Son Ho-young drops 'Go Around' five years after last single, marking 20 years as a solo artist

Five years between singles, 20 years in

Son Ho-young is 46. The god vocalist dropped Go Around on October 14—his first solo single since 흘러가는 시간 속에서 in 2021, timed to mark 20 years as a solo artist.

He went solo on September 13, 2006 with Yes (예스). What followed was deliberate scarcity: Returns (리턴즈) in 2008, mini-album U-Turn (유턴) in 2011, mini-album May, I (메이, 아이) in 2016, and the 2021 single. Five releases across two decades.

"I think I kept postponing it because I felt burdened and scared every time I released an album," he said. The gaps stretch long for a reason. "I have a lot of desire to do something, but I'm sensitive and fearful. So if I'm not prepared, I don't force it."

What pushed him to release now

The 20th anniversary became a hard line. "This time I decided absolutely not to let it pass. If I just let the 20th anniversary pass, it would be rude to my fans."

Go Around is light pop-rock—easy listening, by his description. The song carries a simple message: sometimes a detour beats a head-on collision. "Sometimes it's okay to go around without colliding," he said. Looking back, everything turned out fine anyway. That's the title's logic.

He also owned up to something it took years to accept: "I discovered I have no talent in songwriting and composition. Creation is not something that can be done through effort." One exception exists—우리, which appeared on god's fifth regular album—but that taught him the rule.

KBS Arena, October 31–November 1

Son Ho-young performs Go Around live at his solo concert HORIZON (호라이즌) on October 31 and November 1 at KBS Arena in Seoul's Gangseo-gu.

The god calendar has its own milestones this year. The group hit 10,000 days since debut in May. god—Son Ho-young, Park Joon-hyung (박준형), Yoon Kye-sang (윤계상), Ahn Danny (안데니), and Kim Tae-woo (김태우)—reunited as a full group in 2014 when actor Yoon Kye-sang rejoined. Year-end concerts followed annually until this year, when scheduling conflicts forced a cancellation. Son Ho-young has promised a new god song for the group's 30th debut anniversary, three years away.

His solo future has no expiration date. "As an artist, I haven't decided on an end," he said. A follow-up track is already in planning, with new creative directions waiting. "Now I think I can express my true self to some extent"—after 20 years, that sounds less like boasting and more like breathing out.