There are K-Pop fans across the globe who share the same passion. But on online platforms, it is hard to know about each other’s stories and K-Pop life. Even if we are in the same fandom, it is hard to get to know each other. So at Kpopmap, we started the Kpopmap Fan Interview Project to get to know more about K-Pop fans from different countries: more about their K-Pop life and tastes and to give them the opportunity to share with our readers about their favorite group(s) and bias. Oluwatosin Ogedengbe from the US is the next fan to answer our questions. She is a fan of SEVENTEEN and more particularly of Joshua! Check out how she entered the fandom, the songs and content she advises to new fans, and much more! Can you introduce yourself? Where are you from? My name is Oluwatosin Ogedengbe and I am currently living in the United States. How and when did you enter the fandom? How I entered SEVENTEEN or the CARAT fandom is a hard question because my journey with SEVENTEEN actually started a couple months ago, when one of my friends from Indiana came to visit, and we were just talking about K-Pop generally. Then, she introduced me to SEVENTEEN by showing me their left and right relay dance video for the first time. At the time, I had no idea that it was them. But, as of four months ago, I wanted to get into a new K-Pop group and I looked up SEVENTEEN and I instantly fell in love with them. Sometimes, I wished I started stanning them since their debut. What are the reasons why you love your favorite group? There are absolutely so many reason as to why SEVENTEEN is my favorite band. Upon getting to know them and their music, I have grown to love everything about them, from their amazing music, to their outstanding choreography, to their humble personalities. Unfortunately, I have not gained the opportunity to see them live in person, but I am hoping one day I will get the opportunity to see them in person. Who caught your attention at first and why? The first member who caught my attention was Joshua. When, I started my SEVENTEEN journey, the first song I listened to was ‘Rock With You’. And he instantly caught my attention. And I had to learn more about him. Who is your bias, and why? As every K-Pop fan know, it is difficult to choose a bias. When it comes to SEVENTEEN, it changes from time to time. But, as of right now, my current bias is Joshua. He holds a special place in my heart. Everything from his singing voice to his amazing and sweet personality continues to amaze me. Can you recommend a title track and a B-side track for new fans? Oh, this is a tough one. But if I were to choose a title track to recommend to new fans, it would be ‘_WORLD’. This is solely because it has this nice and funky vibe that can bring a new fan joy. When you listen to the song you can’t help it but get up and dance. For a B-side, it would definitely be my all time favorite, ‘Kidult’. This song is pure magic. And the vocals are amazing.
Can you recommend a fancam, V Live, cover video, cover dance, or individual content video of your bias to our readers? I would recommend Joshua’s cover to the song ‘Double Take’. His vocals are amazing. It is part of the reason why I fell in love with him. Can you also do the same type of recommendation for the group? For the group, I would recommend watching the ‘_WORLD’ fan cam. The reason for this is because it so adorable and fun. Can you share with us one of your favorite lyrics? One of my favorite lyrics is taken from the song ‘Circles’. When Dino and MinGyu say: “Let’s sing together To cover the sadness with the powerful song It’s gonna be okay, like the hands on the clock, They’ll go in circles back to their places.” Everytime I listen to this part of the song, I tend to tear up and cry because it is a beautiful and emotional part of the song that has such an emotional meaning. Are there any words from the members you would like to share? One of my favorite quote would be when WonWoo said, “Fall down seven times, stand up eight. Someday we will all succeed.” This quote is my little mantra that I recite to myself all day eveyday. This quote keeps me moving. I know how hard life can be. I also know how difficult it can be to feel like you will never succeed despite failing so many times. This is the quote that keeps me going. What is your best souvenir with your favorite group until now? My favorite or best souvenir from SEVENTEEN would be…the CARAT-bong. For me it signifies the moment when I joined the CARAT fandom. It is a special moment for me. Can you recommend words that your bias like to hear to new fans who don’t know yet about it? Umm.. I am not exactly sure but it would be “It is always good to try your best but, I want you to know is that it’s okay to have a break once in a while or you’ll burn out” for Joshua. Can you describe your bias in only one word? Gentleman. Can you share a fun episode that only fans from your fandom know to readers? It would one episode of “GOING SEVENTEEN”, when SEVENTEEN tried to do the Whisper Challenge. It was extremely funny. My favorite moment when JeongHan got the word, which was Apple Mango. And he had to say to MinGyu, it was really funny when he was really enunciating the word but, Mingyu couldn’t get it. It was really funny. If you are collecting goods, what is your most precious treasure? My most precious treasure is my CARAT-bong. This is precious to me because it signifies the moment, I joined the CARAT fandom. Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo. But, it truly is my most precious treasure. If you have a chance to cook for the group, what will you cook for them? Umm… I don’t know that much about Korean food. But I would definitely like to introduce and cook them some famous and Nigerian dishes. I think it would be amazing cultural experience. If you can spend a day with your bias, where will you go and what will you do? Umm.. If I could spend the day with my bias, I would want to go to a amusement park since I am big fan of roller coasters and just amusement parks in general. After that, maybe a restaurant afterwards. I just love food. What’s your favourite 2022 moment involving your bias? My favorite moment would be just getting to see Joshua in every comeback song. Although, I haven’t been granted the opportunity to meet him and the rest of SEVENTEEN at a fansign or a concert. I love to gush and scream everytime I see him in a new song. For SEVENTEEN’s recent Japanese EP, I cannot tell you how many times I screamed every time I saw him. In fact, I do it for all the members. But, it was mostly over Joshua. I gushed over his visuals and his amazing vocals in the song. Do you have a dream subunit/unit? My dream collab would be SEVENTEEN and ATEEZ. I love both groups so much. And I think that hopefully one day, if a mega collaboration were to happen, the song that they would come up with would be epic. Please recommend your favorite selfie by your bias. My favorite selfie from Joshua is the ones that he post on Instagram. I just enjoy looking at the pictures and seeing him have fun. Name a variety show/content show that you would love to see your bias on? Tell us why. Umm…. I am entirely sure as to which variety show I would like to see Joshua in because I don’t watch a lot of variety shows. But I already enjoy SEVENTEEN’s variety show: “GOING SEVENTEEN”. What is your favourite way of communicating with your bias? My favorite way of communicating with Joshua would be through Weverse and fansign. Although, I have never been to a SEVENTEEN fansign, it would still be an amazing experience to be granted the opportunity to interact with him and the rest of SEVENTEEN. What do you have in common with your favourite idol? Something that I that I have in common in Joshua is the fact that we are both the oldest. Also, the fact that we both have a gentle nature. If you could write a book about your bias, what would the first and last lines be? If I could a book about Joshua. My first line would be “Your gentle-like nature captivated me and filled my heart with joy”. My last line would be”You are the light in my life, thank you so much for continuously being the amazing gentleman that you are”. What is your favorite group/bias’ influence on your daily life? SEVENTEEN have influenced my life in so many ways. They have been the light in the darkness in my life. Growing, I had struggled with finding and loving myself. To point that it thrown me to a dark place. SEVENTEEN music brought me out of that darkness and has taught me the value to keep going even when life gets tough. I am so grateful that I found them. They have also inspired me to keep going. What is your favorite side of fangirling/fanboying? My favorite side of fangirling is just waiting for new music and gushing over the members with my sister. I remember when their new Japanese EP: ‘Dream’ was getting ready to come out, I stayed up for hours waiting for it to premiere. When it finally came out, I was excited because knowing SEVENTEEN, they will never fail CARATs. So, when I saw it, I instantly loved it. When watching the ‘Dream’ MV, I would continuously gush over each member. It one of the reasons why I love fangirling so much. Have you ever made a new friend because of K-Pop? Unfortunately, my cousins don’t like K-Pop so, they get annoyed with me every time I even just mention SEVENTEEN. But I have managed to get new fans into the CARAT fandom. Shoutout to my best friend Mia, my cousin Toyosi, and my sister Toluwani. Do you feel there are any misunderstandings, things that are not well known, or any prejudices about your favorite group from other fans (non-fans)? I feel like a big misunderstanding would be that there are too many members to remember and that is why a lot of people don’t get into them, which is understandable because at first, it might seem like there’s a lot of members but, the more you get to know them and listen to their music the more it feels like they are just enough members. I just love and adore them so much. Oluwatosin Ogedengbe’s message for SEVENTEEN: I doubt if they would be able to read this but, what I would say to SEVENTEEN in general would be, “Thank you so much for being such amazing singers, dancers, rappers, and just people in general. Thank you some much for continually being light and joy into the life of CARATs and mine as well. Your music has inspired me to keep going and to try harder to pursue my dreams. Currently, I have no idea as to what I want to do in the future but I am working on pursing a dream. Your music brings me joy and happiness and is the light in my darkest times. Without your constant inspiration, I would have never found the courage to keep trying and living my life. I would have never been able to keep fighting and trying if I didn’t find your music. And to my bias, thank you Joshua for being a light in my life as well. Your amazing personality and vocals has kept me going for the last couple of months. And I hope that one day that I will be able to meet not just you but, the rest of the members as well, someday.” Thank you for answering our questions, Oluwatosin Ogedengbe. If you are interested in joining Kpopmap Fan Interview Project, please get in touch with us as at [email protected] Everyone is welcome to participate.
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