The emergence to the busy industry is different for everybody. There are others who found themselves scouted for the simplest of reasons like looks or charisma. A few attempt at the public domains, posting covers and videos to market themselves. Some barter it for a better chance for their family to prosper, taking title of breadwinner.
Leon had his own story. Someone who was trying his hand at all the strings presented to him. And for a while he felt lost on what to pursue. The young Leon was energetic, had the time to spare to have many faces. But he knew that fatigue would hit sooner if he didn't step on a pedestal and decided it needed to be first. And for some reason, the interest he presented to an audience last was the career path made for him.
Despite the trials he went through, the deprivation and starvation to achieve the quality he wanted, he couldn't walk away from it. Music may not be his first love, but it was the one written for him across the stars. One that he'd take infinite flights to just to broadcast it.
Hence, the flights alone with bodyguards by him might not be the best evenings, but he pushed through. And in these past months, he had to build much courage to fly back and forth. All his boyfriends offered to alternate and join him in his day or two visits across the world. But every time the selfish part of him wanted to say yes, his love sharpened his vision. The short breaths in practice that required long nights of relaxation. Arms showcasing sculptures but also highlighting veins desperate at the strain. Even faces, smiles always weaved in at the prospect of life, but the creases due to the hours that missed rest. So he always put on a brave face and told them that this was a journey he had to do alone.
After all, these trips and excessive reaching out to artists from across the globe are for his own work. A signature debut for himself as someone beyond the scenes, a person who can speak from behind the camera and on the stage. The solo album he's launching at the 1st of January 2023.
The idea to launch something of his own was drafted in 2020. A pandemic swept over the world and left many paralyzed to the uncertainty. And as someone who enjoyed holding hands with strangers who shared love because of the language of music and art, Leon felt lost. The anchor the boys gave his heart had him stay on ground. But his mind that needed a busy environment now lost because of distancing and erased crowds, knocked on productivity. So that year, he reached out to his friends Ian and Yara and proposed the idea of creating an EP for himself.
It would not be a big deal for many. Most fans would rejoice at the possibility of more content. But in the business scheme of things, losing one fan because of their interpretation that the artist's solo might be the stepping stone to leave the group is too costly. So it takes planning and careful consideration of risks, one that took 2 years while the music production was happening simultaneously.
Leon asked permission first from his boyfriend on his plan after completing the set list. And he remembers their disbelief, not at his secret project but at his permission. "Leon, you don't have to go out of your way to ask for our permission because we'll always support you." There is nothing but truth to that statement. But the boy respects them so much to always ask. At the end of the day, even if Stray Kids fade into age, he'll always wish that he keeps them close. Without the lights and the top charts, he'll always prize these men.
And besides, the permission has an undertone. Besides the actual asking if releasing his solo music for profit, there is a deeper question in the lines. One that the members might have not caught until they heard the music together with the rest of the world. Are they ready to hear what he has to say, given that as a boy in the light of an older brother or reliable person, he has kept so much stories even to them?
•----------•
At an hour past 2023, he launched the album under the Labyrinth Hub. Similar to fireworks, the news of his release traveled past. Many bright colors parallel to the reactions people had. And Leon just sat back and moved on to a new project, wanting to see reactions after his members filmed their own.
Overcast
Leon - 2023 - 7 songs - 21 minutes and 29 seconds
Aurora (Ft Dove Cameron) | 2 minutes and 49 seconds
Aurora come to me
Care less if you're a man, a woman, or in between
Aurora want your light
Can close the lights if we intertwine
Aurora Aurora Aurora
Oh your beautiful name
A figure is what you see when you close your eyes to the track. With a bass lulling anyone to the siren song, it is easy to awaken the questions of crushes with this song playing in the background. The voice of Dove Cameron gives the feminine dominant touch, going hand in hand with the salsa in Leon's voice. Both of them provoking the other, wanting to push listeners to the nearest club. And while they have people under their spell, it is easy to tempt them and make the typical heteronormative mistake of falling for the same sex. But only those in denial will ignore its connotations.
