Rain launches sixth Korean album

Rain, one of the country’s leading pop singers, released his sixth Korean album early this week titled “Back to the Basic.”

The Korean pop culture icon now has a total of seven albums, including a Japanese album. His last Korean album was released in October 2008.

“Although it has already been eight years since I’ve made my debut, I still believe that maintaining one’s original intention is important,” Rain told reporters during a news conference held in Seoul on Monday to mark the launch of his latest album. “And so, I chose the album title to return to my original intentions.”

The 28-year-old also added that it is important for popular singers to constantly change, stressing that “such effort is good etiquette to one’s fans and is the secret to winning their hearts.”

The single for the latest album is titled “Ballad,” which the pop star said was meant to reinforce the sense of change. The new album also features lyrics written by the singer.

“I wrote the lyrics as I thought about how a guy would serenade his girlfriend with a song he composed himself,” Rain said.

He also hinted that his fans may be able to see him again on the silver screen around September or October.

Rain, or Jung Ji-hoon, debuted with the album “Bad Guy” in 2002, which was when he took on the stage name “Rain.”

The high-profile celebrity made his television debut in the KBS drama, “Sang Doo! Let’s Go To School.” In 2006, he starred in the Korean film “I’m a Cyborg. But That’s OK,” which won the Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival.

The all-around artist, who is also a dancer, model, entrepreneur and designer, then went to Hollywood and appeared in such films as “Speed Racer” in 2008 and “Ninja Assassin” in 2009.

By Yoo Soh-jung (sohjung@heraldm.com)
Source: Korea Herald