TNX

TNX have spent four years building a reputation on performance, and "Die Another Day" is the first time they have gone looking for it in rock.

The third digital single from the P NATION five-piece, who debuted in 2022 out of the SBS survival show LOUD, is built on guitar riffs and dynamic drums rather than the cleaner pop architecture of their earlier releases. For HWI, the choice was practical as much as aesthetic: rock carried a darker, deeper quality that suited storytelling, and the story they wanted to tell needed the weight.

Vocally, TNX’s approach was individuated rather than unified. JUN HYEOK explains that the group let each member's tone stand out more than on previous recordings, and that he wanted to keep the rawness of the original guide track, its phrasing and diction included. HYUN SOO reached for a darker, more powerful register than he normally uses. SUNG JUN added breath to produce a huskier tone and paid attention to where he placed emphasis so the vocals could carry the song's shifts in intensity. HWI, meanwhile, took cues from YUNGBLUD's vocal character without attempting an impression.

When it comes to the live delivery, every member returns to the same difficulty when asked what stretched them furthest, which is the challenge of singing this song properly while dancing it at full intensity. TAE HUN describes building stamina and vocal control specifically so the choreography would not compromise the vocal. SUNG JUN talks about rehearsing until their bodies adjusted to doing both at once. It is a demanding target for a group at this scale, and their willingness to name it as the hardest part of preparation says something about where they are placing their ambition.

HWI, who worked on the lyrics, keeps returning to a line about a race with no end in sight. Whether TNX stay in this sonic register or not, the group have found a way to make effort itself legible on stage, and that is harder to unlearn than a genre.

KPOPWORLD caught up with TNX to talk through "Die Another Day," the demands of the live performance, and what this comeback asks of them as a group.

“Die Another Day” is your third digital single, and your first with a rock-infused sound. What made now feel like the right time to bring this kind of energy into your music?

TAE HUN With this song, we really wanted to show our passion and how determined we are to keep moving forward. I think “Die Another Day” captures the energy TNX has right now better than anything else.

HYUN SOO More than anything, we wanted this song to reflect our determination as a group. I think it captures a lot of what TNX has been through since our debut, as well as the emotions we’ve experienced along the way.

JUN HYEOK I felt like this song could serve as a catalyst and mark a new turning point for TNX. Both the sound and the message felt very true to where we are as a group right now, which made “Die Another Day” feel like the right song for us at this moment.

HWI We felt that a rock sound would be the best way to express the intensity and determination we have right now. Rock also has this darker, deeper quality that lends itself really well to storytelling, and we thought that would be a natural fit for the message we wanted to share.

SUNG JUN We wanted to show how serious and determined we are about what we’re doing as TNX right now. I think “Die Another Day” expresses those feelings in a way that feels very honest and true to us.

The song is built around perseverance in the middle of relentless competition. How did you want the performance itself to physically express that feeling on stage?

TAE HUN We wanted to convey that feeling through the intensity of our movements and facial expressions. More than anything, I hope that when people watch the performance, they can really feel the energy we’re putting into the stage.

HYUN SOO I wanted to show a little more confidence and control on stage, while still bringing out that intensity when the song calls for it. I also hope people can see how much I’ve grown as a dancer through this comeback.

JUN HYEOK I want to completely lose myself in the song and give everything I have on stage—as if nothing else matters in that moment. I want the performance to feel that intense, like I’m pouring every bit of my energy into it.

HWI I wanted the performance to have this almost unhinged quality to it. There are moments where we look like we’re barely holding ourselves up, almost like zombies on the verge of collapsing, but we keep pushing forward until the very end. I thought that really captured the message of the song.

SUNG JUN I think a lot of that emotion comes through in our gestures and facial expressions. We approached them with even more intensity than before, so you can really see that sense of resolve and determination throughout the performance.

"Die Another Day" reframes death as something that pushes you to live harder, not something purely negative. How did that idea shape the direction of the song musically?

TAE HUN We wanted the sound itself to carry that sense of urgency and determination, so the powerful guitar riffs and big, dynamic drums play a huge role in expressing the energy behind the song.

HYUN SOO I think you can really hear that message in the intensity of the band sound. The driving beat keeps pushing forward, which reflects that feeling of reaching your limit but still finding the strength to get back up and keep going.

JUN HYEOK The powerful guitar riffs and drums give the song a lot of its strength and intensity. When you combine that with the lyrics and melody, I think the message becomes even more powerful—it’s about choosing to live with even more determination, even when you’re faced with the idea of an ending.

