Leaving their comical antics behind, Dong-hae and Eun-hyuk of monster K-pop idol group Super Junior have finally taken their duo ballad efforts to new beginnings with the unveiling of Super Junior D&E’s first domestic full-length album, “The Beat Goes On.”

After debuting back in 2011 with the hit electro pop-dance single “Oppa, Oppa,” D&E has been sparse in its musical releases with the last locally released digital single being “Still You” in 2013. Following its release, D&E went on to produce a full-length Japanese album last year but has now returned home to local fans with the newest ballad-R&B Korean album released on Thursday.

“It has been a long time since we released an album together so we really felt the pressure,” said Eun-hyuk, during a press conference held at the SMTOWN@coexartium Theater in Gangnam-gu on Thursday.
 

“I am so happy that we are able to return to Korea this time because we put a lot of work into this new album,” Dong-hae added.

The duo’s new album features seven tracks, including the release’s lead single “Growing Pains,” which was cowritten and coproduced by Dong-hae. Both the members stated that one of the main approaches was to encompass songs of a more touching and heartfelt nature to coincide with the still brisk and lonesome winter-like weather ― the opposite of some of the duo’s previous upbeat and dynamic releases.

“I think compared to Dong-hae I have always projected a bright and real comical personality ... however this time around with this album I decided to tone down my comedic image and show that I too can be sensitive,” Eun-hyuk explained.

“The album’s title track, ‘Growing Pains,’ is all about how you feel after a bad break up, so I think it’s a song that most people can relate to,” he added.

The duo also revealed that despite their seemingly different outward personas, working together separately from the 13 members of Super Junior is a musical combination that they always thought would mesh well together.

“Why the two of us? Well, we are both of a similar height,” Dong-hae said jokingly. “No, honestly I think Eun-hyuk and I have very similar singing styles. Whenever we were performing shows together (as Super Junior) we always thought to ourselves that we would work well as a team.”

“Actually there were a number of Super Junior members who wanted to be a part of our group,” Eun-hyuk added. “Si-won, who is also our age, said he really wanted to join us, but I told him that he should just concentrate on his acting career instead.”

In their return to local fans, Super Junior D&E also released its official music video for “Growing Pains” on Friday. In two days the music video garnered nearly 1 million views on YouTube.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)