The long wait is over as B.A.P’s Moon Jong Up finally returned with his second mini-album, SOME, on Monday, October 30.
In SOME, five songs are included in the album with “X.O.X“ as the title track. Meanwhile, it’s sub-title “Common” has two versions: Korean and English.
Moreover, SOME marks Jong Up’s first solo comeback in more than two years and 3 months. His last solo release was the min-album US, which was released in July 2021.
Moon Jong Up on being a solo artist
In an interview with allkpop, Jong Up looked back on his career, including pursuing a solo career outside of B.A.P. activities.
“There was definitely a lot of pressure going solo. With the energy and everything that I have shown when I was part of a group, I don’t want to come out as a solo artist to disappoint with my releases,” he said.
The artist added that he wants to show to his fans a “different performance and side” of him that they haven’t seen yet. Moreover, he also admitted that while doing solo activities is a difficult experience, it also helped him mature as an artist.
231105 #문종업 #MoonJongUp
SBS #인기가요 📸📸It's so nice😎
인기가요 무대도 뿌수기 성공✌️#文鐘業 #ムン·ジョンオプ#SOME #XOX pic.twitter.com/pJAoQPJvZi— M.A ENTERTAINMENT (@maenter1234) November 5, 2023
Additionally, Jong Up also opened up about his involvement in the production of the album. As well as his thought process in penning the lyrics for the tracks.
“I really put my personal story and emotions into it because I wanted to embed my own color into this song,” he said.
And his hardwork is definitely paying off as charts showed that he’s broken his personal record for album sales with SOME.
According to the Hanteo chart, SOME has recorded exactly 9,642 album sales on its first day. It surpassed the 600 units sold on the first day for his debut album US. Furthermore, SOME also has become his highest-selling album in first-week sales.
Jong Up’s career
Moon Jong Up debuted as a member of the K-pop group B.A.P in 2012. However, he left TS Entertainment in 2019, alongside three other B.A.P members.
Despite being under different agencies, the B.A.P members remain close and supportive of each other. In fact, the B.A.P members congratulated Jongup for the release of SOME.
Prior to making his solo comeback, Jong Up also participated in the JBTC survival show Peak Time. There, he placed first in the global individual votes and his team finished third overall.
Featured image: Moon Jong Up updates fans with new photos. Credit: Twitter/Jong Up