Jung Yong-hwa Reinvents Hit Track ‘10,000 Hours’

K-pop artist Jung Yong-hwa posted his cover version of Dan + Shay’s ‘10,000 Hours’ on Instagram in March, and the Grammy-winning duo not only liked the post and left a comment, but even appointed Jung to be the singer of the Mandarin version of the song. The outcome? Jung is set to pamper his Mandarin-speaking fans with brand-new arrangement unique to the Chinese version.

K-pop band CNBlue frontman Jung Yong-hwa returned solo with new EP ‘STAY IN TOUCH’, marking his foray into the Mandopop industry. Jung teamed up with several outstanding international music talents on his first Chinese-language EP: Following ‘CHECKMATE (R3HAB REMIX)’, a track created together with JJ Lin and R3HAB, is Jung Yong Hwa’s interpretation of ‘10,000 HOURS (Global Chinese Version)’, a classic cover version of Grammy-winning American duo Dan + Shay’s hit song. The heartwarming track will be out on all digital platforms around the world on May 20.

Jung Yong-hwa originally covered Dan + Shay’s ‘10,000 HOURS’ on Instagram as requested by his fans. The video went viral and attracted unexpected attention from the world-famous music duo, who left a comment saying “Sounds amazing”. Jung later became the first singer in the world granted the right to cover the song in Mandarin. It led to the birth of his first Chinese-language EP ‘STAY IN TOUCH’. The track itself and the story behind it are both heartwarming.

The lyrics of ‘10,000 HOURS (Global Chinese Version)’ are penned by Wu I-Wei, who has created numerous emotive ballads for Stephanie Sun, Eric Chou, Yoona and EXO. The words match the melody perfectly as if the music were originally written for the Chinese language, and Jung was pleasantly surprised by the combination. He put a lot of thought into the arrangement too and decided to go acoustic. It’s a style he is familiar with and by bringing the song down to its simplest form, the heartwarming message “I just want to be with you” is cleverly conveyed.

Jung Yong-hwa’s first Chinese-language EP ‘STAY IN TOUCH’ reflects the nostalgia and desire of a normal life, with the title hinting the shared eager by people to stay connected with each other. The 4-track EP is a celebration of collaborations with top international artists, including world-famous DJ R3HAB, Mandopop superstar JJ Lin and Grammy-winning American duo Dan + Shay. ‘STAY IN TOUCH’ will be released on Jung’s birthday, June 22.