Inna Christine Cabel is a digital editor at The Korea Times. Prior to moving to Korea, she worked as an editorial assistant and writer in the Philippines. She occasionally writes about trends, pop culture and music. Reach her at innacabel@koreatimes.co.kr.
REVIEW Stars align for TXT in ‘The Star Chapter: TOGETHER’
TXT dropped their fourth full-length album, “The Star Chapter: TOGETHER,” on July 21. Courtesy of BigHit Music
By Inna Christine Cabel
The boys of K-pop group TOMORROW X TOGETHER, also known as TXT, have always been known for blurring the lines between fact and fiction.
Since their debut in 2019, Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun and Hueningkai have combined their personal stories with mythical lore, cementing their status as preternatural storytellers in the music they’ve put out in their six-year career.
In their latest full-length album, “The Star Chapter: TOGETHER,” released July 21, TXT finds themselves at an artistic crossroads, unveiling in eight tracks a search for identity — not just as a band, but as individuals.
Bouncy bass and sophisticated synths drive the album’s club-ready opener, “Upside Down Kiss,” where they playfully invite you for a night out together. “Baby girl, let’s get freaky,” the boys sing — one of their more quirky, and mature, one-liners.
The album takes a sharp thematic turn with the lead single, “Beautiful Strangers,” an EDM-laden hip-hop track that plays like an ode to TXT themselves.
“The Star Chapter: TOGETHER” comes under the shadow of contract negotiations, as the band enters its seventh year as a group, a benchmark in the increasingly saturated K-pop industry. The quintet seemingly answers all the ensuing questions in “Beautiful Strangers,” which encapsulates the coming together of five individuals. “We do it for love, don’t forget forever,” leader Soobin starts, as they promise each other to take on the world side by side.
Ironically, this concept of togetherness unfolds individually, as the next five songs are the members’ solo tracks — starting with Yeonjun’s “Ghost Girl,” a reggaeton rock retelling of desire, co-produced by British singer-songwriter YUNGBLUD.
“I just wanna live and die with you,” Yeonjun quietly croons against gritty drums, a noticeable contrast from his first solo track, the swaggering “GGUM,” released in 2024.
Soobin takes a different route in the adorable “Sunday Driver,” a bright, airy pop track that finds the extraordinary in the everyday. The diaristic lyrics are as gentle and carefree as his falsettos, as he confesses, “My destination is always everywhere next to you.”
Hueningkai then surprises with the sensual groove of “Dance With You,” which incorporates simmering Latin R&B and is reminiscent of early 2000s Justin Timberlake. It’s a turnaround for the group’s youngest member, who usually helms heavy rock tracks like “Dear Sputnik” (2021) and “Growing Pain” (2023).
Beomgyu then serves up emotive, cathartic rock in “Take My Half,” further cementing his musical identity as a soloist. After the release of his first solo, “Panic,” earlier this year, he has leaned heavily on band fundamentals, staying true to his artistic roots as a guitarist. The lyrics are suffused with yearning, showcasing Beomgyu’s pen at its best: “Happiness just kept slipping out through the gaps in my tightly clenched fist / The more I have, the emptier I feel.”
Finally, Taehyun offers a dreamy reprieve in “Bird of Night,” confronting anxiety-driven insomnia with glossy pop R&B and lyrics full of optimism: “Trying to name these uncertain emotions / Countless reasons for not being able to sleep / No darkness in this world will last forever.”
TXT is set to kick off their fourth world tour “ACT : TOMORROW” in western Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome on Aug. 22 and 23. Courtesy of BigHit Music
All five tracks are very different but come together seamlessly, leading into easily the album’s best song, the stadium rock-driven “Song of the Stars.”
In cascading, expansive harmonies, the members explore eternity and the extraterrestrial. It’s a track meant to be sung in a concert stadium’s sea of stars, with light sticks and cellphone flashlights swaying along to the stirring guitars. It’s TXT’s very own promise of forever — to each other, and to their fans. “Following the voice of the stars / You and I singing together / Lyrics of eternity that will remember each other,” they sing.
The quintet has been through its fair share of industry ups and downs — albums and concerts derailed by circumstance, a pandemic upending their debut year, every release met with higher expectations and intensifying pressure as artists from HYBE, K-pop’s biggest label.
But the five members have faced these challenges together, shaping the band’s chemistry through the years. And despite their distinct identities, each track fits together like a puzzle, crossing over genres. Each solo track tackles its own definition of “together” — whether through unrequited, almost fatal longing or easy weekends spent exchanging playlists.
“The Star Chapter: TOGETHER” is a sum greater than its parts, making the most out of the album’s regrettably short run time — eight tracks at just 22 minutes. It is an answer to TXT’s search for identity, a journey that rings true for a group of five 20-somethings looking to make their mark in an ever-changing musical landscape.
That ambition meets nostalgia as TXT explores new musical directions while staying true to their identity, and it’s fitting to see it all come together in this album, which wraps up another chapter for the band and sets the bar high for what’s yet to come.
TXT is set to kick off their fourth world tour, “ACT : TOMORROW” in western Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome on Aug. 22 and 23, before playing nine major shows in North America in September and October.