K-Pop boy group Treasure has been waiting years to meet their U.S. fans.
The 10-member group is preparing to wrap up the U.S. leg of their Special Moment tour, formed by K-Pop giant YG Entertainment’s music survival show YG Treasure Box, is preparing to wrap up the North American leg of their Special Moments tour with a show in Los Angeles Sunday. The tour is the group’s first U.S. tour in its five-year history.
Treasure, who spoke with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of their tour, also released a special EP Pleasure last month, which they say is meant to showcase a different side of them as a group.
Below, Treasure discuss their EP Pleasure, what they’ve learned about themselves since their 2020 debut and their first U.S. tour.
What were some of the highlights of making Pleasure? Do you have standout moments?
DOYOUNG First of all, our members participated heavily in creating our latest album. As a special album, Pleasure is an album fused with the method of love exclusive to Treasure.
Does anyone have a personal favorite on the album?
HARUTO I personally love “Yellow,” and I feel that it’s a track with a catchy charm that you wish to listen to on repeat. It’s an ambitious song in that Sahi, Hyunsuk, Yoshi and I all got involved in writing its lyrics.
JAEHYUK In my case,I absolutely love the track “Whatever, Whenever.” It presents overwhelming moments for me when I focus on its flow and its lyrics while picturing myself singing it at a concert, so I’m already excited imagining our fans singing along to it with us.
How do you feel about being able to try different genres on the album?
JUNKYU We really enjoy showing you the new sides of Treasure, and this album was in itself aimed at showing our new sides to Treasure Makers [name for the group’s fanbase].
Can you talk about about what your dynamic feels like as a team at this point in your career and while making this album?
HYUNSUK We’ve been emphasizing something for a long time now, and that is communication. Since we have many members, we also have many opinions, but since we spent so much time together, opinion coordination wasn’t hard for us. While doing so, many aspects became sturdier due to teamwork. During the process [of making this album], we’ve been sensing how very reliable we can be to one another. We’re feeling that as one team, we are showing tremendously strong teamwork and that we’re winning throughout as active musicians.
As you continue to release music and grow as artists, how do you want to be perceived by both fans and those that might not yet know you? Has that changed since you debuted?
JIHOON The image of Treasure we’d like to show doesn’t seem different between our debut and now. To mark our 5th anniversary, we’d like to show many fans and those seeing us for the first time [that] while there are many groups with great music, we are artists that truly enjoy performing and we can put on spectacular performances even when we’re relaxed.
Do you feel you’ve learned anything new about yourself while you’ve been working in Treasure these last few years?
JEONGWOO While performing at many concerts, we feel that our tension or awkwardness that we felt when we first got on stage have gradually been eased, and we’re learning how to have more fun and to create even happier memories for our fans.
What do you think fans that have been waiting a while to see are going to be most excited about for your first U.S. tour?
JIHOON Since we’ve never been to the U.S., there must be a difference between seeing someone for real and seeing someone at a concert. Seeing how there’s a difference between watching us on video and seeing us for real, many of our team’s performances are presented better live compared to a filtered form of video, so we hope that our fans, who must feel that too. Moreover, we’ll be able to put on even richer performances thanks to the band sound.
YOSHI We’re called a performance-type team in Korea, so we’d like to be artists that is also called the same way in the U.S. someday.
A live band really adds to the experience. Can you talk a bit about performing with one?
JIHOON To be honest, apart from our early debut days, we’ve always collaborated with live session band members since we started to begin performing at concerts bearing the tour title, and that has been going on for almost three years as of this year. Since it’s our performance and the band plays in the background, you might not notice it, but we’re collaborating with the band session to maximize the flow and vibes of the venue. Those elements will work to our advantage at the venue in the matter of sound, so we hope you look forward to it.
Outside of the performances, what are you most excited about with touring in the U.S.?
JUNGHWAN When it comes to viewing the scenery abroad, I remember visiting the U.S. when I was very young, so I have many expectations about appreciating the outdoor scenery or landscapes of the U.S.
As you continue to make music and perform as Treasure, what are you hoping to achieve as a group?
JIHOON As a short-term goal, we want to arrange a fantastic new tour for this year and compare it to our performances up till now so that when the people new to our work see us, the set list can be an experienced and perfectly weaved one, and that we can go meet many people with it, that would be the biggest goal for this year.
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