MCND debuted in February 2020 and has since then taken the K-Pop scene by storm! Under TOP Media, MCND's name is an acronym for "Music Creates New Dream." The group has since released 3 mini albums and continues to showcase their signature charismas in their powerful comebacks! MCND's latest project is a Justin Bieber dance cover under an endeavor they've had since trainees entitled Play Music Ground. allkpop spoke with MCND virtually to talk about PMG, favorite music, their Justin Bieber dance cover, and Gem. Keep reading for allkpop's interview with MCND!

allkpop: Hello MCND! Thank you so much for taking time out to talk to us! I’m very excited to get to speak to you today. Would you like to do an introduction for the fans?

캐슬제이: 안녕하세요! MCND의 리더이자 든든한 맏형, 프로듀서, 래퍼 캐슬제이입니다👑🦊
Castle J: Hello, I'm MCND's leader and the oldest member, producer, rapper Castle J.👑🦊

빅: 안녕하세요! 저는 MCND에서 슈퍼 분위기 메이커를 담당하고 있는 빅입니다!
BIC: Hello! I'm MCND's super mood maker, BIC.

민재: 안녕하세요~ MCND의 메인보컬 민재입니다!

MINJAE: Hello, I'm MCND's main vocalist, MINJAE!

휘준: 안녕하세요!! MCND에서 매력보이스를 맡고 있는 휘준입니다!

HUIJUN: Hello! I'm HUIJUN, the charming voice of MCND!

윈: 안녕하세요~ MCND 막내 윈입니다!

WIN: Hello, I'm MCND's youngest, WIN!

allkpop: MCND debuted in 2020 and has taken the K-pop scene by storm! However, many fans still don’t know about Play Music Ground. Can you explain what PMG is?

MCND: 'Play Music Ground'의 약자로 저희가 연습생일 때부터 진행해 온 뮤직 프로젝트이자 음악 영상 콘텐츠입니다. MCND가 음악으로 즐겁게 노는 공간이라는 뜻이기도 합니다. K팝 및 해외 팝 아티스트들의 춤과 보컬을 커버하거나 창작 안무를 영상으로 보여드리고 있습니다.

MCND: It stands for 'Play Music Ground.' It's a music project and music video content that we've been working on since we were trainees. It also means that MCND is a place to have fun with music. We do dance and vocal covers of K-pop and foreign pop artists and show creative choreography through our videos.

allkpop: You’ve covered dance, vocals, and creative choreography of tons of notable artists both domestic and overseas. MCND has covered Billie Eilish’s “bad guy,” Post Malone’s “Circles,” BTS “Mic Drop,” and ITZY’s “Dalla Dalla,” just to name a few. Do you gain a lot of influence from the artists you choose to cover? How do you decide on what song to use in your PMG videos? 

캐슬제이:여러 곡들을 커버하고 리메이크하면서 다양한 장르에 대한 이해도가 많이 높아진 것 같습니다. 그래서 저희 곡을 만들 때도 많은 도움이 됐고요! ‘PMG’로 보여드릴 곡은 저희의 색깔로 풀어냈을 때 재미있고 흥미로울 것 같은 곡이 뭔지 서로 대화를 통해 결정합니다!

Castle J: I think my understanding of various genres has improved greatly as I covered and remade many songs. So it helped us a lot when we made our song. The song we [choose] to show you with 'PMG' will be fun and interesting when we cover it in our colors.

빅: 일단 다양한 커버를 하면서 배울 점이 너무 많았어요. 노래나 커버를 결정할 때는 저희의 의견이 꽤 많이 반영되고 있습니다.

BIC: First of all, there were so many things to learn from doing various covers. Our opinions are reflected a lot when deciding the song or cover.

민재:저와 다른 색깔이 있는 것 같아서 ‘PMG’를 할 때마다 새로움을 느낍니다. 회사에서 저희와 잘 맞는 곡을 먼저 제안해주시기도 하는데, 거의 저희가 하고 싶은 곡을 주로 합니다.

MINJAE: I think there's a different color [from my usual color], so I feel new whenever I do 'PMG.' Our company suggests songs that fit us first, but we usually do songs that we want to do.

휘준: 원곡 아티스트들의 느낌을 완전히 지우지는 않으면서도 저희의 색을 보여드릴 수 있게 노력하고 있습니다. 곡 결정은 멤버들과 이야기를 나누면서 함께 해보고 싶은 것으로 결정합니다.

HUIJUN: We're trying to show our colors without completely erasing the feelings of the original artists. We decide what we want to do while talking to the members.

윈: 저희가 원곡의 색을 해치지 않으면서도 저희만의 색깔을 잘 담아낼 수 있는 곡들로 정하고 있습니다.

WIN: We choose songs that can capture our own colors without hurting the original color.

allkpop: You’re a group that is unafraid of a challenge- MCND’s cover video of BLACKPINK’s “Kill This Love” garnered more than 1.4 million views as it reinterpreted the song in MCND’s signature style. Are there any challenging songs that you’d like to do videos for in the future?

캐슬제이: 블랙핑크 선배님들의 ‘Kill This Love'는 기존의 곡이 좋았던 덕분에 저희 영상도 많은 사랑을 받은 것이라 생각합니다! 커버 영상도 좋지만 ‘PMG’를 통해 저희의 새로운 곡도 보여드리고 싶습니다!

