It’s the season of P1Harmony as the beloved K-Pop group kicks off their North American tour “MOST WANTED” at the Prudential Center, the release of their new album ‘EX’, and a host of events with fans at hello82 NYC this month.
P1Harmony has become one of “The Most Wanted” K-Pop groups to hit the ground running since their debut in 2020. Self-declared in their music as the “dream team” members KEEHO, THEO, JIUNG, INTAK, SOUL, and JONGSEOB have redefined the genre by infusing hip-hop, reggaeton, and synth-driven tracks, which are handcrafted, written, and produced themselves.
amNewYork spoke with P1Harmony about their creative process when crafting their music and their inspiration behind their artistry.
“Whenever you’re kind of creating a new world for an album. Well, I like to think of creating a world for each album, and I think whenever we release a new album, it’s a whole different story. It’s a whole different visual aspect. It’s a whole different sound. And it’s just a whole different everything. And it’s a new era for us, especially so just creating that world and how we’re going to have this album be perceived by our fans was something that was really fun to think about,” KEEHO told amNewYork.
P1Harmony has ceremoniously released fan-favorite hit after hit, breaking the mold of traditional K-Pop groups and redefining the genre. Just five months ago, they released their 8th mini album, DUH!, which underscored the group’s confidence in their craft and emboldened fans to embrace their own uniqueness. When asked about how P1Harmony mustered the strength to be proud and confident, the group’s leader, KEEHO, smiled and said, “DUH! Of course, we are cool!”
“It’s having that kind of confidence and kind of having that edge that a lot of people are kind of scared of expressing because they feel like it might come off a little cocky, or come off a little conceited, but I think having that confidence is so important. In showing that confidence, we really hope that our fans can see that and kind of receive that confidence as well, too,” KEEHO said. “It’s okay to think that you’re the best sometimes, and sometimes it’s needed. And we feel like if we sing about it, we can kind of manifest that in our lives and also in theirs.”
INTAK shared that he found his confidence through the people he surrounds himself with. By following his path of doing what he loves with a support system.
“I feel like once you find something that you really, really enjoy and love. That’s the one thing that I can continue to look towards. And that’s the confidence that kind of builds you. So just finding out what you love is the first step for me,” INTAK said.
By being unapologetically themselves, P1Harmony has crafted their own path in the music industry. They have a fanbase, affectionately known as P1ece, who say they adore the positive message the group shares and its appreciation for Latin and reggae beats. P1Harmony stated that they believe in going outside of their comfort zone with their music, and in turn, this has afforded them an opportunity to expand their sound and reach a diversity of listeners.
“[We are] experimenting and pushing our boundaries and making sure we’re in places where we’re not comfortable and trying things, you know. If it turns out bad, we could just scrap it…you know, put ourselves in an uncomfortable position, really test our waters,” KEEHO said.
P1ece have been rooting for the global icons since 2020, and the group says this support has helped fuel the fire to every song and performance.
“That’s what makes our fans so special to us, because they are the people that see [us]. And they’re the people that can see us as us…and not just you know the crazy performances in the stages that we put on, but really, truthfully, just who we are. I think it’s really important to have those relationships and also be mature within those relationships…[Over time] it’s been a lot of hardship, but also a lot of love and a lot of gain, and a lot of losses and a lot of sacrifices, and just a whole bunch. And you know, I think we’ve learned so much in [5] years. I feel like we’re all 70 years old. We’ve experienced all there is to experience. What more can we? What more can we experience? For 70 years old already, we’ve experienced too much at too young of an age,” KEEHO shared candidly.
The world is P1Harmony’s oyster, and while they have traveled far already, there is much more they have in store for fans. The group is on route to bigger, bolder, and badder stages with Newark’s Prudential Center being the first stop on ‘P1ustage H: MOST WANTED’ World Tour on Sept. 27. As a part of the launch of hello82 presents tour events, the company and P1Harmony are giving fans an experience they will not forget including an exclusive listening party in NYC on Sept. 23.
In addition to P1Harmony performing at the beloved arena that has been heralded as a K-Pop Mecca, fans will be treated to watching AMPERS&ONE as the group’s opener. It is a rarity for a K-Pop group to experience an opener, and these monster rookies are also gearing up to impress fans.
Fans who want to jump into the season of P1Harmony can check out the release of their first English album, “EX,” on Friday, Sept. 26.
