WONHO explores the many complexities of the heart for his debut full-length album ‘SYNDROME’

A crowd of thirty lucky competition winners are sitting patiently at the Hello82 space on Broadway in NYC. They are part of an exclusive group who have won a fan-meet with K-Pop idol WONHO, who is on the promotion trail for his new album SYNDROME. They are listening attentively to the house rules of the meet and greet, with their tripods and cameras at the ready. This concentration is broken as they collectively turn their heads to the door in the corner of the hall. Standing with his back to the room, pulling focus, is WONHO. He is wearing a crisp oversized white shirt, synched into high-waisted black trousers, holding a black umbrella with heavy rain ricocheting from it. The monochrome silhouette is completed with a shot of colour, in the form of his hair, dyed a deep blood-red.

Even though it’s by accident, he’s so perfectly framed by the doorway that he looks like photo from the pages of a fashion magazine, or the poster for a film. After accidentally disrupting the calm equilibrium of the room, he vanishes backstage, and his fans WENEE (pronounced “Winnie” like the famous honey-loving illustrated bear) settle down, but now there is a vibrating hum of excitement in the room with the promise that their favourite K-Pop idol will be coming out to meet them shortly.

“This is the first time we have done this type of format” Sam, who is part of his team, tells me. “Hopefully it will be a really nice experience for them!’ As she says this, WONHO’s new album begins to play out over the speakers, as he comes out to greet everyone on the stage, before he takes a seat at the table. Small pockets of fans line up at the side of the stage,  each clutching the SYNDROME album ready to be signed. WONHO spends time chatting away happily to each of his fans, who exit stage right. One fan returns to the larger group, beaming away to the remaining fans waiting to meet him, breathily confirming to them how great he is and not to be nervous about meeting him. The crowd are very polite. One girl gets up from her seat- perhaps thinking that her time is up, but WONHO encourages her to continue chatting, and she sits back down gingerly to finish their conversation. Afterwards, he stands on the stage and chats to the crowd, asking them what they will do after the event. One fan tells him they are heading straight to the airport to return home after this, having made the pilgrimige to the Big Apple just to see him. Before he goes, he hits some of his signature poses, so everyone can take photos. His fans request him to do ‘bunny ears’ (the emoji associated with him on social media is the rabbit) muscle flexing and various iterations of hearts. The crowd slowly leaves the space, trading photos, taking pictures next to posters and feverishly exchanging their experience of meeting WONHO as they go. WONHO reappears from backstage and quickly stops so we can be introduced before he’s whisked away out of the pouring rain and into a sprinter van. A crowd has gathered outside in the downpour to give him one last send-off. Communication with his fans is key with WONHO, whether it be in person, online or through his music. His first-full length album SYNDROME is completely in English, rather than Korean- a deliberate choice on his part.

“Because I have a lot of global fans- in order to reach them, I thought expressing myself in English would be the easiest way to communicate with them, so that’s why I picked it for my first full length album.”

“It was definitely a long process,” WONHO explained to me when we managed to sit down in-between his packed NYC schedule that included radio interviews, photoshoots and filming content in Times Square. “Because the process was in English I definitely had some difficulties with pronunciation, but I had a lot of staff around me and I think the album came out very well. I learned a lot through this process, so next time it will be easier.” He’s been pretty candid on the creation of his first album, including the hurdles, the fine-tuning and refining to get the record to the standard he wants. He’s meticulous in that respect and his entire team is important to the process. 

“I think I’m pretty open about how I work. I like to share with the people around me. Of course, I share with the producing team I work with, but also other composers, staff and dancers. I’ll share and see their reactions and see their options and see if I need to edit anything, or even if I should out the song into the album. I’m very open to everyone’s opinion.” 

The ten-track album has foundations set by WONHO’s previous discography, with a mix of fizzing-yet-airy ballads, chilled dance and silky R&B tracks that suit his higher register. SYNDROME as whole sonically explores the late nineties and noughties music era. Tracks like ‘Better Than Me’ have a strong poppy tone akin to *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys. It’s a sound that work well with more contemporary sounding songs like ‘DND’ that has a much more fluid and smooth RnB vibe.

“This album is about the symptoms of love, so I wanted to show the experiences and emotions I have felt, even with my fans, and the love that I feel for them.” He adds there is a fictional narrative concept he has gone with for the record. “I wanted to portray these different stories sequentially through the album. The process of deciding which tracks come first was also kind of connected to remembering my fans love.”

