DAY6's Young K Gives Shoutout to Fellow JYP Band Xdinary Heroes

DAY6's Young K says the growing spotlight on bands in K-pop is a personal win. The singer and bassist opened up about the shift in a recent interview in Seoul's Dongdaemun district, held to mark the release of his second solo studio album, "YOUNGEST."

DAY6 has become one of the acts most often credited with bringing band music into the K-pop mainstream. The group has scored hits on both streaming charts and the live circuit, and Young K said the change is easy to feel from the inside.

"The fact that the band scene is growing this much makes me genuinely happy as someone who plays in a band," he said.

He compared the current moment to when DAY6 first started out. "When we debuted, bands weren't getting this kind of attention. Live music culture wasn't as active as it is now, and not many people were picking up instruments as a hobby," he said. "Now the market itself is bigger, and there are a lot more stages we can stand on. It feels like the demand for live shows really grew after COVID-19."

He also used the moment to shout out his direct juniors at the same label, Xdinary Heroes, when asked who might lead the next wave of K-pop bands.

"They say your arm bends inward, right?" he said with a laugh, using a Korean expression for favoring one's own. "Please show a lot of love to Xdinary Heroes, our direct juniors."

"YOUNGEST" is built around the questions Young K has been asking himself for years, and the answers he has landed on so far. The album features 15 tracks, including the title track "Shut The Door," along with "Marionette," "F world," "Hey Honey," "Eungwonga," "SPIKE," "Yonge St.," "million reasons," "100 Reasons We'll Break Up (with JINJOO of DNCE)," "Drivin' into Hell," "whatever," "Goodbye, Love," "Jibeuro Hyanghanda," "Angaekkot" and "Jageopsireseo Keopireul."

Young K's second solo studio album, "YOUNGEST," officially drops on the 27th at 6 p.m. KST.