Never imagined we were so popular in India: K-Pop band KARD

Popular K-Pop group KARD on Thursday said it was overwhelming for them to find out about their popularity in India as they gear up to perform in the country on their maiden tour.

As part of their 'Play Your KARD Right' tour, the South Korean band will be performing at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium here Friday. The band will also perform at Shilpgram in Guwahati on July 14.

KARD -- with J Seph, BM 'Big Matthew', Somin and Jiwoo as members -- is one of the biggest bands from South Korea to perform in India.

"It is our first time in India but we never imagined that we had so many fans here. So we really wanted to do this (tour) for the fans. We did not get the time earlier but now we're here," BM said at a press conference.

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Highlighting the key aspect of their music, the singer said people from other countries are able to relate to their work because they can find glimpses of their own cultures in it. 

"Our music is known more outside our own country. It's there in Brazil, Latin America and America," he said.

"We have been to Europe and a lot of other places. One of the reasons is that we incorporate a lot of foreign sounds in our music. It would be really really cool to be incorporating Indian sounds in our music. Maybe even in our visuals, " BM said.

KARD became popular with their single "Oh NaNa" and a year later, they released their first full-fledged album "Hola Hola". 

Unlike their contemporaries, KARD is the first mixed-gender band of South Korea.

"It's an honour to be one of the co-ed groups in this era. I believe we are doing well in the industry. I hope we can make the other pop co-ed groups shape their music, and performances with our work.

"I know a lot of co-ed groups who cover our songs as well and I think it's beautiful to see that happen. I hope to bring a positive impact on co-ed groups and people working in this industry," BM said.

Recently, a video of J Seph trying his hand at the song "Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai" from Shah Rukh Khan's "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" went viral on social media.

Talking about it, he said, "When I was a first year student in University, I watched 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'. Before coming to India I tried to sing Indian songs but I couldn't. So I really want to do that in future if given a chance to collaborate on an Indian song."

BM said the group's name is inspired from the playing card deck and each member represents a special card.

"Each letter represents each character of the group  K is the King card which I represent, A is the Ace card which J Seph represents. R is the joker card but there are two in the card deck. So the white joker is JiWoo, while Somin represents the black card. 

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"But our most important card is the D card, which is the hidden card, and that is our fans. This completes our group and makes KARD super cool," he said.

When in India, one ought to explore the culture and food, and that is what the group plans to do while they are in the country. 

"It's really nice here. Everyone is super nice and very communicative. Even when we were on our ride here, our driver was very informative. He kept talking to us and smiling. Everyone is just so warm here and I think that was a very good first impression of India. The curry was the second best thing here," BM said. 

"Play Your KARD Right" tour is organised by Pink Box Events with support from Korean Cultural Centre India (the Embassy of the Republic of South Korea).