Hello and welcome back to HallyuTones — always focused on sound, stage and substance.
For a group that’s only in their second year of activities ALL(H)OURS is staying true to their name by showing up and out. On September 9th the group released their fourth mini-album VCF with the title track ‘Ready to Rumble‘ drawing fans in from all corners of the world. The group of seven members exploded onto the scene with their debut song ‘GOTCHA’ ensuring that they secure a foothold in the K-Pop industry.
HallyuTones was given the pleasure to briefly chat with the members in a roundtable interview along with various other global publications. They spoke about the VCF mini-album, some of their achievements, and the members’ excitement to meet with fans in their upcoming performances.
As mentioned, the group consists of seven members, Minje, Kunho, Youmin, Masami, Xayden, Hyunbin, and ON:N. This time, the members face the world despite any fears they have. The mini-album, which is an acronym for Vibe Check Failed contains five tracks, including two unit songs which give the members a chance to shine in a different musical dynamic. The group’s previous mini-album, Smoke Point, set out multiple goals for the members and their team, much of which they hope to achieve alongside their fans, Min(ut)es.
Barely two years into their career as a group, ALL(H)OURS has been nominated for multiple Best Rookie awards and continues to garner fans worldwide. This was only further solidified when there was celebration in many fan communities when the group announced their first North America tour. When asked how they felt about this massive milestone, leader Kunho expressed his gratitude, humbly acknowledging the fans who’ve made this possible.
He added, “It also showcases that we’re moving into the right direction as artists and many people are acknowledging ALL(H)OURS’ unique color, so we’re able to gain more confidence as artists, too.” This self-assurance is evident across the group as each member speaks proudly of their achievements so far. Since their debut they’ve continued to prove themselves as rookies worth listening to, and being nominated at award shows like MAMA, Seoul Music Awards and the Golden Disc Awards stands testament to that.
We asked the members if this level of success has made them feel any pressure at all to exceed the great work they’ve already done. Every year tens if not hundreds of groups debut monthly and sustaining an audience for many groups becomes difficult. ALL(H)OURS, though, acknowledges their peers as both competition and collaborators, and thanks the fans for giving them the opportunity to share their talents.
Member Youmin shares a rather sentimental thought on this: “We debuted not too long ago, and we have always kept the same determination with a goal to promote ourselves to a wider audience. I just want to thank our fans for all of their support and love which made it possible for us to be nominated for Best Rookie awards. That being said, we’re very motivated to do better with those nominations, because we want to be a group that our fans can feel proud of. We’ll continue working hard to win an award one day!”
He’s echoed by Xayden who also notes the nominations as motivation to eventually win, and Hyunbin who elicits giggles across the room by assuring us all that “ALL(H)OURS will become more handsome and cool moving forward, so please look forward to our improvements!”
For today’s read we’ll be diving into the album track by track. We’ll also share some of the thoughts and the messages that were shared in our meeting with ALL(H)OURS and fellow media outlets.
Total tracks: 5 (five)
- VCF
This cinematic opening set a great tone for the rest of the album. The track title as previously mentioned is short for Vibe Check Failed, presenting the group as a unit that goes against the grain of what people expect them to sound like. Member ON:N’s comments about the VCF mirror this sentiment, “Since VCF carries our message of defying trends and creating our own unique colors, I think this could be a good introduction of our team to everyone who just found out about ALL(H)OURS through this mini-album.”. From the beginning, it introduces us to the album in the same way that a movie score usually starts with a sound that immerses the audience in the feelings of what’s to come. As an opening, VCF hits all the right spots.
- READY 2 RUMBLE [Title]
In member Xayden’s words,“While our first to third mini-albums focused more on our goals, determination, and mindset, the fourth mini-album, VCF, highlights our new mindset that we’re ready to achieve the goals described in the previous albums. Through this album, we want to tell our fans, Min(ut)e, that we’re ready to take on anything.” The music video is a perfect vehicle for this message showing the members gearing up to take on any challenge, boxing style.
The track is an invitation to take on the world with your head held high, facing challenges confidently. The visuals of flames and intense workout routines throughout the video along with the hype trap beat make this song a gym playlist staple. The video ends however with a plot twist that had my sides aching with laughter. Comment below after watching the video what you thought it would be vs what it actually turned out to be:
- DO IT
This 80s influenced track throws back to some funk fusion hits in the music world like Finesse by Bruno Mars and Cardi B. The main difference we have here is that ALL(H)OURS has once again chosen to keep the hip-hop undertones to match the melodic rap flow of the members.
