Kwon Jin-ah Releases Rock Album 'SAVE ME' and Holds Showcase

Singer Kwon Jin-ah is celebrating her 10th anniversary in the music industry by releasing her third EP, 'SAVE ME', and attempting a genre transformation from ballad singer to rockstar. At a showcase held on the 15th at the NOL Theater Hapjung Dongyang Life Hall in Mapo-gu, Seoul, Kwon Jin-ah shared the meaning of the album, saying, "I hope those who share the same worries find comfort in it."

This album is Kwon Jin-ah's first full rock-based production project, capturing painful themes of wounds and self-loathing within the rough waves of rock sound. Kwon Jin-ah introduced the album, stating, "I used to use rock sounds for one or two deep stories in my albums, but this time I wanted to fill it completely with band soundtracks to tell a deep inner story." Regarding her decision to put rock sounds in the forefront, she added, "I had some ambition to show something new. Thinking about live performances, there is no genre that can heat up the atmosphere as much as rock. It didn't feel like a challenge to me; it was a process of bringing out what was inside me."

The new album features a total of five tracks, including the title track 'MONSTER', 'After Can Change', 'Rain on Me', '87 Days', and 'Don't Save Me'. In the title track 'Monster', Kwon Jin-ah calls herself a monster but ultimately resolves to "have to survive." This song best captures her new musical direction. Discussing 'Monster', she said, "The advice to love yourself didn't really resonate with me. I thought it was a very easy thing to say. I wanted to tell people that even if it's hard to love yourself, let's move forward to tomorrow, and I felt that was a more relatable message. I brought out a deeper story from my long history of self-loathing." She also noted, "While I used to focus on refined and delicate vocals, this time I tried shouting and making a sharp sound, which felt new."

Kwon Jin-ah explained why she chose 'self-loathing' as the theme of the album. She said, "When I first debuted, I had self-loathing and obsession regarding my appearance and body shape. That's why I started dieting, and I even suffered from anorexia and bulimia. So, I couldn't leave that part out of the narrative of self-loathing, which is why I included it in the music video." She continued, "Of course, a healthy body is good, but society tends to praise thin and pretty figures more than diverse body types. I wanted to talk about that part because I still couldn't be free from it." She also honestly shared, "The story of self-loathing is like a friend to me. I want to overcome it, but it keeps following me, and I think it will continue to do so."