The 26-year-old artist JUNNY (@jnkmsc) is a kindhearted singer-songwriter with raw talent, and lately, he’s fortunate enough to be living his best life!
After earning nearly 100 million streams to date, the Korean-Canadian singer has perfected his own interpretation of soul through a successful solo career that’s fulfilled his creative aspirations – leading to an even lengthier list of opportunities that suggests he’s not going anywhere. So after a total of five noteworthy EP releases between 2017-2019, and several singles to expand his discography, JUNNY’s upcoming work is a substantial moment for an artist… His first studio album.
With the hype of a prominent tour on the way and an elaborate, collaboration-filled new album blanc coming very soon – we spoke to JUNNY about preparing to alter the K-R&B scene.
You’re certainly no stranger to dropping music, but blanc definitely appears to be new territory for you that only comes with time! How did this particular project initially come to life?
JUNNY: It was one of my goals for 2022 to release a full-length album for the first time and the project started developing around March of last year. Spending a lot of time songwriting for other artists and catching up with my work, I wasn’t able to truly focus on this album till the end of 2021. I knew I needed a producer that understood my vision and who could oversee the project alongside me, and my long-time producer/good friend no2zcat was there to help out the process. It has been a dream to release a full-length album ever since I stepped foot in Korea to pursue my music career and to finally see it happen… I am very very excited!
It’s really interesting to go through the album as a chronological story of your 20’s too – and with that, it can be assumed that it’s comprised of both highs and lows. What song, in particular, did you find to be the most therapeutic to you when revisiting these influential life moments?
JUNNY: This was actually the question I asked myself when I was deciding on the title song of the album. I wanted it to be as personal as possible with a history behind the song that was powerful enough to be an influential part of my life. “Not About You” is definitely the most therapeutic song for me and it might sound funny but it gives me a sense of satisfaction as if I finally got it off my chest.
You also note that there’s a proper moment on the album that you feel is sort of a send-off to your youth or maybe more of an introduction to maturity. How challenging was it, to sum up that feeling in a song? And what would you hope is the biggest takeaway from the track?
JUNNY: Yes! Especially on the song “boyhood” it talks exactly about that and it was definitely challenging but the more time I spent writing the lyrics I started to back off on trying to be relatable to the audience, and started focusing on what I wanted to say to myself instead. I think that’s the reason why this song is one of my favorite tracks and after listening, I hope my fans could get that true feel for the song.
Was there one song from this album that you think has the most potential to connect with people?
JUNNY: I’d have to say “Just a Number”… especially with the listeners who grew up in the same era as me, now as a 26-year-old heading to 30 I feel like we all start thinking about our age and having a successful career, etc. but I wrote this song as a remedy of those useless worries and to enjoy life, look back at the good times and cherish the moment we live.
You have your exciting US tour coming up in September, which is sure to be a good time! What are you most looking forward to about the prospect of embarking on tour life?
JUNNY: Yes! I’m so excited to finally get to see my fans overseas and perform for the first time ever! I’m mostly looking forward to meeting my fans and singing my heart out for them haha I just can’t explain my excitement and I’m preparing very hard for this tour so I hope they’re excited as I am!
Is there one city in particular that you’re eager to visit, or return to if you’ve already been?
JUNNY: Every city is important and special, I’m eager to visit more if I could, to be honest, but if I had to choose one I am very excited to go back to my hometown Vancouver because it’s going to be an absolutely surreal moment for me.
Finally, what can your fans expect to see or hear during the upcoming tour? Any possible hints you can reveal?
JUNNY: A lot of new songs from the album, songs that got me where I am now, songs that you may think I have forgotten about, and just a lot of JUNNY.
JUNNY’s album blanc will be released on August 12, so make sure to check it out along with his upcoming tour info here!