Despite debuting in the midst of a pandemic, P1Harmony is already making strides within the industry and continues to feed their fans with nothing short of bangers.
FNC Entertainment formed the group in 2019 and began teasing their debut in February 2020. With the release of their first EP Disharmony: Stand Out and a movie, P1Harmony has catapulted into the spotlight.
Best known for their performance prowess and ability to dominate a stage, these rookies have been focused on creating a new R&B sound. The group released their highly anticipated second EP Disharmony: Break Out now.
Their title track “Scared” has all the right vibes standing strong as an anthemic banger that blends their soulful singing and hardline rap verses over a glitchy soundscape of punchy beats, lush R&B harmonies, and trippy melody lines.
AllHipHop: As for each member, who is the first R&B artist you looked up to?*
KEEHO: Neyo, Mariah Carey, Solange, John Legend, Alicia Keys, Brandy, Jazmine Sullivan, Ledisi
INTAK: Justin Bieber
JONGSEOB: Kanye West
AllHipHop: For each member, which R&B and hip-hop artists most heavily influenced this EP, and your life?
KEEHO: I get a lot of my inspiration from SZA, Frank Ocean, and Daniel Caesar. I’ve been really into the way they write and create music.
JIUNG: Post Malone, Justin Bieber, & 24kGoldn.
INTAK: A$AP Rocky, EK.
JONGSEOB: J.Cole, Joey Bada$$.
AllHipHop: What sets your guy’s music apart from the rest
KEEHO: I don’t think there’s a specific difference, but we try to add songs that were written or composed by all six members into our albums. There’s a song called “That’s It” from our first debut EP, which was co-written and composed by all of us, and from this new album, we have a song called “If You Call Me,” which was also co-written and composed by all the members as well. I think through this process, we are able to deliver and express the kind of message we want more clearly.
THEO: I personally think what sets us apart is that we have and know the precise message we want to deliver through our music.
JIUNG: I think the way we keep reinterpreting or finding new ways to deliver our message (which has been consistent since the very beginning) is our key appeal.
INTAK: I think what makes us a bit more different is that we are striving to harmonize the world.
SOUL: I think it’s our harmonious, vocal tones and choreography! I think we have a distinct dance style.
JONGSEOB: I think we all have a different way of expressing our thoughts and opinions even if the message or the subject we want to relay is the same. I also think our personal characteristics are strong and different and we also like and listen to different genres of music and that’s what makes us unique.
AllHipHop: Why did you choose the title ‘Disharmony: Break Out’?
KEEHO: It’s a continuation from our first album, which was titled DISHARMONY: STAND OUT. Our message is still based on the idea of ‘disharmony,’ but this time, we wanted to share our message, which is to ‘break out’ from the things that hold us back, our fears, and injustices and be confident enough to create a life that we want, while achieving our goals and dreams.
JIUNG: I think ‘break out’ is the best description of our album’s main theme, which is to ‘break out’ of all the things that you’re tied down to, from people’s judgments, and our fears.
JONGSEOB: Our first album, DISHARMONY: STAND OUT posed questions and pointed out problems, while DISHARMONY: BREAK OUT is about acknowledging these problems, and finding a way to resolve these issues, which is to be confident, ‘break out,’ and become a better person.
AllHipHop: What does it mean to give back to your country through the arts?*
KEEHO: I am so honored and grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this global movement that K-pop is becoming. But then again, to be honest, I also feel a lot of pressure and responsibility. I want to reach out to as many people as I can by making good music and want to show our performances to our fans all across the globe.
THEO: I think it’s a great honor, and I am super proud of it.
JIUNG: I am also proud of K-pop and am grateful for all the support we have been getting. This makes me want to work harder to become an exceptional artist.
INTAK: Being a K-pop artist with the opportunity to help expand K-pop is such an honor, and I am filled with gratitude that I was given this opportunity by my company and all the staff members who are helping us.
SOUL: I am also very proud, and I feel like I was destined to become a K-pop artist [Laughs].
JONGSEOB: I am doing what I’m doing because I wanted to be onstage to perform and write/make music, but it’s so amazing that K-pop is headed towards such a positive direction.
AllHipHop: How did you guys come together?
KEEHO: We were put together for how well we worked together as trainees and for the harmony we created as a team. I think that is also the reason why we are all so close to each other.
AllHipHop: How tight-knit are you guys?
KEEHO: Yes! We are super close. We spend so much time together; we train and see each other every day so I think that’s why we are so close. But above all, we communicate a lot and are like family. I think we are lucky and fortunate that we all get along so well.
THEO: We are REALLY close.
JIUNG: We are SUPER tight-knit
INTAK: We are like family.
SOUL: I think of them as my family in Korea, that’s how close we are.
JONGSEOB: We are close enough to share everything.
AllHipHop: How has debuting in the middle of a pandemic been for you?
KEEHO: Honestly, we didn’t have that much trouble or difficulties. We spent more time training and working on our music since we couldn’t go out. The only thing that was kind of unfavorable was the fact that we didn’t get to see other people and experience things that could have inspired us for our music.
THEO: It was difficult because we couldn’t meet our fans in person.
JIUNG: We didn’t have many difficulties when we were preparing for our debut. The only difficult thing was that we couldn’t perform in front of people.
INTAK: I didn’t experience difficulties
SOUL: I think the pandemic is difficult, but what’s more difficult for me personally is the language barrier!
JONGSEOB: The only thing that is hard to deal with is that we don’t get to see our fans during TV music program shoots or when we are onstage.
AllHipHop: What’s the hardest thing to adjust now that you’re gaining more recognition?
KEEHO: I don’t think there is anything to really adjust right now, and I don’t think I will need to adjust to getting recognized more [Laughs]. I like people and attention! I’m assuming later in our careers; it might get hard when our personal lives diminish, but that too, I don’t think it will be hard for me to adjust. I am very good at adapting!
THEO: I’m OK with getting recognized more, but it’s difficult when they want to see my cutesy stuff in person.
JIUNG: I am a bit worried that I’m not going to have much of a personal life.
INTAK: I don’t have any problems. I think I have already adjusted to this lifestyle! [Laughs].
SOUL: I agree with Intak
JONGSEOB: I have none.
AllHipHop: What can we expect next from the group?
KEEHO: Please continue to show us love and support as we will be releasing a lot of new contents, music, as well as holding more performances.
THEO: I hope to become more at ease when I’m onstage and hope we can grow as one of the more charismatic groups.
JIUNG: I want our fans and everyone to anticipate the amount of energy we will have when we are onstage performing in front of an actual audience.
INTAK: Please look forward to what kind of messages we will be delivering with our music.
SOUL: Please look forward to our future promotional activities with a lot of love and interest!
JONGSEOB: We will become a group that is continuously evolving and excelling in every facet so please look forward to our every move, and we will also continue to release our new message and worldviews.
