Move over, Apple — K-pop soloist Yena releases newest ‘Smartphone’ with sophomore EP

Move over, Apple — K-pop soloist Yena releases newest ‘Smartphone’ with sophomore EP
Daniel Anderson
August 3, 2022
K-pop soloist and former Izone member Yena returns for the summer with her second EP “Smartphone.”
Yena’s new EP features five songs in total: “Make U Smile,” “WithOrWithOut,” “Lemon-Aid,” “U” and lead track “Smartphone.” Yena co-write three of the five songs and also participated in the choreography and production of the lead track’s music video. 
“Smartphone” comes less than seven months after Yena released her solo debut EP “Smiley,” whose title track features South Korean singer Bibi.
During a press conference on Wednesday for “Smartphone,” Yena said she focused on “upgrading” from her previous EP.
While her music video for “Smiley” centers around a superhero motif with Bibi playing the villain, Yena expands on this and becomes a retro-chic hero in a mobile game for her newest music video. 
“I’m a big fan of mobile games, so I wanted to show more of my personality by creating a game hero character,” Yena shared.
Yena also mentioned that she hopes her new EP will bring summer vibes and positive energy to her fans.
“I‘ve been yearning for this day to arrive because I wanted to show what I’ve done since putting out my first album,” she was quoted as saying. “I think I have my own positive energy, and ‘Smartphone’ is an album with refreshing sounds. It‘s an album that definitely spells out the word ‘summer.’ Hopefully, many fans will be able to beat the heat with my new songs. I know many big-name K-pop acts and female singers are gearing for summer releases, but my liveliness is something that only I can bring.”
Yena debuted in October 2018 as a member of 12-member K-pop girl group Izone, which was created as a result of the Mnet reality idol competition show “Produce 48.” Yena is one of a handful of the group’s former members who have gone on to pursue solo careers following the group’s disbandment in 2021. Like Yena, former Izone member Eunbi has 2 solo EPs to her name, while fellow Izone groupmate Yuri dropped her debut EP “Op.22 Y-Waltz: in Major” in June.
Meanwhile, former Izone members Yujin and Wonyoung both joined the girl group “IVE,” who are set to release a summer comeback later this month following their hit single “Love Dive” from three months ago. Back in May, former Izone members Chaewon and Sakura joined the controversy-ridden Hybe girl group Le Sserafim.
Feature Imaged via Stone Music Entertainment
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