Moonbyul Breaks Down Her New Album Concept, Shares Love For MAMAMOO And Girls' Generation's Taeyeon, And More

Following her first solo comeback in nearly two years, MAMAMOO’s Moonbyul participated in interviews with various news outlets to discuss her newest album, the love she has for her group, and more!

On January 19, Moonbyul released her third solo mini album “6equence,” which features the title track “LUNATIC.” Moonbyul commented, “Since it’s my first [solo] album in one year and eleven months, I created it without there being a single spot I haven’t touched.”

To introduce the album, Moonbyul shared, “In keeping with the album’s title, I wrote each song by personally creating the scenario within it. I participated in writing both the music and lyrics, and I even discussed every word of the lyrics during the creation process.”

She elaborated, “This album is a continuation of the universe from my previous solo albums. If you consider my first album ‘Selfish‘ to be my birth, then good and bad is differentiated through ‘Dark Side of the Moon.’ After only thinking about yourself, you learn good from bad and then discover that it takes love to embrace all of that. That’s why this album’s theme is love. There are a lot of stages to love. You fall in love, grow hateful, and your feelings change, and I wanted to express each and every one of those moments through songs.”

Regarding the album’s title track, Moonbyul explained, “If the album as a whole focuses on love, I wondered what it’d be like to express the percentage of love increasing and decreasing in a witty way through ‘LUNATIC.’ That’s how I got the topic of the stage in a relationship where love starts to cool and the couple gets bored. Typically, when you hear a song after it’s completed, you often change things after saying, ‘I want to add this during that part,’ but ‘LUNATIC’ turned out exactly the way I imagined. The rap part showcases a two-faced image like Jekyll and Hyde, and I liked it so much that there wasn’t anything to change.”

Regarding MAMAMOO’s reaction to her album, Moonbyul commented, “I met Solar for the first time in a while and showed her my song and choreography. She told me, ‘You’ve finally found your clothes,'” meaning the performance fit her perfectly. Fellow member Wheein also made her own solo comeback recently, and Moonbyul shared, “I was so surprised. Since we were both so busy, we weren’t able to talk much, but because we both worked so hard, I hope she does well.”

As she played such a big role in the songwriting process, Moonbyul was asked whether she wrote about personal experiences in the album. She shared with a laugh, “It’s been a really long time since my last relationship. I referred to many dramas and films [for inspiration]. My last relationship was right before my debut.”

With this new release, Moonbyul also expressed her hopes to reach more of the general public. “I want this to become an album through which I can comfortably approach the public a bit more. Although it contains dramatic concepts like obsession and regret, I worked hard to create a blend between the conceptual and the mainstream. Personally, I like including elements that fans can have various fantasies about regarding the concept or universe. I wanted the songs to be approachable for the general public, but I tried to include concepts in the music video and trailers.”

“6equence” also includes an English version of “LUNATIC,” of which Moonbyul commented, “I thought about how fans overseas could listen comfortably [to my music]. Since we haven’t been able to meet often after COVID-19, I wanted to give them this as a present. I hope fans see my potential for growth.”

Now that MAMAMOO is nine years into their career, Moonbyul shared her long-lasting love for the team. “This is a group that’s like my youth. Since I spent my youth so spectacularly, it’s also a name that holds a lot of pressure. Whenever I do something, I’m called ‘MAMAMOO’s Moonbyul,’ so making a mistake can cause harm. I think that’s why I’m that much more careful about my speech and behaviour.”

She continued, “MAMAMOO is what holds me in place. No matter what road each of us takes, we respect it, and we’ve been able to continue with MAMAMOO because we all have the same belief that MAMAMOO is four. It’s a group to which I gave my entire youth, and now that I’m 30 [by Korean reckoning], that youth is becoming the strength and foundation for my growth.”

Moonbyul is a well-known fan of Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon, who inspired her to become a singer and has even been Moonbyul’s phone background. Last November, Moonbyul met Taeyeon on the set of tvN’s “Amazing Saturday,” and she shared of the experience, “Without even realizing it, I started crying. It was an emotion I was feeling for the first time in my life. Taeyeon called me ‘Byul-ah,’ and I thought, ‘I’ve lived well. I’ve done well. I’ve worked hard.’ I got choked up because it felt like she was comforting me. After that, I contacted her through her manager. I texted her saying, ‘If I see you again, I want to call you unnie next time,’ and she sent me a long letter through direct message. I was so thankful that I immediately went to her social media account and pressed ‘like’ a ton.”

Recently, MAMAMOO has been focusing on solo promotions, leading fans to express how much they miss the group. Moonbyul responded, “If we’ve completed Act I of MAMAMOO for the past seven years, in Act II, I think we need time to say, ‘I’m so-and-so from MAMAMOO.’ After that, I want to show again that MAMAMOO is still one. The members’ opinions as MAMAMOO are the same. We want to maintain the team, and although we don’t have concrete plans, the members are all on the same page, so I believe that there will soon be an opportunity for us to perform as MAMAMOO.”

Watch the music video for Moonbyul’s “LUNATIC” here!

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