[Article] iMBC Report from Chuu [Only cry in the rain] MV Behind Documentary Screening Event (250421)

Chuu, who has become more mature, brings comfort through “Only cry in the rain” [Roundup]

Reporter Kim Jong-eun

Singer Chuu is back with a more mature image.

A listening party event was held at Movie Land in Seongdong-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 21st to commemorate the release of Chuu's third mini-album, “Only cry in the rain”.

“Only cry in the rain” is an album that emotionally weaves together the story of things that flow, things that stay, and a youth that moves onward once again. The blurry memories that everyone has, the clearer memories that remain within, and the way we all walk our daily routines again have been expressed through Chuu's uniquely warm sentimentality. Through this album, Chuu will sing about the anxiety of youth and a narrative of growth.

It has been 10 months since “Strawberry Rush” was released last August. Chuu shared her thoughts: “I’ve been on tour and shooting a drama. I spent 10 months having a variety of meaningful experiences including traveling. Because of it, I’ve grown more and feel better. I’m looking forward to showing you a better side of me.” She also shared how she felt nervous, saying, “However, I was so nervous ahead of the album’s release that I couldn’t sleep properly. When I had interviews for ‘Strawberry Rush’, I was so nervous but after doing it, it was fun and I felt warm, and I thought I could do well the next time. But I couldn’t sleep again this time. I’m very attached to this album, so thinking about how I want everyone to enjoy listening to it and feeling excited and nervous all had me tossing and turning and unable to sleep well.”

In the 10 months of preparing for the new album, Chuu said that her attitude toward music has grown the most. “I used to look at the melody or atmosphere first when listening to a song. On the other hand, in this album, maybe because it’s about emotions, I thought more deeply about the message of the album and focused on it. I thought first about what kind of message I want to convey and what kind of feelings I wanted the fans to have while listening to this song. Seeing myself like that, I thought that my attitude and mindset toward singing have changed a lot. Instead of thinking about singing technically well and looking pretty on the outside, my desire to convey well the message I wanted to convey became a priority. I was reminded of the meaning of music again, and I felt the precious value of music again. I think my mindset toward music has broadened.”

On the reason why “emotion” was chosen as the album’s concept, Chuu explained, “I usually think deeply about emotions, so I wanted to put those things into the album. My emotions swirled and changed countless times as I prepared for the album too, and I think it will be fun for listeners of this album to compare these with their own various emotions.” Chuu said, “I sang about emotions during ‘Howl’ too, but this time it’s a little different. As its name suggests, ‘Howl’ is the starting point of venting the emotions that had accumulated in myself for the first time, while ‘Only cry in the rain’ is an album that shows the maturity of being able to preserve and store your emotions and take them back out when you want, and being able to control your emotions. In that sense, I hope busy modern people who don’t know their own feelings and might let them pass by would also be able to empathise, if only for a little while.”

Chuu shared that she also had a lot of things to empathise with while preparing for this album, saying, “I was always a bright person until I turned 25 years old. I always felt good, and even when I was in a bad mood, I always let it slide as if to cover it up. I didn’t want to look into my inner calmness, to the extent that I didn’t even look up and watch sentimental movies. At one point, I thought, ‘Does a calm or emotional part of me not exist?’ However, just as my name has the word for rain (Woo), at some point, many things happened as if it were raining down a storm, and I found that I also had an emotional part in me. Recently, I watched ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’ because I wanted to cry on purpose. While preparing for this album, I came to rethink how to relieve my emotions.”

The album consists of five songs including the title track of the same name, “Only cry in the rain”, that tell the story of the journey of facing the unseen things called “memory” and “emotion” and moving onward again. “Only cry in the rain” begins with the imagination that the “rainy day” is the one and only time and place where one can lay bare their emotions. One only carefully examines emotions on a rainy day, then once the rain stops, youths must live their lives as if nothing happened; the song warmly illustrates this collective life.

Chuu introduced “Only cry in the rain”, saying, “I think everyone goes through periods where they hide their emotions and continue living. Emotions aren’t something you can easily put down just because you’re tired, you’re angry, or you’re sad, right? It’s also not something you can easily take out when you want to take it out, so I thought it was something I could take out when I’m in my own place or when I can concentrate. I hoped this song could be such an instrument. As soon as I heard this song, I wanted to say that you can take out your emotions.”

Why did she use “rain” as the medium, out of all the possible subject matter? Chuu revealed, “I thought that human emotions are like the rain, because you don’t know when it will rain. It might end up being a brief shower, or a storm that stays for a long time, or a rain cloud that only darkens the sky, isn’t that right? I compared the uncontrollability of it to emotions. I thought that they’re like the rain in that I can’t do any particular thing to solve it, that I can’t do anything about it myself.”

In that sense, Chuu emphasised that even if “Only cry in the rain” is about the rain, it is not a gloomy song. She replied maturely, “I think rain and tears don’t always remain sad or dark. Didn’t I also have many difficulties before the descriptors ‘vitamin’ and ‘sunshine’ were attached to me? I think I only got to have a clear sky after experiencing and feeling many things, so I don’t think the rain necessarily symbolises depression and drooping. In some ways, you can have hope, thinking of the clear sky after it rains, so I think you will feel different emotions whenever you listen to ‘Only cry in the rain’. I hope it’ll be a warm song that can comfort someone having a hard time, giving them hope to stand back up after something. This image related to ‘rain’ is one of the images I also want to take with me, like ‘vitamin’ and ‘sunshine’ that I already possess.”

In addition, the new release will be accompanied by “Back in town”, which depicts the emotions of a distant first love, “Kiss a kitty”, where you can encounter Chuu’s sweet tone and soft singing rap, “Je t’aime”, a soft love confession, and “No more”, which is about the desire to not apologise to others and love your cherished self more.

Among the B-sides, Chuu recommended listening to “Back in town” and “Je t’aime”. “‘Back in town’ is a song that makes you feel so good when you listen to it that I agonised over whether to make it the title track. It expresses the memories of a first love met in an unfamiliar city; it’s about that moment when it feels so unfamiliar but the warm memories of having passed by this place are as vivid as yesterday. ‘Je t’aime’ is another interesting song. Every time I listen to it, I get a different feeling. Sometimes it feels like a girl who shyly confesses her feelings, and sometimes it feels sad and resentful over a lost love. In that sense, I think it would be good to focus on the lyrics.”

The most memorable lyrics are in “No more”, she hinted. “There’s a line, ‘it starts now, be happy’. I think that anyone can relate to it and feel it when they listen to it even once. It’s not easy to recover when you lose your self-esteem, so I wanted to send that message of support with my own voice,” she said.

Finally, to introduce “Only cry in the rain” in one word, Chuu said that the album is like “sky blue”, adding, “The sky before it rains, the gloomy sky when it rains, and the clear sky after it rains are all classified as ‘sky blue’, right? The same goes for emotions. People live with many emotions, like the ever-changing sky, but everyone describes them in one word, ‘emotions’. I tried to include songs with different emotions in this album, and all of these are my precious emotions. I want to compare this album to ‘sky blue’ with that meaning in mind.”

Meanwhile, Chuu’s new release “Only cry in the rain” will be released on the 21st.

(Source)