Hui of Pentagon held a media showcase for his new solo album in Seoul on Tuesday and talked about debuting as a solo musician, after eight years as the leader and main vocalist of the band.
Introducing himself as a “solo rookie artist,” he said that everything still feels surreal.
“I’ve put quite a long time into this and thinking that I get to unveil (this) today has made me shake since yesterday,” said the singer and songwriter, who has fully devoted himself to preparing the EP since November.
The album is dubbed, “WHU IS ME: Complex,” as “complex” is the key to understanding him.
“It is what has made me what I am now … as I’ve never stopped making efforts to overcome it,” he explained.
The EP — fronted by upbeat dance number “Hmm BOP” — consists of four tracks and featured artists include bandmate Wooseok.
#Pentagon's #Hui takes a stand in 'Hmm BOP' solo debut MVhttps://t.co/xZlJgiFHph
— allkpop (@allkpop) January 16, 2024
Who Is Hui?
Hui (후이), also known by his full name Lee Hoe Taek (이회택), is a South Korean singer-songwriter and composer under Cube Entertainment. He is the leader and one of the main vocalists of the boy group PENTAGON and a former member of the co-ed group Triple H and project trot group Super Five.
He is also known for being a contestant on the reality survival show Boys Planet.
He will make his solo debut on January 16, 2024 with his first mini album, Whu Is Me : Complex.
2016: Debut with PENTAGON
He made his debut as a member of PENTAGON with their self-titled mini album on October 10, 2016.
2023: Boys Planet
He appeared as a contestant on Mnet’s reality survival show Boys Planet representing his agency Cube Entertainment. On April 20, he was eliminated in the finale after ranking 13th, and would not debut as a member of ZEROBASEONE.
2024: Solo debut with Whu Is Me : Complex
On December 11, 2023, news source Daily Sports reported that Hui is in the final stage of preparations for his solo debut with a target release for January 2024, with Cube confirming the reports hours later. On December 21, it was announced that Hui will be making his debut on January 16, 2024 with his first mini album, Whu Is Me : Complex.
Personal life
Relationship
Following the surfacing of photos of Hui on a date with (G)I-DLE’s Soojin, on August 2, 2018, Cube Entertainment confirmed the pair had dated in the past but was already broken up.
Military service
On October 19, 2020, Cube Entertainment announced that Hui would be enlisting on December 3 as a public service worker. On December 2, it was announced that he would be self-quarantining after being exposed to an area where another person had contact with the virus and that his enlistment date has been postponed.
On February 2, 2021, Cube Entertainment announced that Hui will start his service on February 18. He was discharged on November 17, 2022.