Castle J: Our BLACKPINK 'Kill This Love' cover video was loved by many! Cover videos are good, but we'd like to show you our new songs through 'PMG'!

빅: 저희의 매력을 보여드릴 수 있는 것이라면 뭐든 다 좋아요!

BIC: Anything that can show our charm is fine!

민재: MCND와 잘 맞는 노래라면 다 커버해보고 싶습니다!

MINJAE: I want to cover all the songs that fit MCND well.

휘준: 가능하다면 모든 것들을 다 해보고 싶습니다! 다 자신이 있거든요!

HUIJUN: I'd like to try everything if possible! I'm confident in everything!

윈: 어떤 곡이든 멋지게 소화할 수 있습니다!
WIN: We can do everything well!

allkpop: Tell us more about the process of creating choreography for these songs. Who is involved and who is leading? Do you have any outside help from dance professionals?

MCND: 창작 안무는 멤버 전체가 고민하고 함께 연습해요. 5명 모두 주도적으로 연습에 참여해서 전체적인 퍼포먼스의 퀄리티를 높이려고 노력합니다. 이번 ‘PMG’ 안무는 안무 선생님이 많이 도와주셨는데, 저희가 직접 안무를 창작할 때는 다같이 각각 파트를 정해서 짜온 것을 합쳐서 더 멋있게 다듬고 있습니다.

MCND: All the members think hard about the creative choreography and practice together. All 5 of us take the initiative in practicing and try to improve the quality of the overall performance. Our choreographer helped us with the choreography for ‘PMG,’ but when we create our own choreography, we're putting together parts that we've worked on together to make it look better.

allkpop: You’ve recently released a brand new cover video with Justin Bieber’s “Second Emotion” as the chosen song. Tell fans why you chose this track and what the process for creating the choreography was.

MCND: 저희가 저스틴 비버님의 음악을 좋아하고 평소에도 많이 듣거든요. 최근 'Second Emotion'을 저희 모두 좋아하게 돼서 안무 영상까지 찾아봤는데 정말 멋있더라고요. 뭔가 프리하면서도 그루브하고, chill하면서도 세련된 느낌이 마음에 들었습니다. 또 저희가 퍼포먼스로 잘 보여드릴 수 있을 것 같다고 생각해서 'PMG'로 진행하게 됐습니다.

MCND: We like Justin Bieber's music and listen to it a lot. Recently, we all started to like 'Second Emotion,' so we looked up the choreography video, and it was really cool. We liked the free, groovy, chill, and sophisticated feel. We thought we could show you our performance, so we decided to do 'PMG.'

allkpop: The visual of your Justin Bieber dance cover is great with amazing lighting, styling, and special effects editing. Was it the group’s decision to go with a cool, street concept?

MCND: 원래 안무 영상의 느낌과 분위기가 정말 멋있었어요. 스트릿 콘셉트로 연출한 부분도 정말 좋다고 생각해서, 저희도 그런 느낌을 낼 수 있게끔 촬영했습니다.

MCND: We really like the aura and atmosphere that the original dance video has. We thought the street concept was terrific, so we filmed it so that we could feel that way.

allkpop: Does MCND have any messages or words of advice for Gem reading this? Anything you’d like to tell them? A song you’d like to share with them?

캐슬제이:  저희 이야기를 끝까지 읽어 주셔서 너무 감사해요 젬❤️ 앞으로도 저희만의 음악을 많이 들려드릴게요❤️ 그때까지 그동안 나온 저희 음악들도 계속해서 많이 들어 주세요

Castle J: Thank you so much for reading our story to the end, Gem❤️ We'll continue to play our own music.❤️ Until then, please continue to listen to our music!

빅: 저희에 대해서 더 자세히 알게 되셨길 바랍니다~ 요즘에 저희 프리 데뷔곡 ‘TOP GANG’이 굉장히 좋더라고요! 저희만의 색깔이 있는 곡이니까 함께 들어요~

BIC: I hope you knew more about MCND through this interview. These days, our pre-debut song 'TOP GANG' is really good! It's a song with our own colors, so let's listen to it together.

민재: 코로나 19 때문에 직접 만나지 못해서 너무 아쉬워요 젬들! 서로 만날 때까지 MCND 음악 많이 들어 주시고 사랑해 주세요!

MINJAE: I'm so sad that we couldn't meet in person because of Corona 19, Gem! Please listen to MCND's music until we meet each other. Please love it!

휘준: MCND의 춤은 아직 끝나지 않았습니다! 더 보여드릴 게 많으니까 기대해 주세요!

HUIJUN: MCND's dance is not over yet! We have a lot more to show you, so please look forward to it!

윈: 항상 발전하는 MCND가 되겠습니다! 지켜봐 주세요!

WIN: MCND will always improve! Please look forward to it!

allkpop: Thank you so much and take care! We hope to see MCND showing their signature charismas on stage soon!

MCND: 감사합니다! 항상 건강하시고, 올 한 해 모두 모두 좋은 일만 가득하시길 바랍니다. 저희 MCND도 큰 힘을 드릴 수 있도록 멋진 무대 많이 보여드릴 테니, 항상 응원해 주시고 사랑해 주세요!

MCND: Thank you! I wish you all the best this year and stay healthy. We'll show you great performances so that MCND can give you a lot of strength, so please support us and love us!

You can follow MCND on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.