Former Wanna One member Hwang Min-hyun debuts as soloist

Hwang Min-hyun, a member of now-disbanded project boy groups Wanna One and NU’EST, made his debut as a solo artist Monday, 11 years after he began his musical career.

In “Truth or Lie,” his first EP and first release as a soloist, the singer exposes his various sides that have not been shown to anyone before and asks a question: What do you think is my true self?

He then answers, “You can believe what you want,” because there is no clear answer to the question, and this is the message that penetrates the album.

“Since this is my first solo album, I wanted to tell about myself,” Hwang said during a media showcase to promote the EP at a music hall in eastern Seoul. “I have so many different sides, but people don’t seem to know them yet. I also wanted to show those sides through an album.”

The EP has a total of six tracks — the main single “Hidden Side,” “Honest,” “Crossword,” “Perfect Type,” “Smile” and “Cube.”

“Hidden Side” is an up-tempo pop-genre song with an impressive bass sound, which best represents the album’s theme.

Questioned why the song was chosen as the main track, Hwang said many people may have expected him to make a solo debut with a comfortable song but he was eager to dance on stage, most of all.

“First, I had a thirst for performing on stage. Second, since I think there are many who became my fans after seeing me performing on stage as a member of an idol group, I wanted to show what they remember about me.”

Hwang debuted in 2021 as a vocalist of the K-pop boy group NU’EST. In 2017, he participated in the second season of the survival audition show “Produce 101″ and became a member of Wanna One, a project boy group composed of 11 finalists.

After the group’s disbandment, Hwang re-joined NU’EST, remaining in the group until its disbandment in 2022. He has also worked between musical stages and filming sets for TV dramas as an actor. Most recently, he appeared in the popular two-part tvN series “Alchemy of Souls.”

As the album is about many different sides of him, the singer spent much time thinking and came to know more about himself while preparing for the release.

“I’m known as a soft, friendly and mild person, but I wanted to show an unexpected charm this time.”

Before returning as a singer, Hwang spent almost 1 1/2 years as Seo Yul in “Alchemy of Souls,” putting on only light makeup befitting the character.

“And then I tried extreme and bold makeover for this album. It felt strange and was unfamiliar at first, but later it looked better than I thought. So I realized, ‘Oh, I’ll still be okay with this styling for an idol star,’” he said, smiling.

Hwang showed a strong desire to continue to pursue both the singing and acting careers.

“I know it isn’t easy to do just one thing well, but I don’t want to give up a desire to sing, dance and meet fans on stage. I also will make efforts to grow and work well as an actor, and try to drop albums containing my tastes of music in my spare time,” he stressed.