U-Know Yunho tries a new way of promoting 3rd solo EP with short film

U-Know Yunho of TVXQ jumped into a metaverse that he named Nexus in his new solo album “Reality Show,” released on Monday.

The artist’s third solo mini album “Reality Show” comprises a total of six tracks that revolves around a single story.

The story is about the protagonist Noah, who is an introvert who spends most of his time secluded from the real world, but becomes a totally different person when he dives into a virtual world with the help of his AI assistant Sera.

U-Know Yunho made a short film for his new album to tell this story, and at the same time show the highlights of all the tracks in the album.

“I wanted to make content that is a combination of a music video and a movie, a new way to promote an album. The short film depicts us living in a competitive society with a longing to live a different life. This album is where the metaverse Nexus appears for the first time. The story will continue into the following album,” said U-Know Yunho during a press conference in Seoul on Monday.

The press conference was held at a movie theater in Seoul to premiere the short film “Nexus” for the first time for local reporters.

Karina of aespa starred in the film as the AI assistant Sera.

“Karina came to my mind as a perfect fit for the Sera role, as she is famous for looking even more perfect than an artificially created character. Her acting was great, as she came really well prepared for the shooting. You will be able to see new traits of Karina in the film,” said U-Know Yunho.

This comeback comes in two years and seven months since the artist released his second mini album “Noir.”

The K-pop veteran took part in creating the album from scratch.

“I produced the entire album with great staff members. I came up with the storyline of the album first, and then chose the songs and wrote the lyrics. For the short film, I closely communicated with the director to come up with the synopsis,” he added.

The mini album is led by the title track “Vuje De” and carries sidetracks “Wannabe,” “Tarantino,” “Relax,” “Spotlight” and “Curtain.”

The title track “Vuja De” is a dance song composed of a sophisticated jazz big band sound and fast tempo swing rhythms.

The dance track along with fancy choreography made its performance look like a scene out of a musical.

“It took me around 10 hours to record the title track. The track was originally 1 1/2 times faster than it is now because it was meant to be a song for a band. But I tried to add some breaks into the song to make it more picturesque,” said the artist.

Following the release of his new album, U-Know Yunho attempts to take a new route in promoting his album.

Instead of going the traditional way of making TV show appearances to perform his new title track for around a week, he will be meeting with his fans first.

“I think this is the right order because my fans have waited for me for so long. My fans have been my driving force for the past 20 years,” said U-Know Yunho.

The singer has been active since December 2013, when he made his debut as a member of TVXQ.

“This year marks the 20th debut anniversary of TVXQ. I hope to welcome the next 20 years with my fans. We are no longer a flashy group, but we continue to be there for our fans. You can look forward to our 20th debut anniversary, as we have something prepared.”