Wonho Talks New Album ‘SYNDROME,’ Fans and Why He’s Not a Party Person

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It’s been three years since Wonho officially enlisted for mandatory military duties in Korea, and the global K-pop star says his time away from the spotlight was much needed, to spark new creativity and inspiration for his music. Now, the 32-year-old is back with his longest — and most personal — album yet, with the just-dropped SYNDROME, which was released at the end of October.

SYNDROME is the singer’s first full-length studio album, and it arrived not only after his military break, but also more than five years after the former Monsta X member departed the band. For Wonho, the 10-track album is a milestone moment in his career, finally giving him the time and space he craved to deliver a truly individual project to his fans.

“I’ve always wanted to release a full album like this and I always had the desire to, but there were obviously some situations where I couldn’t [do that],” he tells Rolling Stone. “But because I had this long break, I was able to prepare this music for a long time and really focus on creating a full album,” he says, adding that, “It feels like a new beginning to be honest.”

With a run time that clocks in under 30 minutes, SYNDROME is short but undoubtedly sweet, with songs that range from the party-ready album opener, “Fun,” to the confessional, “At the Time.” Wonho is at once coy and seductive, leaving listeners breathless on “If You Wanna,” while the guy famously known for baring his body bares his soul on “Beautiful.” A press release teases the album as Wonho’s “clearest artistic statement to date,” and the singer says he wanted to show every side of himself, whether good or bad.

“Each song is very different,” he stresses. “All of them have different vibes and different emotions that I wanted to express, and I worked a long time on bringing that out.”

Rolling Stone caught up with Wonho to chat more about the recording process behind SYNDROME, the secret to staying relevant, and why all he wants for Christmas this year is the fans.

What was the vibe like in the studio when you recorded the album?

I had a very fun time with the studio and everything was just fun to work on. I think I probably recorded around 20 songs, but only 10 were selected for this album.

Will there be a chance that we hear the other songs on another album?

Of course, there are songs that I recorded and I like, so I’m already thinking about the next album and preparing for it, and I have thoughts about how I want it to be. So maybe they’ll be included on the next one.

There are a lot of self-described “party” tracks on the album, but are you a big party guy?

Personally, I don’t really enjoy going to clubs, and it’s kind of uncomfortable for me, but the Europe tour that I recently was on felt like a party, because I got to meet my fans in each country and it was really fun to visit and see them. I also usually don’t drink a lot of alcohol and I’m not so good at drinking, but on Christmas or during the holidays, I do have a day where I’ll drink wine with friends or people around. But I only just drink that day.

Is it hard for you to go out and not get recognized or bombarded by fans?

As an artist, I definitely have to be a little bit more careful when I go out, but the fans usually allow me to eat or shop comfortably.

How else do you get inspiration for your music?

I take the time out to go travel and take trips elsewhere, and even like, today, when I have a busy schedule, I’ll go out in the morning to run and see my environment, just see what the daily environment is like in whatever place I’m in.

It’s been more than ten years since you debuted with Monsta X and now you’re in a successful solo era. What is the secret to longevity and staying relevant?

I think for me, it’s really about keeping my fans close. For some people, maybe honors or money is really important, and of course, everything is important, but I think for me, my fans are the most important because they really show me directly how much they like my music and they give me feedback about what they like. And I feel like because I communicate with them directly, it’s something that’s really big for me. And I also think a big part of it is my consistency. I’m always practicing and working on myself and I’m always consistent about showing my best self to them.

Whose opinion do you trust the most when it comes to receiving feedback about your music or performances?

[Points to team] Everyone here! [laughs]. I would say our company staff, and also the producing team that I work with, they provide a lot of honest and direct feedback about my music. So they’ll tell me, honestly, if this recording was bad, or if my vocal tone or pronunciation wasn’t very good, and then tell me to do it again. So I think those opinions are ones I get the most excited about. That was a good question.

With the holidays coming up, do you remember the best Christmas present you ever received?

The best present I received was maybe when I was younger, about preschool [age] when there was a Santa Claus dressed up, and they gave everyone else very small presents, but I received a really big LEGO set. So I was really happy, but later, I found out that it was actually my dad. The Santa Claus was giving out the presents that the parents had prepared in advance. But I felt very happy and proud.

What’s the best present that you’ve ever given?

The present that I want to give is probably future tense: I want to focus on music to gift to my fans as a present. I want to make more music and grow more, and the biggest gift is probably to meet as many fans around the world as possible. I had some time off but now that I’m back, I want to spent that time with my fans.