Starship Entertainment, their management company, Joohoney and I.M have also worked on many of their own songs since the very beginning. Over time, they moved up from writing their rap verses to stepping into more significant roles producing and directing<\/a> groupmates in the booth. Along the way, the others \u2014 including former member Wonho \u2014 have picked up the pen, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThus, if K-pop idols are taken more seriously as artists now, Monsta X helped unravel those stereotypes. \u201cI once saw an interview of someone saying, \u2018K-pop is not real music,\u2019\u201d Joohoney says. \u201cOf course, I do acknowledge that there may be aspects that may lead others in the music industry to feel that way.\u201d The business of K-pop doesn\u2019t always lend itself to the appearance of \u201csincerity and authenticity,\u201d the rapper clarifies. \u201cBut I really just want to say that it makes me proud to know that K-pop has become [recognized as] its own genre.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tK-pop has left a stamp that\u2019s bigger than just marketing \u2014 it\u2019s influenced a new global<\/a> sound. At the same time, it\u2019s hard to pin down, uniquely able to shapeshift. K-pop may crib from many other genres, sure, but that changeability, that experimentation, is ultimately its own special sauce. Hyungwon, who moonlights as a DJ<\/a> and co-wrote the new EP\u2019s ultra-groovy R&B cut \u201cFire & Ice\u201d alongside collaborators from around the world, notes that the flow of ideas increasingly goes both ways.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMore recently, I\u2019ve noticed many more kinds of music, these different genres that are loved across the world, bring new colors to what we\u2019d consider K-pop. And, out of that, have come these new shades,\u201d he says. \u201cI think we\u2019ve entered a generation of artists who are constantly pushing themselves to explore new techniques and to experiment with new kinds of music, without feeling bound to one genre.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIf there\u2019s one word to describe Monsta X, it\u2019s \u201cboundless.\u201d That\u2019s how the group became the third K-pop act to reach the Billboard 200<\/a>\u2019s top 10, after all. In 2020, the group released the English album All About Luv, opening it up not only to a new language, but new everything: bass-heavy hip-hop switched out for airplay-friendly<\/a> pop hooks, rappers trying their hand at singing (which they\u2019re quite skilled at, for the record), blatantly sexual lyrics<\/a> replacing softer innuendo. Then, in another flex of versatility, Monsta X did it again, with 2021\u2019s The Dreaming.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt takes a great deal of skill and talent for a Korean artist to write and release an album in a language that is not their own,\u201d Hyungwon says, referring to the two past works with a lot of pride. \u201cOur group, and other K-pop artists, get to take part in this, and it\u2019s not something you see all too often elsewhere.\u201d So, can we expect another English album? \u201cSpoiler,\u201d Joohoney quips. But with major global ambitions intact, it can only be a matter of time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe want to be part of the big K-pop wave,\u201d Shownu suddenly offers, the leader finally stepping into a speaking role, after being mostly content to hand that duty off to his members. It\u2019s a surprise for more reasons than one: Even apart from the U.S. chart milestones, the group has demonstrated itself as a prolific creative force in the K-pop industry. What else is there to prove?<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNot enough,\u201d he replies. \u201cMore into the big wave.\u201d But that\u2019s exactly what they\u2019ve been saying this whole time: The only ones who can set Monsta X\u2019s ceiling are the six members themselves.<\/p>\n

\n\tAdditional translation provided by Claire Min.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Of all the muscles that Joohoney strengthened during his mandatory enlistment in the South Korean military, his mind…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,7183,3295,1437,5620,157,3296,111,43,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-11526","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-genre-kpop","10":"tag-genre-pop","11":"tag-global","12":"tag-interview","13":"tag-music","14":"tag-music-news","15":"tag-new-zealand","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-newzealand","18":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}