Yeonjun Celebrates ‘First Beginning’ With Solo EP ‘NO LABELS: PART 01’

YEONJUN – NO LABELS: PART 01

BIGHIT MUSIC

When it was announced that Yeonjun would be releasing his first solo EP, NO LABELS: PART 01, many fans were excited at the prospect of the TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT) superstar showcasing his own sound and music personality. What they didn’t expect were the promotional images that accompanied the announcement, causing worldwide excitement, shock, and bewilderment across the internet.

When the cover of his album was revealed, featuring the artist shirtless with his arms extended outward as if he were dancing, fan reaction videos began popping up all over social media, as if a mass hysteria had taken hold. The photos and videos that followed on Yeonjun’s Instagram page and livestreams only prompted more anticipation.

The 26-year-old All-Rounder performer understood that his promotions broke the internet, smirking as he was asked about the enthusiastic reactions to his promotions.

“So I really wanted to try something new and different for this promotion,” Yeonjun says through an interpreter over Zoom from Seoul. “I was really glad that many people felt it was refreshing, because I really feel rewarded for all the work that went into it.”

In fact, Yeonjun hasn’t been shy about sharing a few spoilers with his fans, as he’s proud of the hard work he’s put into it. During one of his Instagram Live sessions, he shared snippets of the tracks with his fans. On the same day, a video from Universal Music was shared of him unboxing one of the albums and reacting to its contents as if he knew how MOAs – the name for the TXT fandom – would. As the release drew closer, he went back on Instagram Live to do his own unboxing of both sets of his albums, excitedly showing how he curated everything into this project.

“We really put a lot of thought into how we were going to show me as I am and my true colors,” he explains. “My company and I thought a lot about this. In this process, I participated in all the procedures: songwriting, composing, and designing the performance. Through that process, I was able to find what being me really meant.”

NO LABELS: PART 01 has been a long time coming since the success of his first solo single last year, “GGUM.” Feeling empowered and confident to make an album, he focused on making music that wasn’t defined or restricted by labels, genres, or even concepts. There are absolutely no concepts to the album; instead, he calls them “SET-UP”. Upon examining the contents, it appears to be purely Yeonjun. It’s how he came up with the title, describing it as “an unfiltered reflection of YEONJUN’s identity—one that is uniquely his own and transcends any labels or definitions.”

“I learned a lot when I worked on ‘GGUM, ‘” he says. “It was my first solo song. I wasn’t able to incorporate 100% of my stories and styles. But because of that learning experience, I was able to raise more of my opinions, incorporate more of my styles, and making those suggestions was not that challenging this time around when working on this album.”

When you listen to the six tracks, each has its own unique style, sound, and color that is vastly different from the others. Yeonjun explores various genres, including alternative, punk rock, ska, hip hop, funk, pop, acid jazz, and more. No song ever feels the same.

He smiles with pride over how experimental his music sounds, revealing that he drew inspiration from no one else but his own life. He beams, “This is purely all of my story and my experiences. I wrote the lyrics based on those stories and experiences.”

The accompanying music video, released today, takes on an unconventional format, weaving together three tracks – “Coma,” “Let Me Tell You (feat. Daniela of KATSEYE),” and the title track, “Talk to You” – into one cohesive visual story. He emphasizes that there’s no typical narrative, but rather focuses on moods and atmosphere to resonate with the audience.

The video begins with “Coma,” which Yeonjun says displays “his raw emotion” as he dances alone in an open field, describing it as “the highlight of this part being the dynamic performance.” The song then transitions to “Let Me Tell You,” which he describes as “glances and the dance between two individuals who are attracted to each other.”

“You feel that sense of fluttering in that song,” he describes. “Then, we transition to ‘Talk to You,’ which basically shows my energy – not just the performance – but all of my acting. Within that video, we can feel that it’s all energetic. It’s like a full burst of my own energy.”

He smiles confidently after each answer, taking pride in the efforts he put into this solo project. He finally feels free to show his authentic self and story in the album. But he makes it clear that TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Yeonjun is also who he really is. They’re both him, but just different versions.

“Both Yeonjuns are [me],” he describes. “I have this side of me and another side of me. Through my solo album, I was able to really show who I [am]. I wouldn’t say that Yeonjun within the group is not me; this is also me.”

With the album presented as ‘parts,’ fans can expect more parts of Yeonjun to be explored. Yet, for someone who openly shared clips of his songs and unboxed his sets, he is coy about revealing details of what could be PART 02.

“I won’t be able to go into every single little detail of my future plans,” he chuckles. “But with the PART 01 on this album, there’s so much more to come in terms of my stories and new sides of me.”

With TXT, their albums are structured as “Chapters,” each exploring a theme that tells a profound, overarching story of their growth and development. He pauses to think deeply about what he would call this chapter or era of his solo career.

“It’s the beginning,” he says. “It’s the beginning of me being known – and it’s just simply Yeonjun. This is me. This album is me. If I had to describe it, I would describe it as ‘Yeonjun and the First Beginning.’”

Yeonjun’s NO LABELS: PART 01 is available now on all streaming platforms. Physical copies can be purchased at select retailers.