After School Discusses Their Concept, Kahi, & Their Goal for “Flashback”

After School

The fierce and sexy ladies of After School has recently made a comeback after a one-year hiatus with their newest title track, “Flashback“, which combines powerful performance and ferocity to become a worthy successor to their previous tracks, such as “Because of You“, “Bang!“, and “Diva“.
News outlet Sports Seoul recently sat down with the girls to pick their brain about some issues and questions surrounding their group and their most recent comeback.

• Did you know of your fans’ requests to return to your previous strong style?

“Our fans seemed to like concepts such as “Diva”, “Because of You”, and “Ah!“” said UEE. “So this time around, we chose to be powerful and sexy. Outright sexiness is something that hasn’t been tried before by After School, but this time we chose to follow our fans’ wishes.”

• Kahi, who was your leader and foundation, left the group. How do you feel?

“We were very sad that she was leaving, and in turn, she worried a lot about us as well,” said Jung-Ah. “But even if she graduates, she is still a part of Pledis Entertainment. We cheered each other up, hoping that both of us will do well,” she said. “Kahi unni yelled, ‘After School forever!’”

• What are some advantages/disadvantages to your graduation/admissions system?

“There are more advantages than disadvantages, we think. You graduate when you have confidence that you’ll be able to stand on your own,” Raina said. “But there will definitely be obstacles, such as having to do everything by yourself, when before, you had your members around you.”

• In place of Kahi, the newest team member, Ka-Eun was recruited

“Our maknae speaks Japanese very well, since she lived there for three years,” Jung-Ah said. “She’s a big asset to our Japanese promotions. (laughs) She’s tall and dances well.”

• Lizzy became an adult this year.

“Now, I want to show something new,” Lizzy confessed. “Since I was a part of Orange Caramel, I have a very cute image and I think this comeback will be able to change that. I even got to be in the center for a part of the opening.” (laughs)

• Along with the rest of the K-Pop world, you took off to Japan. Wasn’t it hard?

“For two months, we always stuck together, so I think it became an impetus to closer relationships between the members,” Nana revealed. “People didn’t know who we were as individuals at first, but that’s starting to change. A difficult part was that the yen was high, so we were financially strapped, I think?” (laughs)

• Due to your Japanese promotions, you couldn’t meet with your Korean fans.

“We worried about if we were going to be forgotten by our fans in Korea. That’s why we worked harder than ever on this comeback,” E-Young confessed. “We’ve waited so long for a domestic stage and I also wanted to do this kind of sexy concept. I’m more anxious than I was at my debut.”

• What are the goals of After School with their comeback?

“We’d like to place first with this comeback, and also want to hold a solo concert in Korea,” UEE said. “Also, we hope that our fans will keep loving us despite the member changes.”