IU has finally unveiled that ‘LILAC’ is the official title of her upcoming fifth studio album.
Earlier today (March 4), the K-pop soloist shared another teaser photo from her upcoming release. It features a solem portrait of IU as white and purple flower petals fall around her. The image also indicates that the album is expected to drop on March 25. Check it out here:
The photo is the latest preview from IU’s upcoming album. She had previously shared both audio and visual snippets from the new record, including teasers titled ‘BYLAC’ and ‘HILAC’.
On March 1, IU shared yet another mysterious “objet” teaser that includes a lo-fi recording of one of the tracks on the album. Hear it below:
IU 5th Album Objet Teaser ‘HILAC’
2021.03#아이유 #IU #HILAC pic.twitter.com/rh758TJg5b— 아이유(IU) 공식 트위터 (@_IUofficial) March 1, 2021
On February 25, IU posted the first “objet” teaser. The video opens on a chessboard before it pans to the singer holding a black rose as joyful piano melody plays in the background. “One, two, three, four,” she whispers at the end of the clip. Check out the teaser here:
IU 5th Album Objet Teaser ‘BYLAC’
2021.03 Coming Soon#아이유 #IU #BYLAC pic.twitter.com/I31yHXlNdM— 아이유(IU) 공식 트위터 (@_IUofficial) February 25, 2021
That teaser comes after the singer shared two images from the album – one titled ‘BYLAC’ and the other ‘HILAC’. See them below:
IU 5th Album Teaser ‘HILAC’#아이유 #IU #HILAC pic.twitter.com/sgvcmSTp6t
— 아이유(IU) 공식 트위터 (@_IUofficial) February 23, 2021
IU 5th Album Teaser 'BYLAC’#아이유 #IU #BYLAC pic.twitter.com/Gt23TjBAwL
— 아이유(IU) 공식 트위터 (@_IUofficial) February 17, 2021
‘LILAC’ will mark IU’s long-awaited follow-up to her critically acclaimed 2017 LP ‘Palette’, which included the hits ‘Through The Night’ and ‘Ending Scene’, plus fan favourite ‘Can’t Love You Anymore’ featuring Oh Hyuk of Hyukoh.
IU previewed her upcoming project last month with ‘Celebrity’, a track NME described as an elegant synth pop toast to imperfections in a four-star review.
‘LILAC’ will mark the singer’s first musical project in nearly a year. In 2020, she released two singles: ‘Eight’ with BTS’ Suga and ‘Give You My Heart’ as part of the soundtrack for Korean drama Crash Landing On You. In 2019, IU released her Love Poem EP, which included the song ‘Blueming’.
Earlier this month, IU was the one the many K-pop artists who have been affected by Spotify and Kakao M’s licensing battle. Hundreds of music releases from the East Asian country have been removed from Spotify as it continues to try and reach an agreement with Kakao M.