The hip-hop rookie group Big Star is the latest boy band project from legendary record producer, Brave Brothers, who has composed and produced tracks for some of the most notable acts in K-pop, including Big Bang, Sistar, T-ara, After School, U-Kiss and Hyuna’s latest solo track “Ice Cream.”

However, the five members of Big Star ― Feeldog, Baram, Raehwan, Sunghak and Jude ― hope to distinguish themselves as a group that just loves to be energetic and have fun on the stage.

“One of the main concepts of our group is being free and letting loose and most importantly, having fun while performing,” said rapper Baram. 

“Because our producer is very well-known and has produced tracks for many famous groups, I think that we will also be compared to others,” said main vocalist Raehwan. “So we try and do what we can to not clash with others.”

The rookies debuted on the K-pop scene in July last year with the EP “BIGSTART,” which included the boys’ debut track produced by Brave Brothers titled, “Hot Boy.”

The song has a very heavy electronica club feel along with very energetic hip-hop-based group choreography to go along with the track.

“The song is making fun saying, ‘We are the best,’” Sunghak laughed.

“It’s a very outgoing song, with strong synthesized beats and hip-hop sounds as well as having tight choreography,” said Raehwan. “The main reason for this is because we wanted to show off a strong, confident image for our debut song.”

After the filming of the “Hot Boy” music video the boys were called into a conference room with their producer to sit together and watch the final edited version of the video.

“While I was watching it, I couldn’t control my emotions, I was so overwhelmed, that I went downstairs and started crying,” said Raehwan. “Just watching the music video, it was everything that I hoped it would be; seeing it made me realize that my dreams have come true.”

As is the trend for many groups nowadays, the members of Big Star have released songs that show off a very wide range of musical styles in the hope of not being typecast as a one-genre group.

“It’s all about ambition,” said Jude. “The thing that I want the most is for people to have a positive image when they think about Big Star.”

Since the release of “BIGSTART,” the boys have released two other mini-albums. The second title track “Think,” is a ballad piece about love that spotlights the group’s softer vocals and R&B sound.

The latest single, “I Got the Feeling,” is Big Star’s version of a winter carol in which the boys wished to shed off their hardcore hip-hop masks and show their fans the cuter and playful faces of Big Star.

“It’s a complete 180 from ‘Hot Boy.’ This song has more of a, ‘Hey I can be a cute boyfriend,’ kind of feel to it,” said leader Feeldog, who will soon be making his acting debut in the upcoming KBS drama “A Bit of Love.”

The members of Big Star will be promoting themselves overseas for the first time with an invitation to perform at the 64th Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan on Feb. 9. Joining the boys at this year’s festival is the K-pop idol group MBLAQ and R&B singer Park Hyo-shin.

“2013 is going to be filled with new and exciting things from us, both as a group and individually. Keep an eye out for us,” said Raehwan.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)