GIRLS5EVA 2.04
Hi, Reddit!
I'm Huh Jihye, a member of K-pop group FUTURE/FEMME under Culture Creative. We just made our comeback with 'Kitsch', and I'll be here to answer a few of your questions about what it's like to be a member of FUTURE/FEMME and about K-pop!
How do you keep your head high? Idols often have to deal with lots of criticism, and I can't imagine it's easy dealing with that day in and day out.
good question! i'm extremely lucky to have wonderful people around me, such as my group members, that act as my support system. i don't get hurt easily, so i like to see if it's constructive, then i'll take the criticism and work on myself. if not, then i don't care! if i'm secure in myself and believe i'm the best version of me, then it doesn't matter what others think of me. it only matters what i think of me! you're you, and i'm me!
jihye girl i love u!!! i'm such a big fan of f/f!!! can you share more about 'kitsch' and how you came up with the song? love u miss producer huh x
thank you! i feel like when i was creating it, i wanted it to be really representative of what future/femme's whole message & what we stand for, so a very carefree, youthful, 'i don't care' vibe! there are lots of references to social media platforms and what it's probably like to just be existing in the now as a gen-z. i wanted everyone who listened to be able to feel like they're a cheerful, confident main character in a high-teen movie with no worries! if you're walking down the street and listening to kitsch, you really have to become the main character!
What does a typical day for FUTURE/FEMME look like?
there really is no one typical day! even if we're preparing for a comeback, we all have different schedules and things to work on outside of it, and come together for practice after. for me, it's working in the studio 24/7!
what's your birth time queen
i'll never reveal this.
what's your favourite song you've ever written?
this is so hard to answer... but i have a special soft spot for love u twice! it's sooo personal to me, and so many of you guys have said you relate to it which makes it extra special!๐ i find it so wonderful when you make my songs yours :) it's why i also love good parts, because i want to encourage self-love!
what's your favourite taylor swift era?
off the top of my head, midnights!
what's a song you like to listen to to get your energy up?
antifragile!
top 3 must-haves in your bag? and a tmi!
probably... my phone! that's really a must-have! my headphones, and chocolate! for my tmi, i stayed up til 5am yesterday/today!
[sliding $20 note] any new music in the works...
;) forever n always
your favourite lyric you've ever written, and why?
omggg so many. probably: the bridge of impurities, 'power stronger in adversity, i'm not afraid of the overwhelming shadow, i'll have it all what i desire' good parts' 'i don't wanna blame my weakness, i'll love myself the way i am'! polaroid's entire verse 2. that's it that's the tweet
what's something you'd like to say to you 5 years ago, and you 5 years in the future?
keep going because you'll be glad you did! i hope the 26-year-old jihye will be happy, too.
thanks for all your questions & support, reddit! this has been so much fun, but unfortunately, this is all the time i have. please give lots of support to future/femme's latest comeback, 'kitsch'! ๐
"That'd be nice!" Jihye laughs, making her way into the room. "Does your mother cook lots? I feel like I wouldn't be able to stick to any diet plans if my mom liked cooking." It's been a long time since she'd had homecooked food, not being a fan of the culinary arts herself. An egg cracked into 2am cup ramyeon was the extent of her skills.
"I'm not sure, but I can check after the rehearsal and bring any extras to you." The waiting period would take forever, anyway. "Speaking of the rehearsal, the writers said that you've got the edited scripts for us to go over?" A gentle redirection to business, which is why she's here in the first place. Jihye doesn't believe in burning bridges, but she doesn't see a point in setting up camp there and making a home out of them either. In their line of work, friendly acquaintanceships make up the bulk of her interactions with others, a line cleanly drawn between her professional and personal life.
belated, sung recognized the voice behind the door, putting an extra speed to his step to beat his manager to opening it. as he swung it open, his hair - freshly fixed, his stylist will scold him for that one - finished settling down from his speedwalk to the door. sung made eye contact and smiled, "jihye," before getting distracted by his peripheral vision.
"oh, i love pastries. you know, my mom, um, well, her specialty is more full dishes, but sometimes she'll go for pastries and they're insane. if we do this again, i'll definitely have to bring some of her pastries so you can try them." perhaps his energy hyping playlist had done too good of a job. sung looked down at the floor before recognizing how awkward he was being. "oh, and yes, come in. make yourself comfortable." sung stepped back, opening the door more than the width of his shoulders, and gestured to the couple of staff members waiting around with him. "did they have any others leftover? i might grab one to take home."
