Singer-songwriter Roy Kim is going without his trademark guitar for his third studio-length album “The Great Dipper.”

“I didn’t put down (the guitar) on purpose,” Kim said at a press showcase held at the Hyundai Card Understage in Seoul on Thursday. “After my second album, I was arranging my new songs and realized that many of them sounded better with piano rather than guitar.”

“I also have been receiving positive responses to the ballads I’ve been singing on drama soundtracks, so I decided to try this out,” he said.

At the showcase, he performed the lead track “The Great Dipper” as well as the track “I Want to Love, Too” with a piano accompaniment. 

“(The Great Dipper) is one of the less sad songs on this album,” he said after the performance. “It has the same comforting theme of the second album. I know that the Great Dipper helped sailors at sea find their way. I hope this song will bring solace to those people who don’t know where they’re headed.”

Kim is an unusual artist in the Korean music market because he only releases studio-length albums, as opposed to singles or EPs. “The Great Dipper” is his third, coming after his debut album “Love Love Love” (2013) and second album “Home” (2014).

“Financially speaking, singles or EPs are better, but I only do promotions a few months a year,” Kim said. He is currently a sophomore at Georgetown University in the U.S. studying business. “I feel bad only releasing a single or four songs at a time when I know my fans have waited a long time for me ... nine tracks isn’t a lot, but I tried to fill the album compared to the trends these days.” 

Kim also said that no less than nine tracks were necessary to convey his message in his third album, which was about the worries and concerns that he could never say aloud but that could be told through his music

“I have so many concerns,” he said. “There are concerns about what people call love, concerns about music, concerns about my future ... concerns about how I should live my life as an artist.”

As a star discovered through the TV audition program “Superstar K4,” Kim had been in the spotlight even before his debut -- giving him a different perspective on his career than many other artists.

“The past three years may seem short for other artists, but for me it was a significant time,” he said. “I needed some time to think about what I’ve experienced, felt and learned.”

Kim is currently gearing up for his end-of-year concert “The Great Dipper,” which takes place on Dec. 18-20.

His third studio-length album “The Great Dipper” was released at midnight Thursday.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)