“What sets us apart from previous idol bands is our hip-hop element. We have a stronger beat.”

Those were words from Lee Seung-hyub, the leader of FNC Entertainment’s new boy band N.Flying, short for “new flying.” Consisting of a vocalist/rapper front man (Lee Seung-hyub), guitarist (Cha Hun), bassist (Kwon Kwang-jin) and drummer (Kim Jae-hyun), N.Flying naturally invokes thoughts of FNC’s previous band successes FT ISLAND and CNBLUE ― an association that gives the rookie band a boost, but also puts more pressure to be something different.

The four members ― who say they are a “new trend band” ― hoped to show that fresh element in their debut showcase at the UNIQLO-AX Hall in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday, the day they released their first EP. For the showcase, they performed three songs ― “One N Only,” “All In” and the title track “Awesome.”

N.Flying’s songs are a combination of rock and rap, with the three instrumentalists providing loud, pounding beats for Seung-hyub’s rapping.

Although the combination of hip-hop with a rock band sound is nothing new, N.Flying is the first band with that sound coming from a major K-pop label.

According to the members, they had what it took to go up against idol stars.

“We don’t have powerful group choreography (like other boy groups),” said Lee, “but we have more energy coming from our real band sound.”

They’ve just made their debut, but the foursome already has a strong fan base. They spent a long time honing their skills in the Japanese indie scene, with their first single “Basket” reaching the No. 2 spot on the Oricon weekly charts. In Korea, they introduced themselves to the public through a 10-week reality show called “One Night Study,” where they were “tutored” by comedian Lee Kuk-ju about how to steal fans’ hearts.

Leader Lee also recently performed together with Jimin of fellow FNC group AOA under the name J.Don for the first of FNC Entertainment’s so-called “N Projects.”

N.Flying’s debut EP “Awesome” was released Wednesday in Korea, China and Japan. They have begun promoting their title track, “Awesome.”

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)