Seventeen's Jeonghan and Joshua Debut as Duo JxJ With 'Dreamscape'

Seventeen's Jeonghan and Joshua released "Dreamscape" this week, their first album as the duo JxJ and the group's seventh official unit. It's also Jeonghan's first new music since he finished South Korea's mandatory military service this summer.

The pairing wasn't self-generated. Joshua says their company suggested it first. "After giving it some thought, we've been together for so long, and we really wanted to show a different side to ourselves," he told Variety. "Sides that we haven't shown as a whole group, as Seventeen, so we thought it was going to be fun."

The two met as trainees and recorded the duet "Falling for U" for the 2018 special album "Director's Cut." JxJ is the first project built entirely around the two of them.

Why a duo, and why now?

The mechanism here is military service. Seventeen debuted in 2015 under Pledis Entertainment, now part of Hybe, with 13 members split into hip-hop, vocal and performance teams. Six members are currently serving, and Seungkwan and Dino enlist together on Oct. 26. That leaves five active members: Jeonghan, Joshua, S.Coups, Jun and The8.

Jeonghan says the remaining members talked with the company about how to keep bringing Carats — the group's fanbase — new music. "We thought that it would be a really exciting project, so that's how it came to life," he said. While he served, he watched his bandmates perform from the audience, among the fans. Joshua spent that stretch producing songs of his own and sending them to the company.

What changed after the service?

Jeonghan came back with a clear priority. "The exhilaration and the Carats screaming, cheering, their love, the spotlight – everything is something that you can only enjoy on stage," he said. "So I missed those moments on stage. I just wanted to get ready after finishing my military service, prep myself, and get back on there as soon as possible."

He says the service changed him more as a person than as an artist. He felt warmth most of all and came to see it as "a form of love." He wanted to weave that into the music. Joshua's demo submissions made their own impression. "They were really surprised with the work that I've done," he said of the company. "I think my company knew more about my personal taste after I gave them what I produced."

The credits back that up. Joshua co-wrote and co-composed his solo, the alternative rock song "Not Personal," and has a lyric credit on the closer, "No Looking Back." Jeonghan co-wrote his solo, the electro-house track "Coloring."

How did they settle the sound?

They didn't agree at first. Joshua says Jeonghan wanted "a stronger side, and I wanted to show a subtle, mature version of ourselves." The compromise became the title track. "Eventually, we met at the middle and came out with the song '12 O'Clock,' which is right in the middle between strong and subtle," Joshua said.

Getting there took three or four candidates. One started as a house song, got reworked as a band track, and the final version sits between the two. "12 O'Clock" is a dance-rock track built on '70s and '80s disco and funk, with a title that plays on noon and midnight — one hour for chasing goals, the other for the fantasies of sleep. The video sends the pair through warped train carriages and exitless rooms, led by a creature that's part peacock, part Ouroboros.

The seven-track album opens with the house song "Like You," passes through R&B and soul, and ends on the raw band sound of "No Looking Back." Jeonghan says that range gives the record a dreamlike feel, and the choreography is being built to match. "We just really wanted the whole album to feel like a journey between traveling through dreams and reality," Joshua said.

What does this change for the group?

For Joshua, the biggest shift is simple: more singing. In a 13-member group and a five-member vocal team, his parts run short. "Even if it lasts long, it's like five seconds," he said. "But as a unit, we could show more of our vocals."

Seventeen holds the record for the highest-selling K-pop album, "FML," and was the first K-pop act to sell more than 5 million copies of an album in its first week. All 13 members renewed their Pledis contracts this summer, the second full-group re-signing. Jeonghan says that scale cuts both ways. "Of course, there's the faith and the trust that our fans place in us, and this helps us explore various genres and take on new challenges. But at the same time, there's the pressure to live up to their expectations."

Is JxJ a one-off?

Joshua wants to see how fans respond first. "We won't know where this will take us until we get there," he said. Jeonghan sounds more committed, saying the pair came away from "Dreamscape" feeling "this unit will definitely have something else to offer, something new to bring to the table."

Both have projects beyond the album. A tour follows the promotions, and Joshua found that Jeonghan had already mapped out the stage show in detail. Joshua is also taking acting classes. Jeonghan frames "Dreamscape" as the pair's first album since entering their 30s. "I just wanted to showcase myself as a grown, more mature artist," he said.