Vancouver's Junny on tackling burnout and breakups + releasing the English version of 'Not About You'

The Korean-Canadian singer recently unveiled his new song in a listening session

Welcome to Bunni Pop extras! On occasion, I will post updates on this newsletter with new music and profiles of up-and-coming artists. This week, I’m very excited to introduce readers to Korean-Canadian singer-songwriter Junny!

(Unbound Entertainment)

Junny has collaborated with some of the biggest names in K-pop including IU, NCT, CHUNG HA and Jay B.

But 2022 has been a breakout year for him. In August, Junny released his debut studio album Blanc and embarked on a North American tour, which included a stop in his hometown of Vancouver.

Now Junny is thanking his overseas fans with an English version of “Not About You,” the title track from his album Blanc.

“Not About You” is an upbeat and fun pop song that chronicles Junny’s inner thoughts after a break-up. It begins as a lonely, nostalgic love song. But once the hook hits, he delivers a liberating good-bye message to his former flame. It’s the kind of song you’d probably listen to as you move past all the crying and grovelling over someone you once loved.

I recently had a chance to sit in on a listening session for the song, and hear Junny take questions on everything from songwriting, burnout and getting over a breakup. Below are some highlights:

On the story he wanted to deliver to fans through “Not About You”

Junny says the song is a “personal story” of his that he thought fans could relate to. In addition, he wanted a comeback with a concept he’s never done before.

“The lyrics are more cynical and on the edge, and it’s something that was done on purpose for me to show a different side of myself to my audience.”

On getting over a breakup

Because “Not About You” is about a breakup, Junny was asked what his tips were about getting over a former a relationship.

His secret? Remaining positive.

“In life, you meet a lot of people. It can be friends, or it's someone that you may love for a certain period of time, and they can come and go,” he said.

“It's such a journey you go through and you may be very, very sad about losing someone through a breakup.”

However, Junny says the end result is all for the best, as it means a new stage in life.

“Now I'm able to, you know, take a different road and become someone new and become something better than before.”

(Junny and his adorable dog Leo!)

On his songwriting process

Junny, who was raised in Canada, says most of the songs he writes are in English, then translated to Korean.

He says music allows him to connect with his roots. “You know, I think that’s my goal to be good at both,” he says.

He adds that “Not About You” was a song that also came very naturally to him.

“I wrote the song in a very, very short time,” he said.

“That goes to show all the emotion that I kept inside. It was an opportunity for me to let these words out that I’ve been keeping inside and then it kind of just naturally started becoming a song.”

Having worked with some of the top K-pop artists in the industry, Junny says writing for other artists is “very different” compared to writing for himself.

“I’m more of a translator than the person with the voice. It’s my job as a writer to create a song for what message the artist is trying to convey through the album,” he said.

“When I’m writing for myself, I get to say what’s truly on my mind whether it’d be sad or happy. I love doing both but I have to give the slight edge to when I’m writing for myself.”

On burnout

Since debuting in 2017, Junny has had a very busy five years as a singer-songwriter in the K-pop industry. But there are times he’s encountered burnout.

Mentioning the much-dreaded writer’s block, he says the best thing he did to overcome it was taking his mind off the job itself.

“I took off a lot of time, and just focused on my life, my friends and just took my mind off everything that has to relate to music,” he said.

“And when I came back to it, I realized how much I missed it, and how happy I was being able to create music. So you just got to step aside from it and take a step back and realize how appreciative you can be towards your craft.”

On his love of LEGO

Junny is well-known for his love of LEGO. So much so, that he feels guilty when fans buy him the brick toys for gifts.

“LEGOs are expensive! I don’t want them to use too much money. I gotta stop saying that [I love Lego],” he laughed.

But if he could recreate one of his songs into a LEGO set, he says it would be singing “Not About You” live from his time touring in North America.

“I’d have myself on stage and the fans, all together, singing the same lyrics and the same melodies.”

“That scene itself, I think if that came to life as a LEGO set, wow, I would buy that in a heartbeat.”

“Not About You”, the English version releases Dec 1st!

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