There are K-Pop fans across the globe who share the same passion. But on online platforms, it is hard to know about each other’s stories and K-Pop life. Even if we are in the same fandom, it is hard to get to know each other. So at Kpopmap, we started the Kpopmap Fan Interview Project to get to know more about K-Pop fans from different countries: more about their K-Pop life and tastes and to give them the opportunity to share with our readers about their favorite group(s) and bias. Batrisyia from Malaysia is the next fan to answer our questions. She is a fan of BLANK2Y, particularly of YoungBin! Check out how she entered the fandom, the songs and content she advises to new fans, and much more! Can you introduce yourself? Where are you from? My name is Batrisyia (she/her) and I’m from Malaysia. How and when did you enter the fandom? I was spending my free time, scrolling TikTok when all of a sudden, I see a video of a fan saying YoungBin is debuting in a group called BLANK2Y! I was really excited for him, considering he was one of my picks during “I-LAND”, I was really sad when he got eliminated but him getting another chance to achieve his dreams made me very happy for him. What are the reasons why this rookie group is your favorite group? At first, I only knew them because of YoungBin, but because I wanted to get to know his group members better, I decided to look more into them as they release more and more content. First of all, the love they have for their fans is so wholesome, they love K2YWES so so much and even make fan songs for us. Secondly, looking into each member’s history makes me feel that I should support them more since most of the members have had experiences being in groups that have disbanded or have been in survival shows but failed to debut. Them getting this chance surely made them feel like there is still a chance they can continue their career and reach their dreams, that makes me so proud of them! What do you think differentiates this rookie group from the others? The simple answer is, they’re talented. Considering most of them have experienced being in the music industry before, it probably meant that the training they received before being in the debut lineup easier, especially for the members that were previously in a group that had already disbanded. Naturally, it makes them talented since they’ve gone through training before! They’ve gone through a series of trial and error which means they’ve probably improved a lot. For the readers who are completely new to the group and members, can you introduce them with your own words? BLANK2Y is a rookie group consisting of nine members, they made their debut with the song ‘Thumbs Up’, which is really good! I recommend listening to it, especially the fact it is their debut song. They made their first comeback with the song ‘Fuego (Burn It Up)’. You may have already seen or heard of some members that are in this group since they’ve been in the music industry before they debuted. Who caught your attention at first and why? Did you know any members prior to their debut? Definitely YoungBin! I knew him since before “I-LAND” started considering that I was a BigHit stan back then. When I heard they were having a survival show, I was intrigued by it and wanted to watch it as soon as it starts. They have an Instagram account that they used to update about the members, upcoming episodes, behind-the-scenes, and many more! Before the show started, they posted the profiles of individual participants and I thoroughly looked through each one of them, that’s how I first got introduced to YoungBin. Do you have a bias yet? If yes, tell us why. I’ve been mentioning YoungBin a lot, thus I’m sure it’s obvious who my bias is. The first time I saw his performance on “I-LAND”, he performed ‘Crown’ by TXT along with Sunoo and Jake (ENHYPEN). He was one of the participants that stood out and he caught my eye with his performance. In my opinion, YoungBin, Sunoo, and Jake performed really well, they all caught my attention! However, something about YoungBin just seems different and to this day I still don’t know whether it was his dance moves or vocals, but I still love that performance to this day. What do you particularly like in this debut title track? Do you have a favorite B-side? ‘Thumbs Up’ is really catchy, no matter how many times I listen to the song, I just can’t get enough of it because of how good the song is! My favorite B-side has to be ‘Constellation’, which is a fan song. Not only do I love the fact they made a song for their fans but also the fact that the vocals of every member stood out really well! Their vocals are really heavenly, and I have a thing for songs like ‘Constellation’ which is what attracted me. Can you recommend a fancam, V Live, cover video, cover dance, or other from your favorite group or bias? I recommend ‘Yellow’ by YoungBin! It’s a song he made in collaboration with CIELOGROOVE before his debut with BLANK2Y. When I listened to it for the first time, I kept playing the song on repeat. I love his vocals in the song, and it made me proud of him that he got to make music even after “I-LAND” ended! The update on him made me ecstatic since there haven’t been any updates on him during that time besides him making a personal Instagram account. What is your best souvenir with your favorite group until now? The song ‘Yellow’ by YoungBin, the reason being the fact that it has been so long since we fans have received any updates on him, hence hearing this great news made us proud he made it this far!! Can you describe your bias in only one word? Visual. Can you share a fun episode that only fans from your fandom know to readers? The “BLANK2Y’S” series!! My favourite moment from the series has to be when the dessert team pranked the others who were carrying other tasks at the place they were staying! If you have a chance to cook for the group, what will you cook for them? Nasi lemak! I haven’t learned how to make it yet but I would love to introduce Malaysia’s national food to them. If you can spend a day with your bias, where will you go and what will you do? Going to an amusement park and going karaoke! I’d love to enjoy fun rides together with YoungBin and hear his heavenly voice live. Please recommend your favorite selfie by your bias.
Name a variety show/content show that you would love to see your bias on? Tell us why. “Weekly Idol”! The activities other idols do on the show is really entertaining. There’s not a moment I’m not entertained by the things they do. Is your bias different while performing and in real life? What is your reaction to the difference? While performing, he seems really fierce. However, from what I’ve seen on shows he was on before, he’s really passionate and caring towards others. Have you ever made a new friend because of K-Pop? Plenty! In real life and online! I love exploring the internet from time to time hence making new friends are one of the things I do when I’m bored. I’ve became really intimate with some of my online friends I met through having similar interests and whom we share our secrets to each other or vent about our problems. What are the things you are looking for in their future activities? They’re coming to Malaysia soon mid November for an event held by Mokkoji Korea! As a Malaysian K2YWE, of course, I’m planning to come to the event, I even participated in events so I could get closer to them, and I’m really excited about that! Batrisyia’s message to YoungBin: I’m so proud you made it this far! Even after you nearly gave up and lost hope on debuting in a group and making music, you still kept going. You’ve gone so far since 2020, the year “I-LAND” started. Although you didn’t get to debut in ENHYPEN’s lineup, it was definitely a new starting for you so you could go further and try harder to reach your dreams. You might’ve felt like it was the end of the world after you get eliminated, but we fans are willing to wait no matter how long it takes for you to reach your dreams. Even if you changed your thoughts on becoming an idol and majoring in something else such as being a producer, composer, etc, I’d still support you nonetheless! As long as you’re happy and enjoying what you’re doing in life, I’ll be happy and support you endlessly. Remember to take care of yourself since that is what should come first for you. Take a rest when you need it and don’t push yourself too much since it’ll only cause more stress. I, along with other fans will support you endlessly no matter what! Thank you for answering our questions, Batrisyia. If you are interested in joining Kpopmap Fan Interview Project, please get in touch with us at [email protected] Everyone is welcome to participate.
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