Singer Hyolyn returns with her fourth mini album "OriginaLyn" nearly four years after filling it with her true color and identity. True to the moniker "original summer queen," she aims once again at summer, offering a cool sense of nostalgia and confident energy to the summer music scene.
Hyolyn recently held a release commemorative interview for her fourth mini album "OriginaLyn" at a cafe in Seongdong District, Seoul, and talked about the new album.
Returning with a new album about four years after the 2022 release "iCE," Hyolyn said, "After releasing only singles and now releasing a physical mini album after four years, I would have been worried and fearful and anxious before, but now the excitement is much greater. I want to meet everyone soon," expressing her overwhelming feelings about the comeback.
Leading a one-person agency and facing limited time for songwriting, she said she disliked releasing an album halfheartedly, adding, "If I'm going to do it, I should prepare well. I felt it wouldn't be right to release something vaguely when I couldn't prepare properly, so I wanted to prepare well and release it. That time was now," showing confidence in the album's completeness.
The title of Hyolyn's album, "OriginaLyn," announced at 6 p.m. on the 22nd, combines "original" and her name "Lyn," and it captures the essence and identity of solo artist Hyolyn. Having built her own musical world over a long period, Hyolyn is expected to present a deeper musical color and a distinctive presence through this album.
Hyolyn said, "Seven years with Sistar and seven years standing on my own, and I'm in my second year even after that," and explained the album name's background: "When I thought about what made me feel good and grateful when people said things to me, I really liked the word 'original.' I liked words that suggested being first or the beginning, like 'original summer queen,' so the word 'original' came to mind."
The title track "ChecK" is a song that stirs nostalgia for the pop sounds of the '80s and '90s while infusing Hyolyn's confident energy. Hyolyn said, "The message this song gives was very consoling to me. It's a song that says, 'You're doing well enough, you can be more confident, you can be more proud,'" adding, "As I worked on it and listened to the song, my confidence kept filling up little by little," expressing special affection for the track.
Regarding the album's overall concept, she explained, "I wanted to stimulate and let people feel that nostalgia from that time, but it wasn't about going back to that time, so to avoid missing out on trends, I thought it would be good if it were Y2K 2026."
Saying she felt nostalgia while listening to songs she used to hear a lot as a trainee, she mentioned Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake, and said, "It started with what music I've been listening to recently. Usually when I listen to music I calculate things and don't listen well. But at some point I found myself looking for the music from when I was most passionate about music. I smiled thinking how happy I was then, and nostalgia came up, and I thought it would be nice to share this instead of feeling it alone. I thought it would be good to make music that evokes nostalgia, so I approached that genre. I added stories to that genre and made it," she said.
Known for overwhelming performances on every stage, Hyolyn insisted on dancing in the new song's choreography wearing the tricky "open heels." On this, she said, "Heels are like a challenge for me, like a challenge that makes me think, 'I can do this too,'" and added, "I could wear comfortable shoes and perform comfortably, but I have a strong desire to accomplish something difficult," showing her fiery passion for performance.
As Sistar is inevitably mentioned when discussing summer queens, expectations are high for Hyolyn's activities with a summer comeback. She said, "It would be a lie to say I didn't aim for summer. The beat of this song gives a cooling feeling, and I imagined singing it live. I thought what I could give was nostalgia and coolness. Isn't it better to feel cool when it's hot? So I thought this timing would be good and moved accordingly."
About the epithet "summer queen," she humbly said, "There are so many summer queens. There are many summer kings too. I think the summer queen label didn't attach to me alone but thankfully came with Sistar and followed me. I'm very grateful. If it weren't for Sistar, I don't think I would have that label, so I'm very thankful."
[Photo] ReH Entertainment
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