On October 9, 2023, Yale University's Race and Place in British New Wave, K-Pop, and Beyond class, conducted by Professor Grace Kao, had the experience of a lifetime as they were joined by K-Pop boy group TRENDZ for a virtual fan meeting. HALSUG had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of the event and experience what the group had in store for the class.

TRENDZ (pronounced as "Trend Z") is a seven-member boy group under Global H (formerly under Interpark Music Plus) that debuted on January 5, 2022, with the single "TNT (Truth&Trust)." The group's lineup consists of members HAVIT (main vocalist), LEON (lead vocalist, main dancer), EUNIL (main vocalist), ra.L (rapper), YOONWOO (vocalist), HANKOOK (leader and rapper), and YECHAN (rapper, lead dancer, and maknae).

The virtual fan meeting began with the members’ salutations and an introductory video of the group's discography. Over the course of the past year and a half alone, the group has released two EPs and three single-albums. With the third single-album STILL ON MY WAY being their latest comeback, TRENDZ begins a whole new concept much different from their BLUE SET series. 

For the first half of the fan meeting, the members dove into each of their past comebacks one by one. Starting off strong with their latest comeback "MY WAY," the class got to watch the entire music video with the group as they discussed the song in depth. 

Described as an energetic song with drum and bass, member ra.L mentioned that the song conveyed the message of getting up again after enduring hardships in life. According to him, the lyrics depicted "a sense of running" in a way. YECHAN even taught the audience the point choreography for the song while the rest of the members sang the chorus. 

Apart from the title track, their 3rd single-album, STILL ON MY WAY features two other songs, namely "ven conmigo" and "O.Y.E." "ven conmigo" is a moombahton-infused track that carries the message of hope and moving forward.

"O.Y.E," short for 'Open Your Eyes' is a much more chill addition to the album that talks about awakening your inner-self. The members recommended listening to it with headphones for a better listening experience. According to HANKOOK, they spent a lot of time recording their parts for this particular track. As they move onto a new chapter in the group's journey, LEON shared that the album concluded the message that "TRENDZ goes on." 

While going down memory lane with the next comeback, HAVIT introduced the group's debut song, "TNT (Truth&Trust)" from the album BLUE SET Chapter 1. TRACKS. He described it as a melodious and booming dance track mixed with hip-hop and electronic sounds. HANKOOK said they had fun stories to share from the music video shooting, which they usually have to shoot for two days at a stretch. 

EUNIL revealed one particular memory where they had to constantly switch between hot and cold temperatures during the shoot, as one of the scenes was shot indoors with fire, whereas for the other, they were outdoors in the freezing cold. For them, music videos are always exciting because there are a lot of acting scenes and new places to film at. Apart from the title track, the album also features the B-sides "Villain"  and "Trauma," the latter being a recommendation from HANKOOK himself. 

Up next was their second comeback BLUE SET Chapter 2. CHOICE with the title track "WHO [吼]," a song about finding your own path at a crossroads. The song title has a double meaning, as the first interpretation can be the question, "Who are we?" The second interpretation refers to the Chinese character, which translates to "shout," in the sense that one may express oneself by shouting. 

LEON showed point choreography that symbolized wolves and canines. The members also talked about two B-sides in particular. The first was "CLIQUE," a hip-hop track that the members suggested would be a great song to listen to with friends or in a crowd setting, and the second one was "FOREVER MORE," a slower-paced song about finding love. 

Moving onto their first single album BLUE SET Chapter. [UNKNOWN CODE], the title track "VAGABOND" talks about instances where you reach your ideal goal but you don't feel satisfied or too enthusiastic about it, thus making you feel like a "vagabond." The song incorporates synth bass and hip-hop bass, and LEON revealed that the choreography was inspired by the movie Mad Max. The point choreography was then demonstrated to the audience by HANKOOK. 

Reaching the final chapter of their series, BLUE SET Chapter. [NEW DAYZ] features the pop-punk title track "NEW DAYZ," which was rather a new style for the group, according to YOONWOO. The idea behind the song is that you wake up in pitch dark and try to create this imaginary movie in your head. For this song, EUNIL showed the audience the point choreography, which had a specific slide move that was easy to follow. "Nightmare," a B-side on the album, was another mentioned song, particularly because it was a dark-sounding track that showcased the members' voices very well. 

After deep diving into their music, the members opened up a question-and-answer session, answering questions submitted by the Yale students. The members shared their audition stories and the challenges they faced as idols and trainees. EUNIL's start in the field happened when he was 16 and part of Produce 101 Season 2. For both HAVIT and LEON, the several auditions they attempted ignited their desire to pursue a career as an idol. 

When it comes to being an idol, EUNIL remarked that the biggest challenge was taking care of their mental and physical health. As for the good parts of being an idol, YOONWOO added that opportunities like meeting their fans and being a part of events like the Yale fan meeting made it all worth it. 

Despite having prepared for the fan meeting from 3AM onwards, the members were full of energy and bright smiles throughout the event. HANKOOK revealed they were concerned about keeping their energy up till the very end but were thrilled to have had such a responsive audience that made all their worries disappear. 

During the Q&A session, the members also talked about their favorite artists, genres, and instruments they would love to play. For ra.L and YOONWOO, their dream collaborations would be with SEVENTEEN and BTS. EUNIL commented that they loved artists like Lauv, Charlie Puth, One Direction, and band music in general. 

The fan meeting ended on quite a sweet note as they mentioned they had many more stories to share but would do so once they met their fans and the Yale University students in person. We hope the future allows for more opportunities like this for TRENDZ and their fans. We can't wait to see the group reach greater heights! 

Which TRENDZ comeback was your personal favorite? Let us know in the comments below or message us on Instagram or X (Twitter). 

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Edited by Alliya Garcia