NCT’s Jaehyun on Making His Solo Album “Feel Classic,” Excitement Over Singing A Babyface Track

Editor’s Note: Yesterday, SM Entertainment announced in a social media post that NCT member Taeil had departed from the group after learning he was “accused in a criminal case related to a sexual crime.” Jaehyun was interviewed before this news broke.

“Jump in if you feel it,” Jaehyun jokes to The Hollywood Reporter to kick off a late-night Zoom from Seoul, referencing the opening line of his latest single “Smoke.”

The 27-year-old K-Pop star, a member of SM Entertainment’s mega-group NCT and its subgroup groups NCT 127 and DoJaeJung, is fresh off the release of his debut solo album, J.

The eight-track album, which includes the lead single “Smoke” in both Korean and English, is full of undeniably enticing R&B tracks. From the broody track “Roses,” full of post-relationship regret, to the upbeat “falling for you” song “Flamin’ Hot Lemon,” which Jaehyun co-wrote and composed, the album manages to find a consistent sound, while still keeping each song feeling fresh.

“I really wanted this album to feel classic, so as time passes by, you could still listen to the album,” Jaehyun explains. “These genres and styles are the styles that I [have been] listening to and am into these days, but a bit more classic.”

The singer has been working on J for quite some time, having worked on the album since December. Despite it being his first album, he has released single tracks in the past through various SM Entertainment or NCT projects. “I was working on my own stuff too, years ago,” Jaehyun says, joking the album timing was “meant to be” as he had previously released songs in August.

Jaehyun participated in writing on six of the eight tracks on the album. “I have some friends that play instruments or compose music and write music, so I used to, not write, but just jam,” Jaehyun explains. “That was actually the start, years ago, and I started to work more on writing or composing as years passed.”

The 27-year-old says he feels that he needs to “put himself into that process” to get fans to understand his taste in music. “It’s way better than explaining what I feel or explaining what kind of music I like,” Jaehyun says.

“In that way, it’s really good to participate in the music,” he continues. “I’m really glad that there are some tracks that I worked on in this album,” he says, adding that he’s also grateful for the “lovely tracks” from other writers.

Among those tracks is “Can’t Get You,” highlight of the album, both sonically and for Jaehyun. The song was composed and written by R&B legend Kenny ‘Babyface’ Edmonds. “I used to listen to his songs,” the singer emphasizes. “[From] the old albums to the recent one where he had all the female vocalists with him.” (Jaehyun is referring to Babyface’s 2022 album Girls Night Out, which featured collaborations with a new generation of female artists).

“Participating in his song, and having a track [on] my album of his song, it was huge for me,” the singer says.

Jaehyun’s favorite track at the moment is “Smoke,” explaining that he had just been speaking about the song’s film, which made him think of it. “It changes every 10 minutes,” he jokes.

As someone who is used to working in a group, Jaehyun says he was feeling a range of emotions while creating a solo album, from “worries” to “excitement. The singer suggests his recently released short documentary, which can found on NCT’s YouTube page, titled The Journey of ‘J’ as it digs into what he was feeling when creating the album.

“[It’s] definitely a motivator because yesterday the album released,” Jaehyun starts, referencing his fan’s anticipation for the album. “All the love and all the comments from my fans… I feel thankful to see them loving the album and feeling the same way as I do, or vibing with the songs that they like.”

The singer says he felt pressure in regards to new listeners more than anyone, emphasizing again that he loves fans enjoying the album. “I also wanted the people… for the new listeners [to] take a look [at] the album or a film of my album and say, ‘Who’s this?’ Or ‘What’s this voice?’ Or ‘What vibe is this from?’” he explains.

Having debuted in 2016, the 27-year-old is now able to look back and reflect a bit on his career. When asked what advice he’d give his younger self, Jaehyun takes a moment to think. “I would say, ‘You’re doing well, keep up the good work,’” he starts.

“I would like to say ‘There’s always another option, there’s always another plan to your life,’” he adds. “I would like to say that, but I’m pretty sure that I’d do [it] exactly the same way as I did. I’d do my best, I’ll be into it. Just having that in mind really makes you different.”