POLARIS

Seoul, South Korea · four-member idol group · Junseo (b. 2006) · Yejun (b. 2007) · Raon (b. 2007) · Haeon (b. 2008) · FARA Records

POLARIS are four Seoul-based idols built around a single cinematic concept: a guiding light that finds its way back to the people it belongs to, across distance, time and change. Junseo (Han Jun-seo, b. 20 October 2006), the leader and main vocalist, is the eldest — raised in a household that prized duty and warmth in equal measure, a grandfather who had served, a quiet expectation that you look after the people around you. His warm tenor anchors the chorus and lands the song's promise; he keeps an old photo of his grandfather in his wallet, which is why the separation concept hits home for him. Yejun (Kang Ye-jun, b. 25 January 2007), the lead vocalist, is the gentle, sensitive one who felt things a half-step more than everyone around him — the sort who teared up at films and noticed the exact moment the sky changed colour. His airy falsetto carries the delicate high lines and the exposed piano bridge, the most fragile, human moment of the song; the members say he cries at that bridge in rehearsal every time.

Raon (Seo Ra-on, b. 5 August 2007), the main rapper, grew up in Seoul on hip-hop and film — the cool, watchful kid at the back of the room who filled notebooks with verses. His melodic rap narrates the story's his-POV verse, and the radio-static intro was partly his idea — he's into war films and old radio recordings. Haeon (Kim Hae-on, b. 15 March 2008), the maknae and main dancer, has been a dance kid since primary school — contemporary classes, late-night practice rooms, never quite still. He's the performance centre, the one who makes the climaxes land physically, and he invented the group's point-move in the mirror himself. Bright and driven with the classic maknae habit of looking after the older members, he keeps snacks in his bag for all four.

Together they draw on the cinematic-concept end of 4th-generation K-pop — ATEEZ, ENHYPEN, TXT, Stray Kids, NCT and SEVENTEEN — and the storytelling / concept-universe tradition of building a whole emotional world around a single release. Personality in three words — Junseo: steady, warm, resolute; Yejun: tender, delicate, expressive; Raon: intense, cool, thoughtful; Haeon: bright, driven, sincere.