[INTERVIEW]: JUNNY’s Incredible Year Is Really Just the Beginning.

Unbound Entertainment Group & Records

If you were to ask Junny, he would tell you that the ‘blanc’ tour was one of the most incredible, reaffirming experiences of his career. 

“I’m always thinking about the tour because I had so much fun,” he said over Zoom one morning in Korea. Sitting in his lap is his dog Leo, an adorable tiny poodle dressed in a sweater who was eager for screen time. “I really wanted to go to different cities but we couldn’t go to all of them.”

The ‘blanc’ tour ran from September 4 - 16 and took Junny across North America, including back home to Vancouver, Canada. The purpose of the tour was, of course, to promote his first album, but Junny has so many deep cuts, so many songs that hold a special place in his fans’ hearts, that it was easy to be mesmerized at the breadth of his output in just a few years. 

“I felt like I became a very different person on tour,” he reflected. On the road he found that he became freer and inspired daily. “Halfway through, I told my manager I wanted to make more music.” Today he finds himself writing a lot about the experience and why he found so much confirmation about his choice to be a musician while on the road. 

One of the songs that he chose to rework was “Not About You”, the spunky first single of his album “blanc” – and, full disclosure, my favorite track from the album. The original song is bilingual in both English and Korean, but this release is completely in English. It’s a punchy pop song about an ex that he’s moving on from, and according to a press release, it will be the first – and last – song about her. I was having some trouble creating the level of authenticity I wanted to bring to my music, so my producer no2zcat and I started chatting about some past events, experiences, and relationships,” he said in the press statement. “Once we got to talking about falling in love for the first time, and the emotions felt then and now, the story came naturally.” 

The creation process was something he was eager to return to following the tour. “I always get help from movies, even paintings and anything visual. There’s a lot of thought processing when I’m writing a song and for me to organize it all out I use experiences of my own or others and try and write a brand new story just as how an author would,” he told me about how he creates his unique brand of catharsis pop. ”I don't think there is a detailed step by step way for me to write a song because I’m constantly searching for new ways [and] reasons to write.

Junny first wrote “Not About You” in English, which makes this single’s release a full circle event. “The whole demo was in English and it was the way I intended it to be,” he said. “Being a Korean artist and having to release a song in Korean, I had to do a little bit of extra work [rewriting it into Korean].” But he was excited when the song received such a strong, positive response from fans. It’s hit over a million streams on Spotify and he wanted the re-recording to be a gift for fans. 

“This is for you guys to connect with the songs a little more,” he explained. “It definitely hits harder when I sing in English.” He’s learned, he says, “how to connect with the Korean language”. It’s a language he speaks frequently at home with his parents. But English is his first language, and he can feel the intensity he puts into this version because of it. 

“I wrote the song in a very short amount of time,” he said as he thought about how quickly the music came together. It was an instance, it seems, when his messaging clicked. “I think that goes to show that all this emotion I kept inside as a time capsule was an opportunity for me to let my words out.” 

Unbound Entertainment Group & Company

Junny returned home to see his family after the tour. 

“I hadn’t been to North America in years,” he said and a wide smile spread across his face as he thought about being back home. His trip back to Vancouver was healing. “I was able to reconnect. I was able to enjoy being home and being stress-free.” HIs voice grew soft. “Worry free. Be my mom’s son and be my dad’s son. Since I came back after a long time, I realized I’ve become an adult.” He was able to see his brothers, the ones who he said on Get Real, were curious how he would do moving to Korea. He had made it. The boy who left home came home as an accomplished artist, someone who saw his dream through and is now making something meaningful out of it. 

Since returning to Korea, Junny’s spent a lot of time writing about the tour. His thoughts drift back to what he learned and how life-changing it was for him. I told him that when I saw him in Atlanta, I noticed he looked totally immersed in the lyrics of songs like “nostalgia”. 

“[The tour] was more of a reassurance for me, a reminder that I have all these loving and supporting fans that continue to listen to my music and it gave me so much motivation to work even harder as an artist,” he told me. “It truly opened up my mind and I was reminded again why I started music in the first place. It was an incredible experience.”  

This year was a landmark time for Junny. He released his debut album, garnered over 11 million streams on Spotify, completed his tour, and perhaps most importantly, found his artistic voice. 

 “I’m definitely proud of releasing my first ever studio album, ‘blanc’, going on my first tour, being able to meet my fans and having such an amazing experience,” he said as he thought about how much he’s accomplished.

When he first started in K-Pop he was an outsider from Canada, a kid who sold a song and moved to Korea just to bet himself. “Now I’m preparing for bigger things for the next year and I can’t wait to share it with you all.”

“Not About You (ENG Ver.)” will be released on all streaming platforms on December 1st

November 30, 2022 Wednesday 9pm PST

December 1, 2022 Thursday 12am EST

December 1, 2022 Thursday 2pm KST