Underrated For Years, N.Flying Find Their Place in K-Pop with “Dearest”.

The idol industry is not made for the boys of N.Flying. 

They are the boys who play their own instruments instead of dance; whose lyrics chronicle depression and chasing down catharsis. These topics might be the standard in K-Pop today, but there was no clear place for a group like N.Flying when they debuted in 2015. Lee Seunghyub, Kim Jaehyun, Kim Hwesung, Cha Hun, and eventually Seo Dong Sung, never fit into the mold of an industry built on perfection.

Though they were K-Pop outsiders who struggled for years to score a hit, N.Flying’s breakthrough moment came from “Rooftop” in 2019, a  song written by the group’s leader Seunghyub. That song changed their lives and the course of their careers; not just because it finally gave them mainstream recognition, but because it granted them artistic autonomy.  

This week the group released “Dearest”, their last EP before the group’s drummer, Jaehyun, and lead guitarist, Cha Hun, leave for their mandatory military service. “Dearest” might be a farewell for-now album, but the music has never been more fun or compelling. It’s entirely written and produced by the group’s leader Seunghyub and tracks as their best release. 

 The album’s peppy lead single “I Like You” recalls some of their best work, like “Moonshot” and “Rooftop”. The song contains so much of what makes ‘Hyub’s writing so endearing: He’s a witty and sharp songwriter with his clever observations about falling in love. “I’m screwed/ I’ve reigned it in perfectly till now/ Why’d you have to show up suddenly?” Seunghyub sings to a girl who’s made him realize he’s caught feelings. “I’m doomed! I think I’m in love with you.”. The singer compares himself to a “couch warmer” and claims he’s a “loner with no friends”. But love crept in anyway. 

Love lost, love found – it’s all over “Dearest”, but a deeper theme of self-love runs through the album, too. This topic is something Seunghyub has toyed with in other releases, like with “Sober” and “Ask”, but here it slips in with the disbelief he senses when he sees he’s lovable. “How can there be romance between us?” He asks incredulously in the title track. “That won’t do. I’m a jerk! I needed time to focus on things. Wipe me out of your life.” 

The album often sounds like a late night ride with a best friend. Secrets are shared in the ballads, while laughs and self-deprecating humor can be found in the songs where the guitars crash loud and hard. 

N.Flying has always counted their trust in music as the core piece of their band’s identity. While major companies were focused on developing all-around triple threat idols, N.Flying stuck to what they could accomplish with music. “ I actually grew up always looking up to bands, ever since I was young,” Han explained in 2019. “I trusted that, even though dance-based artists are very talented and very cool, I trusted that bands would be able to relay a different feeling. And so I trusted that gut feeling, and we are doing what we’re doing at our own pace.”

Even though N.Flying was given very little creative input in the beginning of their careers, Seunghyub has written and produced his own work for years under the stage name JDON. “On SoundCloud I will post a lot of songs, regardless of the genre, that will say a lot about the music I want to make,” he announced on Twitter when he shared his first solo song. Throughout the years Hyubi would drop songs he composed and produced himself, like “Living Proof” or “눈이불” (“Snow Blanket”), a ballad that interplays Seunghyub’s undervalued deep vocals with rapping. 

But in late 2018, Seunghyub published a demo that caught the attention of his fans and his company FNC Entertainment. “This is a song I made while promoting [the EP] HOW RU TODAY,” Lee wrote on the band’s Twitter account. “A song that I personally love!”

“Rooftop Room” (옥탑방), recorded as a duet with Hwe-seung, followed the eclectic spirit of the previous songs uploaded to the songwriter’s SoundCloud but something about this stuck out to fans. “You pulled me/ Saying you wanted to see the stars,” Seunghyub sang in the chorus. “We sat on the rooftop at sunset/ Every time I look up at the sky/ There’s not a single star/ You’re my universe.”  It’s a romantic song, and one that’s easy to picture yourself dancing to in the coming spring months. Perhaps this played into the song’s runaway success. 