This song calls to mind scenes of young people enjoying their youth and unexpectedly finding someone who captures all of their attention. As a non-Korean listener of Korean music, it’s become increasingly important to understand the lyrics while enjoying the instrumentals.
Oftentimes as fans, the vibes of the music is what captures our interest but lately, it seems that understanding the lyrics and sharing their messages is part of what it takes to humanise the artist and the team behind creating the art. Even if the experience is simply shooting your shot with your crush.
While this song is about going for whatever it is you want to do, sometimes the outcome isn’t always what we’d like. A question was asked to the team about how to keep fans motivated when they’re having a hard time and Youmin used this moment to affirm, what felt like, everyone in the room as well as the fans.
He responds, “I also agree that having confidence is important, but if I may add, I want to say that it’s okay to be wrong. Even though you get something incorrectly or fail at something, it doesn’t mean the end of the world; what’s more important is to get back up again and put in consistent work. I think that would naturally lead to success, so I hope [for] everyone to get back up again even after falling down.”
Out of all the songs on the mini-album, Track 3 definitely carries the energy of this resilience the most. For our readers heading into the warmer seasons, DO IT is definitely the kind of song that should be added to a Summer Party playlist.
- GOOD JOB (KUNHO, XAYDEN, MASAMI, HYUNBIN)
The charisma oozes from the members in this rap sub-unit track. Their chemistry as colleagues and cocreators in the studio truly shines in the delivery of each member’s individual part.
For those who aren’t aware, the group’s name holds a profound meaning linked to the group’s long-term career goals: We give all ours, at all hours. When they were asked about how they personally see this message, Minje shared that they use it as their personal compass, “We’re dedicated to really give all of us, including music and energy, to our fans.”
The lyrics of GOOD JOB and the members’ resolute tones leave no room for discussion on that fact. Member Youmin mentions in response to another question that the group’s releases are noise music (a relatively new genre) that gets people hyped and ready to take on every moment.
Admittedly, it’s member Xayden’s verse that stands out. Over several listens, the most memorable line of the song outside of its chorus, is his “I’m Unshakeable”. By the end of the track, you’re in agreement. They do great stuff, and you can too.
- La Vida Loca (YOUMIN, MINJE, ON:N, KUNHO)
Also being Hyunbin’s personal recommendation from this mini album, La Vida Loca stands out to me the most. The vocal line brings us into their world of fearlessness with their entrancing vocals accompanied by a subtle yet catchy electric effect.
In three different languages [Spanish, Latin, Korean], the members use their charms to convince listeners to seize the moment and go with the flow – or, in this case flames – of life and everything it has to offer.
When the members were asked if they would ever consider releasing more Spanish language songs, they seemed immediately excited at the idea. Kunho jumped straight to sharing ideas saying “maybe we can incorporate a line like ‘Uno, dos, tres, we’ll steal your hearts and you’ll fall in love with us.’ That’d be interesting.”
While there are no certain plans as yet to release more songs with Spanish lyrics for now, Xayden says they’ll keep looking into pairing interesting melodies with various languages if it allows them to connect to their fans. For their Min(ut)es, anything is possible.
That all being said, the members are looking towards their tour and performances of this era with much anticipation. With songs like SHOCK and GIMME GIMME that have jaw-dropping choreography to get the crowd excited, Masami and ON:N can’t wait to share the energy of the crowd at the various stops. This time, Xayden says their two new tracks READY 2 RUMBLE and DO IT are sure to get great reactions from the crowd as well.
From us here at HallyuTones, it’s always a pleasure to see groups and artists in general approaching their work and their fans with such sincerity. We wish the members well as they continue the promotional run of this mini-album. If you’re in North America, grab your tickets for the show while you still can.
If you have yet to discover why fans are so ready to get behind ALL(H)OURS, here’s the links to get connected and see what they’re up to at all hours:
Website: all-h-ours.com
Instagram: @all_h_ours
X: @ALL_H_OURS / @at_ALL_H_OURS
TikTok: @all_h_ours
YouTube: : 올아워즈 ALL(H)OURS
All VCF Concept photos courtesy of Helix Publicity LLC.
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