It's been a decade since baby-faced HyunA debuted with Wonder Girls in 2007.

Having transitioned from a wide-eyed teen into a sex symbol and pop icon, HyunA says her new EP “Following” carries a message for those who supported her through thick and thin.

“There are those who have trusted and followed me, who kept a close eye on me. (The album’s) meaning is that those people would keep doing that -- trust and follow me,” she said at a press conference held at Blue Square Samsung Card Hall in central Seoul on Tuesday to mark the EP’s release.


 

The EP, the sixth from HyunA as a solo artist and first since “A’wesome” last year, is more like a photo album than a record, with 200 pages full of her photos.

“I shot the cover photo without make-up. ... It’s not overconfidence (in my looks), but I wanted to show myself as I am, in the most natural and plain way,” she said. The album is a gift to fans who have shown her love over the years.

The EP consists of five tracks, and the lead track, “Bebe,” is a retro track with a story of a young couple in love. It differs in style from previous hits like “Ice Cream” and “Bubble Pop,” but is not too far off.

“I’m someone who easily gets bored doing the same things over and over again,” she said.

HyunA’s goal for “Following,” she said, is to hear people say, “That’s something only HyunA can do.”

“When I hear people say, ‘I can’t imagine anyone else doing it,’ I feel so good,” she said.

In the past 10 years, HyunA has become an influential solo artist, just like her hero Lee Hyo-ri.

What advice would she like to give to all those wanna-be HyunAs?

“I think it is one thing: confidence.

“There are many other singers in my company (Cube Entertainment). I would like to give them advice, but they are all very charming in their own way. So I tell them, be confident in whatever you do.”

That confidence and the breathtaking performance ultimately earned her the reputation as one of the sexier figures in K-pop. However, it did come with an unwanted stigma of “over-sexualization,” magnified by her young age.

At 25, HyunA retreated from her usual image for the new record by intentionally avoiding “sexy looks.”

“I’m saving it for the stage,” she said with a smile. “Although my latest EP has a natural look, I’m saving my most energetic moments for the stage.”

HyunA added that she wants to focus on music for now, instead of branching out to other fields like acting.

“People have asked me if I wanted to try a new field (like acting) but all I want to do is show a perfect performance. If I can’t do that, I don’t think I would be able to try my luck in a new field.”



By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)