Boy band BoyNextDoor goes Hollywood for its new EP ‘The Action’

Lights, camera, action — K-pop boy band BoyNextDoor is at it again to make its mark as a one-of-a-kind, unique K-pop group, this time with the frisky, free-soul spirit of the Hollywood movie industry.

BoyNextDoor will release its fifth EP “The Action” on October 20, just six months after the sextet’s fourth EP “The Action” was released in May. “The Action” and lead track “Hollywood Action” revolve around a filmmaking theme — not the glitz and glamor of Hollywood but the fun, confident and proud party of creative minds of young stars striving to fulfill their dreams.

“’Hollywood Action’ shows us as being confident and proud like Hollywood stars,” member Leehan told reporters during a showcase held on the afternoon of October 20, ahead of the official album release. “The song has witty lyrics that people can relate to, and we’re looking forward to performing it for the fans because we’re confident that it’ll be fun to listen to — and because, as always, we tried our very best.”

“Hollywood Action” is a funky dance track with a jazzy, swing rhythm combined with BoyNextDoor’s signature playfulness. Members flaunt their steady vocal and rap skills with perfectly in-sync dance moves that highlight how the group has been growing ever since its debut in May 2023. And as always, members of BoyNextDoor took part in making all of the songs, especially writing the lyrics.

“This album carries our aspiration to grow,” said Sungho. “And in order to grow, you need to take action. This album embodies ‘The Action’ that we all need to take to leap forward and always challenge ourselves.”

Members had their differences during the production of the album, but that’s what made it even better, according to leader Myung Jae-hyun.

“I actually think that’s what makes us stronger as BoyNextDoor and lets us shine in our own color,” Myung said. “We all like different things, and we all have different styles. That inevitably leads to us having conflicts over what we want, but that means that we have to think harder about how to persuade each other and, ultimately, how to persuade the audience with our music. The final result is that each of our different colors comes together to make harmony as one.”

BoyNextDoor sold over a million copies of both of its previous albums, “19.99″ (2024) and “No Genre,” the latter of which achieved the feat within the first week of release. With its first tour, “Knock On Vol. 1,” the band put on 23 performances in 13 cities around Asia and also took the stage at Lollapalooza in the summer.

Its feats are impressive enough to be the end goal for other groups, but there is a reason that BoyNextDoor set “growth” as its keyword for “The Action” — and will continue doing so.

“We always feel like we can do better,” Woonhak said. “That’s why we want to keep challenging ourselves and take more action. We want to do what we want to do, not what others want us to do, and without hesitation. We want to keep pushing through with our own music, and we hope that brings some sort of courage to the listeners so that they can start doing whatever they want as well.”

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]