130201 2Yoon: "We Are Workaholics, We Prefer Working Over Taking Breaks"

Idol groups’ subunits allow members to show new talent, new side of them by diverging from their original style. For example, Orange Caramel surprised fans with cute dance music instead of After School‘s feminine and sexy charms while Infinite H turned to sentimental hip hop genre instead of their original performance-centered pop music.

As a result, fans and critics already expected 2Yoon to present something new and different from the usual 4minute style of music. However, what they came out with is beyond “new and different;” it’s the complete opposite of 4minute. There is no more sexy choreography. Instead, their performance is rather wholesome. They moved away from electronica and introduced American country to their music. On the album jacket, pigs and chicks make guest appearances to really express that calm, country feelings.

Gayoon said, “Right when we got the song, we didn’t play it for anyone, not even our agency CEO. We listened to it just with each other and thought, ‘This is it!’ It was exactly what we wanted to do, so we decided to go for it no matter what others say.”

2Yoon decided that they want to work with each other when they started preparing performances and special stages together. They shared musical tastes and fans also wanted to see them as a unit group. As a result, they proposed doing 2Yoon to the agency. 2Yoon was in effect last year and they started collecting songs for the album. As they picked the title song “24/7,” the whole process started to speed up as well.

Jiyoon complimented Gayoon, “Gayoon came up with the visual and sartorial concepts. With 4minute, we just contributed our thoughts and ideas. But this time, Gayoon was in charge of the visual aspects and I was in charge of producing. We actively participated as if we were competing against each other. We attended all the meetings. Gayoon used to be really bad at using technology and computers, but she somehow managed to make a project plan for outfits. Putting pigs, chicks, and dressing me up as a tomboy, they were all her ideas.”

Gayoon explained, “Jiyoon stood out when we were promoting ‘Hot Issue’ with her androgynous, tomboy look. But as we continue to go with what we see as 4minute’s style, her androgynous concept was getting lost. So I did my best to bring it back and do it right.”

Gayoon also garnered much attention with her extremely slender figure, as she lost 8kg preparing for 2Yoon’s come back. Although she didn’t actively try to lose weight, the choreography for “24/7″ contributed greatly to her weight loss. She explained, “I was a little stressed out and sick, too. But most of the weight loss comes from dancing. Choreography for 4minute were technically challenging but were not physically demanding. On the contrary, it is very physically demanding this time. We are basically running from the beginning to the end of the song. I felt as if I’m back in a PE class.”

Some idols talk about how they dream of escaping or how they are always yearning to take a break for once. However, 4minute is not one of those idols. All members of 4minute claim to be workaholics, who gets more energized from moving their bodies and working busily. Jiyoon expressed, “After the promotion of 2Yoon, 4minute will make a come back sometime in the first half of the year. We are diligently preparing for it. We also would like to make a come back in the second half of the year too, if possible. I don’t want to take a break. As I am confident that we have matured and got better preparing for this album, I am already excited for the next one.”