Infinite’s tears
You know why they are still crying even now after 4 previous wins?
1) They’ve never won a K-chart before.
2) Among the shows, K-Chart is where digital sales weigh the most, and digital sales happens to be where they are the weakest.
3) Digital sales also happens to be the category where their competitors are usually the strongest.
4) They’re coming back after the longest hiatus they have ever had between promotions and they’re not sure where they stand after being gone for six months.
5) They know that their song isn’t the “catchy” kind of song that tends to appeal the most to the public.For them, to win under all those conditions is a big deal. This time even Myungsoo was holding back tears instead of grinning from ear to ear like before. Sunggyu hugged Woohyun in a more emotional display than he has ever shown when winning an award.
It was a symbolic, deeply meaningful and deeply emotional moment for them. I’ll be damned if assholes are going to come tell me it’s “wrong” or “embarrassing” or “shameful” to cry in a moment like that. What’s shameful and embarrassing is that there are people who apparently look down upon people expressing their emotions with tears.
Infinite doesn’t consider it “normal” to win awards for every comeback. They aren’t Big Bang or SNSD, they have absolutely no reason to expect a win for every album. Just 9 months ago they never thought they’d ever be winning awards at all. At that time they were past the point in their careers where successful groups usually win their first awards. The odds were against them ever seeing the top tiers of Kpop idols. (see this post for reference)
受寵若驚 is the phrase I would use in Mandarin. I can’t think of a good phrase for this in English, but basically it means to feel that you have received more love or favor than you expected or than you thought you deserved.
They have received more love and support than they ever expected they would get. The tears come because they appreciate the meaning of their wins. It still feels like a dream for them to win on music shows; like Myungsoo said in his tweet: 실감이 안나요 (English colloquial equivalent: Reality hasn’t sunk in). For them to maintain that kind of a feeling means that they haven’t forgotten where they started, that they haven’t forgotten the hard work that brought them here, that they don’t take any of this for granted.
It’s like Sunggyu emphasized ten times over at the Seoul showcase: they’ll keep working hard without forgetting their starting point. And like Woohyun said when the first won on Paradise: they won’t think of winning as the norm, but instead will continue to show new sides to them with every album.
If you find it “embarrassing” for them to keep this kind of mindset? Then it’s shame on you.
I don’t know how can someone find it embarrassing when they see them cry. Even though I’m not an emotional person, I can understand that they are glad that their hard work and preparation is being recognised. They have been trained for almost 2 years and it’s been 2 years since their debut. It’s not easy to spend such a long time on a goal and achieving that goal is even harder in the competitive kpop industry. I don’t see why they cannot be emotional about their success.
