Nam Taehyun shocked fans when he announced his untimely departure from WINNER. For their first comeback in over a year, WINNER has reorganized into a four-member group and shared their thoughts on Nam Taehyun's exit.
Prior to his exit, YG Entertainment announced that Nam Taehyun was taking some time off to seek treatment for his mental health issues. Not long after, it was confirmed that he was indeed leaving the group permanently. As per Soompi, Kang Seung Yoon confirmed that Nam Taehyun left primarily due to health reasons. When he left, it was a difficult time for the members of WINNER and they worried about the fans.
However, instead of spending so much time worrying, the group got back up and went into the studio to record new music. "We worked hard to improve our individual skills so that fans wouldn't feel like there's an empty spot. We had no choice but to become better," Kang Seung Yooon said.
Nam Taehyun was the main vocalist of WINNER, so his exit left a huge void in the group in terms of vocals. Thus, Kim Jin Woo's singing parts greatly increased. To improve his vocals, Kim Jin Woo took vocal lessons and recorded the songs several times to get the right tone. He added that he just kept practicing and practicing to get better.
WINNER made a comeback with double title tracks namely "Really Really" and "Fool." According to allkpop, WINNER's "Really Really" music video was directed by Dave Meyers, who's famously worked with the likes of Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Kendrick Lamar to name a few.
Upon the release of WINNER's latest album "Fate Number For," the album shot to the top of iTunes' world album charts in 12 countries including Mexico, Norway, Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Ukraine and Colombia.
The double title tracks also fared well on the charts, with "Really Really" striking an all-kill for the group as it was the number 1 song on all local music charts except Mnet.