In Denial (Ft Eric Nam) | 3 minutes and 11 seconds
Glances of your mother
Sighs of your brother
Relish under the
Disappointment you bring
Have I ever told you
I've been in love
For quite a while
You always knew
But always in denial
Have I ever told you
You've fallen for me
Months back, baby
But you always knew
Still in denial
In the Asian culture, family approval is high valued. Often, the children would give up and sacrifice their wants if it doesn't align with their parents' wishes. But as an Asian-American exposed to both Western and Asian culture, he knows that rebellion is the easy way out. And so many young adolescents approach where they were told no. Besides the vices themselves, often parents set restrictions on people.
And in the painted picture, it is clear that the narrator is someone unworthy or a lowlife. A lowlife the other falls for but denies because of the fear in them. They may be in the spout of rebellion and using words they have yet to understand. But they don't know how to navigate the world without their family. So they hold their tongue and put clear lines, even going as far as to being in denial, to keep both options open — the person their family frowns upon and the family they've always known.
Downtime | 1 minute and 9 seconds
Listen
Halt
Prince, don't worry about missing out much
Because it's downtime
No melodies ring out in the interlude. A piano plays over a synth that plays a tune similar to typical club music. It can remind many of the house next door the the mansion throwing a celebration. And Leon wanted it to reenact that scenario. The abrupt placement in the album also parallels the situation, a new person moving into town unknowing that they moved to the main teenage party house on the block.
It is easy to fall into aggression or rush into raising voices to tackle on shocking news, like the past 2 songs in the EP. But before actions play out, a pause is very much needed. And thus, the interlude serves its purpose because the listeners are in for some more shocking truths in the next songs.
To Blame (Ft NCT Doyoung) | 3 minutes and 35 seconds
Pictures on my family mantle
Include your face more than mine
There are your fingers by my waist
Same ones that stained bruises
On my beautiful sunshine skin
But you stay in good memory
If I hurt you, I am to blame
If I hurt me, I am to blame
And if you hurt me, or hurt you
I still am to blame
Always the one in conviction
Always the one to take the fall
Who is the song dedicated to? The verses go into detail about someone who is well liked by the narrator's friends and family. They are seen as the ideal partner, the one parents want their son to marry. But behind these good memories are the terrors. This person is responsible for the narrator's trauma. And yet, even if they speak about the incident, they are always cast aside.
At the end of the day, even if this person's faults are featured, they get out clean.
Overcast | 3 minutes and 56 seconds
But it's the truth you don't want to hear
Who I really am is covered by the fumes
The mirrors blurring with an image
Am I the shooting star or the overcast sky?
What you'll never know
Always be blind too
Will you continue to love me
In the smoke and mirrors?
The title track doesn't narrate any specific event of his love, it also isn't dedicated at anyone in particular. But it weaves the other songs of the album together. As someone in the spotlight, it is easy to fall for him, especially if the directors see that the edits paint him in an image favorable. But that is what people tend to forget when they fall for celebrities. Maybe the image of them is near to who they really are. But it'll never be exactly the same.
And as the person in that position, there is much weight to carry from the responsibility. It is as if he'll never see his true self because he'll always be confined to what the public knows of him. He is nothing more and nothing less. Hence, the song and EP is named overcast. Amidst all the clouded sights, he knows that he is not truly the man in the mirrors of other people's eyes.
What If (Ft Moira Dela Torre) | 4 minutes
A one week visit is all I asked
But that was more than you could give
Couldn't come and visit for too long
Or I'd be reminded of what I move on from
The what if my mother loved me more
And we lived in the streets where she was born
Gratitude is what reigns at him when he thinks of his family. The heart they had to share their home with him, a baby that could've been bad at birth. But they didn't second guess to take him in and see him as their son. All who he is rooted from them.
It'll hurt them if they knew though the what ifs in his mind that reigns. The change to his beginning if only his birth mother and father were ready for him. But it pains him to keep the thoughts in, he's been locking it for all his life. So to comfort the Filipino child in him, he wrote this song and requested that a Filipino artist duet with him on it.
Secrets | 2 minutes and 49 seconds
Please leave my secrets alone
Because I can't live with them
Out in the world hurting you
Let me keep my secrets
It ends the album perfectly. As after someone shares a part of their life, the listeners would always want to know more. There are questions afterwards, the want to knows. But in this day and age, this is only what Leon is ready to share. And he hopes that the public, especially his fans, respect that.