[14.01.29] [Interview] Royal Pirates “Song King Cho Yongpil, A Force Among Other Artists”

[NewsEn Reporter Kwon Subin] “Cho Yongpil-sunbaenim’s Choice, We were Shocked”
Royal Pirates is a band that has been receiving a spotlight among music fans who like the band sound. The three members “do a little music” and have a divergent charm from what you normally see in the music industry.



They’ve come back with “Drawing the Line” and have been participating in music broadcasts, and in an interview with NewsEn revealed, “Truthfully we’ve only done performances and are not yet used to broadcasts.Our song this time is uplifting and we’ve been gaining many fans, so we’re starting to feel the fun in broadcasts.”

Moon and Sooyoon moved to America when they were in elementary, and James was born there. Because of this they aren’t accustomed to the Korean Senior/Junior relationship but “When we made our debut we were awkward but now we’ve gotten comfortable. Now we greet each other with warm hearts and feel a chemistry with the other singers.”

The “Drawing the Line” Music Video has gained attention for featuring Actress Hwang Shinhye’s daughter, Lee Jini. Hwang Shinhye was on set to direct her daughter in acting. Sooyoon says, “I am thankful that she came. She stayed for a long time and had a lot of charisma,” upon seeing Hwang Shinhye directly.

Moon, who tried his hand at acting by getting slapped by Lee Jini, says, “She slapped me so hard you can hear the sound of the hit but the music video used a clip where she hit me with less force. It was my first time acting but these days I’ve developed an interest in it. As intended I came out (in the MV) as prideful and it was fun.”

They met in the same neighborhood in Los Angeles and formed a band, uploading their cover of Wonder Girls’ “Nobody” on youtube and receiving a lot of love-calls from companies because of it. Various companies offered to debut them and Korean audition programs also offered to take them.

But they did not choose companies that specialize in producing singers and instead chose to sign a contract with Actor Daniel Henney’s company (Apple of the Eye). After that they attended a music school in America and gained experience by performing in many clubs. The Royal Pirates explain, “Other agencies had a set approach to signing us, but this one didn’t. We thought this one would allow us to best find our own road.”

As they were preparing to debut under their current agency, they also got close with Daniel Henney. They first got to know Daniel Henney in 2009 and the members say, “The first we saw him we were surprised because he was so good-looking and cool. We thought “Actors are different after all.” They also reveal their closeness by saying, “We have conversations in English and he gives us a lot of advice.”

If we are talking about the Royal Pirates, it is essential to bring up Song King Cho Yongpil. These guys stood their debut stage at SuperSonic 2013 as Super Rookies chosen by Cho Yongpil. Moon says, “Five hundred teams went to the auditions but we must have had good fate because we were chosen. We were really thankful.”

Sooyoon adds, “It was like it wasn’t real, it was so hard to believe.” James also puts in, “He’s a really amazing sunbaenim and to receive that decision from such a person really gave me a shock.” We met directly with Cho Yongpil and received a comment, “It was sweet, seeing their force. I could feel a force that was greater than celebrities. I told them to work hard. We stood side by side and I suggested we take a picture together.”

“Drawing the Line” is a song containing these boys’ musical direction. Moon talks about the music they want to release, “(We want to do) Music based on rock but also adding in R&B, punk, and hip hop. My voice is fitting for pop and I have a base in rock so we wanted to add those elements and create a fresh sound.” James adds, “Personally I want to make music that moves people. It would be great if we could make music that everyone can enjoy.”