IU has released an interview video to mark the debut of her “IU 6th Mini Album [The Winning]” on her official YouTube channel, ‘IU’.
Facing the release of her first album in her thirties, IU shared,
“I feel like my thirties suit me well. I experience comfort and pleasantness I haven’t felt in my teens and twenties. That’s why I want to stay in my thirties for a long time.”
“I originally wanted to mark a new chapter at thirty, but there was definitely a slight hiccup due to the way ages are counted. Regardless, I thought this was a process of setting a new milestone for my thirties because I was bringing up topics that were completely different from the messages I shared in my twenties. It felt like one of the less mentally taxing albums to prepare for. It naturally led me, without any need to force or torment myself, which was a very pleasant process.”
IU admitted,
“The album could have been delayed further since the drama shooting period extended longer than expected.”
“I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to wait any longer. Knowing how eagerly the fans were waiting and how much I was looking forward to meeting them, I didn’t want to drag it out, even if it was physically demanding. That in itself seemed like a huge gamble. ‘So what if it’s hard? There’s no need to take the easy route.’ I pushed through, and because of me, the staff had to overexert themselves. I’m sorry about that.”
“‘Shopper’ is a song that tells you to boldly desire anything, whether it’s material or abstract,” IU explained.
“These days, it feels like a time when one must hide their desires and wants. Kids’ dreams used to be so diverse. Now, it seems they’ve narrowed down to a few options: a celebrity, a YouTuber, or a stable salaried worker. While all are respectable professions, my dreams changed daily as a child. I believed I could do them all. It was shocking to realize that kids these days focus more on the realistic aspects of their dreams.”
“Not just kids, but adults seem to be becoming more hard-hearted. Dreams, at least, should burst with color and be absurd. That was my initial thought. Even I find myself making more realistic plans and restraining my own desires and ambitions as I entered my thirties,” she revealed.
“I’ve always been someone with many desires and ambitions since I was young, and I wanted to say that even if others deem those dreams absurd, we should boldly desire them,” she conveyed, raising anticipation.