Sung Hanbin Goes Solo With DEAD:ALIVE and UNDEAD

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ZEROBASEONE's leader has stepped out on his own. Sung Hanbin released his first solo EP, DEAD:ALIVE , on music platforms at 6pm KST on Monday, October 12, 2026. The eight-track set is led by the title track "UNDEAD". Earlier that afternoon he introduced the album at a media showcase at Layer Studio 11 in Mapo-gu, western Seoul, where he performed "UNDEAD" live for the first time. A heavier sound "UNDEAD" combines a powerful guitar riff, a grand choir and a dramatic drum line, aiming for cinematic scale with a pop edge, The Fact reports. Its lyrics express a willingness to accept any pain or trial, for someone else and for oneself. The album is built around what Sung calls "beautiful destruction" and "self-transcendence": breaking through the limits that once held him back and being reborn as a new self. To carry the idea visually, he told Edaily that he chose tattoos as a symbol and worked them into the album logo and other design elements. That darker, heavier direction was a deliberate break from his group. "While ZEROBASEONE had many songs filled with youth and bright energy, I was more drawn to showing a completely different side," he said. "I thought the powerful sound and conceptual feel would better highlight 'solo artist SUNG HANBIN'." DEAD:ALIVE at a glance Release: October 12, 2026, 6pm KST Format: first solo EP, eight tracks Title track: UNDEAD Other tracks: Killin' Me, Insidious, 3AM, Bloody Gravity, Other Side, Flash, Steal the Thunder Songwriting: Sung co-wrote the lyrics to Flash Eight songs, by choice Eight tracks is a lot for a debut EP, and Sung admitted that was his doing. "My greed was big," he said, laughing. "There were so many songs I wanted to include in my first album when selecting them. The company's plan was for fewer songs, but after discussion, we decided to include 8 songs." Before release, a performance video for "Killin' Me" showed him confronting inner pain and fear, according to The Fact. He wrote lyrics for "Flash", which he describes as a message and a promise to fans. The concept photos used wound make-up, a red motorcycle, a white butterfly crown and feather costumes. "I wanted to run away from the studio" He did not pretend the process was easy. "Since I've mainly sung songs with a husky, soft voice that wraps listeners in warmth, it wasn't easy to pull off a song with such an intense feel," he told Edaily. "For the first time, I felt like running away from the recording studio." Getting through it, he said, gave him confidence. He also cut back on the dance power he is best known for in "UNDEAD" to balance it with vocals. To prepare the performance, he studied past music-show stages by SHINee's Taemin, EXO's Kai and NCT's Jaehyun, and named Jaehyun as a role model: "I want to become an artist with an aura who shines even when standing alone on stage." His bandmates were in his corner. "My members, who are like family, cheered me on a lot," he said, adding that the group's oldest member, Kim Ji-woong, sent a coffee truck to the music video set. Where ZEROBASEONE stands Sung debuted in 2023 as a member of ZEROBASEONE, the group formed through Mnet's Boys Planet . Edaily reports that the group finished its two-and-a-half-year project as a nine-member act and restarted as a five-piece, with Sung, Kim Ji-woong, Seok Matthew, Kim Tae-rae and Park Geon-wook, releasing Ascend- in May. Sung is the first member to release a full solo album, rather than a single, with full promotions. "I plan to balance my activities with ZeroBaseOne as a five-member group and my solo career moving forward," he said. "Since my success will enable the other members to perform even better in their future activities, I will work hard with a strong sense of responsibility." His debut lands in a busy month for K-pop : IVE, ILLIT and RIIZE are all set to return on October 26. What's next Straight after the release, Sung met fans at a "CURATING SESSION" for the album at Layer Studio 11 at 8pm on October 12. He has said he will keep balancing solo work with ZEROBASEONE's five-member activities, and fans of the wider scene can follow end-of-year voting for the 2026 MAMA Awards . Sources: The Fact | Edaily | Korea JoongAng Daily | The Fact (preview)