On April 11, Eric Nam held a showcase for his new mini album “Honestly.”

“Honestly” is the singer’s third album that comes two years after the release of his second album “Interview” in March 2016. Eric Nam explained that it took him two years to produce an album filled entirely with his songs. “It’s an album I prepared really hard with blood, sweat, and tears. I hope a lot of people will listen to it at least once,” he said.

Eric Nam also shared that fellow artists helped him with the new album. He revealed that he texted 20 idols when trying to select a song as the title track. “Potion” and “Honestly” received equal votes.

“When I asked people passing by and so on, ‘Honestly’ gradually earned more votes,” he said. “Thinking ‘Potion’ would get a better reaction overseas with a great video and promotions, I chose to appeal to international fans with the song. I thought ‘Honestly’ would be an easier song to gain acceptance in Korea.”

The music video of “Potion,” as well as the album cover images, were filmed in Mexico. Eric Nam explained, “‘Potion’ was the first song I wrote in this album. I pictured the festive energy of South America. I saw ‘Havana’ trending and songs with Latin vibes growing popular worldwide but music representing South America is unfamiliar in Korea. I thought many people would find it refreshing.”

Among those who supported him, Eric Nam especially expressed his gratitude for BTS. “They listened to all the tracks and gave me various feedback,” he explained. “They even thought about what the title of the title track should be with me. So I’m really grateful for them.”

“I contact them when I’m free to talk about music,” he continued. “I’m older than them, but I feel like I’m the one receiving their advice. Suga listened to my song when there was just the sound of the guitar and he said, ‘The melody is so good. It’s great.’ Hearing that made me confident that I wasn’t the only one who thought the song was good, and it also gave me courage.”

Eric Nam went through a visual transformation through the new album as well. Instead of his usual sweet, cute image, he chose to show off a sexy, mysterious side of him.

“It seems that I have been on television often with the image of a gentle, sweet, and romantic guy so far,” he said. “There was a somewhat fixed image that people expected of me, so there was a bit of burden when I was on shows. I thought they would be disappointed if I deviated from their expectations.” Through this album, he wanted to show that he had a different side to him and show himself taking on challenges.

Eric Nam shared that “Honestly” is an album that perfectly fitted him. “I was quite stubborn about doing what I wanted to do,” he explained. “I think I prepared this album with a little more passion. I gained confidence that this is how I should be doing things in the future as well.”

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