What Happened to DEAN? Famous Korean Singer Who 'Disappeared' in Music Scene
Despite being a hitmaker, singer-songwriter DEAN made music fans puzzled about his whereabouts after his last official release in 2019.
DEAN in 2015 to 2020: Debut, 'Show Me the Money 6,' Collab With Stars Zico, IU, more
Kwon Hyuk, popularly known as DEAN made his name popular as a South Korean alternative R&B singer-songwriter and record producer.
He made his solo debut in 2016 with "130 Mood: TRBL," but prior to this album release, he has already established himself as an artist who collaborated with top musicians including Eric Bellinger, .Paak, Dok2 and Zico, and released the hit, "Pour."
With his lovely vocals rap, skills and songwriting skills, it didn't take that long for him to capture fans' hearts, not only in Korea but in international countries as well!
ALSO READ: Decoding The Mood Behind The 'TRBL' Rebel Named DEAN
In 2017, DEAN garnered even more popularity when he decided to appear as a producer in the rap competition, "Show Me The Money 6." As a result, his succeeding single album releases including "Limbo" and "Love" experienced decent success. Despite it, music fans can't select one track that will serve as DEAN's "signature song."
It wasn't until 2018 that he dominated the music industry and streaming platforms both at home and abroad after dropping his song, "Instagram."
This song particularly cemented his status as an artist in Korea, critically acclaimed as one of the most memorable and hit songs in the music scene.
Unfortunately, DEAN's appearance after the hit song gets lesser and lesser each day, and even when releasing his follow-up singles such as "Dayfly" (2018) and "Howlin' 404" (2019), the Korean singer would keep himself away from the public.
Since then, he stopped releasing his solo songs and would only communicate with fans through IU, Nafla and more through collaboration songs.
Where Is DEAN in 2023? Singer Piques People's Curiosity About His Whereabouts
Unfortunately, after his last broadcast appearance in 2017, DEAN's update became rare, aside from occasional collab songs that he released between 2020 and 2021.
In that year, he dropped "Imagination" with Miso, "Breath" with Mokyo and Rad Museum, and "3 am Freestyle" with Tabber and Kim Ximya. He then released "Troll" with IU.
Since 2019, DEAN also stopped releasing his solo music despite hinting in 2021 about his new upcoming song that didn't come true.
As of 2023 then, his personal Instagram was deactivated, making it even more impossible to know about the star's latest whereabouts.
With this, fans and music listeners are continuously expressing their frustration and worries to DEAN.
In online communities, there are even speculations that he's silently serving in the military, while some are guessing that his music process slowed down after the pandemic. People highlighted that this isn't far from reality given that DEAN always reaches for perfection and is a workaholic.
While fans want him to immediately come back after 5 years of hiatus and drop a full-length album already, people attested that they're going to be happy even if they will just know that he's healthy and is doing well.
Due to surge of curiosity about him, an official from Dean's agency Universal Music told TV report on June 16:
"Dean is currently focusing on the new album. Some artists often close Instagram because they focus on their work, but Dean also closed Instagram in that sense."
However, the date of the release is yet to be unveiled.
Regarding the suspicion of Dean's retirment, the official added:
"No. Dean will continue his singing career."
READ MORE: Time Features CL, DEAN And Eric Nam!
For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz.
KpopStarz owns this article.
Written by Eunice Dawson.