The band would play the song for N.Fia, their fanbase, at a December 2018 concert and later release it as a single as part of their Fly High project, which dropped their self-composed music. But “Rooftop” took its time to latch on.  Seunghyub remembered, “Someone posted on a popular website telling everyone to listen to a song. We also clicked [on the post] to find out what that was about, only to realize that person was recommending our song.The post ended up receiving 130K views and by that point, ‘Rooftop’ entered the chart at #97.” 

A year later, Seunghyub reflected on what made the song so endearing to the Korean public, which he credited to its simplicity. “It’s an easygoing listen, and when you hear it, it’s a song that you can feel the lyrics,” Seunghyub told Billboard. “Maybe it’s because for Korean people it’s what the public as the whole is feeling right now.”

FNC Entertainment

“Rooftop” only hinted at N.Flying’s talent, though. In the three years since the song’s release, N.Flying has released two EPs and one full-length album titled “Man on the Moon” (repackaged as “Turbulence”). FNC gave the group full creative control following the song’s acclaim, and Seunghyub’s effectively rewritten N.Flying as a band unafraid of exploring their vulnerabilities and fears. Today their recording process is unobstructed by record label figureheads. Instead, Seunghyub directs the members in the songs he’s written and works collaboratively with everyone to create something they’re proud of.

Their ballads have become some of the finest additions to their catalog, particularly on “Dearest”.  Prior to the album’s release, the group released “The Night”, an emotional ballad that Seunghyub wrote to “comfort” listeners. It’s the most sentimental song the group has ever released and it serves to support N.Fia as Jaehyun and Hun enlist. 

Seunghyub’s writing continues to improve, too, with each release. While he can write simplicity beautifully, his best songwriting comes when he dives into meatier subjects like depression. In “Firefly”, a cathartic ballad about the demise of a relationship that once brought him out of darkness, he writes, “You were the one who lit me up in the dark/ Even though it’s almost dawn/ I’m putting you on top of my tumultuous heart.” 

Yet the real standout is “Monster”, by far the most ambitious song the group has ever released. It’s anthemic, ballsy and full of surprises. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a song that features a harmonica quickly followed by synths to accompany rapping. But it showcases just how bold the members have grown in theri art. Hwe-sung’s persuasive growl is theatrical – and badass – when he declares, “I’m the monster.” 

Seunghyub’s handwritten sheet music for Rooftop.

On February 27, 2019, propelled by a viral post on social media, “Rooftop” entered the Melon Top 100 at #97. It was nearly two months after promotions ended for the song. That night, Seunghyub, in a state of disbelief, uploaded a brief thank you to his Instagram account. 

“My heart felt full because many people gave the song a lot of love, but now that there is a response being shown on charts, I don’t know how to feel..

On one hand, I feel very proud and happy as it feels like N.Flying can really grow as a band more and that my stories can receive even just a bit of recognition.

To some, it might not seem like a big deal, but as hard as I have worked, I will take it as a sign to work harder.”

Included with the post was a photo of the original composition music Seunghyub wrote for the song. This was a reminder: This song’s success was his own work. It felt surreal that after years of being told what to sing by their label, finally, his own voice was propelling their band to their first hit. 

When “Rooftop” went to number 1 two weeks later, Jaehyun remembered, Seunghyub cried. The song gave the band credibility and the accolades they deserved. But it also unlocked something far more important to the group: They were finally given the opportunity to decide what kind of band they wanted to be. 

What happens after a viral hit like “Rooftop”? I’d wager the members of N.Flying are still trying to process that question. In the closing track of “Dearest”, a shooting star is their shot to the moon. It’s the catalyst that brings them closer to their dreams. For this brief moment, the guys feel just like us; still in search of identity, still trying to understand what has happened to them. They’ve reached “success” but they have more to give. 

“I’ll call you as soon as I get there,” Seunghyub writes. “It won’t take long. Hello, shooting star.”