Yena is welcoming 2024 with new music! On December 22, Yuehua Entertainment officially announced that the singer will be releasing a new album on January 15.

On her social media platforms, Yena first teased the fans with a mysterious “Coming Soon” poster with only the details of the release date.

During the last week of December, the idol started rolling out teasers for her third mini-album titled Good Morning. In some of the photos, the singer is seen rocking long pink hair while posing in different settings. 

According to a Naver article, a representative from Yuehua Entertainment shared what to look forward to in the upcoming release. “Choi Yena will be active as a new ‘morning angel’ through this album. She will deliver a message of hope and comfort to music fans,” it read. 

Yena to return after controversy

Since participating in MNET’s famed survival program Produce 48, she made her debut as part of the project girl group IZ*ONE, after winning a spot in the show. After disbanding in April 2020, Yena made her solo debut in 2022. As a soloist, she has been known for her popular tracks “Smiley” and “Smartphone,” among many others.

However, things did not go out well for her most recent comeback. In June, the soloist received unfavorable remarks after releasing her second single album Hate XX with the title track “Hate Rodrigo.” Although it was highly-anticipated as the song featured Yuqi of (G)I-DLE, the track was put as the center of a controversy.

Having mixed reactions about the song’s meaning, netizens pointed out that the song directly referenced US pop star Olivia Rodrigo. Moreover, the idol was criticized for her “copycat” portrayal of the “Vampire” singer in the official music video.

In response, Yuehua Entertainment released an apology for causing confusion and concern. “We have discovered that the following music video might contain grounds that may have infringed trademark and portrait rights,” they said. They then put the original video on private, and reuploaded an edited version of the MV.

In addition, Yena explained that the song was intended to pay homage to Rorigo. Moreover, it was meant to express the “cute” jealousy she feels towards the admired singer. 

After the controversy, Yena took a break from her promotions in Korea. Recently, the singer focused on her Japanese debut with the release of the Japanese version of “Smiley” featuring Chanmina.

Now seven months later, she’ll be returning with Good Morning. 

Featured image: Yena poses for her EP ‘Good Morning.’ Credit: Twitter/Yena