HWI When I was working on the lyrics, I kept coming back to the idea of, “If today were my last day, I wouldn’t want to leave with any regrets.” That mindset shaped the intensity of the song as a whole, and I think you can really hear our determination in both the lyrics and the way the music builds around them.

SUNG JUN The lyrics are very direct about that sense of commitment, with lines like, “If today were the last page, I’d put everything on the line.” I think that kind of message works especially well with the song’s powerful sound, because both the lyrics and the music are pushing toward the same feeling of giving everything you have.

Rock-influenced tracks ask for a different kind of vocal delivery than most K-pop title tracks. Vocally, what was the biggest adjustment for you going into the recording process?

TAE HUN Some of the lyrics are quite intense, so I focused a lot on making sure my vocal delivery matched that energy. I wanted the emotion behind the words to really come through in the way I sang them.

HYUN SOO I tried to bring more power and a slightly darker tone to my vocals than I normally would. It was a new approach for me, so I spent a lot of time figuring out how to make that mood feel natural while still sounding like myself.

JUN HYEOK Compared to our previous recordings, we focused more on letting each member’s individual vocal tone stand out. I also wanted to preserve some of the rawness of the original guide track—everything from its energy to the phrasing and diction—while making it our own.

HWI One of the rock-influenced artists I’ve been listening to a lot lately is YUNGBLUD, so I took some inspiration from the way he uses his voice in this kind of music. I wasn’t trying to imitate him, but I really liked the character and attitude in his vocal delivery and tried to interpret some of that in my own way.

SUNG JUN I experimented with adding a little more breath to my voice to create a huskier tone than usual. I also paid close attention to where I placed emphasis throughout the song, so the vocals could help bring out its shifts in intensity and make the overall performance feel more dynamic.

When a song carries a theme like this, how do you make sure the performance stays powerful without losing the meaning underneath it?

TAE HUN I practiced a lot to stay fully immersed in the song from beginning to end. I wanted the emotion to feel continuous throughout the performance, rather than letting that intensity drop at any point.

HYUN SOO We really focused on making sure that the emotion behind the song comes through when you see the live vocals and performance together. There’s a sense of urgency and desperation in the song, and we wanted the audience to be able to feel that on stage as well.

JUN HYEOK For me, the most important things were our live vocals, along with the acting, facial expressions, and emotional delivery that come from completely immersing ourselves in the song. We spent a lot of time during rehearsals making sure we were all on the same page with those details.

HWI I actually felt that the most important thing was not to act. This song tells a story that feels very personal to us, so instead of trying to create an emotion for the performance, I wanted to genuinely immerse myself in it. I wanted people watching to feel like, “He’s really telling his own story right now.”

SUNG JUN I spent a lot of time working on my facial expressions because I think they’re one of the most powerful ways to communicate emotion and energy on stage. Even from our individual rehearsals, I kept experimenting with how I could use my expressions to make the meaning of the song come through more clearly.

What part of preparing this comeback pushed you furthest outside your comfort zone as performers?

TAE HUN Live vocals were a major focus for us this comeback, so I spent a lot more time than usual working on my stamina and vocal control. The biggest challenge was making sure we could deliver the choreography at full intensity without compromising the live performance.

HYUN SOO This time, I had to show a much more uninhibited side of myself on stage and really lose myself in the performance. That kind of expression was new to me, so it took some time to figure out how to make it feel natural. Through rehearsals and a lot of conversations with the members, I gradually became more comfortable with it.

JUN HYEOK Preparing the live performance at the level we wanted was probably the most demanding part. Both the choreography and the vocals are challenging, and the song requires a lot of stamina, so we spent a huge amount of time rehearsing together to make sure we could deliver both without holding back.

HWI The biggest challenge was taking our live performance to another level. We’ve always placed importance on singing live, but for this comeback, we wanted it to feel even more raw and immediate. Finding a way to keep that energy while still delivering a strong performance took a lot of work.

SUNG JUN I spent a lot more time practicing live vocals for this comeback. The choreography is especially intense, so singing while maintaining that level of energy was difficult for all of us at first. We just kept rehearsing until our bodies adjusted and we became more confident doing both at the same time.

How does "Die Another Day" fit into the direction you want TNX's sound to keep growing toward?

