K-Pop Star Wonho Talks Finding His Way Anew With ‘Losing You’

It’s been nearly a year since “the world had stopped” for K-pop star Wonho. Formerly a member of boy band Monsta X, the singer-songwriter parted ways with the group at the tail end of October 2019 amid a series of allegations about his behavior prior to the act’s first single in 2015. After an investigation by South Korean police cleared him of all wrongdoing, he returned to the spotlight on August 14 with his first single as a soloist, “Losing You.”

Working with Highline Entertainment, a subsidiary under Monsta X’s label Starship Entertainment, Wonho says he is now “the happiest man in the world.” His return marks the end of a long campaign by fans to see the beloved K-pop star brought back into the spotlight, and, though it wasn’t realized, return to his former act. Mass petitions and fan campaigns in support of the 27-year-old made a heavy impact on him during the time he was away from the spotlight, and “Losing You” is Wonho’s tender R&B ode to them, disguised as a love song. “Don’t you know that I would die for you / If I knew that you would make it through? / ‘Cause losing me is better than losing you,” he sings evocatively in the chorus. 

“Losing You” marks the start of a new beginning for Wonho, and will be followed by the release of his first EP Love Synonym Pt. 1: Right For Me on September 4. Ahead of its release, Wonho spoke to Forbes about what this all means to him, and his hopes for his solo career. 

Tamar Herman: You’re about to release “Losing You,” your first song on your own. How does it feel to be starting anew as a soloist? 

Wonho: I feel good. [Laughs] I’ve been waiting for this for so long. On one hand, I feel a responsibility as a soloist. I can’t lie that I didn’t worry at all about starting anew. But on the other hand, I can’t wait to connect with the fans who have been waiting for me. The thing I’m looking forward to the most is to meet my fans again and give them the message that I want to deliver in appreciation to them. 

Herman: What’s that message? 

Wonho: That, to me, you guys are more important than I am. That you guys are more important than who and where I am. 

Herman: This marks your first release since departing Monsta X last year amid a state of turmoil and anguish, but you’ve since been cleared on accusations of wrongdoing. How does it feel to be making this return after everything? 

Wonho: I felt like the world had stopped. But now I feel like I’m the happiest man in the world. I have so much appreciation being able to get back to work. 

Herman: What did you spend your time out of the spotlight doing? Was there anything you learned from this period of life, or anything you did to get yourself through the tough times? 

Wonho: Most of the time, I just wanted to focus on my music, making music, and keep pushing my career. Recently, because of corona, I’ve been stuck at home, so I’ve been exercising a lot. I wanted to improve my workout routines to better my fitness and stay healthy. 

Herman: You’re well-known as a K-pop star who really takes care of his physique and is very into exercise. Do you have any advice for people who may be also interested in using this period to get healthy, or just generally?

Wonho: The first step is to begin working out in little ways. The most important thing is just to stand up and do something, even if you’re indoors. It’s easy to start with pushups. And never forget to stretch your body before working out. And you have to eat healthy. Even if it’s hard, you can do it. 

Herman: A lot of that advice feels like it can apply to anything, starting small and just moving forward if you try enough… And you’re kind of doing that with “Losing You” before the album’s release. So I have to ask, why did you decide to release your first single back in English?

Wonho: I wanted to prepare it in English so that I could share this message to all my fans across the world. I’m also studying English a lot lately, so I’m trying to use it more so that I can connect better with fans and communicate better with them. 

Herman: In the past, most of the music you’ve worked on has been predominantly in Korean, so why did you decide to mark this new era of your career with an English release specifically?

Wonho: I started studying because I wanted to communicate with my fans and read what they had to say to me. My overseas fans gave me a lot of letters while I was on hiatus. I still am studying, but it was really important to me. 

Herman: Will we hear more music in English, or will you be singing predominantly in Korean moving forward?

Wonho: The tracklist for my album isn’t out yet so I can’t confirm anything.

Herman: Like you said, your fans came out in major support of you during the tumultuous period. How does it make you feel to know they’re eagerly waiting for your return, and were your biggest advocates throughout this all? 

Wonho: There are many good people around me so I’ve been able to start my music career again, but I really think the reason why I was able to get up and stand here again is because of my fans waiting and cheering me on. Thank you guys so, so much. I want to be more earnest towards them moving forward, and give them good energy while making good memories. 

Herman: Do you feel you weren’t as earnest as you could have been towards your fan in the past then?

Wonho: It’s more that I want to talk more about who I am, and what I feel. I’d like to express myself better, and share my thoughts and feelings with my fans without hesitating.

Herman: Does that mean you feel you used to hesitate, or do you just feel this is something you want to try to be better at in general? 

Wonho: My personality is that I tend to get very shy when I try to express myself. But now I feel like I want to show more fans, in a more forthright way, how much I care and appreciate them, and I’m trying hard to do that. 

Herman: “Losing You” is your first song as a soloist, but you’ve been in a group since the start of your career. How does it feel releasing music on your own? Has it made you consider your craft anew? 

Wonho: I don’t know if there’s really a clear difference, and I think I’ll find out when I perform for the first time. But just generally, I felt awkward doing it all alone, especially when I was practicing my choreography. I felt that I had no colleagues at that moment. But I’m still being supported by everyone around me, so I think there’s not really a big difference as much as I would have expected, dancing aside. 

Herman: You’re going to release Love Synonym Pt. 1: Right For Me in September. What can we look forward to from that? Is the introspective R&B style of “Losing You” something listeners can come to expect from upcoming releases by Wonho, the soloist? 

Wonho: I chose the first song “Losing You” because I wanted to deliver the message that I really wanted to say. But in the future, there’ll be many styles of songs. There are many things I want to try. Most of all, I think that I need to dance. I’ve actually already finished preparing enough music for more than one album, so because there is so much I want to show the world and my fans, I decided to make it a series. 

Herman: 2020’s a kind of interesting year to start something new. How does it feel releasing your first single amid the corona pandemic? 

Wonho: Because there were fans waiting, I felt I had to release my music as soon as possible. I hope it can be a strength to those who are having hard times in the face of this pandemic. I hope everyone enjoys what I’ve prepared, and even if it might not be enough I tried my best so please enjoy and love my new releases. 

Herman: What do you hope to achieve with this release and this new beginning? 

I hope to be able to meet up with my fans and engage with them, to show them how hard the time was and my appreciation for them. I want to cry, laugh, and have a good time together with the fans. That’s my only goal I’m looking forward to achieving at the moment. Even my phone case says the fan name “Wenee,” because even if there are no fans around me I think of them a lot. I really miss you all. I promise I won’t leave again, so let’s see each other for a long time and be happy together. That’s all I want. 

This interview was conducted in both English and Korean, with the assistance of a translator.