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EXO's DO drops teaser for first solo album and fans love nod to 'the growl era'

EXO member, DO aka Kyungsoo announces his solo debut with first mini album right after the group's comeback with 'Don't Fight The Feeling'

EXO might have been inactive for a while but they’re back now with full force. With two of the members, Xiumin and DO coming back from the military, the 9-member boy group is finally on the verge of completion. EXO-Ls were even more pleasantly surprised as EXO’s latest comeback had none other than the 9th member, Lay who had been on a temporary hiatus for quite a while. As a Chinese ambassador, he had been restricted from participating in Korean activities, until now. This is why 'Don’t Fight The Feeling' felt a little extra special despite the brief promotional period. With continuous good news incoming, the group decided to announce the solo debut of none other than DO.
 
Lay had been the first member to have his solo debut and since 2019, the rest of the members were all gradually dropping their solo albums. It wasn’t a surprise that DO would have a solo debut too, it was just a matter of when. Having finally completed his mandatory enlistment in 2020, DO was booked and busy with his first movie of the decade as well as participating in EXO’s comeback. What fans didn’t know was that he also had some personal aspirations. As the 6th member to have a solo debut, DO finally announced the release of his first extended play (EP).

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DO’s first mini album

EXO is known to put quite a lot of thought into the tiniest of actions. And DO is no different. Fans noticed that there was something about the date that he chose to release this information. On, July 1, 2019, DO had enlisted in the military and now, two years later, on July 1, 2021, he announced the release of his first solo album. And as usual, fans got him trending to hype his solo debut.

Since the name of his EP hadn’t been released, EXO-Ls trended ‘The 1st Mini Album’ and DO’s real name, Kyungsoo on Twitter to show their appreciation. A few hours later, SM dropped more information on his debut. Titled ‘Empathy,’ the mini-album will be released on July 26, 2021. Fans were eager to know what kind of genre he’d pick - whether the ballad master would stick to his favorite genre or branch out into R&B or maybe even rock. A photo was released to give us a hint regarding the concept. In a black and white image, a playful DO frolics in a garden wearing a schoolboy uniform. 

Fans were left speechless as one could only articulate what they were feeling with shocked memes, “OH MY GOD.” Another tweeted, “still looking at this tweet it’s so beautiful his name is so beautiful there “The 1st Mini Album” the first it’s the first reminding us it’s really here and his candid pose ith the b&w totally summer vintage vibe i love everything about this era already.” One EXO-L could already guess at the potential from just that one photo, “kyungsoo is about to rock that high school uniform look with his amazing voice.” Another noticed some similarities with previous EXO concepts, “THE WHOLE VIBES OF KYUNGSOO TEASER TONIGHT!!!chills from growl era!” With SM being notorious for posting tile art on Instagram, fans were elated that now D.O too would get one, “finally solo kyungsoo tile art on IG.”