Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
NCT's Jaehyun to make solo debut this month
A scene from Jaehyun's first solo album trailer / Courtesy of SM Entertainment
By Lee Gyu-lee
K-pop boy group NCT member Jaehyun will make his solo debut with the album “J” this month.
The artist’s agency, SM Entertainment, announced Thursday that he will be releasing his first solo album on Aug. 26, along with a trailer video.
The upcoming album will have a total of eight tracks, including the Korean and English versions of its title song “Smoke.”
“The album is filled with diverse colored music that will be presented through Jaehyun's sensibility,” the agency said in the release.
“For this album, Jaehyun not only participated in writing lyrics and composing, but also came up with the direction of the work and the album’s title himself. Inspired by his habit of writing his initial 'J' on his personal belongings, he named the album 'J’ to express that it reflects him to the fullest.”
The singer will drop two of the album’s tracks, “Roses” and “Dandelion,” on Aug. 12 prior to the album’s official release. The pre-release songs will hit music streaming platforms at 6 p.m. that day.
Jaehyun debuted as a member of multinational K-pop boy group NCT’s sub-unit group NCT U in 2016 with the single “The 7th Sense.” NCT is a project by SM Entertainment that features sub-unit groups operating under the NCT umbrella, each based in major cities around the world.
The singer has been building the group act under NCT, NCT 127 and NCT DoJaeJung, releasing a string of hits like “Love on the Floor” (2021), “Sticker” (2021) and “Be There For Me” (2023).
He made his way into acting with the lead role in the romance series, “Dear.M,” in 2022. He is also set to make his silver screen debut in the upcoming thriller, “You Will Die in 6 Hours,” which began filming last year. He will play a mysterious man who can foresee other people’s deaths.