From crush-stage excitement and confessions to heartbreak, rebellion, and now the raw energy of “ANIMAL”—you’ve explored very different sounds. As you keep experimenting, what makes something still feel unmistakably BOYNEXTDOOR?
TAESAN: I think it comes down to our energy and the fact that we keep coming back with something new. With every release, we don’t want to put boundaries around what BOYNEXTDOOR can sound like. We want to explore different styles while keeping our own thoughts and emotions at the core.
JAEHYUN: With HOME, there was a certain weight and seriousness to the project. But when we started working on the deluxe version, we wanted to clear our heads and make something we could just run around and have fun with. To me, capturing whatever we’re feeling in the moment and putting it straight into our music and performance — that is what makes us BOYNEXTDOOR.
You’ve often spoken about finding inspiration in films, books and other musicians. What’s the key to taking things you love and translating them into your own voice?
WOONHAK: For me, inspiration usually comes from a specific place or a real experience. The tour made me realize how different every audience can be — the reactions, the energy, the whole atmosphere of each show. What we experience onstage doesn’t just stay there. We remember it, and sometimes it finds its way back into what we create next.
JAEHYUN: Speaking of taking inspiration, RIWOO put a ton of thought into the choreography for the “ANIMAL” chorus. I remember watching him study animal videos to figure out how they moved.
RIWOO: It actually started with a pigeon. [Laughs]
MEMBERS: Then it was a monkey climbing a tree, a crocodile, a rabbit… even a tiger and a dinosaur.
RIWOO: In the end, we basically look like wild animals out there. The movements are meant to feel completely natural, dynamic, and instinctive.
