Sweet success

 

 

Candy Mafia go inter

By Suwitcha Chaiyong

Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb

With the release of their debut single, “Mafia,” Candy Mafia caught some flak for sounding too much like a K-pop girl group. But the girls bounced back nicely with their second song, “Alzheimer,” and they soon picked up plenty of fans with their vibrant singing and synchronised choreography.

With their fourth single, “Low Sugar,” Candy Mafia’s fanbase became international when teens around the world copied their dance moves. The girls received even more attention overseas when they were awarded for best international artist at the 2011 Korean Culture Entertainment Awards.

Student Weekly recently met up with Candy Mafia — Panasaya Kittigthakul (Nett), 16, Praewalin Wanithanont (Nune), 16, Rangsit Nouvakool (Garn), 16, Natnaree Ananiaksakarn (Milk), 16 and Warunthorn Thiemsak (Bambam), 15 — at their label office to chat about their award and their latest single, “Puen Gan Pood Mai Dai Took Rueng (Friends Can’t Talk about Everything).”

Student Weekly: How did you react when you won the best international artist award?

Garn: We all had tears in our eyes. It was overwhelming that our first award was an international one. We felt that our two years of hard work had paid off.

Student Weekly: Why did you decide to perform “Low Sugar” at the ceremony?

Nett: It’s our catchiest song and our international fans know it. There’ve been many cover versions of “Low Sugar” on YouTube.

Student Weekly: How did you feel at the awards ceremony?

Nune: We were really excited, even though we can’t understand Korean language. We tried to give it all we’ve got during the performance.

Bambam: When we were on stage, a Korean MC approached us with a microphone and asked a question looking straight to me, so I had to answer him right away!

Student Weekly: What was the atmosphere like at the ceremony?

Nune: It was very formal. Most of the participants were adults, so there was more clapping rather than the screaming that we’re used to.

Nett: We shared a waiting room with Korean groups and met lots of artists that we like, including MBLAQ, Dal Shabet and ZE:A. They all seemed really tall!

Student Weekly: Did you have time to hang out in Seoul?

Milk: Yes. We had free time to go shopping and we went to a theme park called Lotte World. I enjoyed it, but it was freezing cold and very crowded. We had to wait in line for 90 minutes to go on a ride, so we only went on a few rides.

Student Weekly: Was recording your ballad, “Friends Can’t Talk about Everything,” more difficult than doing a dance song?

Bambam: It was extremely hard. We first recorded it a year ago, but we decided to improve it more recently. There wasn’t enough emotion in the first version.

Milk: I had a hard time because I prefer singing dance songs. I’m not really comfortable singing ballads. I felt under pressure recording the song because I had to sing the first verse.

Garn: The first verse is important because if listeners like it, they’ll listen to the rest of the song.

Student Weekly: Which of your songs has the hardest choreography?

Nett: “Low Sugar” requires a different dance move for every beat, so it takes a lot of energy. We used to feel exhausted after performing that song, but we’re used to it now. “Alzheimer” is also difficult because our choreographer was very serious about all our moves being perfectly synchronised.

Student Weekly: Does your work ever cause problems with your studies?

Bambam: When I started working with our label, my grades dropped a lot. But after I adjusted myself to working, my grades were even better than before. We tried hard to catch up with our friends at school.

Student Weekly: Do you have any special message for your fans?

Nune: Please support us and buy our first CD. It’s affordable and features an audio CD, music videos and a photo book. Your support encourages us to work harder.

Student Weekly and Mono Music are giving away a copy of Candy Mafia, signed by the group. For your chance to win the album, send an email with “Candy Mafia” in the subject line to [email protected] (please include your name and phone number), or simply post on our official Facebook page. Tell us briefly why you like Candy Mafia. Entries must be received by March 23. The winner will be announced on our Facebook page.