TXT on “The Chaos Chapter: Fight or Escape” and Growing With MOA
In the wake of their second studio album The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE, TXT (Tomorrow X Together) are forging a new path with their first album repackage, The Chaos Chapter: FIGHT OR ESCAPE. Released on August 17, FIGHT OR ESCAPE features three new tracks, impeccably timed as a gift to fans.
TXT’s story has always been one of growth, of grappling with the pains of youth to become who you are. Every entrant in their discography, from “CROWN” to “Frost”, nurtures their bond as friends and bandmates. In their dynamic fictional +U universe, they become more confident in themselves, revelling in the things that make them different, as they draw closer to adulthood. That journey is reflected in the real lives of Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Hueningkai — five young people coming into their own as musicians, performers, and people, too, through dreams and chaos and whatever is to come.
“I believe that growth doesn’t stop,” Beomgyu tells Teen Vogue over Zoom. “It’s an ongoing process. There are still so many things that we can and want to do, and want to show our fans, and I hope that our fans will continue to enjoy the things we want to bring in our activities, as well as the stories that are to come.”
And there are so many stories for fans to delve into in FIGHT OR ESCAPE. “LO$ER=LO♡ER” is an anthem for Gen Z barrelling through their youth, as well as those who might fill adult shoes yet walk in the shadows of a youth they could never have. “[The song] expresses the desire of wanting to be your lover — my healer and salvation — and to be each other’s savior, even if you have to appear to be like a loser in the eyes of the world,” Yeonjun, who penned his own rap lines, says. It’s a grungy slice of hardcore pop-punk deserving of an amphitheater audience, with the romantic, fervid lyricism that has come to define their oeuvre: “With you even a fall is beautiful / I gladly sink to the other side of the sky,” the lyrics read. “Just hope we can embrace by the end of my clumsy flight / I don’t care if everyone laughs, I want to sink into your ocean.” Flaunting a new aesthetic and a sudden proclivity for the word “f*ck” in the accompanying music video, and amping up their gritty vocals, TXT have gone full-on rock band.
The naming convention is a stylization choice akin to its predecessor “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You),” which receives an Emocore Mix on the repackage that further highlights Taehyun’s growly tenor. It also continues the journey of TXT’s protagonist from The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE.
“0X1=LOVESONG shared about someone who was stuck, like frozen in ice — pondering, hesitating and not knowing what to do,” Yeonjun says. “But this song captures the passion to fight for the one they love, or to run away with them. So I think the difference between the two songs is, someone who was frozen, and someone who is now actively pursuing and fighting for their love.”
Speaking of love, August 22 is an important date in TXT’s calendar. In fact, this singular day may be the reason their calendar exists at all — it’s the birthday of MOA (Moments of Alwaysness), the cherished collective name given to their fans. Celebrations started in late July with #LOOKBACK_MOA, a retrospective for MOA and TXT to share artifacts from their time together. “This is the slogan from our first showcase when we still used to call MOA ‘our fans,’” Yeonjun wrote on Twitter. “You can still feel the thrill of receiving incredible amounts of love and cheer for the first time.”
Now, nearly two and a half years after that showcase, the slogans have only become more endearing and the thrills more exhilarating, as is clear in the band’s self-written “MOA Diary (Dubaddu Wari Wari),” a bright and buoyant track imbued with TXT’s unyielding care for MOA. “We actually sent our message and heart to MOA in our song,” Taehyun says. “Coincidentally, we were able to release our album with this fan song, on the same month as MOA’s birthday.” One fan found that a rearrangement of the title’s Korean vowels becomes “for a long time,” and the song is listed as track 8, a symbol of infinity, denoting TXT’s vow to walk the path with MOA forever. “Through the song ‘MOA Diary,’ we wanted to express our appreciation for MOA as well as our connection and love,” Taehyun adds.
This love begins within the group itself, leader Soobin explains. “All four members are kind and warm-hearted people,” he says. “There has never been any difficulty or concerns when working as a group. It’s always been a pleasure to [be part of TXT] and I enjoy the teamwork.” It seeps into every ounce of content the band releases, and it spills into the lives of their fans, who come from all walks of life to sit around their campfire and feel safe in its warmth. “I feel that it’s very fortunate that all five of us are able to create music that can resonate with people and that can heal and console people.”
From The Dream Chapter: STAR to The Chaos Chapter: FIGHT OR ESCAPE, TXT has woven a narrative at the intersections of identity, coming-of-age and learning who you are. Whether it’s queer joy found in “CROWN” or holding space to celebrate the magic in your life, their music soothes fans reckoning with the tumultuous transition from youth to adulthood.
“From debut until now, we wanted to share our story through our music,” Taehyun says. “We have tried to capture the emotions and thoughts we experienced on our journey growing up in this world from our teenage years until now. So even though it’s our own personal story, it’s actually a story about growth and moving forward in this world, and so I believe it’s a story that resonates with real life experiences, and can be easily understood by anyone.”
During the press conference for FIGHT OR ESCAPE, Yeonjun noted that although being in the limelight can be limiting, MOA's online messages allow them to vicariously have experiences that would otherwise be restricted. On Weverse, TXT are artists who check on fans in need until they are safe, telling them they are worthy of living and pledging to make the world a better place through their music.
“There have been so many fans who have told us that they have been able to connect and relate to our music, and it definitely prompts us to think more about our music and what we do,” Hueningkai says. “These experiences have encouraged us to think more about our music, especially in ways of how to expand and broaden the scope of what we do.” They remain resolute with heads held high, even when times feel dark and unknown. “I don’t think this pandemic held us back,” Taehyun explains. “Rather, it enabled us to grow in a different kind of way. In such unpredictable circumstances, the experiences we encountered were all new. And we believed it was our role to do our best in these given situations, through which we were able to grow and mature in our own, unique way.”
The five members of TXT are well aware that their work is a source of healing, especially now as it tethers fans to joy in a time where it’s in short supply. They don’t respond to a single question without seamlessly weaving the words “MOA” and “our fans” into the answer. “People hearing our music and discovering their identity and learning about their identity,” Taehyun says, “I think that’s something that we’re very thankful for and something that we’re very proud of.”
And so the story of MOA, the moments of alwaysness, continues to be a promise — that in the chasm of despair, you’ll always have TXT.
Additional translation provided by Grace Yoo.
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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
