There are K-Pop fans across the globe who share the same passion. But on online platforms, it is hard to know about each other’ stories and K-Pop life. Even if we are in the same fandom, it is hard to get to know each other. So at Kpopmap, we started the Kpopmap Fan Interview Project to get to know more about K-Pop fans from different countries: more about their K-Pop life and tastes and to give them the opportunity to share with our readers about their favorite group(s) and bias. Ash from Malaysia is the next fan to answer our questions. She is a fan of BAE173 and more particularly of Lee HanGyul! Check out how she entered the fandom, the songs and content she advises to new fans, and much more! Can you introduce yourself? Where are you from? Hello, my name is Ash and I’m an 18 years old boy from Malaysia. You can find me on twitter as @staywith_ash . Thanks for choosing me to be interviewed. How and when did you enter the fandom? I’m comparatively new to the fandom as I’ve been an ELSE for only around two weeks. It all started when I was curious about the whereabouts of post-X1 members which unfortunately had to part ways after the group disbanded. And I found out that two of the members, HanGyul and DoHyon are currently in BAE173. That’s how I got interested in the group and I’ve been a fan since then. What are the reasons why you love your favorite group? There are countless reasons why I love this group. First of all, they are an all-rounded group which has impressive members in terms of vocal, rap and dance. They can pull any concept from a lovely fresh concept to a powerful and charismatic one. They have great personalities which makes it entertaining to watch any videos of them. Despite being a rookie, they have proven their skills by singing live in their debut stage which is pretty rare nowadays. Who caught your attention at first and why? To be frankly honest, each member caught my attention in different ways but the dance line is really something. For your information, BAE173 is one of the few groups that has three main dancers; JunSeo, HanGyul and Muzin. They really shined in their latest comeback, AWS performance on music shows because of their powerful dance and stage presence. Their hairstyles are also one of the things that caught my eyes. Who is your bias, and why? My bias is Lee HanGyul, the main dancer and lead vocalist of the group. The utmost reason why he is my bias and probably my ultimate bias in K-Pop is his dedication and hardwork. His past life is something that many of us can learn from. His childhood was rough because he lived in an orphanage until first grade when he finally got adopted by a lovely woman. His trainee days were rough too, BAE173 was his fourth debut already. He has entered some survival shows such as “The Unit” and “Produce X 101”. His popularity rose exponentially during the filming of “Produce X 101” due to his visuals and to his surprise, he managed to debut as an X1 member! However the joy did not last long when the group disbanded just 5 months after their debut due to an unfortunate scandal. After that, he and DoHyon debuted as a duo artist before finally debuting as a BAE173 member. Can you recommend a title track and a B-side track for new fans? For new fans, I would recommend their title track called ‘Loved You’ which was released last year. It’s a bright and refreshing song which suits the taste of most people. I would also recommend new fans to listen to their B-side, ‘Not Alone’ from “Intersection: Blaze” album. For me it is their best b-side because it’s pretty catchy and the lyrics are soothing. Can you recommend a fancam, V Live, cover video, cover dance, or individual content video of your bias to our readers? I would recommend this interview in Idol Olympic channel in which he shares about his debut journey. It’s pretty rare for idols nowadays to open up about their real life as they have to maintain their image as idols so this interview is so special to me. He also gave advice to never give up on our dreams and to not be afraid of our past. Other than that, I would recommend this ‘JAWS’ fancam because it showcases his visuals and charisma really well. Can you also do the same type of recommendation for the group? BAE173 is the master of dance covers for either boy groups or girl groups so I would recommend this “K-Pop Dance Cover” video on 1theK challenge in which they cover songs from various groups including aespa, TXT, NCT and more. To showcase their personality and variety skills, you can watch their interview with Edward Avila. It is so funny because their chemistry with the host is exceptionally well. They have met Edward Avila three times all the episodes are really enjoyable to watch. Can you share with us one of your favorite lyrics? “Tomorrow will shine brightly I believe it will unfold before us The flowing tears are just passing by I can get over it, you and me” This is a part of the lyrics from ‘Not Alone’. I love the message of the lyrics to stay together and face the challenges despite the difficulties. Are there any words from the members you would like to share? A fan asked the members for a piece of advice or a motto that they want to share and HanGyul said “No matter what difficulties you face, always stay positive without worrying too much” I’ll always keep that in mind. What is your bias’ influence on your daily life? Seeing how hard HanGyul has worked to get where he is now, it motivates me to pursue my dream and to never give up. I’ll be furthering my studies this year and I’ll make sure to give my best. Do you feel there are any misunderstandings, things that are not well known, or any prejudices about your favorite group from other fans (non-fans)? I would say non-fans often think that their group name, BAE173 is just some random letters joined together. It’s totally not the case. BAE stands for Before Anyone Else which means they are unique and noone has ever done it like them before, the number 1 represents the first number and the 73 is a mathematically perfect number. Joining them together, you can interpret BAE173 as working hard in being the first to achieve success and I personally think it’s a creative name. Ash’s message to HanGyul: Hello HanGyul, first of all, thanks for never giving up on following your passion to be an idol and I’m so proud of you. Thanks for being such a great inspiration to me. I may not be there from the start of your journey but now that I’m here, I’ll continue to support you till the end. Thank you for answering our questions, Ash. If you are interested in joining Kpopmap Fan Interview Project, please get in touch with us at [email protected] Everyone is welcome to participate.
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