Keen on exploring the full spectrum of love. The peppy, disco infused song ’On Top of the World’ looks at the positive, endorphin charged fizz of a crush. His favourite is a ballad song that crescendos into an electro track: “Of course I love all of them. But in this moment, I would have to pick ‘Beautiful.’ I feel like it expressed my feelings right now.” 

Though the core theme of the record is the concept of love. WONHO hasn’t oversimplified things. Lyrically, these tracks have the themes of the complexities of a relationship, including the initial fluttering desire of love, but also the caustic sting of a relationship failing. ‘Good Liar’ starts with an almost sarcastic musing that he may be colourblind for missing a string of red flags. ‘DND’ has a stubborn tone of a scorched-earth relationship to it, and airing a lover’s calls. 

Another standout track, from the album is the RnB ‘If You Wanna’ that’s dripping with sex appeal. For this song he’s looked at a more on a casual, carnal take on love, with lyrics that have a more adult tone to them. The 32-year-old clearly doesn’t shy away from the duality of a male K-pop idol. He can just as easily do cute heart and bunny poses before posting content that gets the internet in a heated frenzy with the mere flash of a thigh, or a dance challenge on TikTok. It’s quite refreshing that he doesn’t sugarcoat his lyrics and themes. He’s also candid about the intentions of the album’s lyrics and also the boundaries that can often put be put upon an idol.

“I think this was the right timing for me to break some of these boundaries and push them a little bit.” He explains to me. “I think the attitude I have and the environment around me, especially in this album and ‘If You Wanna’  is more of a fantasy. It’s not really the real me, but it’s an image I want to create through the song. So, as long as I have fun, I want to keep trying more provocative things and pushing some of the boundaries that I can.”

The next day, the rain has subsided, but the New York has been treated to its first snowfall of the season. A gale is whipping up a dance of snowflakes outside as we wait for WONHO in the lobby of the Empire State Building. Thanks to their social team and three Gen-Z staff members, the top of the Empire State Building has become a must-do pitstop for any celebrity on their NYC press tour. It’s now on par with the Buzzfeed Puppy interview, NYT pizza making and going on ‘Hot Ones.’ Maluma, Heidi Klum and Stray Kids have all recently taken a trip to the top of one of NYC’s most well-known landmarks. 

The operation is a slick one. WONHO says “Hi” quickly, and throws a little wave my way when he sees me, before posing for photos. In a flash, he and his team are getting a whistle-stop tour of the skyscraper. One second he is playfully posing with the giant, overs-sized statue of King Kong’s hand, the next he is marvelling at film posters and walls of tv screens showing the history of the skyscraper. On various levels, WONHO stops to pose for pictures for a gaggle of press and photographers, before once again packing into another elevator and ascending through several floors. It almost feels like an America’s Next Top Model challenge, with WONHO being given a new social media challenge with every level we ascend to. He knows the drill, once again hitting all his poses for the cameras. The Empire State Building content team bash out a TikTok skit with him within an impressive three minutes. They film this inside, rather on the deck, as the team say it’s the windiest they have seen it in five years.

Eventually we arrive at the summit of the skyscraper, and climb up a steep set of stairs to the final level in the sky. It’s not open to the public, due to the single-file observation deck that tightly wraps around the top of the building. As we ascend, one of his team mentions that WONHO is actually afraid of heights. If he is afraid, you would have no idea, as he posed and smiled away. One photographer asks him to do the viral ‘Soda Pop’ pose from the hit film Demon K-Pop Hunters. Such is his likeness to the uber-buff character Abby, WONHO has cosplayed as him, doing the ‘Soda Pop’ dance challenge in full costume- complete with the obligatory torso flashing.

After the camera and content making are done. He and the rest of the team take a few moments to enjoy the majestic sprawling view of the city below. When the content is posted online of WONHO being battered by the swirling wind, WENEE responded with a mixture of pride and worry for him conquering his fear of heights. Despite the video posted with the wind, it was only a brief second stepping out, before everyone moved to the side, sheltered by the wind, where things were infinitely calmer and more comfortable. Perhaps the flurry of photographers distracted him from his fear, and allowed him to acclimatise, as he seems to have really enjoyed the moment.

Back on lower ground, I sit next to WONHO on a plush orange couch. He invites me to sit next to him for our chat. There is a quiet yet friendly warmth about the K-pop idol that makes you instantly feel at ease with his company. He speaks in a low, confident tone, with a smooth, reassuring tone to his voice. Even though he has a robust team around him, who he is very close with, I wonder how it feels as a solo artist, to experience all of these once-in-a-life-time experiences and if he shares with other idols and keeps in touch with any fellow peers?

