Over a decade and a half since he got his start in TVXQ! in 2003, K-pop singer U-KNOW (Jung Yunho, also known professionally as U-KNOW Yunho) released his first solo album today (June 12).
U-KNOW’s True Colors EP is fronted by the single “Follow” and features five other songs from the artist.
“Follow” is a slinking, groovy pop track that emphasizes U-KNOW’s dynamic vocal range, particularly with a final belting flourish towards the end of the tune. The song was co-written by SM Entertainment’s in-house producer Yoo Young Jin and Danish songwriter Thomas Troelsen, both of whom worked on TVXQ’s 2008 hit “Mirotic,” resulting in “Follow” coming across like a smooth, updated solo sequel to that track with its eerie synths and dramatic percussion.
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The single was released with a music video that showcases U-KNOW’s skill as a performer, and features choreography that the star said was inspired by The Avengers. Throughout, he’s seen interacting with elements that, either intentionally or inadvertantly, recall recent music videos from SM Entertainment acts, tying the creative motifs into a larger, label-wide brand of imagery: motorcycles play a major role in the video and have also appeared in recent music videos from EXO (“Tempo“) and WayV (“Take Off“), while U-KNOW’s black and silver ensembles look like they could fit right into NCT 127’s “Highway to Heaven” video.
Each of the songs on True Colors reflect a shade of U-KNOW as an artist, and correspond to a color: As per SM Entertainment, the sleek nature of “Follow” represents the color silver, “Blue Jeans” corresponds to its titular color, the empassioned “Swing” featuring BoA is reflects the color red, “Hit Me Up” with Giriboy serves up bright, orange-tinged vibes. The funky soul of “Why” and ballad “Change The World” close out the album and correspond with dark gray and white, respectively.
Tale a listen to U-KNOW’s True Colors below.