Singer-songwriter Zheng Shiyun returns after 1 year and 8 months with his sixth mini 6 album "Quiz". "Quiz", which will be released on major music source websites at 6 p.m. (KST) on the 4th of last week, is an album in which singer Jung Se-woon feels between imagination and reality and asks questions to the world. In this album, Zheng Shiyun is responsible for the lyrics, composition and production of all songs, once again showing the side of "singer-songwriter idol".
The title track of the album's eponymous title, "Quiz", is a MEDIUM POP-style song in which Jung Se-yun questions everything in the world and gives answers in his own way, and invited Xian Yu Jung-e to collaborate on lyrics, composition and arrangement.
In addition, Jung Se-woon also included 8 songs, including "Singer-songwridol", a song that tells his story, "sharpie", a pop song "sharpie" with the American pop band Nightly, "Perfectly", which sings about love as always, and "Always" with singer Moonchi Park.
On the 3rd of this month, Jung Se-woon also met with reporters at the Starship Entertainment Building in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and told a rich story about the process of preparing "Quiz", starting with his thoughts on his return after one year and eight months.
Q: How do you feel about the return?
Jung Se-woon: It's the first time I've come back in 1 year and 8 months, so I've done my best to prepare for the album as hard as I can. Because it was a long-lost return, I thought it would be very nervous, but I was more excited. I'm excited to be preparing for the upcoming music program and radio program events.
Q: How would you introduce this album?
Zheng Shiyun: The "Quiz" mini-album contains 8 songs, and I was involved in the lyrics, composition and arrangement of all the songs, so this is also a very personal favorite album of mine. In fact, when we listen to songs, we don't care about very detailed song introductions, and we hope that everyone can easily touch the songs inadvertently. Rather than the burden of listening and thinking at the same time, I would like to have a song that makes people feel comfortable and listen to it easily.
Q: Since you have been involved in the lyrics, composition and arrangement of all the songs, do you have a lot of autobiographical stories?
Jung Se-woon: I first started making music because I got a lot of comfort from music, so I also wanted to bring comfort to others through making music, but instead of deliberately making songs that can be comforted, sometimes people may get comfort when they listen to sad songs, and they can also get comfort when they listen to strange songs, so the demand for that is a little less. Actually, I don't know how to comfort others, but when it comes to making music, I think it's important to make the album happy and happy when you make it. "He was very happy when he was making the album" and "I thought it was made with the commercial part in mind," and I think everyone can feel it when they listen to it. That's why I want to work happily and fun. Although it is autobiographical, it is working on a story that will resonate with everyone.
Q: The pain between the singer-songwriter and the idol seems to be reflected in the album, do you have any trouble with these parts?
Zheng Shiyun: Actually, because there are too many correct answers on this album, there are no right answers. For example, some people say that vitamins are better to eat before meals, others say that they are after meals, like I say people who are looking for the right answer, but when they look for it, they find that the correct criteria are different, and there are also cases where both are correct. Looking at this, I was worried about whether I was a singer-songwriter or an idol, and there were more times when I did both well, so I felt that I should not hesitate to do it in a down-to-earth manner within the scope of my ability. I worked on the basis of this idea.
Q: What do you think about the term "singer-songwriter"?
Zheng Shiyun: I think it's a very thankful modifier. It can be embarrassing to think about the worst. I'm a singer-songwriter among idols, and I'm an idol where singer-songwriters are. It may be a bit ambiguous, but it's a modifier that makes you feel like you belong somewhere, and I just didn't expect to write a song with that modifier (laughs).
Q: It's been 7 years since your debut, how does it feel to return to the past?
Zheng Shiyun: First of all, although everyone thinks about it, I think time really flies. At the beginning of his debut, he didn't have time to think about anything, he was busy with his schedule, and he was faced with a new environment, and it took him three years just to adapt to this environment. After getting a little familiar with the environment, I started to think a little bit about it. Thinking about music, thinking about activities, and thinking about yourself. Those parts seem to have been solved on their own. Compared to that time, I think what has always been the same is that I didn't try to force what I didn't have, and I still showed myself naturally.
Q: What do you think about the long gap between each album and the voices of the fans?
Zheng Shiyun: I have spent 1 year and 8 months and I feel amazing. Personally, I'm very busy living alone. I am very grateful to the fans who are waiting for the album and want to give them good enough music and music that will satisfy them. This album produced 8 songs, and I hope to be satisfied with my music. I think music is a long-term thing and it's been my lifelong career. Actually, it's very difficult to make music for a long time, so I want to show you a good result step by step. Because of these parts, the release of new songs has been delayed, but I still think it should be speeded up.
Q: What are your new goals for 2024?
Zheng Shiyun: Actually, I think it's good to try to live a good life every day. It's good to set big goals, but you feel a lot of emptiness when you achieve them. I think that if you set a small goal today: live a healthy life, you will not feel empty when you achieve the big goal later, and you can have a healthy day as usual. No matter what changes, having a carefree day is both a goal and part of an effort. I don't have much of a goal in terms of work, and now I'm learning English little by little, with the goal of having a 30min conversation with a native English speaker. I haven't traveled overseas by myself yet, and it was great to shoot the MV in LA this time. I used to live at home, in the studio and at the gym. I hope that I will be able to go through various difficulties and experience many experiences in the future, and this is my plan for 2024.
Jung Se-woon, born in South Korea in 1997, is a singer. He starred in the talent show "KPOP STAR 3" and the second season of "Produce101", and released the mini 1 episode Part on August 31, 2017. 1 "EVER" debuted, and since then has released hits such as "It's Christmas", "Why is Secretary Kim like that", OST "It's you", "Red Trim on Sleeves", OST "My wonderous miracle", "A Day I Found by Chance", and OST "Depicting You".