DAWN Feels All The Love In ‘Narcissus’

DAWN knows a thing or two about his life being held under a microscope.

The 29-year-old artist, real name Kim Hyo-jong, has been in the media spotlight since the 2018 revelation of his romantic relationship with fellow Cube Entertainment labelmate and idol HyunA, which was seen as taboo in the K-Pop industry. Both DAWN and HyunA did the unthinkable: they remained committed to their relationship, prompting the label to cut them both out. The duo sparked support from fans domestically and abroad, solidifying their status as one of K-Pop’s most beloved power couples. They later signed to Psy’s P Nation label and released their solo EPs. For DAWN, he released his 2020 hip-hop album ‘Dawndididawn’, which marked his debut as a solo artist. Both DAWN and HyunA later released a collaborative EP called 1+1=1 in 2021, which was a first - and only - in K-Pop history for a couple in the industry to release one together. But DAWN and HyunA were known for their unconventional and unconditional love. After leaving P Nation in 2022, DAWN and Hyuna announced their breakup. 

Now working with producer duo GroovyRoom’s AT AREA, DAWN is ready to share his music in his own words. His new EP Narcissus–released on September 15th–tells the story of his life in his 20s as he experienced love, loss, and finding himself through it all. 

“I prepared [this album] like it was my first album,” DAWN tells Elle Singapore over Zoom from Korea. “For the first time, the stories I wanted to tell were those thoughts and good feelings. I really prepared it with a lot of effort, like it was my last album.”

While many speculate that the album is about HyunA, DAWN doesn’t deny it, but he also wants people to know that it’s also a letter to himself about the trials and tribulations he’s gone through. While the world has known DAWN with HyunA as a duo, even throughout his Dawndididawn era, he is ready for that narrative to change. Just who is DAWN now–and without HyunA? 

“It’s really hard to think of one word to describe who I am now,” DAWN ponders. “I am a person who enjoys adventures now. I’m very optimistic and think about a lot of things at the same time. I really enjoy this process of self-searching. I’m very adventurous now, and I’m very happy about that.”

The title of the EP “Narcissus” stems from DAWN's belief that when we fall in love with someone, we mirror ourselves to them in a way where we basically fall in love with ourselves, and when the relationship falls apart, we lose a part of ourselves. He recalled the Greek story of Narcissus, a beautiful hunter who became entranced by his own reflection, and thought it closely matched his concept. 

“It’s quite simple,” says DAWN. “The tracks talk about different phases of what I experienced in my 20s through my love. When I first dated the person I love, and then during that love, then the end before the farewell, and then the love after the farewell. It’s the full story of all the emotions.”

In Narcissus, DAWN shows a more gentle, humble, and wise side to himself, one that has been through many challenges and came out with more poise and gratitude. It was also an opportunity for DAWN to tell his truth and not hold back on his emotions. All the songs in the album for DAWN felt like he was reading a 10-year diary. 

“I’m still thinking about it now,” he says. “After I released it, it felt like I was publishing a book. I'm now feeling ‘oh, that’s how I lived, and that’s how I loved’. I wonder what kind of love I can [have] in the future? Will I be able to love? So there’s just a lot of emotions going back and forth right now.”

In the sweet ballad "Star," DAWN sings about falling in love with a star, only for it not to work out because they’re different people. He reflects that he “doesn’t believe in who is wrong or right, but just their differences and acknowledges that is enough [to break down]”. Memory (featuring Kim Sawol) presents the male and female perspectives on their memories of each other and their wish to erase their love so it hurts a little less. DAWN describes this haunting melody as sci-fi-meets-fantasy “inspired by the film Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind.” There are some love songs, ‘Fallin (featuring pH-1)’ and ‘Abyss’, English tracks, that describe falling in love and the lengths they would go for their loved one. 

Compared to Dawndididawn, which DAWN says established him as a commercial idol, Narcissus is about who he is now as Hyo-jong, rather than as the character DAWN. For many years, DAWN has kept Hyo-jong in the dark and is now ready for the world to meet Hyo-jong.

“This album is [both] DAWN and Hyo-jong, the person,” DAWN reveals. “An album containing the story that shows me, the real me. That’s why this album feels different.” 

As for the fans and people who are dissecting the album, DAWN says it’s natural for fans to be intrigued by his personal life. It comes with the territory of being a public figure, but hopes that audiences will feel different kinds of love when listening to the album. Not just romantic love or the feeling of love, but the many aspects of love. 

“There are so many different emotions of feeling loved,” Dawn explains. “It [could be] feeling nervous about meeting a person for the first time or feeling hurt because they’re going through a breakup. I just want people to listen to this album and feel their own emotions about love because this album is about that.”