K-pop group BOYNEXTDOOR returned to their roots with their 1st studio album, HOME. The group has been enjoying global popularity, building a strong following domestically and in Japan, Southeast Asia, China, and the U.S. Their last EP, The Action, peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard 200 chart, steadily climbing with each release. HOME debuted at No. 16 on the Billboard 200, their highest on the U.S. Chart.
It has been three years since the group debuted with KOZ Entertainment – a label under HYBE. The group has explored many different concepts – from their boy-next-door charm and hip-hop style to being a Hollywood action star – and sounds (hip-hop, pop, R&B, jazz, ballads). But with HOME, it feels the closest to the members – Jaehyun, Sungho, Riwoo, Taesan, Leehan, and Woonhak – reflecting their journey from their trainee days to now and what it means to them to be “home.”
According to BOYNEXTDOOR, HOME is “built around universally resonant themes like love and separation, youth, growth, and growing pains, spanning a wide emotional spectrum.” The members, who held a listening party over Zoom from Seoul a few days before the album’s release, revealed that this is their “most personal body of work to date,” with all six members credited for songwriting and creative direction.
“We explicitly use the word home and not house because we were trying to go for that emotional safety that you have where you can feed your true self,” Jaehyun says over Zoom. “This album really chronicles our journey to find that home – that emotional safe haven. It talks about all the emotions that we’ve been through since our debut days, when we were trainees, to after our debut, and we have a lot of people to thank along the way. This album is filled with gratitude for those people.”
The album contains nine songs (“06070,” “VIRAL,” “ddok ddok ddok,” ADIOS!,” “Upside Down,” “DIVE,” “Forever You,” “I Wonder,” and “I Wonder, Always”), with the last track only offered on the physical album. Their lead single, “VIRAL,” as the title implies, expresses their desire to spread their message and identity further while also connecting to a past relationship that has slipped away, yet you still want to reach them. The sound and performance reflect their K-pop roots, featuring tightly synchronized choreography and a catchy hook that builds momentum.
“I feel like I was able to let out a lot of the emotions I had been holding in while working on this album,” says Woonhak. “It also made me realize that I want to keep working through those feelings through music, so I can move forward without any regrets as an artist. K-pop is basically my life. I’ve always loved listening to music made in Korea, and now that it’s become my career, it still feels just as close to me. In a way, everything I’ve been doing from the beginning until now is K-pop.”
The rest of the album focuses on a mix of their pre-debut period and their journey to success as a group, while including songs about love, loss, and everything in between. Their first track, “06070,” is the zip code of their first company building during their trainee days and reflects their anxiety and anticipation about their debut. “Forever You” is a sweet ballad dedicated to their families who have supported them throughout their lives. Both “I Wonder” and “I Wonder, Always” are dedicated to the fans – ONEDOOR, with the latter delivering it in their “most unfiltered form.” All six contributed to these songs, which touch on their collective journey and shared narrative. “ADIOS!,” “Upside Down,” and “DIVE” capture different emotions and feelings – lingering feelings, moving on, no regrets, and falling in love.
Below, the group discusses the positive response around the album, their connection with the album, favorite songs, and their very first World Tour, BOYNEXTDOOR TOUR ‘KNOCK ON Vol. 2, this July with 33 shows across 22 cities.
Laura Sirikul: How has the reception been since the release of the new album?
TAESAN: Everyone around us has been saying how much they like the album. We’ve been hearing a lot of positive feedback from people close to us. My dad’s favorite track is “ADIOS!,” which made me really happy.
Sirikul: The album is an autobiographical journey that traces back to your trainee days, debut, growing up in the public eye, being away from family, and just growing into your own person. What made now the right time to do this? What is it that you want the fans to take from your story?
SUNGHO: Over the past three years, we’ve built up so many experiences and emotions, both as a team and individually. Since this is our first studio album, we really wanted to express those accumulated thoughts and feelings as honestly as we could. Through this album, we hoped to share a deeper and more diverse side of BOYNEXTDOOR with our fans.
