MONSTA X’s Shownu X Hyungwon Aim to Leave a Mark with ‘LOVE ME’ and Their Powerhouse Physique [Interview]

Shownu X Hyungwon’s second mini album ‘LOVE ME,’ releasing May 21 at 6 PM, is a work that captures deeper and more delicate emotions based on the members’ signature restrained sensibility and sophisticated mood. The duo explored various forms of love through their own unique colors in this album.

Regarding the theme of ‘love,’ Hyungwon explained, “From a songwriting perspective, I think there are many things that can be expressed under the theme of love. It’s not just about romantic love; it could be about friends or animals. In that process, emotions like hatred or anger can also be felt, and I thought those parts fit our color well.”

Hyungwon shared some behind-the-scenes details, saying, “The title track was selected after competing with the second track, ‘Superstitious.’ Since ‘Do You Love Me,’ which I wrote first, is a powerful song, I created ‘Superstitious’ as a more listening-oriented track. The styles of the two songs were so different that we discussed it with the company, and we agreed to once again emphasize the strengths of Shownu X Hyungwon.”

He added, “When we promote as MONSTA X, we have rapper friends, so we lean into a more explosive charm. This time, we wanted to show our more restrained side. Since both Shownu and I have mid-to-low voice tones in the group, we focused on that aspect while preparing the stage.”

Shownu also participated in the performance for ‘Do You Love Me.’ He explained, “Before starting in earnest with the choreography teacher, I did some preliminary work on parts I felt were lacking. Since the choreography was initially very restrained, I shared reference videos with the teacher and went through a process of revising it.”

Ahead of their comeback, they also put a lot of effort into their physical strengths. Hyungwon said, “I think the distinguishing factor of our unit is that we can show a lot physically. So, I managed myself leading up to this comeback. I avoided red foods as much as possible and focused on eating chicken, so please give a lot of interest to our performance.”

When Shownu mentioned, “I’ve shared more conversations and bonded more with Hyungwon while working on this music video and album than I have in the past 10 years,” Hyungwon agreed, saying, “During the first album, we felt some awkwardness because it was a new feeling, but since this is the second one, we’ve become more familiar and were able to capture a lot of the chemistry we can show.”

Shownu X Hyungwon expressed satisfaction with their pairing, describing themselves as a “combination that fills in each other’s gaps when together.”

Hyungwon noted, “Shownu and I have such different vibes, even in our looks. I think the advantage is that viewers can feel a variety of charms.” Shownu also added, “Hyungwon is great at filling in the parts I lack. Rather than just becoming one and matching our steps, I think there’s a synergy that creates a 1+1 effect.”

So, what are Shownu X Hyungwon hoping for through these promotions? Shownu expressed his affection for the fans, saying, “It would be great if the results are good. But it’s been a while since I’ve had high expectations for that part. I feel like the line between a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ result has become blurred, so I think it’s more important to continue promoting with fans for a long time.”

To the same question, Hyungwon smiled and said, “I once mentioned ‘staircase growth’ in a previous interview, and I believe the process of continuously showing something without stopping is also important. I recently saw Rain’s new music video and found it really cool how he doesn’t settle for his position and keeps challenging himself. Inspired by that, I hope we can continue to grow in a staircase fashion.”