Kihyun’s ‘Voyager’ Represents The K-Pop Vocalist Seizing His Solo Moment Now: ‘This Is It’

A distinct memory from 2018 comes to mind when I think of Kihyun. The super-vocalist and his boy band, Monsta X, had just been announced to the stage for a live interview with an introductory video playing before lights-camera-action for their latest chat in a New York media day.

But seconds before the lights did come on, Kihyun spotted me on a couch towards the back of the audience, ran over to shake my hand, and hopped back to his chair—all with precise timing. While I had several interviews with the Monsta X men at this point, he had no reason to greet me that day—but he made his decision and confidently leaped to the opportunity. That same of-the-moment boldness paints the story behind his first solo effort and why an artist following their creative intuition always leads to the best results.

Released on March 15, Kihyun’s three-track Voyager EP was recorded and put together just a few months after his record label had spent several years floating the idea by him. “The first time we discussed my solo [album] was two or three years ago,” the star reflects during a video call from Seoul. “I was in conversation a few times, but in January [Starship Entertainment Executive Producer] Hyunjoo Seo showed me ‘Voyager’ the song. I was like, ‘Wow. This is it—this is the right song to show my music color in my first solo album.’ I was able to sing along right after listening to it so I decided to record it.”

The timing was key for Kihyun, who slotted the recording and preparations in the first three months of the year: just after Monsta X released both a Korean EP and English full-length at the end of 2021 and before an April Korean EP and a rescheduled U.S. tour kicks off in May. “The year’s plan [with Monsta X] is really full and there was really no time to make my solo album,” Kihyun admits. “But I thought I could make it work.”

Thankfully, he did, with the three songs touching on various aspects, textures, and sounds of one of his favorite genres: rock. The title track, “Voyager,” is a clap-along, rock-pop anthem made to get audiences off their feet (with Kihyun ad-libbing “everybody get up!” on the jazz piano–tinged bridge). It’s rounded out by the uniquely titled, surging synth-rock song “, (Comma),” which was co-written by Kihyun and rising British pop star Etham and was originally conceived as a duet between the two, as well as the intense performance “Rain” that marks some of the powerhouse’s biggest vocals of his career.

Each song represents a different story for Kihyun, who says he almost always imagines scenarios and visuals in his head when recording music.

“Whenever I sing, I try to resonate with the lyrics,” he explains of his process. “If you look at the lyrics of ‘Rain,’ it’s kind of sad, depressing, going through post-breakup emotions. So, I imagined myself being in this church with broken glass and these broken windows around me. I’m just praying in the church and roaring the lyrics by myself. When I record, I have to imagine something.”

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Even parts of the “Voyager” music video aligned with his vision. “During the shooting of the music video, I tried to act accordingly to the lyrics,” he shares. “I imagined myself driving very fast through the shoreline by the ocean. And for the video, I did get a car in it; it’s just not a fast car. [Laughs] I had this thought in my mind that I didn’t want my music video or the music to sound too basic compared to the ones I do as a group. I tried to put a lot of effort into covering anything that could be lacking. I tried to represent the story as the sole narrator.”

Kihyun also took on additional roles in narrating “, (Comma).”

He explains how, “before I wrote any of the lyrics, I found the dictionary definition of ‘comma,’ and it said it’s the break in between a sentence or phrase. A comma is used to connect to the next phrase and I wanted to incorporate that idea into lyrics. Often, you get burned by tough situations and experiences, and a comma is needed to have a fresh new start.”

Kihyun says that his own comma-like experience ultimately ended up making up the final lyrics of the song instead of the impersonal lines with which he initially began.

“I tried to write lyrics to make something artificial beautiful; I tried a lot of times,” he adds. “I tried to use words that people don’t typically use in the lyrics, but I found it didn’t fit right with the melody; it wasn’t easy to fit lyrics to this song. But after discussing with [co-songwriter] Brother Su, we came up with an idea of putting my own story to the lyrics, and then afterward, it wasn’t that hard because it was my own story.”

With another guidepost of how leaning into one’s artistry acts as the ultimate guiding force, Kihyun notes his overall ownership in creating Voyager reinforces the notion of keeping his solo music strictly personal.

“My favorite part was recording because it’s my own music and I can do whatever I want,” he reflects. “I don’t have to match up to the sounds of the others. And as a result, I finished it pretty quick. I actually have already thought about my next move and how I can incorporate different genres—specifically, thinking about jazz for my next solo album. But regarding this and then Monsta X’s next move, I can’t say because I really want to establish myself as Kihyun solo, and as Kihyun from Monsta X because the musical colors are so different.”

While Kihyun has albums and tour dates scheduled with Monsta X already coming up, soloist Kihyun is here. But as quickly as the star wants to hop to the next opportunity and project, he and his supporters deserve a moment to bask in the successes around Voyager: his new songs entered multiple Billboard charts, and the record scored the year’s largest opening first-week album sales for K-pop male soloists so far.

“There were a lot of delays and cancellations due to COVID and in between that pandemic situation, I was able to release my solo album,” Kihyun reflects with a hopeful message. “I hope my fans could wait for my promotions and the stages coming up for them.”

As no matter how quickly Kihyun moves to the next project that calls to him, no doubt there will be loads of fans waiting to see him take the stage this time—I know I’ll be in the audience.