432 words on jihye's thoughts about the antifragile album.
the hydra: starting off very strong, it's a challenge from the very first line. 'do you think i'm fragile?', jihye's credited as the sole producer & lyricist on the track. in line with the theme of the album, 'antifragile', she borrows the title from the greek myth of the lernaean hydra. for every head cut off, the hydra'll grow two more heads in its place. a very direct message to those trying to cut them down for the feminist message of 'tomboy', it's a bold declaration that future/femme are here to stay.
antifragile: their title track! for their first-ever comeback, jihye wanted to cement their voice and message and let everyone know f/f are the ones to watch. with partial production credits, it's a thrilling, upbeat earworm instrumental that sticks around in your head even if you just pass by a store playing it. the lyrics, which jihye co-wrote, are also unabashedly confident, with lines like 'i'll climb higher' showing her greed for success. even if they've been hurt in the past, it's only strengthened them.
impurities: and look, they're not perfect. they've never claimed to be- even if jihye'd like everyone in the world to think otherwise. she co-wrote this one, and for the bridge, possibly one of her favourite lyrics she's ever written, are the lines 'power stronger in adversity / i'm not afraid of the overwhelming shadow / i'll have it all, what i desire / just because it's what i am.' she's the most honest when she makes her art, and this is very much who huh jihye is.
no celestial: very, very special song to her! it's the first full song she's released that's ever been totally hers, in term of both production and lyrics. a little bit contradictory to her actual self/image, the song talks about being imperfect and embracing that, using celestial imagery. cutting off your wings, and falling down to earth with no fear, jihye personally thinks it's the song that describes f/f's the best. whenever asked what her favourite track is, it's this! no competition.
good parts: easy listening, with very straightforward lyrics. jihye's a cowriter, and one of the lines she wrote, 'everything's so blurry, but i hope it's polaroid' is a callback to one of their previous songs off i never die. self-love is easy to write about for her, because jihye loooooves herself, even the less-than-ideal parts. is it a good or bad thing if she's aware that she's not a good person all the time but chooses to keep those bad traits? who knows. she'll love herself regardless.
There's a tension in the silence that settles, heavy like a blanket over the room. Jihye knows she should do something as the leader, but frankly, she isn't completely convinced she'll be able to say anything suitable for broadcast to Jimin in this moment. Jimin, who's flitting about the room with a water bottle and excuses as to why she's unable to do what's expected of her, aegyo cloying.
"Yep." She chimes, keeps it as light as she can; nevermind her expressions for the past 30 minutes have looked like someone's shit in her salad. Jimin apologises to her with a pout and a blubbered explanation as she squeezes by. Mindful of the cameras still recording, Jihye smiles sagely and pats her on the back, telling her to rest and go over her parts.
Once inside the booth, Jihye straightens her lyric paper out. It's been through the wringer, having been scribbled on with her notes over the past week of preparing for it and acting as her stress ball, crumpled in her fist during Jimin's arduously long recording. She makes eye contact with the camera, and smiles awkwardly as she fits the headphones over her head.
"Ahhhhh... Okay, I'm ready." A quick warm-up, and she shows a double thumbs up to show she's ready to go. She doesn't plan on spending half as long in the booth as Jimin had, even though her parts were twice that of hers. "Do you want me to start from anywhere in particular?"
he gets it. it's an idol survival show. talent isn't really a prerequisite or even a consideration unless the superior qualities of looks and an endearing personality are missing. but there are still supposed to be limits to a human's ability to be simultaneously off-beat and unable to read the lyrics she's got right in front of her.
he's been patient, he swears. he's gone over the rhythm and delivery of each line over and over again, insisting she repeat it back to him before they even waste the time of actually recording it. it's clear she's just not cut out for the already simple job she's been given.
"okay," jaw clenched, he tries not to sound nearly as exasperated with all of the time that's been wasted as he is. "jimin โ let's take a break. get some water or a snack and look over the verse some more and we'll come back to you."
his chair is on the verge of tipping over with the force with which he leans back into it as he all but gives up. the cameras still shooting only serve to sour his mood further, and he's well past the point of wondering why he'd taken this job offer in the first place. he's got deep blue now; maybe he should have just focused on that for the time being.
papers are flipped and rearranged as he draws circles and strikes through text, and then buttons are pushed and mouses clicked as his unhappy silence settles over the room. it's broken only when he looks over the shoulder of his chair, meeting eyes with the girl who'd seemed to be struggling with sitting through jimin's attempts just as much as he had been. "huh jihye, can you get in the booth?" it's not really a question with how thin his patience has been worn, but he tries to keep it friendly. it's not her fault half of the people on this godforsaken show need to be pursuing a different career.
Huh Jihye (ํ์งํ) is a member of the South Korean girl group, FUTURE/FEMME under Culture Creative.
Stage name: Huh Jihye (ํ์งํ). Birth name: Abigail Jihye Huh.
Position: Leader, main vocal. Birthday: December 8th 2002. Zodiac sign: Sagittarius.
Height: 168cm. Blood type: AB. MBTI: ISTP. Nationality: Korean-American.
SNS: @abigailjhuh (Instagram) / @jihyes2 (Soundcloud)
She was born in Atherton, California & lived there until she was 14.
She has two brothers and an older sister.
Sheโs been a trainee for a total of 4.5 years.
Jihye said that Taylor Swift is the person who inspired her to become a singer & start writing songs, while Beyonce is the person she wants to become on stage.
She is one of FUTURE/FEMME's composers and producers, with multiple credits on their albums.
In a live, she said that she doesnโt have a standard for liking someone and that she doesnโt believe in an ideal type.
She prefers soy/oat milk over regular.
Her favourite place in the entire world is on stage.
Her favourite accessory is a cap.
She has a habit of bringing a pen into the recording studio as she says it helps her when recording.
She likes to listen to FUTURE/FEMME's songs in the morning while getting ready because she feels like it boosts her energy.
She likes eating spicy food.
Her motto is 'Fortune favours the bold'.
She likes to make food-related puns before eating.