HONNE Talks BTS RM Collaboration and Wanting to Work With NewJeans

British alternative-pop duo HONNE is back in South Korea to mark 10 years since its debut. The pair called Korea the place that gave them their first taste of a sold-out show.

HONNE held a listening party for its 10th anniversary compilation album "HONNE - 10" on July 14 at 7 p.m. KST at a music listening room in Seoul's Mapo district. The two members talked about the new album and shared their thoughts ahead of a three-night solo run in Seoul from July 16 to 18.

James spoke about the compilation first. "This year marks 10 years since 'Warm On A Cold Night' came out, so we reworked a lot of songs to celebrate the moment," he said. "We tried acoustic arrangements this time. The mood is a little different from the original versions, so we hope people listen with that in mind."

Andy added that the tracklist grew as they went. "Since it's been 10 years since 'Warm On A Cold Night,' we started by pulling from that first album. But there were so many songs we loved from the years in between that we wanted to include those too," he said. He called the selection process difficult and said the group chose songs tied to meaningful experiences. The acoustic direction, he added, came from live shows. "When we tried acoustic versions on stage, the reaction was really good, and that stayed with us."

James also spoke about how the group's collaboration with BTS's RM came together. "The connection with RM started not long after we debuted. We didn't know much about BTS back then," he said. "RM gave us a shoutout on Twitter, and that's how it all began." He said RM later invited them to a London show, and the duo invited him backstage during one of their Seoul concerts. "We talked about a lot of things, and eventually the idea of working together came up. It was an incredible experience."

James said the group would love to work with NewJeans next. "Their sound feels like it fits ours really well. If the chance comes up, we'd love to collaborate. I think we could make something good together."

The duo also opened up about the personal bond they feel with Korean fans. "I love Korea," James said in Korean, before switching back to English. "Out of all our shows, Korea was where we had our first sold-out concert. It was also the first time we ever saw a crowd singing every word back to us. I still remember the staff putting the lyrics up on the screen and flipping them in time, like karaoke."

Andy said Korea changed how the duo saw its own future. "Ten years ago, when we first started making music, we were only thinking about London," he said. "Korea was the place that showed us we could have an audience overseas. Back then, fans kept commenting on our Instagram asking us to come to Korea. When our first tickets here sold out in a few minutes, it really felt like something special."

HONNE released the 10th anniversary album "HONNE - 10" on major streaming platforms in May.