Mini-album 'MIRO' presents feel-good spring songs written, composed by Yoon
By Dong Sun-hwa
It may sound ironic, but K-pop star Yoon Ji-sung's upcoming EP "MIRO," a collection of feel-good spring songs, was born out of his sorrow. Yoon, a former member of now-defunct project boy band Wanna One, was stuck in an anxiety loop when we was working on the mini-album, feeling like he had nobody who recognizes his hard work. His frustration was so deep that at one point, he suddenly sat down on the ground and shed tears while taking his dog for a walk.
"All the tracks included in 'MIRO' have beautiful sounds, but I did not look beautiful at all when I was gearing up for this EP," Yoon, who spent some time choosing his words, said during a recent media interview at the headquarters of his record label, DG Entertainment, in Gangnam District, southern Seoul.
"I was having a busy time preparing for my mini-album and a musical, and I also appeared in a TV series. But it seemed that most people did not know about this. It was heartbreaking to read some comments on the internet that read: 'So what is Yoon Ji-sung doing these days?' I felt like people were seeing me as a dawdler."
Adding that such comments made him doubt himself, Yoon said "MIRO" would not have come out without his fans.
"I promised my fans that I would put out a new release this spring, and I could not break this promise despite my bad condition," he said. "I cannot say that I am completely through everything now, but I am on my way. These days, I tell myself that people will recognize me one day if I pour more effort into everything I do. Honestly, there are many things that I should work on to become a better a K-pop star and I feel I have not yet achieved a lot of things. I still have a thirst for new challenges."
"MIRO," which will drop Wednesday afternoon, is a five-track mini-album fronted by the lead single, "Bloom." Yoon participated in composing two songs ― "Bloom" and "ToDogToDog" ― while penning the lines for four tracks ― "Bloom," "ToDogToDog," "Summer Drive" and "Sleep."
"I actively took part in the creative process of my mini-album," he said in an exited tone. "The title of the album 'MIRO' was one of the candidates for the name of my fandom, but it also means the 'road of roses' in Korean. By using this name, I want to tell my followers that the road that lies ahead of me will always be as beautiful as a flower garden as long as they stand by me."
Yoon then moved on to introduce the lead single, which is a retro-flavored contemporary pop song peppered with an upbeat band sound.
"I wrote the song when I was still serving my compulsory military service," the singer, who performed his duty from May 2019 to December 2020, explained. "I was inspired by the scenery I saw when I was returning to my military base after wrapping up the army musical, 'Return: The Promise of the Day,' in Seoul. In contrast to my real life, the scenery was so fascinating … The 2017 romantic drama film, 'Call Me By Your Name,' was another well of inspiration for me."
He added that "flower" was selected as the main theme of the album, so as to portray how the world can be viewed as a colorful flower garden when someone is in love.
Another gem of the EP is "ToDogToDog" that "features" Yoon's companion dog, Vero.
"Its title is onomatopoeic, expressing the sound of my dog's claws hitting the floor," the 31-year-old said. "It was so adorable that I wanted to make it into a tune. It actually took only about an hour to bring this song to life, which also includes the sound of my dog barking in the beginning."
A plethora of Wanna One fans are looking forward to the release of "MIRO" too, as they know Lee Dae-hwi, who was also part of Wanna One, composed the piece, "Summer Drive."
Comprising of the 11 finalists from the second season of Mnet's popular fan-voted competition program, "Produce 101" (2017), Wanna One unleashed a series of hits including "Energetic" (2017) and "Boomerang" (2018) until its official disbandment in December 2018. In the wake of its dissolution, Yoon made his solo debut with the EP, "Aside," and joined the army in 2019.
"I wanted to join forces with people who know me the best, and Lee was one of them," Yoon said with a smile. "When I got hold of him for collaboration, he immediately sent me four songs. So I picked the one that fitted me the most and asked JR of K-pop act NU'EST ― another star who appeared on 'Produced 101' ― to lend his voice."
Although Yoon is content with the quality of his new mini-album, he does not expect it to get a high rank on music charts.
"Securing the top spots on the music charts is getting harder and harder every day, so I just hope my mini-album can live in people's hearts for a long time," he noted. "Since it mostly consists of easy-listening songs that I love, I hope many people get to enjoy them anywhere, anytime. I am more nervous than ever to showcase this EP as I actively took part in its creative process, but I still want a lot of people to listen to the tracks and give me sober feedback but using kind words."
Wrapping up the interview, Yoon gave away some spoilers about his first solo concert, which is scheduled to take place at the COEX Artium in Gangnam District on May 14 and 15.
"It is so thrilling to play my first-ever solo concert," he said. "I will perform as many songs as possible and will try to sing at least one line of all the tunes that I have released to date. I am planning to invite a special guest as well."
