After a five-year wait, the world-conquering K-pop phenom PSY has finally unleashed his ninth studio album, featuring guest appearances by BTS’s SUGA, Sung Si Kyung, HEIZE, and more. Here the Seoul singer takes us through a selection of his favorite tracks on the album.
“That That” (prod. & feat. SUGA)
“We have a saying in the K-pop industry. If the song is meant to be a hit, it’s made in a jiff. It was a ‘jiff’ I haven’t experienced in a long time. I wrote my part and sent it to SUGA, and SUGA took it. Then I wrote my verse, and just like table tennis, we went back and forth with ease. Hitting it off, they call it, right? We really hit it off.”
“You Move Me” (feat. Sung Si Kyung)
“I can put this song in one word: PSY vibes. We had those vibes in ‘Paradise’ and ‘What Would Have Been?’, and I have a feeling that this new track will become something beyond those songs. Having Sung Si Kyung as the featured artist was definitely the game-changer. I talk about life through rap while Sung Si Kyung sings about it, and that package of emotion is like a great blockbuster movie.”
“Sleepless” (feat. HEIZE)
“It was one of those nights when you toss and turn. I asked myself who would really understand how that feels, and I could only think of HEIZE. We all have those days when you feel down without a particular reason. As the lyrics of this song were written during one of those days, I hope this will make those who are going through one more bearable. HEIZE had asked me how she should sing this song. It’s almost a sin to give direction to HEIZE with this kind of song. I simply told her to sing however she liked to. Recording sessions ended really quickly that day. It was another one of those sleepless nights.”
“Now” (feat. Hwa Sa)
“This song is based on ‘When the Rain Begins to Fall,’ sung by Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora in 1984. In 1987, a Korean band named Seoul Family did a remake of this song. I knew Hwa Sa, who was born in 1995, wouldn’t even know this song, but I could only think of her when I heard this song. If she hadn’t accepted, I wouldn’t have included this track on my album. It’s a song you should sing your soul out within your vocal range.”
“forEVER” (feat. TABLO)
“It took only four days to write, record, and edit this song. But it took three years to share it with the world. I thought it might take forever, like the title of it. There are parts that I got to relate to better after time. I want to thank TABLO for being so patient. I’m sorry and I love you, TABLO!”