After many days of waiting, Jin finally released his second solo mini album in his career, “Echo,” on May 16.
While his previous work, ‘Happy,’ focused on conveying happiness to everyone, ‘Echo’ conveys a deeper sincerity and empathy. You and I and us, love and friendship, and the crossroads of choice we face in our daily lives.
Jin looked at the emotions, situations, and daily lives that everyone has experienced at least once from his own perspective and expressed them through the seven songs in the album.
In particular, the title track “Don’t Say You Love Me” discusses many shades of love: “the pain of a crumbling romantic relationship and the lingering emotions that make it hard for the couple to let each other go", receiving great attention from fans when Jin collaborated with famous actress Shin Se Kyung for the first time.
Their chemistry is undeniable and Jin once again made the public flutter with his skillful acting. In addition, the visuals of the two main actors also captivated fans.
Although through the scenes, fans can see that he is completely in control of his acting and mood, in reality, this globally handsome guy is... extremely nervous.
During an interview promoting his new album, he was asked, “How was the chemistry with actress Shin Se Kyung in the ‘Don’t Say You Love Me’ music video?”. Jin replied, “I felt really awkward and clumsy” because this was his first time filming with a professional actress like Shin Se Kyung.
Despite being very nervous, he still praised Shin Se Kyung for making the photoshoot go smoothly with her passionate performance. He continued: “The more nervous I got, the less things went the way I imagined. Still, I was truly grateful to Shin Se-kyung for her passionate performance. If you watch closely, you might even notice how awkward I was”.
And honestly, the result speaks volumes for his nervousness—the video is romantic, dramatic, and fulfilled fans’ expectations for Jin’s emotional comeback.
Jin also shared a memorable moment from filming the music video. “On the day we shot the parking lot scene, it was incredibly windy. My hair was blowing around so much that I couldn’t even act properly. In the end, we had to change my hairstyle from the original plan and shoot it differently. I was actually quite satisfied, since I think it brought out a fresher image”, he recalled.
Meanwhile, Jin’s second mini-album 'Echo' received positive feedback from fans worldwide upon its release. 'Echo' topped the iTunes 'Top Albums' chart in 63 countries from the day before its release until 7am on the same day.
The album reached number one in Germany, Brazil, the UK, Japan, and France. It also topped the 'Global iTunes Albums' and 'European iTunes Albums' charts on the day of its release.
The title track of the new album, 'Don't Say You Love Me', topped the iTunes 'Top Songs' chart in 61 countries, including France and Japan. The song also reached number one on the 'Worldwide iTunes Songs' and 'European iTunes Songs' charts.
