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Sunmi seeks to solidify her post-Wonder Girls solo career with first EP

September 4, 2018

SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Yonhap) — Putting behind the 10-year career she built in the sensational girl band Wonder Girls, Sunmi has successfully built her presence as a soloist within a year of her departure from the band with her first two captivating singles, “Gashina” and “Heroine.”

The 26-year-old’s new single “Siren” is the third and the latest part to top off her “Warning” trilogy, released Tuesday in the form of an extended play titled “Warning.”

“Siren,” inspired by the namesake Greek mythology character, was composed and written by Sunmi, a departure from her two previous singles created primarily by Teddy, a high-profile producer affiliated with YG Entertainment.

“Gashina” and “Heroine” both carried a message of warning to an egocentric male through a female voice.

“‘Siren’ is the ultimate version of those warnings,” Sunmi said in a press showcase of the new album on Tuesday.

“There is no pretty being of myself in your fantasy,” a refrain from “Siren” says, rejecting a self-image formed through the eyes of her lover. “Get away out of my face,” another refrain warns.

The song carries two different images of the mythological siren’s captivating and fate-determining qualities, she said.

“A siren is very attractive with her voice to lure sailors, but her face turns very stern at the moment she drowns them,” according to Sunmi.

Sunmi showcases her new song “Siren,” the lead track off her new EP “Warning,” released on Sept. 4, 2018. (Yonhap)

The song “Siren” will determine the fate of Sunmi’s solo career built since her departure last year from Wonder Girls, which was formed by JYP Entertainment and with which she debuted at the age of 15.

Sunmi composed “Siren” long ago, and it was once considered as a main track for a Wonder Girls album.

“But it was determined to be unfit for band music, so I saved the song for another chance in the future,” she noted.

It was finally brought to light for “Warning,” Sunmi’s first extended play with her new management agency, MAKEUS Entertainment.

The new record is Sunmi’s far-reaching effort to further cement her presence as a solo musician away from her former, high-profile music label.

Sunmi composed and wrote the lyrics for all seven tracks of the new EP, mostly in collaboration with composer Frants, except for the two tracks “Gashina” and “Heroine,” for which she partly wrote the lyrics.

“My wish is that, with this album, I want to firmly lay the foundation for my identity as artist Sunmi,” she said. “This album was designed to (finalize) the trilogy which will be a steppingstone from which I could build my own genre called Sunmi.”

Beside the two previously released singles, the new EP includes “Addict,” “Curve,” “Black Pearl” and “Secret Tape,” as well as the lead track.

“Addict,” which serves as the intro to her album, is Sunmi’s first self-written song in English, while the outro, “Secret Tape,” is a mellow melody which very much reflects Sunmi’s personal artistic tastes.