Singer Jeong Dong-won fills his last year as a teenager with a full-length album.
On the 13th, Jeong Dong-won held a showcase at the Nodeul Island Live House in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, to celebrate the release of his second full-length album, 'Gift from The Man from Nowhere,' and shared stories about the new album.
Jeong Dong-won, who is releasing a full-length album for the first time in about three years since his 2021 release of 'Longing, The Giving Tree,' expressed his feelings by saying, "Since this is my first full-length album in three years, I have prepared a lot and I am excited, but I also feel nervous ahead of the activities."
He continued, "While preparing for the full-length album, I was so busy that I didn’t even have time to blink. I wanted to elevate the album's quality and, since it includes performance tracks, I was keen on perfecting the choreography, which made me work hard in preparation."
Jeong Dong-won's new release 'Gift from The Man from Nowhere' contains a special message for fans. Inspired by the novel 'The Man from Nowhere,' it signifies that both the fans and Jeong Dong-won are like 'The Man from Nowhere' who quietly supports each other from unseen places, conveying love and hope, representing warm comfort and encouragement.
He conveyed about this album, "My first full-length album was 'The Giving Tree.' If the first album had the feel of a pretty boy expressing gratitude for the love sent by the fans, now I have the meaning of becoming 'The Man from Nowhere' to give love back to my fans while quietly watching over them."
The title track 'Huh!' is a song based on trot that combines hip-hop and EDM dance, expressing the desire to cheer up someone they love by witnessing their struggles and tiredness through joyful dance and song. Rapper Kim Ha-on (HAON) participates as a featuring artist, creating a groundbreaking collaboration between a trot singer and a rapper.
Regarding the new song 'Huh!', he stated, "It's a dance track based on trot, but it incorporates hip-hop and EDM, so I hope people would be surprised thinking, 'Did Jeong Dong-won really release a song like this?' I tried to break genre boundaries with this. When selecting the song, I listened to over 200 tracks, but the moment I heard this one, I thought it had to be the title track. I could immediately visualize how the performance should be while listening to it."
In particular, Jeong Dong-won appears in the 'Huh!' music video, performing and executing action scenes. He noted, "I acted as a lobby boy, and since I'm not an actor, I might appear lacking in many ways, but I prepared hard, so I hope you will see it kindly. I've done an action scene for the first time in my life, and I pondered a lot on how to do it while earnestly learning from the martial arts director. I think it turned out well."
Regarding his collaboration with rapper Ha-on, he stated, "I liked him since he appeared on 'High School Rapper.' He is an artist I respect musically, so it came to mind when I wanted to incorporate hip-hop into this album. I contacted him through SNS DM without going through the company, and he kindly agreed and sent the recording. It felt like a dream. I felt like a successful fan."
Another title track, 'Flower Lantern,' has a contrasting charm to 'Huh!' characterized by delicate vocals and lyrical emotions. It beautifully expresses the pure and steadfast heart of living while cherishing first love through Jeong Dong-won's voice.
On that day, Jeong Dong-won also mentioned his activities as JD1, saying, "Just think of it as the same artist Jeong Dong-won using two names. If I feel that it's necessary genre-wise, I will use JD1, and I will continue JD1 activities."
He added, "When around me, I often hear comments like 'He could have just done what he was doing during JD1 activities, why did he do this?' There were times I wondered if it was worth it, but while preparing this album, the experiences accumulated, and I was able to express myself well during recording, which helped a lot."
Jeong Dong-won, who will turn twenty next year, said, "It feels like time has passed so quickly that I wanted to become twenty quickly, but now that it’s right in front of me, I also want to enjoy my teenage years more. I want to wrap up my last year as a teenager well, without tarnishing the hard work I put into my teens."
Finally, Jeong Dong-won expressed his future goals, saying, "I am grateful to be called a 'hexagonal artist.' I am currently working towards becoming a hexagonal artist. I want to continue hearing this and will strive to be an artist who is worthy of it."
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