Vocalist YELO proved his growing capabilities as a vocalist with the digital single ‘NAKED’ released on the 9th.

‘NAKED’ is a neo soul genre song that highlights YELO‘s alluring and deep vocals, and contains the message of wanting to take off the outer garments of his heart and become one with you.


[The following is a Q&A with YELO about the release of his new song ‘NAKED’]

Q. It’s been about 2 years and 7 months since the release of the digital single ‘Bite & Chew’. How do you feel?

A. It‘s finally coming out! I’m so excited. Recently, I‘ve been working mainly as a composer, and I’ve been thirsty for my own music, so I think I was even more excited and looked forward to it.

Q. Could you briefly introduce ‘NAKED’ and tell me some points to appreciate? Is it different from previous YELO songs?

A. ‘NAKED’ is a jazzy R&B song that completes the mood with vocals on a minimal track. I wanted to create music that has a chill charm and is easy to listen to, but it also has a luxurious feel that you might hear in a nice cafe or bar, so I think it became an even better song. Contrary to the original meaning of the word ‘NAKED’, I think the lyrics, which contain a surprising message of having an honest love that is mentally NAKED, are a point of appreciation. ‘NAKED’ is a song that broadens the range of my existing diverse music and shows the current YELO within it. This song makes me happy and proud to be working with writer JINBYJIN, whom I personally respect!

Q. How would you define the single ‘NAKED’ in one word? Please tell us why.

A. Honesty. Not only the lyrics ‘Let‘s have an honest love’, but there were many moments while preparing ‘NAKED’ that I realized about myself. When I worked on my previous songs, there were also times when I thought, ‘It would be cool if I did this?’ and embellished them. On the other hand, for this song, I approached it with the mindset of ‘Let’s do it as naturally as possible and in my own way. When recording, I sang while concentrating on conveying the lyrics well, and when taking photos or videos, I tried to fully capture my current state. So, ‘NAKED’ seems to be the most honest YELO of 2024.

Q. You received attention for your mysterious mood teasing content, such as your veiled appearance. What did you want to show through this?

A. I thought it would be good to include a sensual feeling to match the title ‘NAKED’ and the mood of the song. That‘s why I made it so that the mood of the song can be fully felt with just visual elements, such as wearing a veil or appearing only as a silhouette. Also, since it’s been a while since you released a new song, I wanted to show a completely new side of YELO that we haven‘t shown before.

Q. You had the opportunity to perform on stage at several university festivals before releasing the single. Were there any memorable reactions from them?

A. It was my first time at a college festival, so I had a lot of trouble deciding which song to sing, but I ended up singing my unreleased song ‘Rainbow Dream’, which is nice to listen to in this cool weather and can be sung along to. I was so grateful that people sang along right after listening to it once, and it became a precious memory. I also sang ‘NAKED’, which was in preparation for release, briefly as a spoiler, and I can still remember the expressions on the audience’s faces as they listened to it despite it being a short verse without accompaniment.

Q. You are also active as a top liner under Creation Music Rights (KMR) production team Monotree. What kind of image can we expect from YELO as an artist in the future?

A. I want to continue to work hard as an artist and a composer, as I have done so far. I also enjoy performing, so I want to continue to meet many people in various places. I will work harder so that my fans, Kuma, can be happier as they have waited for a long time!

Jeon Hyo-jin, Donga.com reporter jhj@donga.com