Syndrome (Wonho album)

After Wonho's departure from Monsta X, Wonho signed with Starship Entertainment's subsidiary, Highline Entertainment, to start his career as a solo artist. On September 4, 2020, he made his solo debut with the mini-album Love Synonym Pt.1: Right for Me, followed by a sequel titled Love Synonym Pt.2: Right for Us released on February 26, 2021. On June 15, 2021, it was announced that Wonho, along with other artists, signed with Intertwine Records with the goal of "helping potential global stars [...] with a soft landing on the U.S. market". Following the promotions of his 2022 single album Bittersweet, Wonho performed a final concert titled Everyday Christmas on December 3, 2022, before his mandatory military service enlistment on December 5, 2022, as a public service worker. On September 4, 2024, he was discharged and later resumed promotional activities following the release of his first English-language single "What Would You Do" on November 22, 2024, ahead of the North American leg of his Welcome Back, Wenee tour. In an interview with Consequence, when asked about future plans, Wonho said: He continued teasing an album throughout 2024, revealing that he had recorded new music in Chicago and hinting at potential to release R&B and EDM-inspired tracks. After initially hinting at a February–March 2025 release date, the album's title was unveiled on September 29, 2025, also confirming an October 31, 2025 release date. ==Composition==

Syndrome is an English-language album, with Joseph Kocharian of Rolling Stone UK describing it as a "mix of fizzing-yet-airy ballads, chilled dance and silky R&B tracks". The lyrics of the ninth track, "Maniac", are described as depicting "a fatal relationship that experiences repeated breakups and reunions". song, which was compared to early 2000's Western boy bands, such as the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. ==Title and artwork==

Syndrome gets its title from "the changing emotions of love that shape us", encompassing romantic love, sexual connection, heartbreak, setting boundaries, and discovering self-worth. Wonho further explained: The album is complemented with three different visual concepts: Onset, Fever, and Fallout. Wonho explained, "Onset is more of the first spark [...] Fever is when the love gets very intense [...] and Fallout is what's left after all of those emotions happen," illustrating how the album captures the changing "temperatures of love" over time. ==Promotion==

Singles On June 18, 2025, Wonho announced the release of his second English-language single "Better Than Me" as the lead single of his then untitled first studio album. It was later released on June 27. A second single, "Good Liar", was released on October 8. Alongside Syndrome, the third single, "If You Wanna" was released on October 31. Despite an initial ban of the song by the Korean Broadcasting System for being "excessively sexual in content," Wonho performed "If You Wanna" on Music Bank on the same day of its release, beginning promotional activities for the single. Promotions for "If You Wanna" continued on MBC's Show! Music Core and SBS' Inkigayo. Tour In support of "Better Than Me" and Syndrome, Wonho embarked on the 2025 Stay Awake World Tour. It began with a Latin American leg on July, and a European leg on September. During these shows, he performed two unreleased songs: "Mala" and "Down". On September 27, 2025, Highline Entertainment announced the third leg of the 2025 Stay Awake World Tour on North America, which was set to begin on Toronto, Ontario at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on November 14 and finish on Seattle, Washington at Showbox SoDo on December 4. The North American leg was eventually cancelled due to "operational issues" and "administrative delays" by the tour's promoter. ==Commercial performance==

Syndrome debuted on the Circle Album Chart at number 19, with 12,427 copies sold, and remained on the chart for five non-consecutive weeks. It also debuted on the Circle Album Monthly Chart at number 53 with the same sales figure, and on the Circle Retail Albums Chart at number 21 with 6,160 copies sold. ==Track listing==

Credits adapted from Tidal. == Personnel ==

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. • Wonho – background vocals, recording • Sun Ahn – vocal direction (1–2, 4–10), background vocals, digital editing (1–2, 4–10), recording • Tushar Apte – drums, synthesizer programming (1) • BrotherSu – background vocals (2) • Serban Cazan – programming (4) • Nathan Dantzler – mastering (1–9) • Enan – vocal direction (1–2, 4–10), background vocals, digital editing (1–2, 4–10), all instruments (3), recording • Koen Heldens – mixing • Joe Kearns – drums, synthesizer programming (1) • Randy Merrill – mastering (10) • The Wavys – programming (5) == Charts ==

Weekly chart Monthly chart ==Release history==