Brand New (EP)

Brand New is the debut extended play by South Korean singer and actor Xiumin. It was released on September 26, 2022, by SM Entertainment and Dreamus. Through the release of this EP, Xiumin became the seventh Exo member to debut as a soloist. The EP features five tracks including the lead single of the same name.

Background
On September 1, 2022, Exo's official Twitter account announced that Xiumin will release a new album called Brand New that will be released on September 26.

Xiumin admitted that he felt more responsible and felt eight times more pressured as he is promoting the album alone, instead of with his Exo bandmates.

The album also featured a guest appearance by Mark of NCT, with whom he collaborated before on SM Station Season 2 back in 2017.

Composition
Brand New album contains five tracks spanning across different genres, such as Hip hop, New jack swing, and Synth-pop.

During an interview, Xiumin stated that the theme for this album was inspired by music of 1990s and early 2000s.

Reception
According to Circle Chart, the EP debuted in second place with over 145,000 sold albums in its first week of release.

The Korea Herald gave the EP a positive review, citing "it brings nostalgic '90s sonic euphoria to listeners."