MARK Begins Independent Chapter with New Single 'My Friend'

MARK will release his new single, 'My Friend,' on September 10th, marking his first music release since leaving SM Entertainment and concluding his activities with NCT earlier this year. His new agency, Upper Room, announced the single and released its first music video teaser through the company’s official YouTube channel. The video opens with MARK looking across a city before moving through flower fields, forests, and sunset-lit plains. The teaser follows a visual theme described as 'Back to Basic,' focusing on nature, personal emotion, and MARK’s next step as an independent artist. Its calm opening gradually shifts in energy, showing him running after removing his outerwear and later standing in silhouette before a large fire. 'My Friend' is not MARK’s first solo release. It is his first new song since his exclusive contract with SM Entertainment ended in April and he departed from NCT’s units. He subsequently established Upper Room as the base for his independent music and creative activities. MARK has also introduced fan-participation promotions ahead of the release. He opened 'MARK’s Voice Mailbox,' which allows fans to hear a recorded message and leave their own voice messages, and began communicating through the fan platform Laylo. According to Upper Room, Laylo recorded 42,392 messages and email registrations during its first hour. The figure represents platform interactions reported by the agency and should not be described as 42,392 individually verified fans completing both actions. 'My Friend' will be released through music platforms on September 10th at 1 p.m. KST, opening the next stage of MARK’s career under Upper Room.