Tough Love (Onew EP)

Tough Love
EP by
Onew
ReleasedMarch 9, 2026
GenreK-pop
Length14:40
LanguageKorean
LabelGriffin
Producers
Onew chronology
Saku
(2025)		 Tough Love
(2026)
Singles from Tough Love
  1. "Tough Love"
    Released: March 9, 2026

Tough Love is the fifth Korean extended play (EP) by South Korean singer Onew. It was released on March 9, 2026, through Griffin Entertainment. The EP contains five songs about different aspects of love, including the lead single, "Tough Love". It peaked at number three on South Korea's Circle Album Chart.

Composition

The EP contains five songs about "various facets of love". Onew wrote the lyrics for all tracks and received composition credits for the first time. He said that he tried to weave together different stories about love like a novel while avoiding clichés.[1] Opening track "Dot Dot Dot (...)" is an R&B song with a minimalistic beat.[2] The lyrics use ellipses to represent tension in a relationship.[3] Onew collaborated with international producers for lead single "Tough Love", which he described as a "turning point" in the EP, explaining that it captured "the rawest expressions of love" without romanticisation.[1] "Flex on Me" has a heavy bass line[2] and emphasises the importance of love over material wealth. "Lie" is an emotional song about being deceived by a lover.[3] Finally, "X, Oh Why?" has an escalating beat and heavy drop,[2] with lyrics about saying goodbye to an ex.[4]

Release and promotion

Onew held encore concerts of his tour, Onew the Live: Percent (%), in Seoul on January 31 – February 1, 2026, where he performed an unreleased song, "X, Oh Why?".[5] During the final show, he revealed a trailer announcing a new EP, titled Tough Love. His agency, Griffin Entertainment, officially confirmed the EP's release two days later.[6] To promote the EP, he uploaded scrapbook-style concept photos to social media, showcasing six different collages all featuring hearts.[7] He also shared various other forms of promotional content, such as track videos, music video teasers, and an album preview containing snippets of each song.[2][8] Onew held a pop-up store from March 8 to March 15 in Seoul, featuring a photo zone, message zone and event zone for fans to participate in.[9] Tough Love was released on March 9 alongside the music video for the lead single.[3] Onew promoted the EP on music shows for the first time in three years, beginning with a performance on M Countdown.[10] He embarked on a fan meeting tour across Asia in April 2026.[11]

Track listing

Tough Love track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Dot Dot Dot (...)"
  • Onew
  • Lee Aeng-du (153/Joombas)
  • Ditch David
  • Fabian Zeke
  • Ninos Hanna
  • Hautboi Rich
Ditch David2:49
2."Tough Love"
  • Onew
  • Lee Seu-ran
  • Ryan Bickley
  • Onew
  • Ditch David
  • Ryan Bickley
  • Freedo
  • Ditch David
  • Freedo
2:37
3."Flex on Me"
  • Onew
  • Ditch David
  • Chris Wahle
  • Jack Samson
  • Hautboi Rich
  • Ditch David
  • Chris Wahle
  • Jack Samson
  • Hautboi Rich
Ditch David3:10
4."Lie"
  • Onew
  • RGB (Lalala Studio)
  • Ha Shin-young (Papermaker)
  • Ditch David
  • Bhav
3:15
5."X, Oh Why?"
  • Onew
  • Min Yeon-jae (Lalala Studio)
  • 3! (Lalala Studio)
  • Ditch David
  • Wiljam
  • Jack Samson
  • Hautboi Rich
Ditch David2:49
Total length:14:40

Charts

References

  1. 1 2 Yoo, Ji-hee (March 9, 2026). [RE스타] "사랑의 가장 날 것"...온유, 솔로로 또 한 번 도약 [[RE Star] "The rawest love"... Onew takes another leap as a soloist]. Ilgan Sports (in Korean). Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via Naver.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Moon, Wan-sik (February 27, 2026). 뻔한 사랑 이야기 no..온유, 미니 5집 'Tough Love' 앨범 프리뷰 공개 [No cliché love story... Onew unveils preview for fifth EP 'Tough Love']. Star News (in Korean). Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via Naver.
  3. 1 2 3 Jeon, Hyo-jin (March 9, 2026). 온유 컴백, 데뷔 첫 작곡 참여 '터프 러브' [Onew composes for the first time with comeback 'Tough Love']. The Dong-A Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved March 29, 2026 – via Naver.
  4. ↑ Jung, Hee-yeon (February 28, 2026). 온유, 미니 5집 수록곡 'X, Oh Why?' 트랙 비디오 2종 공개 [Onew unveils two track videos for 'X, Oh Why?' from fifth EP]. Sports Dong-A – via Naver.
  5. ↑ Sun, Mi-kyung (February 2, 2026). 온유, 'Onew the Live' 성료..미발매 신곡 최초 공개→3월 컴백 예고 [Onew successfully concludes 'Onew the Live', reveals unreleased new song for the first time, and teases a March comeback]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 3, 2026. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  6. ↑ Sun, Mi-kyung (February 3, 2026). 온유, 3월 9일 컴백 확정..'Tough Love' 발매[공식] [Onew confirms comeback on March 9... 'Tough Love' to be released [official]]. OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via Naver.
  7. ↑ Kim, Soo-young (February 24, 2026). 온유, 매력이 대체 몇 개…신보 '터프 러브' 콘셉트 포토 공개 [How many charms does Onew have... Concept photos for new album 'Tough Love' revealed]. The Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). Retrieved March 29, 2026 – via Naver.
  8. ↑ Ahn, Byung-gil (February 10, 2026). 온유, 미니 5집 타임테이블 공개 [Onew reveals schedule for fifth EP]. Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). Retrieved March 29, 2026 – via Naver.
  9. ↑ Gonzalez Perez, Daniela (March 9, 2026). "Shinee's Onew visits 'Tough Love' pop-up store ahead of EP release — in pictures". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  10. ↑ Lee, Da-won (March 12, 2026). 온유, '엠카' 출격 [Onew to appear on 'M Countdown']. Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). Retrieved March 29, 2026 – via Naver.
  11. ↑ Jeon, Hyo-jin (February 6, 2026). 온유, 亞 팬미팅 투어 개최 [Onew to hold Asia fan meeting tour]. The Dong-A Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved March 29, 2026 – via Naver.
  12. ↑ "Oricon Top 50 Digital Albums: 2026-03-23" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on March 19, 2026. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Billboard Japan Download Albums 2026/03/18 公開". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 31, 2026. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Circle Album Chart – Week 11, 2026". Circle Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 19, 2026. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Album Chart – March 2026". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved April 9, 2026.
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