Pioneer of "a new music genre - sexy lonely" - NCT Jaehyun interview with GQ

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With his new song “Forever Only”, Jaehyun is ready to introduce two things: himself as a solo artist, and a new genre of music he has dubbed “sexy lonely”.

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In their [NCT's] fictional universe, which appears in visual themes throughout their discography, the members exist in a sort of fantasy dimension where the only way they can reach each other is in an endless search through dreams. It offers us a symbol of the eternal pursuit of a life free from solitude, and the very human impulse to chase connection despite the environments around us.

These are themes that exist in Jaehyun’s partially self-penned lyrics for “Forever Only”, though they’re broadly less fantastical. They speak plainly of the gentle torture in seeking comfort from another’s presence, even when ties feel like they’re loosening – hence “sexy lonely”. He croons over a guitar-laced, vibey R&B melody which holds the kind of early-2000’s boyband key changes the earthy tones of his voice call for.

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NCT's Jaehyun on dialling up the ‘sexy lonely’ vibe in new single “Forever Only”

And why he was nervous to release his first solo song

www.gq-magazine.co.uk

In this interview we also got to know a little bit more about Jaehyun's songwriting process, his first career aspirations, his first impressions of the other NCT members, among others "firsts" in his life.

NctzenTaglist if you are interested

the101 thanks for sharing it!

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First person you showed your new music to…

This time it was [fellow NCT member] Johnny, because we were on a schedule together. We were talking about the new song, it was before the mixing part, right after recording. He said that it was kind of sexy, but he also thought of the lonely feeling that's inside. There were [no nerves], it was just like “you want to hear it?” and he was like “of course!”

First impression of your fellow NCT members…

There are a lot of people! [laughs] I just mentioned Johnny, and his first impression was “oh, he's tall!”. He's tall and he kind of had a calm vibe.

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he loves johnny so much I love their friendship. he's always so supportive.

Quote from the101

The song is great and I really enjoyed the interview. This is the second interviewer I've seen that describes Jaehyun as soft-spoken and thoughtful. The EnviMedia boss who worked with them previously when she was at Glamour also described him this way. I'm really glad to see him getting out there more and finding ways to show off more facets of his personality. I'm loving seeing all the Neos thriving at this point in their careers, between successful group work and more solo projects.

I found it really endearing that he admitted that he wrote down some of the points he wanted to cover about the solo for his IG live because he wasn't great at that. And was clear he's excited and anxious about this project. Many kpop group members have talked about how scary solo work can be.

The theme park designer story was so adorable. The childhood memories he brought up were really cute.

He must be a delight to talk to.

And yes the song sounds exactly like you would expect from him: understated, but charming and warm. Even if it talks about loneliness.