“I think for other artists, I don’t keep in touch with them that much when I’m abroad because everyone has their own schedule and they’re all very busy, so I don’t want to really bother them. I don’t usually feel very lonely, but when I do feel a bit alone when I’m abroad, that’s when I will turn on my live broadcast and meet my fans through that- or share photos with them online.”

Despite his busy timetable, WONHO did manage to find a slither of time and align the stars and schedules with various idols, including fellow K-pop hear-throb MINGYU from SEVENTEEN (and followed up a day later with MINGYU’s fellow member HOSHI.) The pair filmed a dance challenge for ‘If You Wanna’ and ‘Pretty Woman’ in a claw-machine arcade full of pastel neon lights and hip-thrusting. Their fans echoed what WONHO has told me about busy schedules, wondering how the two of them synced up to record the content. It’s clear his fans don’t miss a beat and being a K-pop idol means that your every move is analysed, but WONHO is well equipped to handle such pressures. 

“Of course during certain times, it’s not always easy to be in the public eye. But I think my usual state is that I want to show everything I have to my fans. I live that way because I want to show more of me to them. It’s not really a burden to me and I feel like that’s brings me closer to them.”

His fans may fret over him, such as his fear of heights, but they also love to playfully tease him too. Often fans often joke with their favourite idols or not let them live down a funny moment that’s been caught on camera during a live or stage performance. 

“There are a lot of things (that they notice and joke about.) Especially when I’m online with my fans. Like when I spilled my milkshake on my laptop or when I fell off the bed whilst on broadcast. One thing WENEE probably don’t know is that last year during Jingle Ball. During the first intro part, I jumped and my pants actually ripped. But I played it cool, and I feel like they didn’t notice… maybe?” He laughs at this, but the hesitation at the end of his sentence makes me think he isn’t entirely convinced he did get away with it. I ask him if he’s sure that there aren’t any photos of him floating around with ripped pants. 

“I was worried, so I looked up online to see if anyone took a photo, but thankfully I didn’t see anything!” He starts playfully laughing again. As much as his fans like to engage in a bit of internet sleuthing, WONHO does too.  “I really enjoy watching all my fans and what they produce online. So I always make sure to watch their music video reactions if they have fan art online, I’ll look at it. Or if they cover my songs! Basically anything they participate in, I make sure to keep an eye out for it.” 

Connecting with his fans extends past social media and even was at the heart of constructing SYNDROME. He was also inspired by other artists from his youth, which infused the noughties sound to the record. “Of course my biggest inspiration is my fans. I also grew up listening to many artists and how they express love through their songs, and how they experience love and I have learned about the different pains that come with love, even more so than my personal experiences with love I learn through these songs.”

Just like his examination of love in this album, WONHO’s seen a multifaceted side to his fans, and differences between WENEE around the world, as well as the energy each city brings to him. He recently performed in London, visiting after a long time away.

“When I met my fans in New York. I could feel that they were very free-spirited and energetic.” He answers when I ask him about the duality between NYC and Londond/ “During this Europe tour, when I met my UK fans in London, they were super passionate, they were singing along loudly with me as time passed, even more than I felt before, I thought (in) both cities, the fans were very passionate. Maybe it is because I haven’t seen them in a while, but I could feel their energy. Aside from my fans, because that’s pretty obvious, for NYC- I don’t usually like busy cities, but after being in NYC for many visits, this was actually my first time visiting Central Park. I got to jog there and it was really nice to see the park. For London, I think I really love the architecture there. The streets and the buildings are so beautiful and I really fell in love with the European style and everything about the city was just really nice to me.”

“During this year, the most memorable part was meeting my fans on tour. I think even coming to the U.S for these promotions now. It was my first fan sign in the U.S and meeting my global fans through this kind of event. It’s been a very long time, so I was touched to meet them- and even this interview that we’re doing now, it’s very special to me.” 

WONHO suggests we get a photo before I bid farewell from our two-day adventure. There is a real sense that he relishes all these moments as he travels the world and make connections with people, whether he is meeting his beloved fans, doing interviews, photoshoots or even conquering his fear of heights. They all weave together as memories that inevitably contribute to the rich fabric of experiences in his songwriting. SYNDROME is an album about love, with all its scars and healing, but it’s clear that WONHO unconditionally loves every aspect of what he does, and it shows in the very heart of his music.