HUI : Highly anticipated solo debut

Still supported by PENTAGON, HUI made its solo debut with its angelic voice!

HUI, singer of the group PENTAGON of CUBE ENTERTAINMENT, realizes in this Tuesday, January 16 its debut in solo, with a first mini-album bearing the name of «WHU IS ME: COMPLEX». It is during a showcase held in Seoul that the artist presents his new compositions.

This first mini-album has four tracks; «흠백», «Melo», «Cold killer», «봄이 오면 겨울은 지나가». The singer is already known for his talents, having written notably «Shine» for his group PENTAGON or «Energetic» for the ephemeral group WANNA ONE. Lyricist, composer, producer, it is with expected solo debut that HUI goes on stage to greet the journalists present. This album is described as a summary of what the artist could not show during his eight years of career, and is oriented around the themes of complexes and self-confidence, accompanied by rock rhythm and funk. Apart from the title song «흠백», the other three tracks are all featuring with other artists.

The showcase begins as usual with a photo shoot. It is with timidity that the artist presents himself to reporters, especially when he unveils his abs. Despite his great experience on stage, he expresses his stress at the idea of making his solo debut today. When asked if he has been preparing for a long time, he answers about twelve months, but that in reality, writing and composing songs has been part of his life for almost always, and that he still has many things to discover to his audience, provided that this album receives a warm welcome.

HUI

HUI

HUI

He explains the title of the album as a question he asks himself to know who he really is, and which artist he is as well. The theme of complexes can be something important when you go solo, because the spotlight is only on us, and HUI admits to doing its best to lose weight, even if not drinking water for days.

« If I were to describe the title song “흠백”, I would say that it is like a soda without sugar, to drink without moderation » —HUI

He wants to convey to his fans that the most important thing is to have fun and have a good time listening to his songs, and that he hopes that the fans will appreciate this change of style. To attract the attention of journalists, he spoils some of the most acute and most impressive notes. The singer has prepared a Tiktok challenge, where he invites fans to dance to a part of the song with hip-hop sounds.

He also briefly returns to the shooting of the clip, recalling how tense it was, but that the same tension evaporated when all the members of PENTAGON came to support him. The artist stated that the mere fact of seeing their faces instantly relieved him. A medley of the four tracks is broadcast, HUI describing «Melo» as a soft and sweet song with pastel hues. «Cold killer», more rock, allows to bring power to this album, to show in another way its vocal abilities.

As for the last title, “봄이 오면 겨울은 지나가.” It has a special place in the artist’s heart, because he dreamed of that title. So it was from the title that he decided to write the song, unable to forget this dream. Moreover, the song is in featuring with WOOSEOK from PENTAGON. Trusting each other and trusting in their synergy, the two friends joined for this song.

Although he had other songs ready, this mini-album seemed perfect to him in this way, with only four tracks, not to do too much for these beginnings. He says he also heard from the company’s fans or staff that such and such songs released in the past might have been better suited as a solo song for HUI, giving him the courage to finally get started. After the broadcast of the clip, and the performance of «흠백», HUI reveals that he managed to take a lot of pleasure for this performance, despite the stress he felt, suffering from a cold. It is then time to discuss with the reporters, the first question he is asked about his complexes.

« Since childhood, my complex is my size, I am small and menu, and in order to represent this singular side more, I lost eight kilos in three weeks» – HUI

To stay in shape, he likes to run before singing, to clear his mind, and regarding his diet, he says not to deprive himself especially now that he has reached his weight. However, he likes to eat ramyeons. When asked why it took him eight years to go solo, he answered frankly that he had no desire to release his own album, being satisfied with his activities within PENTAGON, especially since he is the leader of the group. To close, two last questions are asked: who is HUI solo, which songs corresponds to him? The artist replies not having found his musical imprint yet, and that for the moment, he wants to try a maximum of different style to discover himself.

Exploring so much style can be a goal in itself for the singer. By preparing this solo, he was able to discover and experience many new things, chat with a large number of people, making the twelve months of preparation the most beneficial to him. Despite the stress, this solo debut makes him happy. The support of PENTAGON members is also to be remembered, ending the showcase by talking about them, because they supported it by their presence, and with simple words like «it’s good! it’s fun!”, which gave HUI the strength to excel. It is on these last words that the shy, but talented HUI finishes the showcase, promising to return quickly with new content.