Singer Jung Dong-won is solidifying his position as a hexagonal artist.

On the 13th, Jung Dong-won‘s second full-length album [Long-Legs’ Gift] release commemorative showcase was held.

Jung Dong-won said on this day, “It‘s my first full-length album in three years, so I prepared a lot. I’m excited and nervous,” and “I wanted to increase the perfection of the album and perfectly execute the choreography, so I prepared hard.”

[Long-Legs‘ Gift] is his first full-length album in about three years since [Longing, the Giving Tree] released in November 2021. Inspired by the novel ‘Daddy-Long-Legs’, the album contains a special message to fans.

A total of 14 tracks are included, including the double title tracks ‘흥!’ and ‘꽃등’, as well as instrumental tracks. It includes songs of various genres, from trot to sweet ballads and dance tracks with exciting rhythms. Special production staff including singers Seol Woon-do, Yoon Myung-sun, Algoboni Honsusangdae, and X-Child participated to increase the perfection.

Jung Dong-won, who expanded the genre beyond trot through his new album, said, “It wasn’t difficult while preparing the album. Since each genre has a clear color, I thought about taking what I had and finding a genre-specific feeling. For rock, I had to sing powerfully, and for ballads, I had to sing emotionally.”

He then said, “There is a modifier called a hexagonal artist. I am working hard to become an artist regardless of genre. That is because I want to maintain that modifier,” and expressed his extraordinary determination by saying, “I am currently working as an idol under the name JD1. I am on the path to becoming a hexagonal artist that encompasses even K-pop.”

The title song ‘흥!’ is a Jung Dong-won-style song that combines trot, hip-hop, and EDM dance. It is an exciting song that expresses the wish to make the person you like happy through exciting dance and song when seeing them looking tired and worn out. Rapper Kim Ha-on (HAON) participated as a featuring artist.

The other title song ‘꽃등’ is a song with a contrasting charm from ‘흥!’, and is characterized by delicate vocals and lyrical sensibility. The pure and consistent heart of living while holding one‘s first love in one’s heart and waiting for it is beautifully expressed through Jung Dong-won‘s voice.

According to Jung Dong-won, ‘꽃등’ is a medium-tempo song with a rhythm, but it is an exquisitely sad song.

With “‘Heung!’, I expanded the boundaries of the genre. I wanted to show that ‘Jung Dong-won can do this kind of song too’ and said, “I listened to over 200 songs while preparing for my regular album. ‘Heung!’ had the potential to be the title track as soon as I heard it, and I could even picture the performance for it’, expressing my confidence in ‘Heung!’.

He continued, “Rapper Kim Ha-on is a rapper I’ve liked since he appeared on ‘High School Rapper’. I thought of him as my number one featuring singer, and I sent him a love call directly via DM rather than through the company. He wrote lyrics, recorded me, and sent me a DM. That was the moment I became a successful fan”.

The album includes double title tracks, the first track ‘Gift’ that runs through the overall concept of the album, ‘Hwayangyeonhwa’ that sings of memories of love that linger for a long time, ‘Show up’ a gorgeous newtro song that mashes up jazz swing and trot like a Broadway show, ‘Age to Confess My Love’ that tells the story of a man who begins to open his eyes to love just before becoming an adult, ‘Again 1,2,3,4’ a rock genre that depicts the passion of youth, ‘Four Leaf Clover’ that expresses the precious memories of first love as eternal luck, ‘No matter what wind blows, no matter what season comes again’ a song that will provide small comfort when life is difficult, ‘Us in the distant future’ that sings of the stories of precious people who left my side without any warning.

Jung Dong-won said, “‘Gift’ is a fan song and was first released as a special live video before its release.” “‘Show Up’ is special because it’s a song I worked on again with ‘Coma State,’ whom I met through my first debut album as a singer.” “‘Age to Confess My Love’ was done with senior Seol Woon-do. I wanted to work with senior Seol Woon-do, so I told my agency and they happily accepted. He gave me the song, saying, ‘I think you’re at the age to love now.’ He directed it in a way that really brought out the fluttering feeling.” “‘Until Later, Us’ is a song where I worked really hard to bring out the emotional line of the lyrics.”

Regarding the reactions of his acquaintances to the album, Jung Dong-won said, “I keep in touch with the top 6 of ‘Mr. Trot’. Among them, I‘ve talked a lot with Uncle Young Tak. This is because Uncle Young Tak also has a wide range of genres. I often get inspiration from watching Young Tak. He gives me a lot of compliments and is a good monitor for music shows,” and expressed his gratitude by saying, “I played it for JYP producer Park Jin-young, and he listened to it 2-3 times and complimented it.”

Lastly, Jung Dong-won promised, “If I get first place on a music show, I’ll wear a tiger mask and do an encore stage even though it‘s hot, because it’s so ‘heung!’” He also raised expectations for his upcoming activities by saying, “I want to be called a hexagonal artist, so I‘ll show off the skills I’ve built up so far through my second full-length album.”

Jung Dong-won‘s second full-length album [Long Legs’ Gift] will be released today (the 13th) at 6 p.m. through various music streaming sites.

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

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.