SHINee’s Onew has officially released his third solo mini-album ‘Flow’, alongside a trippy music video for its lead single, ‘beat drum’.
Both the mini-album and music video were release on September 3 at 6pm KST. It also marks over a year since he last released music in March 2023, with his third full-length album ‘Circle’.
According to The Korea Times, title track ‘beat drum’ is described as “an upbeat pop track that pairs Onew’s playful vocals with lyrics that liken a racing heart to the beat of a drum”.
‘beat drum’ is also the second track off his freshly released record to receive a video treatment, having previously dropped a video for B-side track ‘All Day’ on July 15 as a pre-release single for ‘Flow’.
‘Flow’ also marks Onew’s first release under Griffin Entertainment, a label he signed to earlier this year after leaving longtime agency SM Entertainment. In an interview with The Korea Times prior to the album’s release, Onew opened up about how these big changes have influenced his work on the latest album.
“Last year’s album, ‘Circle,’ centred around the themes of life’s cycles. This time, ‘Flow’ focuses on the movement within these cycles,” he told the outlet. “Our positions and circumstances in life can change at any moment, so I wanted to convey the message that we should do our best in those situations while still preserving our unique identities.”
Onew also noted in the same interview that he considers ‘Flow’ to be the “brightest” among all his solo works so far. “I approached it with the goal of creating songs that everyone can enjoy together, songs that people can easily sing along to,” he added.
In a previous interview, Onew reassured fans that SHINee will continue making music together despite himself and bandmate Taemin signing under new management for solo activities. “I haven’t left; we’re still doing things together. It feels like moving out from the main house but still being part of the family,” he said during his appearance on The Seasons.
