After parting with Pledis Entertainment, Baekho has opened a new chapter as Team Baekho, signaling full creative control and a sharper artistic identity. On Nov. 12, 2025, he released the digital single ‘RUSH MODE’, a three-track set featuring the pre-release ‘RUSH’ (first shared in June), title track ‘My Sign’ (premiered onstage in July), and ‘Through the Line’ (feat. CAMO).
Without a title music video or even a single concept photo, Baekho chose to let the music carry the image. ‘RUSH MODE’ frames his intent at a new starting line: performance-ready, forward-facing, and distinct from his past with NU’EST. The project underlines how his mindset, priorities, and direction now read differently from before.
The sound marks a deliberate reset. From genre choices to vocal tone and arrangement, he cuts ties with earlier templates—bold yet minimal, direct rather than ornate—so the artist Baekho comes into clearer focus. Though he has been carving out that space since his first solo album ‘Absolute Zero’ (2022) and subsequent singles through ‘OFF-ROAD’ (March 2025), this release feels like a line drawn anew rather than a mere extension.
The tracks outline that shift. ‘RUSH’ dives into hyperpop, picturing the human push to move forward past stress and pressure, flipping even negative feelings into fuel and turning supposed endings into fresh beginnings. ‘My Sign’ blends R&B with a bossa nova pulse; familiar facets of Baekho meet a stripped, rhythmic guitar bed where his phrasing leaves a lingering aftertaste. ‘Through the Line’ (feat. CAMO) changes angle again to sketch connection across distance, steady trust, and kept promises—like a link between the road behind and the one ahead—while the feature adds a new grain of texture within Baekho’s timbre.
With ‘RUSH MODE’, the idea of “a completely new Baekho” lands without needing extra explanation. Working as Team Baekho, he now builds with seasoned collaborators—music with Prismfilter Music Group and management in partnership with RND Company—reflecting a choice that takes conviction as much as experience. The result is a crisp break from the idol afterimage and the start of something unambiguously his.
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