[Herald Interview] K.Will talks about relationships in new album

K.Will (Starship Entertainment)

It took six years for singer-songwriter K.Will, known for his numerous hit ballads, to release a new album.

On Thursday, K.Will will unveil “All the Way,” his seventh EP, talking about his relationships with the people he encounters.

“I asked myself what evokes my emotions. For me, it isn’t certain happenings that make me happy or sad. Instead, my feelings revolve around my relationships with people around me. So I wanted this album to talk about feelings such as happiness, sadness and enthusiasm that I experience in a relationship,” K.Will said in an interview with reporters in Seoul on Friday.

The album contains six tracks, led by “No Sad Song for My Broken Heart” produced by producer and singer-songwriter Yoon Sang.

“The title track shows the process of a relationship falling apart. It was my first time working with Yoon Sang because he mostly deals with minor-scale music when most of my songs are major-scale. So this is a new attempt for me. I enjoyed working on it,” said K.Will.

The artist took an active part in the making of the album -- from picking the producers to work with to composition and writing the lyrics.

“I prepared this album with the mindset that this could be my last physical album because releasing an album is burdensome, especially when most artists these days tend to release digital singles. I tried to convey who artist K.Will is in this album. I hope it can get positive reviews from listeners,” he said.

There was even a point in his life when he wondered if he needed new songs at all.

“My strength is that I have many songs that are well-known to the public. I usually have a concert once a year and as the list of my hit songs continues to grow, I don’t get to perform some of the songs during concerts. This made me wonder if I needed to release new songs when I already have enough hit songs," he said.

He then realized that this was merely an excuse to escape the pressure of making new songs. “But a singer’s job is to introduce new songs for fans and perform them on stage, so I decided to release this album," the singer-songwriter said.

In the past six years, K.Will has been experimenting with his vocals so as to not limit himself to one style.

“I also worked as a musical actor for which I tried to make a vocal change. I always monitor my past recordings to think about which vocal style I want to pursue. Most of my songs are not easy to sing, requiring skillful singing. In this new album, I included both easy-listening songs and high-pitched ballads to showcase diverse vocal styles,” said K.Will.

The artist cites fans and endurance as the keys to being a singer for more than 16 years.

“I never thought I would be in the music scene for so long. There were ups and downs but I tried to endure. Endurance is what helped me continue releasing new albums," he said, adding that he plans to release new singles more often.

By Hong Yoo(yoohong@heraldcorp.com)