Tomorrow X Together on career milestones, fears and their ‘Lost Summer’

Tomorrow X Together. PHOTOS COURTESY OF DISNEY+

The pressure to deliver at the 2022 Lollapalooza was evident in the faces of Huening Kai, Taehyun, Yeonjun, Beomgyu and their leader Soobin. And why not? The K-pop boy band, collectively known as Tomorrow X Together or TXT, was the first-ever Korean act to perform at the 32-year-old music fest in Chicago considered one of the most prestigious and longest-running festivals in the world.

But TXT’s series of astounding feats didn’t really start there: The group, introduced to their fans (called MOA) by Big Hit Entertainment in 2019, has breached records of its own.

With the release of its EP “The Dream Chapter: Star” that same year, the quintet became the first K-pop act to enter the Billboard 200 chart with its first album—which in turn became the highest-charting debut recording by any male K-pop group.

The documentary “Tomorrow X Together: Our Lost Summer,” launched at Disney+ last Friday, takes viewers behind the scenes as Soobin and the rest of the gang embark on their first world tour, called “Act: Lovesick,” in the run-up to their critically acclaimed set at Lollapalooza.

While the tour, organized in support of their second full album, “The Chaos Chapter: Freeze,” and the fourth EP, “Minisode 2: Thursday’s Child,” culminated in Manila last October, the docu only manages to include its stopovers in Seoul, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

More than anything, “Our Lost Summer” lets the MOAs get to know the boys better and allows them to take a peek into each member’s dreams, doubts and fears.

While each leg of the “Lost Summer” tour last year was special for the boys, one particular performance really stood out for them.

“It’s the Lollapalooza, for sure,” said Taehyun at the press con attended by Inquirer Entertainment last Wednesday. “I cannot forget the joy, excitement and exhilaration I felt during our stint there. And we’re actually going back to Lollapalooza next week (on Aug. 5 at 8:30 p.m.), so I’m very excited about that.”

Overcoming challenges

And Taehyun has been only too happy to share all that excitement with his buddies. “You know, performing on various stages has been a big thing to me, so I’m really grateful to have the support of my four teammates.”

What did they find most challenging about being “on the road” and on a tour?

“Getting on and off the flights was quite a hassle,” answered Taehyun. “I thought it was ‘just traveling,’ but when you have to go through immigration and all that, it’s very challenging.”

For Yeonjun, the big challenge was how to sustain the high energy required to do a grueling series of shows. He explained, “First, it was physically difficult to do all 24 songs on the setlist. But because we’ve been rehearsing a lot, we eventually got the hang of it.”

Soobin added, “Since it was our first global tour, everything that we did was new to us. But now that we’re going on our second tour, I feel like we’re doing it more naturally this time. We’re becoming more seasoned, more professional.”

Huge honor

Noting the fan anticipation that greeted the release of the documentary, the boys were then asked which actors would they like to portray them if “The Lost Summer” were turned into a movie.

Kai answered, beaming, “I would definitely say the Jonas Brothers! They aren’t just familiar with the way boy bands operate, they actually have experience in acting because they were in ‘Camp Rock.’ They did really well in showing what a true singer or music artist should be. So if it were them playing us, they could easily pull it off.”

Taehyun chimed in, “It will be a huge honor if the documentary is turned into a movie. And as Kai said, it’s easier to hire actors who have had experience in singing. That way, they can readily immerse into the characters.”

It’s been four years since Tomorrow X Together took its bow on the world stage—a time described by the group as a period of intense change and immense growth for each member.

“If it weren’t for the MOAs, I don’t think we could have come this far,” Kai admitted as he looked back at the group’s “humble” beginnings. “So I’m very grateful to the fans. The MOAs and our families are the ones who drive us forward.

“Since our debut, we have matured as individuals and we also got bigger physically. So, if you watch the documentary, which was only filmed a year ago, you’ll notice how different we all look. We’ve been growing ever since, both mentally and physically.”

Beomgyu agreed, “Yeah, when we were on the tour last year, I felt that all the members were experiencing personal and artistic growth. And because we’ve been to different countries for the concert series and on the Lollapalooza stage, each of those milestones have helped us grow. So stay tuned and watch us grow further going forward.”

Beomgyu was also asked what he meant when he said in the docu, “I’m living in a bubble. Now that I have stepped into a bigger world, I need to open my eyes wider.”

He replied, “What I meant by that is that when the pandemic hit, we didn’t have many opportunities… whether to hold concerts or grow as artists. But the world tour last year was our chance to meet the MOAs in person and go on bigger stages.

“I thought it was a true beginning of us. So, I wanted to make sure that we were all focused on the task at hand so we could show what we were truly made of.”

Caring moments

For him, one of his most unforgettable moments in the tour hasn’t even been captured by the docu.

“There were moments when I was feeling let down… it was like an emotional crisis for me,” disclosed Beomgyu. “But every time I was feeling down, the other members would come to me to show me their support, give me advice or pat me on the back—and they only did that when the camera wasn’t rolling.

“So it’s a pity that those moments weren’t captured by the film. It’s something that the MOAs will surely appreciate because those were very nice and very caring moments.” In the documentary, Yeonjun is seen revisiting his aunt’s house in the United States, where he lived when he was between 9 and 11 years old. How did he feel witnessing the growth of K-pop since and becoming a part of it?

Yeonjun said, “About 10 years ago, I stayed at the house of my aunt and cousin there. Even then, everybody in that neighborhood really loved K-pop, so I also got interested in it. But at the time, I couldn’t imagine in my wildest dreams that K-pop would eventually go mainstream and become a hit across the globe. Now it’s massive—and I’m a K-pop artist myself. I feel very grateful and excited about all this.”

Is the title of the documentary in any way connected to two of TXT’s songs, namely “Our Last Summer” and “We Lost the Summer”?

Taehyun explained, “Well, ‘We Lost the Summer’ is a song about the pandemic. It’s kind of like an analogy, because during that period, we lost a lot of things. We couldn’t meet our fans in person and it was quite a crisis for us! But we wanted to overcome that—and that is what’s being captured in the documentary, hence the name ‘Our Last Summer.’

“In the other song ‘Our Summer,’ the lyrics goes, ‘If we’re together, that’s the summer.’ When we’re all together onstage serenading the fans, it feels like summer… because we love performing for the MOAs.”

Love for their fans

Asked what they wish fans and viewers to take away from watching the documentary, Kai reiterated their affection and appreciation for their loyal followers.

He said, “Through this film, I hope the MOAs would realize how much we love them. I also hope they would be happy sharing with us our beautiful, shining moments as a group.”

For Soobin, “Our Lost Summer” isn’t just a filmed archive of Tomorrow X Together’s very first global tour. With gratefulness in his eyes, TXT’s tallest member mused, “If it weren’t for this docu, I don’t think it would have been possible for the team to show various aspects of us, as a group and individually.

“There’s a lot of behind-the-camera moments here, as well as confessions of our true feelings about different things. We tried to stay frank and candid, so I hope the film really helps people get to know us better.” INQ

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