[EXCLUSIVE] [INTERVIEW] The KingDom talks new album 'REALIZE' and fresh start (2024)

Previously known as KINGDOM, the seven-piece boy group (composed ofArthur, Mujin, Luis, Ivan, Hwon, Jahan, and Dan)is back tokick off 2024 with a new album. The KingDom's new musical project concludes their 'History Of Kingdom' series and opens a new chapter set to reveal more of their charms and facets.

The septet's new mini-album, 'REALIZE,' marks their first recordsince 'History Of Kingdom: Pt. VII. JAHAN's release in October 2023. It involves 6 new tracks "Flip that Coin," the lead track, "ENERGY," "RusHush," "GUNDAM," "BEST THING," and "Together."

"This album means so much to us," they said.Following the album's release, allkpop caught up with the members to talk about and celebrate theirnew era. Check out our exclusive interview with The KingDom below!

allkpop: First and foremost, congratulations on your new album! What does it feel like to come back with a new name, The KingDom?

The KingDom

: It's like going back to the beginning and also feels like debuting again. It's good because our name is easy to search even after we changed our group name.

allkpop: What was it like changing your group name? A lot of people were confused and some of your fans think that it's part of your lore. What was your reaction like to those reactions?

The KingDom

: As we mentioned, many people felt comfortable finding out our group name even though we changed it. We also think that it's part of the lore. We were worried about our fans' reactions to this before announcing it, but we appreciate that our KINGMAKERs loved and supported our changes!

allkpop: Tell us more about your 8th mini-album ‘REALIZE,’ as it marks a new start and the end of your ‘History of Kingdom’ series. I also noticed that this album consists of 6 songs, compared to all your previous EPs which have 7 tracks. What is something you want the listeners to take away from the album?

The KingDom

: We don’t take this as the end of our 'Kingdom' series, we hope our fans and people take this as the second chapter of our 'History of Kingdom' series. On our previous album, we tried to maintain 7 themes as in our concept, but this time, we freely selected the number of tracks. There’s not much meaning in the number of tracks this time. And the meaning of the album is "realizing the real myself."

allkpop: All members have their own album name/era, but Hwon doesn't have his...yet? Or you can answer this instead: If there's a ‘History Of Kingdom: Hwon,’ what would you want to be that album about?

Hwon

: If there's 'History Of Kingdom: Hwon,' Iwould like it ifit’s going to be a kingdom of the storm. I think it will be real conceptual if it comes out with my version.

allkpop: I read in an interview that your group’s fictional universe is large-scale. What can we look forward to from this “new start” for The KingDom? How does “REALIZE” connect with your previous releases?

The KingDom

: We can say that our previous [albums]are more about history and past life, and our ‘REALIZE’ albumis more about modern, present, or now. So we could say that the chapters 1 and 2 are connected by the timeline!

allkpop: Since the album’s name is “REALIZE,” I wanted to ask you if you've had any meaningful realizations as you continue to embark on this journey.

The KingDom

: This album means so much to us. There werebig changes compared to our previous albums, especially our outfits and all the concepts in the music videotoo. The atmosphere and situation we used to play in the practice room were expressed as it was. Also, our teamwork among the members was best this time too!

allkpop: I was wondering if the members found out any facets of themselves the moment they went through and concluded the album series.

The KingDom

: We’ve been working hard for our previous 7 albums non-stop to maintain our concepts. But this time, we learned to be more relaxed during this project and think outside the box.

allkpop: There's a line in the title track, “Flip That Coin,” that says, “Drop the fear, throw it away.” How do you usually overcome difficulties that go your way? What's your mindset like?

The KingDom

: When overcoming problems, we try not to overthink them. Because we think that overthinking can lead to more dilemmas.

allkpop: Dann and Mujin participated in penning the lyrics this time around. Could you walk us through how the tracks came about?

Dann

and Mujin: The tracks werealready such good ones when we got their demos. Luckily, we had opportunities to participate in writing lyrics. We sent out to producers what we wrote, and we still remember that our producers loved the first version of the lyrics.

allkpop: Are there any fun behind-the-scenes moments during the music video shoot that you can share with us?

The KingDom

: We remember one of the episodes where we were shooting the music video, and we needed to act like we slept. But then themembers literally fell asleep. We had a tough night before we shot so we guess it happened.

allkpop: Lastly, share with us the goals you’ve set for this year! Feel free to leave a final message for allkpop readers and your fans as well.

The KingDom

: This year, we really want to participate at the end of the year's award ceremony. So we want to let many people know about The KingDom. Firstly, we want to say thank you to KINGMAKERs and our supporters around the world. As we change our team name to The KingDom, we will become a K-Pop idol group with more intense performances and powerful stages. Thank you all for your support and please continue to support us!\