Tint Translations

Average age of 18.2 Girl Group Tint, “We also want to be like Lee Hyori” [Interview]

An average age of 18.2, these fresh teenagers have thrown their collective hat into the ring of the music industry.

Tint, the ambitiously prepared group from GH Entertainment, is composed of 5 members: Leader Mei, Sangmi (19), Mirim, Jamie (18) and Minnie (17). Their fresh and lively appearance reminds one of APink at their debut, but the reversal is their stand-out vocal ability which has become a topic through ‘Love at First Sight’.

◇ Lee Mirim from KPOP Star 3 “Debuting side by side with Shin Ji Hoon is amazing.”

Among the members, she has a memorable face. She is Lee Mirim who took part in KPOP Star Season 2 last year. Lee Mirim was in a 5 member group on the show called YouU who made it all the way to the Top 8 and had a powerful impact.

“Last March, several months after the show ended, I joined Tint as the last member. That’s how I came to formally debut. At the Top 6, YouU was pitted against Shin Ji Hoon and got eliminated. Shin Ji Hoon also recently debuted as a solo, as well. It seems like a tremendous fate.”

Participating in the audition program and the current feeling of debuting as a pro must be pretty different?  “I don’t think it’s all that different. [The audition show] was the foundation, but I will work hard thinking of now as the beginning.”

Excluding Lee Mirim, the other members each passed an audition and went through a lot together over 2 years, preparing for debut. Leader, Mei, was born from a Chinese father and a Korean mother. She lived in China until middle school then came to Korea to achieve her dream of becoming a singer. “I grew up in Yanji, China and there were a lot of Koreans so I grew up watching Korean dramas and listening to Korean music. 'Daejanggeum’ was really popular then. I was away from my mom for a long time in Korea because of my studies. I passed the audition and ended up entering the company.”

Jamie, whose hometown is Jeonbok Gunsan, became a singer while performing as the vocalist in band club in high school.

“I told my parents about wanting to go to the Seoul audition by express bus on my own and that I’d already taken the test and passed. They said, 'YOU did?’ not believing me. Haha. Nevertheless, I kept pestering them and eventually got permission.”

◇ Role model, Lee Hyori “[She gives off a] powerful feeling on stage, we want to be like that, too.”

Last week Tint appeared in front of the public for the first time starting with MBC Music Show Champion, then KBS2 Music Back and MBC Show! Music Core. They will also be having a live streaming interview with the largest Hallyu site, Allkpop.com, as rising K-Pop Stars.

The cute choreography for 'Love at First Sight’ is just as mesmerizing as the song is catchy. The choreography is full to the brim with feelings of young girls [towards love].

“You’ll know if you take a look at the album jacket, but [we are depicting] girls who are enjoying a pajama party. From the choreography that reminds one of a hairband, to the rabbit dance, to the hide-and-seek/childhood games motif, it’s a choreography that can remind one of past memories. Our members are on the younger side so we wanted to freshly portray those things.” (Mei)

The company is located in the vicinity of Seoul Mapo-Gu and the dorms in Seong San Dong where they’ve lived for 2 years. They learned how to become close like sisters and have fun together.

Lee Mirim, “The members really like dancing. Not just plain dancing, but what we call amongst ourselves, 'Gag Dancing’. We’ll have to show it sometime if we get a change to go on an entertainment program.” (Laughing)

“Jamie looks cold, but on the inside she is very easy going and carefree. Her personality is a reversal and her charms are endless. (Mei)”, “I’m in charge of energy. Haha. I have the type of personality that powers through positively in difficult situations. I’m also in charge of the kitchen, so I enjoy serving breakfast. (Mirim)”,  "Amongst the cleaning chores I’m responsible for the floors. Ah, are they clean? Well, I’ve organized them. I’m AB blood type so I’m on the meticulous side and also the type to fret over things by myself. (Mei)“, "Sangmi unnie looks very girly and sweet, but unexpectedly she is a person who is very firm about what’s right and wrong. If one of the members is having a difficult time they’ll find a post-it saying 'Cheer up!’ stuck to their bedside. She has the personality of an older sister. (Minnie)”, “I’m the youngest in the team. Shall I take the role of being a person full of talent? I take care of the laundry, but the unnies always point it out if the clothes are inside out. (Minnie)”

With one voice, Tint chose Lee Hyori as their role model. Lee Hyori debuted in 1998 and has held a spot as a top star for 15 years. Tint stated they wanted to emulate her power. “Lee Hyori sunbae gives off a really powerful feeling onstage. We think she’s so cool. A program that the five of us enjoyed together was cable OnStyle 'Lee Hyori X-Sister’. It seemed like she was easy-going and had a lot of individualism in real life, as well. We want to emulate that kind of image as singers.”

Source: Naver

Translation by JW@tint-trans
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