Interview: JUNNY on his New Single: Not About You (English Version)

On December 1st, Korean-Canadian music artist, Junny, will release his new single: "Not About You (English Version)." The song, "Not About You," was originally written in English, but first released in Korean as a part of his full-length album, 'blanc.' Being his first drop of new music after his successful North American tour, Junny invited BroadwayWorld to be a part of his pre-release listening party for his new song. After having an exclusive first listen to "Not About You (English Version)," Junny chatted with everyone about the single, the inspiration behind his songwriting, and much more!

One of the most important factors that Junny said he considered when writing music was the audience's reaction. Whether that audience was another artist he was writing for or the fans of his own music; his goal was to make their reaction a positive one. Despite how much Junny emphasized that he looked forward to people's reactions to his songs, he also talked about dealing with negative reactions and burnout during the creative process. "Everyone is human and if audiences end up not liking it, that's totally okay" says Junny. If what he created didn't appeal to his target audience at first, he found motivation in the situation to try new routes.

Furthermore, Junny also touched on the topic of emotion with his music. As another interviewer described his songs as a "time capsule of emotion," Junny explained how songs essentially wrote themselves after he's felt and fully processed all of his emotions from a situation. "The lyrics just fall into place and the song is written in a short time period" says Junny. Although this method of songwriting is very natural, Junny explained that he couldn't write every song like that or else he would have to live 1000 years for experiences!

With new music in the works, Junny talked about how his recent concert tour has been the main inspiration for his new upcoming music. Being able to meet and talk to his fans in person really allowed him to feel love and good energy. When he came back to Korea, he was a different person (in a good way). The "blanc" tour gave him a lot of motivation and he immediately wanted to go back to the studio to work on more music. Going on tour really allowed him to feel emotions that he hasn't felt in a long time. Riding on the high note, Junny promised new music soon!

Continuing on, another topic Junny discussed was burnout. Junny explained that, "burnout is something all creators go through, it's part of the job." Furthermore, he explained how overwhelming writing for both himself and for other artists could get. To deal with burnout, Junny described how he liked to take a step back from his work to gain inspiration again. "Taking a step back gives you motivation! It gave me the opportunity to take a break and look back on my accomplishments" says Junny. Not only did it leave him feeling more thankful, but got him back into the creative process again, which he said, added more depth to his character.

I had the opportunity to ask Junny about his feelings toward his new single in terms of the difference in language of the song and for any advice relating to the topic of the single:

Do your emotions or mindset towards the song, "Not About You" differ when you sing the song in English vs. Korean?

Junny: The song definitely hits closer to the heart when I'm singing it in English! When I imagine myself performing the song in English, I think I would put a little bit more emotion into it, only because I'm just so much more comfortable singing in English. When I sing in English, it feels like I'm talking naturally, so I'm definitely more emotional with the lyrics. On the other hand, I have been really spending a lot of time practicing and learning Korean from my peers, so I'm learning to connect with the Korean language as well! Ultimately, my goal is to be good at connecting in both English and Korean.

"Not About You" is a song about a break up. What would you say is the best way to get over someone you had a relationship with in the past?

Junny: To be honest, I don't think I'm good at giving advice about that. I think it would be better if you could give me advice! By writing this song, I'm still talking about my past relationship. In life, you meet a lot of people that are either friends or someone you may love for a certain amount of time. People come and go into and out of your life. Thinking from when you're born, up until the day you die, it is such a long time and such a journey you will go through. It hurts when you lose someone through a break up, but in the end, it's for the better. Despite being sad at one point, you have to try to stay positive as much as you can. I try to think of a break-up as a new direction for me and a new door that's opened up for me in my life. You can also think of it as taking a different road to become someone new and better than before. That's how I think about it! Try to stay positive!

Lastly, Junny talked about how meaningful seeing and hearing his fans sing along to his songs was on tour. While answering some fun questions about his interests, the mention of his love for LEGO was brought up. Junny spoke about if he were to create a lego set, he would want to make one recreating the moment of his fans singing the main chorus to NOT ABOUT YOU with him during his concert. "I would buy it in a heartbeat," he says.

At the end of the meeting, Junny mentioned how nice it was to visit his hometown, Vancouver, again after a long time. After his tour, he went back home to visit with his family. "It felt very weird, but also very cool. It felt really good spending time with my family after a long time. It was nice to know how much they supported who I've become and how much they appreciated all I've done so far with my music" says Junny.

JUNNY's new single, "Not About You (English Version)" will be released on December 1st, 2022.

Photo Credit: Unbound Entertainment 2022

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