Woodz says military service will be 'temporary memory loss'

Singer-songwriter Woodz released a new digital single, "Amnesia," just before the beginning of his military service. The alternative rock track explores the idea of avoiding reality.

Singer-songwriter Woodz dropped digital single ″Amnesia″ on Monday. [EDAM ENTERTAINMENT]

Woodz’s new digital single “Amnesia” dropped Monday — a bittersweet present for the fans of the singer-songwriter, as he will begin his mandatory military service in January.

“Ending with [the release of ‘Amnesia’], I will be leaving for a moment and live a different life; but I will return [from the military] swiftly, just as if we all had a temporary memory loss,” Woodz said in a news release Tuesday.

“Amnesia,” an alternative rock score produced by Woodz himself, is a track about trying to avoid reality, which is alluded in the form of amnesia.

“I’ve had a lot on my mind and lots of concerns recently,” Woodz said. “And I was wondering whether I was trying to forget reality and trying to escape [from facing reality] because I wasn’t able to find a clear answer to things.”

“I wrote the song thinking that others must [have the same experience of] temporarily avoiding reality to consolidate themselves.”

“After drinking some alcohol, I looked back at the moments of experiencing a blackout and thought to myself ‘What did I want to avoid so much?' I titled it ‘Amnesia’ because I suffered memory loss myself after doing so.”

Woodz first unveiled the song during his two-day “OO-LI and” encore tour back in October, which received a positive reception from audiences and left many of his fans asking for a full release.

“I actually fully intended to release the track [officially], so I was very glad to see the audiences cheering and loving the song during the concert,” Woodz said.

“I hope people think that the things I express through music are ‘getting ripe,’” he said. “I hope people say that ‘Oh, Woodz, his songs are worth listening to.’”

Woodz, whose real name is Cho Seung-youn, first debuted as a member of boy band UNIQ in 2014. He started his solo career with his stage name, Woodz, in 2018.

He will begin his mandatory military service on Jan. 22, joining the army band.

To find out more about WOODZ, visit Celeb Confirmed!

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]