''Explorer'' is the debut EP by South Korean rapper

Eunhyuk Lee Hyuk-jae (born April 4, 1986), better known by his stage name Eunhyuk, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, and television host. He is a member of the South Korean boy group Super Junior and its subgroups Super Junior-T an ...

, a member of the boy band

Super Junior Super Junior (; stylized in all caps), also known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band. The group is composed of Leeteuk, Heechul, Yesung, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook, and Kyuhyun. Han Geng, Kibum, and ...

and its subgroup

Super Junior-D&E Super Junior-D&E (, also known as Donghae & Eunhyuk, D&E or SJ-D&E) is the fifth sub-unit of South Korean boy band Super Junior, composed of two Super Junior members: Donghae and Eunhyuk. The duo debuted on December 16, 2011, with their digital ...

. It was released on January 27, 2025, ODE Entertainment and distributed by

Dreamus Dreamus is an electronics and entertainment company founded in 1999 originally as ReignCom. Currently headquartered in South Korea (and formerly in the United States), it is the parent company of South Korean-based iRiver, Astell & Kern and FL ...

. The EP consists of seven tracks with "Up n Down" serving as its

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

Background

On July 23, 2023,

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1995 by Lee Soo-man. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies and has been responsible for fostering and popularizing the car ...

announced that

Donghae Donghae () may refer to: * East Sea, the South Korean name of the Sea of Japan ** Donghae Expressway, the name of the expressway in South Korea ** Donghae Line, a railway line in Busan, South Korea * Donghae City, in South Korea ** ''Donghae''-c ...

, Eunhyuk, and Kyuhyun have decided not to renew their contract with the agency, but they will continue group activities with

under SM. On September 1,

announced that they have established their own agency called ODE Entertainment where the duo will serve as the Co-CEOs. 2024 was a productive year for the subgroup, with the release of EPs ''

606 __NOTOC__ Year 606 ( DCVI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 606 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe ...

'' in March, ''You&Me'' in July, and '' Inevitable'' in October. The duo also embarked on their first world tour concert "Eclipse" from September until January 2025. Eunhyuk returned as a member Super Junior for SM Town Live concert in Seoul on January 12, where he revealed that he will release an EP on January 27. ODE made an announcement the following day that Eunhyuk will release his first EP ''Explorer'' on January 27. The old-school themed track list was revealed on January 16, revealing all the seven tracks and the producers involved in the EP's production. The teaser photos were revealed on January 20 and 21, adopting a

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. It has been argued that there is a nostalgia cycle in popular culture. Definition The term ...

theme. The highlight medley was uploaded on January 24. The EP and its lead single were released on January 27. Through the agency Eunhyuk said, "It feels like I'm debuting again after 20 years."

Composition

The EP features old-school

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

and

new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Te ...

genres that Eunhyuk grew up with. The EP begins with an Eunhyuk-written song, "A-yo" to introduce the EP in a short and intense way. The second song is the lead single "Up n Down", which is described as a

song with funky

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

sounds reminiscent of the

1990s File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American jets fly over burning oil fields in the 1991 Gulf War; the Oslo Accords on 13 September 1993; the World ...

with the lyrics encouraging the listeners to enjoy the moment. The third song "Trap" is a new jack swing song with a synth and drum sound. "You & I" is a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

song with

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

-style guitar and bass with guest vocals from Super Junior bandmate

Cho Kyu-hyun Cho Kyu-hyun (; born February 3, 1988), referred to as Kyuhyun, is a South Korean singer, musical theatre actor, and television host. He debuted as a new member of boy group Super Junior (and later its sub-groups Super Junior-K.R.Y. and Super ...

. "Step By Step" is a modern take on new jack swing with its lyrics depicting taking small steps at a time. "Second Chances" is a medium-tempo

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

song with a hopeful message. The EP concludes with R&B special track "Empty" which features Donghae as the lyricist and the composer, narrating the longing of a departing lover and reliving memories together.

Chart performance

The EP debuted and peaked at No. 1 of the

Circle Chart The Circle Chart (), previously known as the Gaon Music Chart or the Gaon Chart (), tabulates the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in South Korea. Founded in 2010, it is produced by the Korea Music Content Association and sponsored ...

Promotions

Eunhyuk appeared on ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' (; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform on stage. ...

'' where he performed "Up n Down" on February 2. On February 7, he performed "Up n Down" in ''

Music Bank ''Music Bank'' () is a South Korean music program which airs every Friday at 17:15 KST on KBS2. the show is also broadcast in more than a hundred countries through KBS World. Episodes are filmed at the KBS New Wing Open Hall in Yeouido-dong, Ye ...

'' and jokingly stated that he would retire if the song went at number one, which it eventually did.

Track listing

Accolades

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the EP's liner notes. Studio * 821 Sound Studio – recording * Warner Music Korea – recording * InGrid Studio – recording, mixing * GLAB Studios – mixing * Klang Studio – mixing * Kobee Studio – mixing * MadMix – mixing * Supremo Studio – mixing * 821 Sound Mastering – mastering Personnel * ODE Entertainment –

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

and executive supervisor *

– producer * Back Koo-young –

choreography Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

* J.Black – choreography * Vincenzo – producer,

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

(1, 2), mixing * Shin Kung – producer, composition, arrangement (1, 2) *

Lee Hyuk-jae Lee Hyuk-jae (; born on July 5, 1973) is a South Korean comedian. Filmography Television shows * ''Road Show Quiz Expedition'' (KBS2 KBS 2TV is a South Korean free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio ser ...

– vocals, lyrics (1) * Rokstaxil – composition (1, 7), lyrics (7) * Kim Yang-ha – lyrics (2) * Cyrus Villanueva – composition (2) * Avenue 52 – producer, composition, arrangement (3, 4, 6) * Sqvare – producer (3, 4), composition (3, 4), arrangement (3) * Hymax – producer, composition, arrangement (3) * Ellie Suh – lyrics (3) * Lyre – producer, composition, arrangement (4) * Scott Bruzenak – producer, composition, arrangement (4) * Oscar Free – producer, composition, arrangement (4) * Yoo Eun-mi – lyrics (4) * Melange – producer, composition, arrangement (5) * DRD – producer, composition, arrangement (5) * Chrizmatic – composition (5) * Ko Hyeon-jeong – lyrics (5) * Jung Boy – lyrics (5) * Yoon Na-ra – lyrics (5) * Kim Dahlia – lyrics (5) * Joachim Persson – producer, composition, arrangement (6) *

Johan Alkenäs Carl Johan Axel Alkenäs (born 13 May 1974) is a Swedish songwriter and producer. He studied at Örebro Kulturskola and has authored or produced a great number of songs worldwide many becoming charting hits. He collaborated closely with the Swedi ...

– producer, composition, arrangement (6) * Jiwon – lyrics (6) * Jelly – producer, composition, arrangement (7) * 17 – producer, composition, arrangement (7) *

Lee Dong-hae Lee Dong-hae (born October 15, 1986), referred to as Donghae, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and actor. He became a trainee under SM Entertainment after winning a prize at SM's ''Youth Best Contest'' in 2001. After four years of training ...

– lyrics (7) * Kim Min-hee – recording * Ahn Chang-gyu – recording * Jeong Eun-kyung – recording * Kobee – mixing * Kwon Yoon-hwan – mixing * Kwon Nam-woo – mastering ** Yoo Eun-jin – mastering assistant

Charts

Weekly chart

Monthly chart

Sales

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2025 debut EPs Korean-language EPs Hip-hop EPs New jack swing albums Dreamus albums