TAE HUN We didn’t make “Die Another Day” with a specific future sound already mapped out. It simply felt like the song that best captured what we’re feeling right now, so in that sense, I think it’s a very honest reflection of who TNX is at this moment.

HYUN SOO I think our previous releases, together with “Die Another Day,” show how much we’ve grown and how much more driven we’ve become as a group. This song also opened up another musical direction that I think we’d like to explore more in the future.

JUN HYEOK With “Die Another Day,” we wanted to show how seriously we take our music, how driven we are, and what we’re capable of as performers. Going forward, I hope we can build on that and keep exploring different sounds and performances while making them feel distinctly like TNX.

HWI I think one thing that will continue to define our music is telling our own stories. Turning the things we’ve actually felt and experienced into music feels very natural to us, and I think that will remain an important part of TNX’s identity.

SUNG JUN We want to keep making music that reflects what we genuinely feel and the determination we have as a group. I think that honesty is something we want to carry with us no matter what kind of sound we explore next.

What is one moment from filming, recording, or rehearsing this era that you think reveals something true about who TNX are as artists?

TAE HUN Honestly, almost every moment we spent rehearsing felt very true to who TNX are. This time especially, I felt like we came together more strongly as a group, while also seeing each member grow individually through the process.

HYUN SOO There were moments during the music video shoot when we had been dancing for hours and everyone was completely exhausted. Even then, no one wanted to stop—we just kept encouraging each other to give it another try. Watching the members push through together made me think, “This is what TNX is.”

JUN HYEOK On the first day of the music video shoot, we filmed the group choreography for over 12 hours. By the end, everyone was exhausted, but no one wanted to compromise because we all wanted the final result to be as strong as possible. The way we kept pushing each other and stayed committed until the very end felt very true to who we are as TNX.

HWI I think one thing that really defines TNX is the way we respond when something is difficult. This comeback challenged us to show a side of ourselves that people hadn’t seen before, and watching the members face that challenge, adapt, and work through it together made me realize that resilience is a big part of who we are.

SUNG JUN Seeing the members rehearse late into the night and even use their days off to keep practicing reminded me how committed everyone is. Moments like that make me realize just how much passion this team has for what we do.

Looking at the group's growth since your last release, what feels different about how you're approaching your artistry this time?

TAE HUN More than anything, I think we pushed ourselves much harder in rehearsals this time. We really wanted to make sure we could show the best version of what we had prepared, so there was a different level of focus and commitment going into this comeback.

HYUN SOO There were a lot of nights when we stayed together rehearsing until really late. We were more focused than before, but we also spent a lot more time talking through things as a group. I think that helped us understand each other better and become even more in sync, both on and off stage.

JUN HYEOK We felt that this comeback could be an important moment and a new beginning for TNX, so we approached everything with an even greater sense of urgency and commitment. From every rehearsal to every part of the preparation process, we wanted to give it everything we had so that we could look back without any regrets.

HWI The biggest difference for me was thinking more consciously about our presence on stage. In the past, I focused a lot on naturally enjoying the performance, but this time I wanted TNX to have a stronger sense of identity and attitude the moment we stepped on stage. I wanted people to immediately feel that confidence and presence from us.

SUNG JUN This time, we weren’t focused on making every movement look completely identical. Of course, there are parts of the choreography that need to be synchronized, but within that structure, we wanted each member’s individual style and personality to come through more freely. I think that gives the performance a different kind of energy.

If a listener takes only one thing away from "Die Another Day," what do you want that to be?

TAE HUN I hope anyone who’s working hard toward something can listen to this song and come away thinking, “I’m not finished yet.” If it can give someone even a little more strength to keep going, that would mean a lot to me.

HYUN SOO I hope people can hear just how hungry and determined we are right now. We really want to show people what TNX is capable of through this comeback, and I hope that sense of drive comes through in the song.

JUN HYEOK I hope people remember the mindset of, “If tomorrow were my last day, there’d be nothing I couldn’t do today.” Even when something feels like the end, I want the song to remind people to keep moving forward, give everything they have, and refuse to let that moment break them.

HWI There’s a lyric that goes, “A race with no end in sight / But I still gotta chase.” I think that line captures exactly where we are right now and the determination we have to keep moving forward, so I hope it’s something that stays with people after they hear the song.

SUNG JUN I hope people can feel that all five of us came into this comeback with the same sense of purpose and gave everything we had to it. More than anything, I want that sincerity to stay with people when they listen to the song.