■ 4minute, who has released their first full album
Bruises from their fierce dance - Plan to wear kneepads
Confidence in becoming a performance-driven girl group - Growth in their international fanbase

"These are not the kneepads you're thinking of."

If the main character of any drama saw these girls' performance, he would have recited a monologue about it . No matter how many times you see it, kneepads definitely do not match girl groups, but it's a different story with 4minute.

These girls have chosen their spot as "performance" representatives. While wearing their kneepads, they sweep the floor and shake their bodies, making male fans mesmerized. They even started the interview with the topic of their kneepads.

"It was decided the day before our first performance that we would wear kneepads. Before that, we didn't even think of kneepads. It was very foolish," Heo Gayoon said while laughing.

"We were thinking of doing the dance with long pants. We already had many bruises on our knees from practicing. We were so eager to perform well that we didn't have any time to think about the pain," Kwon Sohyun said.

Along with their hit song (which they made a comeback with on the 7th), they've become one of the trendiest group. Their lyrics that repeat the word 'mirror' 78 times and their fierce dance movements display unique charms. The "spread legs dance" is causing a lot of controversy while capturing the interest of fans. The 4minute members did not expect so much attention at all. They may have been bothered by this peculiar attention.

"It's sexy. It's not a cute dance. (laughs) I was so lost in the performance at first that I was confused why people were making such a fuss," Kim Hyunah said.

"I think female fans feel vicarious gratification when they watch our confident and fierce appearance. It strengthens them. And it feels like we have male fans now thanks to this song. We do this because we like it, right?" Jeon Jiyoon laughs.

4minute, who released , , , , the Japanese single and more, doesn't have any rivals when it comes to performances. They have toured Japan and other parts of Asia and their fandom has grown. Their popularity overseas can be measured : on their Youtube, 4minute's music videos have received more than 20 millions views. They have developed the confidence to carry out activities anywhere in Asia and have now returned in Korea. Through the promotion activities they had conducted for a long time, their teamwork tightened and became more disciplined.

"We had 2 concert tours in Japan. Every time a single came out, our ranks on music charts were higher than the previous times. When we saw that the number of fans who really liked our strong music increased, we realized the meaning of the saying that there isn't any boundary when it comes to music." Kim Hyunah

If there are things that they have gained, there are things they have lost. They neglected their domestic promotion activities. During that one-year gap, the members went back to the trainee lifestyle and adopted the mindset that they were to debut again. Their eagerness filtered through Gayoon's words "Going back to the basics felt like it was a new start".

The time of the flowing in of girl groups in their 20s has arrived. Junior groups that rely on the quality of their performances like 4minute have appeared. The members revealed that they observed the junior groups that came out, their strong impact and they felt an odd competitive spirit. They revealed "We ended eating healthy foods only". The members prepared themselves to be engaged in a showdown of more powerful and dareful performances.

Jeon Jiyoon said "As more and more girl groups that focus on their performances keep coming in, we just think that we can't give way here. In a way, it's flattering. We've become role models. Even if there are many groups similar to ours, we want to make a stand in the game with our very own performances". As for Nam Jihyun, she said "Before the start of our promotion activities, we worried a lot about if we could do well for these performances. Whenever we pull it off, we feel alive. We foolishly persevere with difficult and meticulous performances. This is who we are."

Source : Sports Hanguk via NATE
Translating & editing : Chris & Meeli @4-minute.com