Roy Kim (CJ E&M)

Soloist Roy Kim’s new single “Only Then” dominated major local music charts shortly after its release on Monday.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the singer’s poignant pop ballad remained atop six major real time charts including Melon, Bugs, Naver and Mnet.

Penned and composed by Kim, “Only Then” centers on a couple‘s long-distance relationship and describes a man’s heartbreak he decides to break up. His agency CJ E&M explained that the song also includes the singer‘s own experiences of being away from his fans in Korea, as Kim is currently studying in the US. Kim left Korea earlier in January to continue his studies at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.

“I received great strength and happiness from all the big love ‘Only Then’ has received. It’s been hard for me to promote my music due to my school life, but I really wanted to release this song. It took me almost a year to make it, the longest time I’ve spent on creating a song,” Kim said via his agency.

“Only Then” marks Kim’s first release since his “Blossom” EP from May last year.

Kim‘s singing career began after winning Mnet‘s talent competition show “Superstar K” in 2012. Kim officially debuted with his first studio album “Love Love Love” in 2013.

(lotus@heraldcorp.com)