Super Junior Return With 10th Studio Album ‘The Renaissance’

Veteran K-pop group Super Junior return with their 10th studio album The Renaissance, led by the single “House Party.” Having debuted in 2005, the nine-member group are one of the leading acts from the second generation of K-pop. “Renaissance is the revival/renewal of art or literature, the creating of something new,” explained the group’s leader Leeteuk about the album’s title at a press conference earlier today. “As much as this is our 10th album, the first ‘two-digit’ album, we wanted to use this as a turning point to really show a new era of Super Junior and what we’re about.” 

The lead single “House Party” encourages listeners to stay positive as the world struggles with the effects of Covid-19, commending them for how far they’ve already come and assuring them Super Junior is by their side: “(We) gonna have a good time (Good time)/ The time of freedom has stopped/ Let’s applaud for the hard work of the past/ How we do it? (Good)/ Is it over? (No)/ Did we overcome it? It’s not over yet.” Vocalist Yesung explained, “The lyrics cheerfully remind us to not give up on the little moments in life even though things can get tough with the pandemic. We hope you guys will keep that in mind when listening to it!”

Produced by Super Junior’s longtime collaborator Yoo Young Jin, the disco-funk, pop track is upbeat and cheerful but adds a touch of edge with a sudden trap breakdown halfway through, before switching back to vibrant pop. The CGI-heavy music video sees the group unite to participate in various activities like camping, traveling and hanging out at house parties, with segments of them performing choreography. “We’ve included some scenes (ex. camping, partying, etc.) in the music video that’ll remind you of life before the pandemic,” said member Siwon. “We hope people have a sense of relief or satisfaction from seeing these moments as well.”

The trap breakdown sees a visual switch-up however, with the members donning black–similar to a S.W.A.T. team–and asking listeners to wear masks, keep social distance and do their part to stop the spread of the virus. The lyrics at this point declare, “Put your excuses aside/ No words can comfort/ Freedom is not free, you messed up/ The small deviation I enjoyed today/ The butterfly effect has gone beyond control/ One square meter/ Keep that much distance.”

Super Junior at today’s press conference for their record ‘The Renaissance.’ Photo: SM Entertainment/SJ Label

The Renaissance has a total of 10 tracks and follows the group’s 2019 release, Time Slip. The LP was initially supposed to drop in December 2020, but was delayed to March 2021. The pre-release single “The Melody” was released in November last year to celebrate Super Junior’s 15th anniversary. The group also revealed today they are in the process of filming a documentary and have various activities scheduled for 2021. “This year will be busy with solos and unit activities as well. It’s actually Super Junior D&E’s 10th debut anniversary, so we’re working on our first full-length album,” said rapper Eunhyuk about his sub-unit with vocalist Donghae, adding, “Yesung is also preparing a solo album, and we have members like Ryeowook and Kyuhyun working on musicals too.”