Preparing for a new album while touring around the world was no easy feat for boy band Tomorrow X Together, but what has made everything all worthwhile is that the stages are getting larger and the fans are filling the spaces, however big they may be, according to the members.

“We can really see our stages getting bigger, and it really gives us this indescribable feeling,” Taehyun told reporters during a press conference on Sunday, held prior to the band’s “Act: Promise” world tour encore concerts at the KSPO Dome in southern Seoul.


“When I look around the audience and then the four other members, I just feel like I might burst into tears, even when I have to perform a really bright and happy song,” Taehyun continued. “To witness with our very eyes how much we’ve grown and how much we’re being loved really helps us get the energy to fulfill the next new project we’re given, whether that be a new tour or an album.”

The “Act: Promise” encore concerts took place on Nov. 1, 2 and 3 at the KSPO Dome in southern Seoul, which is where Tomorrow X Together kicked off its “Act: Promise” world tour in May.

Tomorrow X Together held 28 performances in 17 cities around the world with “Act: Promise” — eight cities around the United States, four cities in Japan and four Asian cities. It was the first time any K-pop act had held solo concerts at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and Houston's Minute Maid Park.

The quintet embarked on the Japanese leg of the tour in July and August, performing at the Tokyo Dome, Kyocera Dome and Vantelin Dome Nagoya. It also performed at the Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka and finished off the tour with concerts in Indonesia and Taiwan in October.

“I think it’s impossible for us to not grow after holding all those live performances during a tour, especially regarding our vocal and dance skills,” leader Soobin said. “I can really see our stage manner getting better. And just yesterday, I felt touched to see how our members, who seemed like young boys in the past, have truly grown into real artists on the stage."

The encore concerts took place just before the release of Tomorrow X Together’s seventh EP, “The Star Chapter: Sanctuary,” set for release on Monday. Member Yeonjun even released his solo track “GGUM.”

“I would be lying to say that it didn’t take a toll on me physically, but inside, I felt happier and more excited than ever,” Yeonjun said. “It allowed me to realize the things that I need to improve and gave me the chance to make myself better. I also felt how precious the members are to me.”

Tomorrow X Together was fortunate enough to remain relatively unscathed by the turbulence within HYBE, which houses the band’s agency Big Hit Music as well as the agencies of other groups that are going through legal battles with each other.

“We really have been busy ever since we kicked off the tour in May,” Soobin said. “We also had to prepare for an album, which made us even busier. We concentrated on the concerts regardless of the happenings around us. We gave our best like we always do, and we really hope to show it all with the new album.”

“The Star Chapter: Sanctuary” will have six tracks: lead track “Over The Moon” and B-side tracks “Heaven,” “Danger,” “Resist (Not Gonna Run Away),” “Forty One Winks” and “Higher Than Heaven.” The members took part in writing lyrics for four of the songs.

Lead track “Over The Moon” is a love song taking the mood of two of Tomorrow X Together’s most popular songs, “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)” (2021) and “LO$ER=LO♡ER” (2021).

“It’s a collection of everything that we’re good at — it’s refreshing, dreamlike, powerful, relaxed and sexy,” Taehyun said.

“The music and the dance are great, but I hope you pay attention to our facial expressions and the subtle nuance that we tried to get across within the song,” Yeonjun said. “Because it’s a realistic song about love, we really worked hard to express ourselves in ways that people could identify themselves with.”

The EP will mark the beginning of a new and fourth series titled “The Star Chapter,” following the “minisode” series that concluded with the band's sixth EP, “minisode 3: Tomorrow,” released in April this year.

“I personally think that this album will be our most romantic work yet,” Taehyun said. “The name of the album, ‘Sanctuary,’ symbolizes MOA, who is our sanctuary. The album is actually made so that the first song, ‘Heaven,’ is a song about how MOA takes us to our sanctuary and end with ‘Higher Than Heaven,’ where we take MOA to somewhere higher.”

MOA is the name of the band’s official fan club.

“I think that all six songs of the album are likable by everyone,” Beomgyu added. “It’s my personal wish that people listen to all of them and see that even the B-side tracks are good in Tomorrow X Together’s albums.”

When Tomorrow X Together made its debut in 2019 as the first new band to come from Big Hit Entertainment, now known as HYBE, it was known more as “the little brothers of BTS” rather than by its own name.

Now, closing in on its sixth year in the industry, Tomorrow X Together is one of the most popular groups in K-pop with major achievements under its belt.

Tomorrow X Together performed at the Lollapalooza Chicago in the United States and Summer Sonic in Japan in 2022. The band headlined Lollapalooza Chicago, becoming the first K-pop group to do so. The band will become the first K-pop act to perform at AXE Ceremonia, one of Latin America’s most prominent festivals, scheduled to take place at Parque Bicentenario in Mexico City in April next year.

“We did have some specific goals in the past, like breaking a certain record or achievement,” Soobin said. “But we got to have very deep conversations while preparing for this album, and we all thought that all we want now is to be a group that is loved and remembered by everyone for a long time. We hope to be a group that people want to listen to music to and keep seeing more of.”

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