KIHYUN let the rock out solo
The MONSTA X main vocalist's first solo in three years and nine months. A rock record that picks self-belief over the right answer.
In three lines
- MONSTA X's KIHYUN is back solo after three years and nine months, with the mini album 'BORDERLINE'.
- The title track 'So Good' pushes KIHYUN's rock vocal all the way to the end.
- The music video is the singer's first proper action piece — a 'straggler' concept, standing alone in a ruin.
When the main vocalist takes the mic alone
KIHYUN is the voice that handled the highest notes in MONSTA X — the one who lifts the group's chorus upward. After three years and nine months, that voice is standing on its own, with the solo mini album 'BORDERLINE'.
Alone, a voice comes through more clearly. There's no harmony to hide behind. So this album doubles as a place to show, plainly, what kind of singer KIHYUN is.
'So Good' — rock that throws out the right answer
The song opens with a guitar coming straight at you. Rock with nothing extra, driving forward. KIHYUN's vocal stretches out over it, wide open. Nothing is held back; the voice lets it out all the way.
The message is simple and strong: rather than following the standards around you and other people's right answers, trust your own choice. The title 'So Good' is another name for that conviction. A song that says "I like this," not "this is correct."
Forbes in the US pointed to this album as one that "looks for what's true to yourself rather than the right answer."
Here's how 'BORDERLINE' is laid out.
| # | Track |
|---|---|
| 1 | So Good (title) |
| 2 | Borderline |
| 3 | Stealin' Air |
| 4 | Domino |
| 5 | Lazy Day |
| 6 | Late Night Drive |
| 7 | Howling |
The grain changes the further you get from the title track. Even just the titles — 'Late Night Drive', 'Lazy Day' — show this is an album that made room for the space after the sprint.
The straggler's ground — the music video
KIHYUN took on proper action for the first time, apparently going to an action school for it. In the video the singer stands alone on a vast stretch of land that looks like a ruin. A 'straggler' concept, they say.
The picture is of someone left alone who throws everything in rather than running. The song's stance — I trust my own choice — moved onto the screen. What was belted with the voice is now being belted with the body.
Discovery note
Play it while driving alone at night, or right before you have to decide something. In the moment when other people's standards start getting loud. The rock in 'So Good' pushes that noise away in one go, and the last high note nudges you: just pick the one you like.
Just give it a listen, trust me.
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NONOL Editorial
The NONOL Magazine editorial team — we hear it first, then pass it on.
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