SEOUL • K-pop soloist Hyuna and her boyfriend, rapper Dawn, released their first duet EP, 1+1=1, on Thursday, dazzling fans with their sizzling chemistry.
The four-track mini album is packed with stories about love and talks about turning big dreams into reality and conveying their honest feelings, the two musicians said during an online press conference that same day.
Besides the title track Ping Pong, the EP includes three other songs - Deep Dive, XOXO and I Know - all co-composed by Dawn.
"We also came up with the words for the song (Ping Pong) in a bid to touch on the emotions of a relationship," the two said, likening the title to a push-pull relationship.
The EP means more than just a duet album for the pair.
Dawn, 27, said he took a leap of faith in producing a self-written and self-composed EP. Hyuna, 29, also participated in the making of three songs and visual directing for the album. The couple said their "active participation" together raised its quality.
"The pairing-up choreography for our main track fizzes with chemistry and shows our synergy. The dance break part, in particular, will show how spellbinding our performance is," they said.
Dawn, whose real name is Kim Hyo-jong, spoke about how the two came a long way, referring to the latest release as a "meaningful" album.
"I think we worked on the album for about a year. From coming up with the beats to releasing an album, a lot of people helped us and were there for us," he recalled.
Hyuna, whose full name is Kim Hyun-ah, said she had never thought of dropping an album with her boyfriend.
The former Wonder Girls member added that she had always wanted to avoid releasing a song with her partner, but to her surprise, the result was better than expected.
She previously worked with Dawn and Hui from boy group Pentagon in a three-person unit called Triple H in 2017.
Hyuna and Dawn confirmed their relationship in 2018 after rumours surfaced that they were together.
They decided to part ways with their label Cube Entertainment and joined P Nation, run by artiste Psy of Gangnam Style fame. Hyuna famously appeared in the song's music video in 2012.
The couple said they wish to send out positive vibes to music listeners and fans. "I just want people to enjoy our performance and songs. That's pretty much it, no more, no less," Hyuna said.
THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
