EXO Chen releases mellow ballads on 1st solo album

Chen, the main vocalist of popular K-pop boy band EXO, released his first solo EP on Monday, presenting six mellow ballads to the spring K-pop scene.

The 26-year-old, whose real name is Kim Jong-dae, has recorded a number of solos, including on the original soundtracks for various TV series, such as “Everytime” for mega hit 2016 series “Descendants of the Sun,” but it’s the first time he is releasing a solo album. 

The new album, titled “April, and a Flower,” brings to the fore Chen’s expertise as EXO’s main vocalist through six mellow love songs, led by main track “Beautiful Goodbye,” whose Korean title translates to “We Part Ways After April.”

Delicate piano tunes set the tone for the main track, which, in Chen’s doleful voice, delves into a man’s preparations to leave his lover and his sentimental remembrance of their first encounter.

Ahead of the album’s official release set for Monday evening, SM Entertainment, the management agency for EXO, released the music video of the main track at the start of the same day, drawing more than 1 million YouTube views in slightly over 10 hours.

Other tracks include “Flower,” for which Chen wrote part of the lyrics, “Sorry Not Sorry” and “Love Words.”

The heartwarming six-track album was to be available for streaming at major local and overseas online music stores, including Melon and iTunes, from 6 p.m. It also has a release in CD format.

Right after the album’s release, Chen was set to stage a guerilla busking performance Monday evening titled “Chen’s April Busking,” broadcast live through the SMTown and EXO channels on Naver’s V Live.

He was to present live the main track of his first solo album and share stories behind the album’s release during the performance, the venue of which was kept secret. (Yonhap)