YouTube iHeartRadio “MAX From TVXQ! Talks Legendary Career, All Things 'Chocolate' + More!”
FEATURING STACY NAM iHeartRadio Digital Host, Self-Appointed PR Ambassador to TVXQ’s MAX
FEATURING TVXQ’S MAX 최강창민 Legendary Artist Charming Man Powerful Bambi-Eyed Maknae Talents include perfectly Understanding STACY’s Konglish
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SWEET CHOCOLATE MAX
STACY I want to know to start off with, why did you wait so long to release your album?
MAX Uhmmm...
STACY Your fans are very thirsty for you
MAX Firstly, I am so thankful to my fans who have waited for me. I am so thankful to
them for supporting and cheering us on for our group activities.
To sing a song that is three to five minutes long on stage, alone not as a solo
performance during a concert, but as part of an album.
For the fans who longed to see this side of me I am so thankful.
But as YUNHO Hyung and I place emphasis on our group promotions, and because
we've been so busy with that, this much time has naturally gone by.
And even before then, I felt I did not meet my standards to release an album on
my own.
STACY Why? Why? Why?
MAX I wanted to be cooler, to do better.
STACY You're always cool. But okay, go on.
MAX Thank you.
STACY You wanted to be better.
MAX So I thought to myself, now is not the time... I would say to myself, "not now",
and push it back so it naturally became delayed.
But before it becomes even later. Before I get even older.
STACY Until you become, like, in your forties.
MAX Mmm hmm. Ah, forty is a bit too much. And, even more, on stage, as I debuted at
such early age, my bones ache more than others. Because I have places that
hurt while I am able to put on a cool performance before it becomes too late.
I should hurry and release my album. I began to have those thoughts gradually.
STACY Gradually
MAX Which is how it happened.
STACY So from when you starts thinking of your solo album, did you think "I need to
show sexy Shim Changmin". Did you have these thoughts from the beginning?
That you wanted to show this side to your fans?
MAX For me, I wanted to meet my fans with a good quality song. I wanted to meet
them like that, and thankfully was able to do so with a song that is sexy and that
I felt had a lot of charm, which was my title song, 'Chocolate'.
If it's this song, for a solo track the color is very distinct and I thought I would be
able to show fans the level of performance they want to see which is why select
this song.
STACY So from when you first heart the demo, did you think, "Ah, this will be my title
song?"
MAX Yes. [when I heard it] for the first time. From the beginning.
STACY Oh, okay. So you first heart the song and wrote the lyrics for it after?
MAX Yes, that's right.
From when I heard it as a demo track, the part of the chorus the lyrics used the
word chocolate, and once I heard that, I thought "I will make the title 'chocolate'
and make the concept, the theme and lyrics according to this as well so I
composed my lyrics in this way.
STACY In the beginning, you heard the word chocolate and thought you would compose
with that theme but just with that theme do the lyrics just come out when you
think of the word or do you have to look at other things, and gain inspirations?
MAX There are times when I gain inspiration from what is around me, but for this song
because I was so struck by the charms of the word chocolate, I thought I could
do so much with this one word.
So I was able to write the lyrics rather quickly and smoothly.
STACY Oh! Quickly and smoothly.
MAX No, by chance by chance. Truly by chance. No ☝
STACY Did you think of the music video concept as well or was that the work of the
artistic team?
MAX The idea behind the video... how do I say it a villain type character.
With that kind of aura, I thought that kind of charismatic character would be
good, so I did propose this idea, but,
STACY A bad guy.
MAX Yes, yes. Bad boy.
STACY Because you are a good boy, in your every days life, did you want to show, via this
music video, that you have this side to you as well.
Did you want to show this?
MAX Well...so this is diverting a bit to me personally.
I even if I want to look like a bad boy... I'm a bit embarrassed to say this myself,
but because my eyes look a bit kind, I thought.
"What can I do to look more bad?" So I colored my hair, and bleached it.
STACY Ah, you did all that because you wanted to appear more bad?
MAX A bit more... how do I say this I wanted to look more sexy and no matter how you
look at it because my gaze is a bit... because it's so...
STACY No but when you perform it's very different.
