CRAVITY Is Ready To Take The Stage
Two years after debuting, their focus is now lighting up stages worldwide.
Thousands of fans looked on as CRAVITY took the stage at Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea, on April 2 and 3 to perform their first concerts with a live audience. Composed of members Serim, Allen, Jungmo, Woobin, Wonjin, Minhee, Hyeongjun, Taeyoung, and Seongmin, CRAVITY debuted at the start of the pandemic in April 2020 before rapidly developing a passionate fanbase, known as LUVITY. However, they never got to meet their fans IRL until Olympic Hall.
“The energy was so different offline where we can actually see the fans than online where there is nobody in the crowd,” Wonjin tells Elite Daily.
Seongmin got emotional after seeing everyone’s support at the CENTER OF GRAVITY shows. “I felt really grateful after seeing [our fans] in person,” he says. “I cried during the concert.”
Take a brief look at CRAVITY’s accomplishments these past two years, and it’s easy to see why the shows were emotional. They won New Artist of the Year at the Melon Music Awards and Best of Next at the Mnet Asian Music Awards in 2020, fresh off the success of their first two EPs, Season 1. Hideout: Remember Who We Are and Season 2. Hideout: The New Day We Step Into. Nicknamed “Monster Rookies” by their fans, CRAVITY continued their rise by launching their first full-length album, The Awakening: Written in the Stars, to No. 1 on the U.S. iTunes Top K-Pop Albums chart following its August 2021 release.
This all left CRAVITY in an interesting position. They’d debuted to critical acclaim but hadn’t had the opportunity to show their fans, particularly their friends and families, their live performing skills. “I think it was the first time we were able to actually show them what we’ve been up to [since our debut],” Allen says. “They came from far away to see us, so it was really emotional.”
With a couple of shows under their belt, CRAVITY is now ready to settle into their success and flourishing career with their sophomore album, Liberty: In Our Cosmos. The record dropped on March 22, and it’s all about celebrating youth while you’re young.
Allen says the title of the album was inspired by CRAVITY’s desire to find the “thrill” in every moment. Seongmin agrees, saying the group found “the liberty and freedom” they were searching for in this album because it “portrays our happiness.”
Happiness is written all over CRAVITY’s lead single “Adrenaline,” which Allen describes as “a really youthful and playful track” inspired by the group’s love for their fans. This becomes clear in the music video. “If you look at the music video, it’s like all nine of us are playing one individual trying to confess to someone,” Minhee says. In the video, the group gets stuck in a time loop as they repeatedly try to win over the individual. “I actually portrayed LUVITY as that special someone that I’m trying to get,” Allen says.
Serim, who also co-wrote “Adrenaline,” credited LUVITY with inspiring the lyrics, “When I see you, I feel it twice in my veins.” He says, “I thought of LUVITY and how they make our happiness multiply.”
It’s not just LUVITY’s unwavering support that the guys have depended on to make it through these last few years. Woobin says they’ve all learned to rely on each other like family after building such a strong bond. “We all live together. We eat together. We practice together. We talk and share our lessons together. So since we’re always together, we’re just that open with each other,” he says.
Because they’ve spent so much time together, Allen is assured they have each other’s backs. “We’ll always stick together for a long time,” he says.
All the success and support in the past two years is just the beginning for CRAVITY, as their Liberty: In Our Cosmos track “Chandelier” makes clear. In the song, the guys share their excitement over a bright future. “The earth is just a sphere, here we go / Oh, all eyes are on me,” the group sings, according to a fan translation.
So, what does CRAVITY plan to do next? “I want to meet more fans in the future,” Minhee says. That dream is already coming true. CRAVITY performed in the United States for the first time at the KCON 2022 Premiere in Chicago on May 20. KCON is a music festival that takes place around the world to celebrate Korean culture and music, so the fact that CRAVITY was one of the few K-pop acts invited to perform this year was a huge deal.
Of course, the group did everything they could to prepare for the show. “We practiced a lot until we broke our bones,” Taeyoung says. “[We got] hurt while practicing [our] dance so that’s how hard we worked for KCON.”
CRAVITY will return to the U.S. later this summer when they take the stage at KCON LA on Aug. 20. The group says they aim to continue connecting with their international fans. “I really hope that we can release our own English album sometime soon,” Hyeongjun says.
In the meantime, the group is counting their blessing and have a message for LUVITY. “We always miss you so much and hope to meet LUVITYs all around the world,” Jungmo says. “Please take care of your health and always be happy with us.”