Sirikul: Woonhak says that each track represents “a different room allowing them to share stories they’ve experienced before and after their debut.” To all, which track do you feel more represents you?
SUNGHO: I’d say “VIRAL.” I think it really captures the ambition we’ve held onto, no matter what we’ve gone through, and the mindset that hasn’t really changed since the beginning.
RIWOO: For me, it’s “I Wonder.” It’s a song where I honestly expressed some of my most sincere emotions, including love, which makes it especially meaningful to me.
JAEHYUN: “I Wonder, Always (CD Only).” It’s a CD-only track, but I think it represents my most honest feelings, so I’m especially attached to it.
TAESAN: “I Wonder.” I feel like it says everything—without our fans, I wouldn’t be here either.
LEEHAN: “I Wonder” for me too! It’s the track that feels closest to who I am.
WOONHAK: “I Wonder.” It really reflects my heart and the emotions I feel on stage.
HOME feels more connected to K-pop, your roots, with the sound and the resonance of home – South Korea. A departure to The Action, which feels very Westernized Hollywood. How have you connected with your personal roots with the music/album – about parents, K-pop sound/moves, and your company postal code 06070?
JAEHYUN: We reinterpreted the influences we grew up with through our own perspective as a K-pop group. The album reflects the journey of pursuing our dream of becoming artists, while also looking back on the people, experiences, and music that shaped us along the way.
The whole thing behind this album was finding the point of origin for us, and to that end, we had a lot of talks among ourselves because all six of us were involved in creating this album, and when we were working our way up and trying to find our roots, we naturally came to K-pop because that’s what we listened to when we were growing up. Because of K-pop, we dreamed of becoming artists and musicians, so we wanted to have our own take on it, and this album is our reinterpretation of K-pop. We love K-pop and our culture, and we want to make sure we can fully express our love for them. So we really have a lot of talks, and the main question we always ask ourselves is: what is K-pop that boy next door thinks about, and what is our take on K-pop?
Sirikul: HOME is the end of Chapter 1 of this era for BOYNEXTDOOR. What have you learned from your previous album releases that helped with this album?
LEEHAN: Our fans, ONEDOOR, who are always by our side and cheering us on, really gave us a lot of strength—just knowing that they’re waiting for our music and performances meant everything while preparing this album.
Sirikul: “Home is not a place, it’s a feeling or where the heart is.” You’ve stated you wanted this album to feel like a home (a place of comfort) for the listeners. Where is home for you (other than ONEDOOR)?
SUNGHO: I’d say, my family. No matter what happens, they’re the place I can always trust and return to, and that gives me a lot of comfort.
RIWOO: My bed, honestly. It’s the place where I finally feel like the day is winding down, and where I can fully relax. It’s also where I spend a lot of time connecting with fans, whether it’s scrolling through messages or just thinking about them, so it ends up being a really comforting space for me in more ways than one.
JAEHYUN: It’d be our team. Working on this album really made me feel that even more. Since the album is titled ‘HOME,’ we kept talking a lot about what home means to us and where everything started, and I think that naturally led me to reflect on my own journey. After I met the members, I felt like I’d arrived at a home I could always come back to, and a place where I could keep going no matter what.
TAESAN: Music. It’s just a space where I can be myself, go anywhere in my mind, and still feel most at ease.
LEEHAN: The stage. When I feel loved on stage, I’m just completely happy without any worries, and that’s when I feel most like myself.
WOONHAK: The stage as well. It’s where I feel the happiest, and it’s also a space where I can share so many different emotions with people.
Sirikul: How are you feeling about doing your World Tour – and performing in the U.S? What can fans expect from the show?
RIWOO: Now that we’ve released our first studio album, I think our performances are going to feel bigger and even more exciting. I’m really looking forward to showing a more elevated version of our stage, so I hope our fans are excited for it too!
BOYNEXTDOOR’s HOME is now available on all streaming platforms everywhere.