By Dong Sun-hwa
 |
| Singer Yoon Ji-sung poses during a recent interview at the headquarters of DG Entertainment in Seoul. Courtesy of DG Entertainment |
"All the tracks included in 'MIRO' have beautiful sounds, but I did not look beautiful at all when I was gearing up for this EP," Yoon, who spent some time choosing his words, said during a recent media interview at the headquarters of his record label, DG Entertainment, in Gangnam District, southern Seoul.
"I was having a busy time preparing for my mini-album and a musical, and I also appeared in a TV series. But it seemed that most people did not know about this. It was heartbreaking to read some comments on the internet that read: 'So what is Yoon Ji-sung doing these days?' I felt like people were seeing me as a dawdler."
Adding that such comments made him doubt himself, Yoon said "MIRO" would not have come out without his fans.
"I promised my fans that I would put out a new release this spring, and I could not break this promise despite my bad condition," he said. "I cannot say that I am completely through everything now, but I am on my way. These days, I tell myself that people will recognize me one day if I pour more effort into everything I do. Honestly, there are many things that I should work on to become a better a K-pop star and I feel I have not yet achieved a lot of things. I still have a thirst for new challenges."
 |
| The teaser for Yoon Ji-sung's upcoming mini-album, "MIRO" / Courtesy of DG Entertainment |
"MIRO," which will drop Wednesday afternoon, is a five-track mini-album fronted by the lead single, "Bloom." Yoon participated in composing two songs ― "Bloom" and "ToDogToDog" ― while penning the lines for four tracks ― "Bloom," "ToDogToDog," "Summer Drive" and "Sleep."
"I actively took part in the creative process of my mini-album," he said in an exited tone. "The title of the album 'MIRO' was one of the candidates for the name of my fandom, but it also means the 'road of roses' in Korean. By using this name, I want to tell my followers that the road that lies ahead of me will always be as beautiful as a flower garden as long as they stand by me."
Yoon then moved on to introduce the lead single, which is a retro-flavored contemporary pop song peppered with an upbeat band sound.
"I wrote the song when I was still serving my compulsory military service," the singer, who performed his duty from May 2019 to December 2020, explained. "I was inspired by the scenery I saw when I was returning to my military base after wrapping up the army musical, 'Return: The Promise of the Day,' in Seoul. In contrast to my real life, the scenery was so fascinating … The 2017 romantic drama film, 'Call Me By Your Name,' was another well of inspiration for me."
He added that "flower" was selected as the main theme of the album, so as to portray how the world can be viewed as a colorful flower garden when someone is in love.
Another gem of the EP is "ToDogToDog" that "features" Yoon's companion dog, Vero.
"Its title is onomatopoeic, expressing the sound of my dog's claws hitting the floor," the 31-year-old said. "It was so adorable that I wanted to make it into a tune. It actually took only about an hour to bring this song to life, which also includes the sound of my dog barking in the beginning."
 |
| K-pop boy group Wanna One / Courtesy of Swing Entertainment |
A plethora of Wanna One fans are looking forward to the release of "MIRO" too, as they know Lee Dae-hwi, who was also part of Wanna One, composed the piece, "Summer Drive."
Comprising of the 11 finalists from the second season of Mnet's popular fan-voted competition program, "Produce 101" (2017), Wanna One unleashed a series of hits including "Energetic" (2017) and "Boomerang" (2018) until its official disbandment in December 2018. In the wake of its dissolution, Yoon made his solo debut with the EP, "Aside," and joined the army in 2019.
"I wanted to join forces with people who know me the best, and Lee was one of them," Yoon said with a smile. "When I got hold of him for collaboration, he immediately sent me four songs. So I picked the one that fitted me the most and asked JR of K-pop act NU'EST ― another star who appeared on 'Produced 101' ― to lend his voice."
Although Yoon is content with the quality of his new mini-album, he does not expect it to get a high rank on music charts.
"Securing the top spots on the music charts is getting harder and harder every day, so I just hope my mini-album can live in people's hearts for a long time," he noted. "Since it mostly consists of easy-listening songs that I love, I hope many people get to enjoy them anywhere, anytime. I am more nervous than ever to showcase this EP as I actively took part in its creative process, but I still want a lot of people to listen to the tracks and give me sober feedback but using kind words."
Wrapping up the interview, Yoon gave away some spoilers about his first solo concert, which is scheduled to take place at the COEX Artium in Gangnam District on May 14 and 15.
"It is so thrilling to play my first-ever solo concert," he said. "I will perform as many songs as possible and will try to sing at least one line of all the tunes that I have released to date. I am planning to invite a special guest as well."
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