Apink’s Namjoo shared her thoughts on making her solo debut!

On September 7, Namjoo revealed her first solo single “Bird” and held an online media showcase for the release.

Namjoo is now the third member of Apink to make a solo debut, following Jung Eun Ji and Hayoung. “All of the Apink members have a different style,” said Namjoo. “Jung Eun Ji has shared emotional music that shows her skills as a vocalist, and Hayoung likes a bubbly and refreshing style so she did a good job at showing off her own charms.”

“I like a powerful style like ‘Bird,'” said Namjoo. “When Hayoung heard ‘Bird,’ she said, ‘This is the music that Namjoo wants to do.'”

Namjoo went on to talk about how the members supported her solo debut, sharing that they all pay a lot of attention to each other’s solo songs and concepts. “They didn’t say ‘Do this’ or ‘Do that’ just because they’d already made a solo debut, instead they cheered me on,” she explained. “I think the warmth I received from my members allowed me to prepare well and not feel lonely.”

She said that the members had also been excited and nervous ahead of her solo debut. “Since Chorong is our leader, she takes care when it comes to each of our songs,” said Namjoo. “Everyone was really curious, probably because it’s my first time promoting solo. I played the song for them before anyone else, and they all said that it’s a really good fit for me.”

On the topic of her song, Namjoo said, “It contains the autobiographical message that I’m not going to hesitate when it comes to love or my dreams, and I’m going to fly high and go forward.”

She then explained, “There was a clear message that I wanted to convey, and that’s why I didn’t include other songs. My fans might be disappointed about that but I hope that they like it, because it was my choice.”

(G)I-DLE’s Soyeon co-composed and wrote lyrics for Namjoo’s “Bird.” Namjoo described Soyeon as a “genius,” explaining that she’d seen Soyeon’s producing skills when (G)I-DLE appeared on “Queendom.”

She continued, “When (G)I-DLE and Apink were promoting at the same time, I saw Soyeon in front of a vending machine [at a music show] and suddenly thought, ‘I need to get a song from her.’ I’m really shy with strangers but I went up to her and said I hoped she would work with me, and she readily agreed, so it went smoothly.”

When asked what her “weapon” is as a soloist, Namjoo talked about how she’s built up basic skills ever since she became a trainee in middle school. “While they’ve been very helpful during promotions with Apink, they were a huge help while preparing for my solo promotions,” she said. “I think my dance performance that’s built on a foundation of those basic skills will be my strength.”

“Since Apink is in our 10th year, we often hear that we’re a ‘long-time group’ but we don’t think like that,” said Namjoo. “There’s still a lot that we have to show. Since we received a huge amount of love during our ‘Dumhdurum’ promotions, we gained hope and the chance to show more in the future.”

“I’m proud every moment,” she went on to say. “There’s the phrase ‘7th-year curse’ but we’ve continued to work hard and actively promote all the way until our 10th year, and I think we deserve to be proud about that fact.”

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