South Korean singer-actress IU has unveiled the music video for ‘Holssi’, one of two title tracks for her forthcoming mini-album ‘The Winning’.
Released today (February 16) at 6pm KST, the song is the second off ‘The Winning’ to receive a video treatment after ‘Love Wins All’ last month. That music video starred BTS’ V as the male lead alongside IU.
The clip for ‘Holssi’ follows IU as she sings about being a “spore” that takes flight in order to bloom elsewhere. Later, she’s joined by dancers who similarly take flight into the sky, as a giant inflatable Tweety Bird watches from the background.
“Follow me, gonna go to win / Follow me, fly high to the top / You say ‘hoo’, I may fly / You say ‘hoo’, then I fly,” IU sings on the track’s groovy chorus. “Follow me, even without wings / Follow me, rise up into the air / You say ‘hoo’, I may fly / You say ‘hoo’, then I fly.”
Due out February 20, ‘The Winning’ will consist of five tracks, with ‘Shopper’ serving the mini-album as its second title track. A music video for ‘Shopper’, directed and narrated by DPR Ian, will be released alongside the album next week. Watch the teaser here.
In a four-star review of ‘Love Wins All’, NME’s Rhian Daly hailed the track as “a masterclass of a ballad”, adding: “It makes you feel every ounce of emotion naturally, subtly leading you there through tone and lyricism rather than heavy-handedly signposting how it wants you to feel and react.”
Meanwhile, B-side ‘Shh..’, which notably features vocals from NewJeans‘ Hyein and Cho Won-sun from Roller Coaster, will also receive a music video. The clip will star Decision To Leave actress Tang Wei, as revealed in a teaser for the video shared earlier this week.
The mini-album will also arrive about two weeks before the start of IU’s upcoming ‘H.E.R.’ world tour, which will feature shows in Asia, Europe and the US from March to August 2024.