After eventful three years, EXO’s Chen wants to begin anew with 3rd EP

Chen, a member of popular K-pop boy group EXO, said Monday he has experienced much change in his life in the past three years and wants to show himself as he is now through his upcoming release.

“For me, this album means a new beginning,” the vocalist said during an online press conference to promote “Last Scene,” his third EP set to drop at 6 p.m.

The EP marks his first individual project since “Dear My Dear,” his second EP released in October 2019.

He has built a strong global fandom based on his remarkable vocal skills since his debut as an EXO member in 2012. He, however, began walking an unlikely path for many K-pop idols in 2020 — with marriage, childbirth and military service.

In January that year, he surprised his fans by announcing a plan to get married and that he was expecting a baby. He then fathered a second child this year while serving in the military. He was discharged from the Army in April.

“I’ve changed a lot through all the experiences that I have undergone in the past three years,” Chen said when asked what changes have been made since his last release. “I’ve thought a lot about what I was like in the past. There are parts that I regret and parts that l liked, but through those experiences, I’ve got to make a vow to begin again based on them.”

He added that he wants to open up more and become a person who listens to what people around him say.

The new EP has six tracks, including the title track, “Traveler” and “I Don’t Even Mind.”

“Last Scene” is a ballad song featuring a beautiful piano sound and string melody. Chen delivers, with his appealing sentimental voice, a man’s feelings of loss and hollowness right after a breakup with his lover.

“I felt too hollow and lonely when I first heard the song,” he said. “I tried to sing as if shouting so I could convey the feelings of a man who doesn’t want to let his lover go in the face of a breakup. It’s a precious song to me because I exerted much effort to make it better.”