Right now you have these doe eyes, but when you perform it's more like
*STACY trying (and failing) to imitate MAX*
This strong and charismatic... You know?
MAX Thank you so much.
STACY But you know it's true. I don't lie.
MAX Thank you.
STACY Okay, so you wanted to show this villain side of yourself.
But if you really think about the sexy side that's fans want, you can just take off
your shirt. It's so easy.
MAX I did that in the past.
STACY Heaven's Day?
MAX Yup. And I've also done so other performances.
Ahhhh... But because it is a difficult time right now and I haven't been able to go
the gym often and recently I've started to raise a puppy at home.
STACY Ah, Buzzi.
MAX And because I've been home taking care of my puppy, and this time is so fun for
me, it's not easy for me to go outside to work out.
So... I know that my fans will be like, "No, that's not true," but now when I eat
everything I eat sticks to my stomach area.
*Unbelievable*
STACY Next Question
MAX Seriously.
STACY No. Anyway. You're ling. Eat. Eat. Okay.
So for 'Chocolate', you knew when you first heard it that you wanted it to be
your song. How about the other songs in your album?
Where they all selected in the same way by listening to the demo and knowing this
was your song?
MAX It was quite simple actually.
The genre I like and songs I want to try and record those are the songs that I
selected.
So personally as well, I know this is an album I recorded and released, but
personally, the b-tracks on the album are also ones I am very satisfied with.
STACY And there's another song that you wrote...
MAX 'No Tomorrow'
STACY Yeah. Is there any reason why that's another song you wrote the lyrics for?
MAX For the other songs, I did try, I composed and submitted lyrics to the company,
but to be honest some were cut.
STACY Oh, the company is bad.
MAX Rather than saying it's bad, they are very straight-forward.
STACY Straight-forward. Okay. This is not the quality we are looking for.
MAX Oh. But what I think is good about that is I can improve and be better.
In a way, it's like saying in a competition I won twice. It's good. 👍
STACY That's not bad. That's not bad…okay.
LYRICIST MAX
STACY So in the past, you're written songs for other SM artists, right?
So you've written for KYUHYUN and then you wrote 'ACE', TEAMIN's 'ACE'.
And I know that for TVXQ! ever since early on... was it 'Evergreen'?
MAX Mmmm Hmmm. I remember. I remember.
STACY And then 'Love in the Ice'. And there was 'Confession'.
And then of course, 'Heaven's Day'. And then, 'In Another Life'...?
Wasn't that and SM Station song 'In Another Life'?
*STACY NOTE: It's actually 'In a Different Life' I'm sorry MAX!!*
Why are you laughing? You're written so many songs.
MAX Because I am so grateful. Thank you for remembering those songs.
STACY Of course I remember, I could never forget you.
Actually, I remember hearing those songs when you first released those songs like
'Love in the ice' and I thought for your age... I mean, I know you're already very
mature for your age but for those lyrics to come from the mind of such a young
child... it was so distinct to me because it was so deep, you know, when you listen
to those songs today, do you think to yourself "Oh, I wrote this well", or do you
get embarrassed?
MAX There are songs that I listen to now and think, "Oh I did a pretty good job", and
songs where I think, "I put a lot of effort into writing it back then", but instead of
thinking something is lacking I feel a bit embarrassed listening to it now a bit shy.
There are songs like this.
For sure, the song 'Love in the Ice' when I listen to it now, I think to myself,
"This song, the result of hard work, was written well". I still think this way.
STACY Oh, I love that song.
MAX Thank you.
STACY That's actually one of my favorite TVXQ! songs.
Q. Are there any songs that you are embarrassed to listen to now?
MAX Like you said, 'Evergreen', songs I wrote when I was much younger it's not that I
didn't write it well…
STACY You were so young back then but looking at it now as an adult?
MAX I was young but the fact that I tried to write it took a lot of effort and guts
thinking like that thinking of how I was back then trying so hard to write it when I
picture myself like this I'm a bit embarrassed to think of myself back then a bit
shy, it's that kind of feeling.
STACY You were so cute back then.
MAX Thank you.
STACY Is the method in which you write your songs still the same?
MAX Watching dramas or movies reading books thinking while taking a walk.
