The New Six returns as full unit with Junhyeok back from 14-month break

The New Six introduces its first digital single, "Fuego," during a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday. (Hwang Yun-ha/ The Korea Herald)

K-pop boy group released its first digital single, “Fuego,” its first new project in nine months.

This is also the group’s full unit comeback as a group of six for the first time in 14 months with Junhyeok back with the group to promote the new digital single.

Junhyeok had been taking a break from group activities since January last year due to health issues.

“I want to thank the members for waiting for me and also for telling me that they need me in the team. Their support led me to practice much harder to show my best performance to be of help to the group for this comeback. Our teamwork has improved,” said Junhyeok during a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday.

The New Six consists of six members: Kyungjun, Taehun, Hyunsoo, Junhyeok, Hwi and Sungjun.

The group returned with a performance that was more fierce and more powerful than ever for the promotion of “Fuego.”

“Fuego,” or fire in Spanish, is a bass house number.

“The single is about burning away all negative feelings and thoughts such as anxiety and worries to march forward together,” explained Kyungjun.

“The choreography of the single conveys diverse moves that depicts fire. It also includes a lot of group moves in which we have to show good teamwork,” said Taehun.

Performing the single on stage for the first time during the press conference, The New Six showed perfectly synchronized moves that required a lot of energy.

“We practiced the choreography for 10 hours daily before shooting the music video. Psy took part in our practices to point out we should improve and that helped us present a perfectly aligned performance,” said Hwi.

Psy is the CEO of P Nation, the agency that houses The New Six.

The single was produced by Penomeco, a renowned music producer in the K-pop scene who has worked with well-known names such as IU, Itzy, NCT U and Jessie.

“Penomeco was meticulous when directing us during the recording sessions. He helped to bring out the best in each member. He even came to watch us shoot the music video for the single to support us,” added Taehun.

The group plans to promote its new single through diverse content including local music shows and a fan meeting is also in the works.

“We wanted to return with a high quality song and performance and also show the public and our fans that we’ve improved as artists. We hope to continue introducing music that can be appreciated and loved by the public,” said Sungjun.

By Hong Yoo(yoohong@heraldcorp.com)