CHANYEOL 찬열
Chanyeol fell in love with music when he saw “School of Rock” during his elementary years. He was enamored with the main character that played the drums in the movie and began to learn to play as well. Thanks to his father being a musician during his younger years, Chanyeol was able to come upon the guitar and other instruments starting from a young age. During his first year in junior high he created a band with friends with similar taste and performed together endlessly for 3 years. Because he was already making music, the SM Entertainment audition was both curiosity and an opportunity. “I auditioned with an anxious heart, and luckily I was accepted. Because I was already in a band so I was hopeful that I would be in a band like The Trax, but when I realized it wasn’t going to be easy I began to feel lost.” But that worry didn’t last long. As he listened to a more varied selection of music, he earnestly began to research rap, which he was very interested in to begin with. While he was a trainee he became more and more flexible with rapping, and maybe due to the compliments he received from those around him, he fell even deeper into rap. “I totally fell for the music after I was introduced to Daft Punk by my older sister. These days I find myself interested in electronic music as well.” Chanyeol wants to present his self written rap to his fans as soon as possible. That’s why he’s writing lyrics and studying it any chance he gets. “I like to listen to jazz hip hop in order to get inspiration. I typically rap about love, separation, family, and things like that.” Seeing Chanyeol’s eyes sparkle as he’s totally immersed in rap makes me believe we’ll be able to listen to Chanyeol’s self written rap very soon.
TAO 타오
For some reason when Tao moves on stage it’s extraordinary. We came to realize that he was a guy that had done some martial arts in China. “I started martial arts when I was young for the benefit of my health. It’s not as much as before, but I still try to brush up on it at the practice room whenever I have time.” He was recognized during the auditions in Qingdao, China for his singing, dance, and special talent, martial arts. “After I was cast and started officially training, I started to focus on rap and hip hop which I had always been interested in. Effort was the only path that would lead me to grow into the type of musician I wanted to become.” That still has not changed. This was proven true as he quietly rapped along to music coming out of his earphones during the photo shoot. In order to study rap he searches for shows like “Show Me the Money,” and constantly listens to Korean rap music by artists like Esens and Geeks. One of the reasons Tao pushes himself this much is to be able to show a successful EXO to his parents back in China. “I want to be able to show an even better side of me to my family who are so proud when I put on a great performance on stage.” He’s very curious so he likes to see, listen, and feel new things. He’s always watching the latest movies, and even enjoys shopping due to his interested in fashion. “I’m the type of person that is very clear on what I like and don’t like. I think that’s one of my strengths.” Maybe it’s because of his personality, but Tao’s constant confidence seems to make him shine even brighter.
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via: EXOphils
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