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’ 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. Shazia is the next fan to answer our questions. She is from the United Arab Emirates and is a fan of ASTRO! 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? Helloo, I’m Shazia and I am from Abu Dhabi. How and when did you enter the fandom? I found ASTRO through my cousin when she showed me the ‘Crazy Sexy Cool’ MV. I remember it was January 9th, 2021. From that day onwards, I was absolutely intrigued and I wanted to know more about the band. What are the reasons why you love your favorite group? I love ASTRO because their songs give me a sense of tranquility and make me energetic like AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! No group can do that except ASTRO! They taught me a lot of messages and I will always be grateful for them. I have always loved purple and now it has a special meaning to it. I want to say that ASTRO is meant for me because the universe conspired to help me find them😆.
Who caught your attention at first and why? EunWoo caught my attention in the MV because there was something about him that made me emotional hahah which I still don’t understand to this day. Who is your bias, and why? Who is my bias?! That is literally a tricky question because all 6 members are unique in their own special way and I respect them all equally so that is why I am saying OT6. Can you recommend a title track and a B-side track for new fans? ‘Crazy Sexy Cool’ was the song that introduced me to ASTRO and because of that, it will always have a special place in my heart. ‘All Night’ gives me a feeling of frisson which means “aesthetic chills” everytime I listen to it! ‘Just Breath’ is a song that makes me sooo energetic AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I love all title tracks but these three really stood out to me. For B-side tracks I loveeee ‘By Your Side’, ‘All Good’, ‘Complete Me’, ‘Because It’s You’, ‘Dear My Universe’, ‘Footprint’, ‘Merry-go-Round’, ‘No, I Don’t’, ‘Our Spring’, ‘Lockdown’, ‘Alive’, ‘Lazy’, ‘Stardust’, ‘Butterfly Effect’, ‘Dreamcatcher’, ‘Bloom’ , ‘12 hours’, ‘My Zone’, ‘Role Play’ ‘When the Wind Blows’, ‘Treasure’, ‘Love Wheel’, ‘Get Set Yo’, ‘Sunset Sky’ and ‘Don’t Worry’. All these songs need to have more recognition because I literally love theseee!!!! Can you recommend a fancam, V Live, cover video, cover dance, or individual content video of your bias to our readers? For the fancams, I will have to say all ASTRO’s fancams because they just hit different and it really puts a smile on my face. All V Lives of ASTRO are amazing as they are so crazy when they are together but I really love that, so I cannot really choose. My absolute favourite cover is Rockyyy’s ‘Grenade’. He did an amazing job and I really really love this cover so much! I love MoonBin’s and Rockyyy’s dance covers as they have a special talent for dancing. EunWoo’s ost, ‘Don’t Cry, My Love’ is literally a masterpiece. His remake of ‘Focus On Me’ are other two songs that make me emotional as the lyrics are heartwarming and he has a mellifluous voice. Can you also do the same type of recommendation for the group? All of “ASTRO Plays”, “ASTRO DDOCAs” and “ASTRO Zone” are must-watch because they make you smile, laugh, and sometimes cry. Can you share with us one of your favorite lyrics? “Please always remember it’ll be hard but if we’re together we’ll overcome any hardship” - from ‘Just Breath’ “Even if the sun hides, you will shine” - from ‘Star’ “Even if you don’t see the light I got your back, don’t worry” - from ‘Don’t Worry’ Are there any words from the members you would like to share? “Please support each and every one of us no matter what we are doing….please be there for ASTRO.” How sweet is that!! These were the words of JinJinn and I agree. What’s your bias influence in your daily life? ASTRO makes me love myself more and genuinely puts a smile on my face. I also laugh everytime ahaha and I never regret it. I come up with phrases such as ‘as I should, ‘as we should, ‘HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA’ which makes me so happy. They also made me write in capitals which is so cool haha. ASTRO also motivates me to learn Korean which one day I will. I am just so thankful for them!
What is your favorite side of fangirling/fanboying? When I see updates of ASTRO, it always cheers me up like the amount of love they have for AROHA and each other is unreal like it just makes me cry. I love to play their songs and like I said before, as I should! 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)? ASTRO is a very talented K-Pop group and not only that, they are incredibly respectful to the industry. Some people give hate to EunWoo because he always promotes ASTRO and some people don’t like that but as he freaking should promote them!! He should never stop promoting them because to me, that is seriously so amazing! You can also add a message to your bias or show it in a message scrapbook. Dear ASTRO, Thank you all for creating ASTRO!! You all deserve everything and I am so proud to be an AROHA!! I will never regret this! All of your personalities are unique and I fell in love with them. I love you all because the entire universe conspired to help me find you and because of that I will support you till the end! I hope one day I get to thank you all for your hard work because you all really deserve it!” I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo grateful for ASTRO and I will forever support you all!! I’m very grateful for being able to find a K-Pop group that I love and enjoy listening to. Listening to your songs always makes my day and boosts my serotonin and that never happens when I listen to other songs from other groups. You all changed my personality and made me much more happier but made me more emotional hahaha which I am so thankful for and I can never thank you enough. “Among many people you and me in a fateful encounter, I thank you in the sky!” Shazia 🙂
Thank you for answering our questions, Shazia. Note: Kpopmap Fan Interview includes some of the interviewed fan’s favorite pictures and videos. If you are interested in joining Kpopmap Fan Interview Project, please get in touch with us at [email protected] Everyone is welcome to participate.
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