STACY Taking a walk
MAX If there are similar songs which reflect the nuance in which I trying to compose if
there are songs with similar lyrics I will listen to those songs.
To see how they were written and gain inspiration in that way, I compose in this
way.
STACY So deep.
Can you give an example of how that happened? Of what book you read at the
time or if there was a specific movie or something or you were out with your
friends.
MAX Among my songs, there is a ballad that our fans may know, a song called 'Rise...'
STACY Oh yeah, Uh huh.
MAX You know?
STACY Yeah
MAX Ohhhh. I don't believe it.
STACY [ a scholar of MAX's music] : Why?
MAX No, I was surprised. I didn't think you would know to that degree. I'm surprised.
I'm thankful.
For that track, the title 'Rise...' for this song, in the past I saw the batman movie
"The Dark knight Rises"
STACY Oh. Okay. Christian Bale?
MAX Christian Bale.
I saw that movie and, seeing the message the movie was trying to convey, I thought, 'Oh, it would be good to compose lyrics with this kind of message".
So receiving inspiration from the movie was how that song was made.
STACY That's movie was so dark.
MAX Dark, yeah.
STACY He went through so much to try and… he was in that hole and he had to get out
right, right?
MAX Yes, so the song as well instead of being bright the mood is more dark, but within
that darkness is message of strength similar to the movie.
I composed with that same nuance.
STACY Our CHANGMIN is a genius.
MAX No, not genius.
STACY Genius. And handsome. And handsome. And sings so well.
What is there that you can't do?
[Perfect MAX]
MAX Not my opinion.
STACY My opinion, but my opinion is really important in this case.
MAX Okay.
STACY [When we first met] I went to your rehearsal room. It was right next to Gallaria.
And I saw you for the first time. And you were so cute.
At that time, I think, you were similar height to me.
MAX Yes. We were similar [height].
STACY Just that time.
MAX That' right.
STACY Then, you just had really big eyes, and you were so quiet.
And from then on...just, you were so adorable. You were so sweet.
But already since that time, all these years has passed.
When you think that it's been, what seventeen years.
Do you believe it? It's gone by so fast right?
MAX I really do feel like time has flown by and... to be honest, the thought, back then,
that I would be an artist for seventeen years, for so long, is one that would have
never crossed my mind.
Even now the fact that I've been promoting and living as a singer so long is such a
novel feeling and even my family, they think it's so amazing they've said, "You
became a singer so suddenly. When you said you wanted to be a singer, that was
so surprising and new to us, but to be promoting for long as an artist, is so
amazing and something to be proud of."
STACY In the beginning, by chance, you were cast because you were so pretty, and
debuted in this way but with the passing of time, you came to have more ambition
regarding being a singer.
MAX That' right, that's right.
While promoting as an artist, in the beginning I felt I shouldn't show an unprepared
side of myself to others, so I must practice and try harder.
If I started like that in be beginning, I naturally wanted to learn more music itself,
and grew more ambitions regarding music as well.
So in the past, where I worked hart so I wouldn't look bad in front of others, now
it's because I want to do better with the music I like... that desire to be better has
grown more within me.
STACY And how you are one of Korea's most praiseworthy jewels treasures You're like
that...you know... what was it in Korean again...it's like treasure...they have
numbers...Korean treasure...
MAX National treasure?
STACY Yeah. You're that. You're national treasure. You and YUNHO.
MAX Thank you for saying that.
STACY It's true, it's true, it's true.
STACY So what do you think about regarding how KPOP has changed since you debuted?
MAX The sharing of information in, to be honest, in the past, took quite some time, but
now even happenings on the other side of the world, one can know about and
access via the internet.
Music and content from so far away can also be accessed instantly.
In some way, the world as it is now, even if there are time differences, it feels like
we are all connected in real time.
Within the flow of globalization, the world love KPOP is because to that degree
depending on how you look at it, our junior artists and so many talented singers...
the music and performances they create and present for the eye and ears is so
appealing. I feel such pride knowing this.
From my stand point, in some ways, as a senior artist [in the industry], from that
perspective, if the content that our KPOP singers created was not good quality,
those many fans wouldn't listen to our music, they would listen to something else.
But to that extent the singers from our country, the content they create, is of
such high quality. I feel so proud, truly.
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