After working tirelessly to attain their place in the sun, INFINITE finally secured their first music program win on September 1st through Mnet‘s ‘M! Countdown‘. Experiencing a sudden surge of interest, the group decided that now was the right time to announce their plans of officially expanding into Japan.
INFINITE’s management told Star News on the 4th, “Even though promotions have not yet begun, the current reaction in Japan is positive,” and expressed their confidence by stating,“In the later half of this year with promotions going on in both Korea and Japan, INFINITE will be able to establish a color unique to them.”
INFINITE have already started to segue into Japan thanks to member L, who participated in the popular Japanese drama, ‘Jiu’. The drama has been recording high viewer ratings as well as extensive media coverage from Japan — the achievement is all the more noteworthy because the drama airs during the late Friday night time slot.
INFINITE plans to reveal the Japanese version of “BTD” this coming November, and are determined to secure their place as the next generation of Hallyu stars.
The positive atmosphere that surrounds the group at the moment seems to bode well for the good things awaiting them. The members shared their thoughts about their emotional 1st win while shedding tears.
Leader Sung Gyu was overcome with emotion stating, “Being more tense than I had ever been in my whole life, I couldn’t think”.
Woo Hyun commented, “I couldn’t believe that this moment was the first 1st place of my life. I had blanked out to the point that I didn’t even realize tears were coming out of my eyes”. Sung Jong added,“I wasn’t sure whether it was reality or a dream. All the difficult times from the past scanned through my head. This win had a especially big meaning being that it was our 1st win with our 1st album after 1 year of debut. I’m thankful to the fans”.
The song that won them the award, “Be Mine“, is an intense synth-pop dance song produced bySweetune (made up of Han Jae Ho and Kim Seung Soo), the brains behind KARA’s hit songs.
Stay tuned to allkpop for more updates on INFINITE’s upcoming Japanese advancement!