‘We’re trying hard’: K-pop group Verivery back on the road after 2 years

Imagine being a year old with the whole world ahead of you, and then being told to freeze in place for two years. That’s what K-pop group Verivery experienced when the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, after their first year together in 2019.

Now with a full-blown identity and sense of self, they’re aiming to cover the lost years and move forward.

The seven members of Verivery – Dongheon, Hoyoung, Minchan, Gyehyeon, Yeonho, Yongseung and Kangmin – came together under South Korean entertainment company Jellyfish Entertainment, its first boy band in more than five years since the launch of Vixx. (Jellyfish also manages many popular actors, including Business Proposal star Kim Se-jeong.)

Verivery started out making bright, energetic music befitting their youth, but nowadays they’re experimenting with darker, more dramatic sounds; this is seen especially on their latest single, Undercover, from their Series ‘O’ Round 3: Whole album released in April.

Members have been releasing DIY music videos for some of their songs, and several have taken a hand in songwriting.

“As a full-length album, it really shows our fans how much we have to offer, so I hope a lot of people listen to it,” says Yongseung.

“We were able to experiment with more genres and make it Verivery’s own style,” says Yeonho.

The group members say that choosing songs to put on albums is stressful, since several of them were lyricists and composers on some tracks.

“We often stayed up until midnight working on songs, just to put a few of them on that album,” says Hoyoung, who says what they were working on may appear on future albums.

They’re keen to meet up with their fans, collectively known as Verrer, and are spending much of the tail end of 2022 touring, with shows in Asia and the Americas; this comes after a partially cancelled American tour in 2021.

“ … We’re just eager to finish this tour with everyone safe and healthy,” says Yeonho. “Now we can see the distinct attitude of fans in different cities.”

Their most distinct audience so far? Yeonho thinks it was at a show in New Haven, Connecticut, where the fans’ energy was really exciting and they sang along throughout the show.

After a career spent mostly in South Korea, the chance to tour and meet fans again was greeted with enthusiasm by Verivery. However, they admit to being daunted after not having been able to ever complete a tour before.

“It’s a really great opportunity to get to kick off more internationally this year,” says Gyehyeon. “It’s so good to be able to meet our global fans and for our music to be recognised by them.”

They’re also taking in the sights: they sat down for an interview with the Post in a VIP room in the Empire State Building, after which they went up to its famous viewing deck to look out over New York.

“I was actually so afraid about being so busy and visiting so many cities. ‘Can we do this?’ I thought,” says Dongheon. “But now I’m so happy. We’re so thankful that we’re able to do this tour because our overseas fans would like to see us perform.”

To cope with the hectic tour schedule and the energetic performances, members have their own activities to help them recharge during downtime.

Gyehyeon and Kangmin use hotel fitness centres and pools to work out and relax, while Hoyeong and Yeonho spend the evenings in their hotel rooms listening to restful music and drinking green tea.

As they continue to develop, Verivery’s members are passionate to try and make the best music they can, with new material in the works.

“We’re able to take a lot of genres and colour that with our own personalities, that’s our style,” says Dongheon. “We’re trying hard.”