Yuju's 'REC.': Former GFRIEND member is the FIRST of the group to mark a solo debut
After girl group GFRIEND bid goodbye to fans after their sudden disbandment in May 2021, every member of the former Source Music group that was later managed by HYBE signed with different agencies. Yuju announced that she has signed with Konnect Entertainment in September 2021. The label Konnect Entertainment is home to artists like CL and Chancellor, while Kang Daniel is the CEO of the label.
Making her debut with her first solo EP ‘REC.’ on January 18, Yuju has now finally started her solo journey. While talking about this new solitude, Yuju said that she misses the space that her (GFRIEND) members filled in their years together as they helped cover up areas where she lacked. Moving onwards and upwards, Yuju mentions, “Now that I have to do it alone, I feel pressured. Still, it was fun to deal with emotions that I had not dealt with before, and I had fun.”
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Yuju releases ‘REC.’
Ahead of the release of her album, Yuju held a press conference to talk about what she went through during her solo journey. While speaking about working on the album, Yuju said, “I feel like I have taken off the fear of revealing myself.” Before making her debut as a solo artist, Yuju was the main vocalist of GRIEND where she was known for her cool singing skills with her group members and created hit singles such as ‘Race in time’, ‘You and I’, ‘Fingertip’, ‘If you listen’, ‘Night’ and many more.
Yuju’s first solo mini-album ‘REC.’ has five songs, including ‘Play’ which is the title track of the album as well as four other singles titled ‘Bad Blood’, ‘Cold Winter’, ‘The Killa’, and ‘Blue Nostalgia’. This album is the first official release from a GFRIEND member, eight months after the disbandment of the girl group.
Yuju works on the making of 'REC.'
It was reported that Yuju herself participated in writing and composing all the songs, showing off her new and improved musical ability. For the song ‘Play’, which is the title track of her debut solo album ‘REC.’, Yuju worked with her new labelmate Chancellor who helped with the production and composition of the track. Yuju talked about the ‘killing point’ of the title track was her unstoppable attitude, while the song was mostly playful and pleasant.
While Yuju is the first member of GFRIEND to make her solo debut after the disbandment of the group, Eunha, SinB, and Umji of the former girl group are also preparing to make a re-debut with their new girl group called VIVIZ in mid-February.