K-pop star Key of SHINee is keen to show his ‘FACE’ as a solo artist
The 27 year-old has released a single, ‘One of Those Nights’, featuring vocals by hip-hop star Crush, to promote Monday’s launch of his debut album, ‘FACE’
Key, 27, whose real name is Kim Ki-bum, promoted the album at a press conference in Seoul by performing the debut single, One of Those Nights, which features the South Korean hip-hop and rhythm and blues singer Crush.
The uptempo song – a smooth R&B track with a catchy electronic dance rhythm – helps to emphasise Key’s sentimental personality.
The album contains tracks produced by a variety of collaborators, such as Skrillex, Valentino Khan, Kenzi, LDN Noise, Bazzi, Adrian Mckinno, TAK and IMLAY.
[‘FACE’] was inspired by the phrase ‘face it’ and also represents my determination to show my talents and abilities
Crush, whose real name is Shin Hyo-seob, is not the only singer to appear with Key on the album, with Soyou and rapper Vinxen also sharing the vocal duties on some tracks.
“The album title, ‘FACE’ has multiple meanings,” Key said on Monday.
“First of all, it was inspired by the phrase ‘face it’ and also represents my determination to show my talents and abilities.”
He said he had intended to make the title of his album sound similar to other SHINee members’ solo albums: Taemin’s first solo album title was “ACE”, while the late Jonghyun – who died last December – released an album called “BASE”.
Key also discussed the making of the album.
“Many people asked me why it took so long to release a solo album, but I didn’t want to be impetuous and rush it,” he said.