K-Pop Groups CRAVITY and BLACKSWAN Share About Filming Apple TV+’s K-Pop Idols

For every K-pop group, the end goal is to be larger than life—to have fans around the world know your name and sing your songs. But in an industry where hundreds of groups debut each year, how do you accomplish that? How do you make yourself stand out? Well, the first steps are putting in hard work, dedication and enduring several challenges before you truly can shine. To demonstrate that, Apple TV+ is providing a behind-the-scenes look at this process with their recently released docuseries K-Pop Idols.

The six-episode show follows three different K-pop artists: soloist Jessi, girl group BLACKSWAN and boy group CRAVITY. Throughout the show, viewers experience firsthand the highs and lows of the industry and what it's truly like to work in one of music's fastest-growing genres. In order to dive deeper into the show, we had the pleasure of separately chatting with BLACKSWAN and CRAVITY to hear all about what filming the show was like, their struggles as artists and what they're most excited about with the show's release. Read the full interviews below.

CRAVITY Interview

SH: For a lot of viewers, the docuseries K-pop Idols will be their first time learning about and being exposed to K-pop. How does it feel knowing that CRAVITY will be someone's introduction to K-pop? 

Allen: It always feels good to be somebody's first. We'll always be like their first love and I hope to become their last love.

(Photo credit: Apple TV+)

 

SH: In the show, we see a lot of struggles you all went through, such as the intense training, being away from family and debuting during the COVID-19 pandemic. What motivated you to keep going and keep pushing toward that goal of being an idol despite these challenges? 

Serim: We were able to conquer all those hardships and tough times through the power that our fans, LUVITY, gave us.

 

SH: One of the greatest things about K-pop is the bond that's formed between the members of a group. In the documentary, we see you all training and living together. Can you talk a bit more about how these contributed to the strong bond that you guys have? 

Woobin: It kind of came to a point where we needed to stop getting closer [laughs]. Just because we're already so close-knit already.

Jungmo: We're a family!

(Photo credit: Apple TV+)

 

SH: You've have filmed variety shows before, but this was a bit different. What was the most difficult part about filming this docuseries? 

Woobin: The main focus of our filming is different because our variety shows focus more on having fun and laughing, but the documentary is more focused on showing our real and honest selves. It was a little bit difficult, but it was a new and fun experience for us.

 

SH: Oftentimes, people who aren't familiar with K-pop can have preconceived notions about it. What are you most excited about for people to understand about K-pop and idol life with the release of the series?

Allen: I feel like Western media usually portrays K-pop in a more negative light where it's such a cutthroat, competitive and intense industry—where thousands debut and only a couple make it. We want to break that prejudice and show them that, through our bond as a group, K-pop is something way beyond competition, way beyond statistics and way beyond numbers. That K-pop truly can be a place of comfort and that our music can be a source of strength and comfort for our listeners and fans. I hope, through the documentary, they can feel and live vicariously through our interactions.

 

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SH: In the show, we see you guys on this journey to find your signature concept as a group. Do you think you've found that concept or are you still on a journey to discover your signature sound? 

Allen: After the end of the docuseries, we had a huge turning point sonically and conceptually. In the past few years with our releases, you can really hear and see that distinctive change that happened. The documentary was kind of the start of the turning point in which we solidified our sound and our identity as CRAVITY.

(Photo credit: Apple TV+)

 

BLACKSWAN Interview

SH: There's a lot of pressure on K-pop idols to be seen as perfect, but throughout the show, we get to see some of the challenges that you went through. How does it feel knowing that everyone will be able to see that K-pop idols are not always perfect? 

Fatou: I am extremely happy because it's going to cut some slack for K-pop idols that they have to be perfect, they always have to be smiling and happy, because that's not human. It's not always possible to keep up that perfect image, so I'm happy that they get to see us as human beings. They get to see our struggles, our happy times, our hard times when we're angry, crying and scared, all of those emotions. I'm very happy that they get to see that.

(Photo credit: Apple TV+)

 

SH: During the show, we saw some of the hate comments that you received, particularly in regards to the fact that you're a K-pop group with no Korean members. What would your response be to people who think that you don't count as K-pop because you don't have a Korean member?

Sriya: I mean, it's their thinking. It's not other people's thinking.

Fatou: We trained under the K-pop system under a Korean company in South Korea. We did it in the Korean way. We are K-pop, whether they want it or not. If they don't want it then that's on them. It's the facts.

Sriya: Either you will accept it or not. To be honest, here, our Korean fan base accepts us very, very well. We get so much great support and love from them.

 

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SH: One of the biggest challenges we saw for you in the show was the lineup changes that the group has gone through. What was it like adapting to the constant changes and learning how to work together as a team with every lineup shift? 

Fatou: For me, at first it was hard to adjust, I won't lie about that. I'm the type that when I create a bond with a certain group or person it really hurts me to break that and it's really hard for me to create another bond with another group or person so for me it was difficult but I've learned to open my mind more. I was more close-minded about that, but now my mind is more open, like, "You know what? You never know. Maybe this group of people could be the dream team. You could form an even better bond than you did with the previous lineup." I'm happy that I got out of that mindset because now we're here.

(Photo credit: Apple TV+)

 

SH: Gabi, in the show you mention that you saw your former member Leia, who is also Brazilian, as an idol, and that inspired you to become one. How does it make you feel knowing that somewhere out there are other girls looking up to you  all as an inspiration to become idols?

Gabi: It's really crazy because being here right now, even though I know I'm inspiring people and I'm in this position, it's crazy to think that I'm actually doing that. Sometimes I think we don't realize how much impact we have on people and people's lives. I don't even know how to describe this feeling but it's a good feeling because at one point I was in that position.

 

SH: What are you most excited for audiences to see in the show?

Sriya: I think they will be really excited to see the behind-the-scenes of what goes on in a K-pop idol's life. They will get to see a lot of ups and downs plus good moments too and how we manage to do everything. As normal human beings, we're just following our dreams and our own paths and doing our jobs. People will get to see all the secrets.

 

Looking to dive more into the world of K-pop? Click HERE to read about fromis_9's latest album Supersonic.