Realiez

First news of the project came on May 26, 2023 when Konnect Entertainment uploaded a teaser video onto their social media channels, entitled "Kang Daniel - Prequel".^[1] The sixty second video depicted a post-apocalyptic, dystopian-style desert car chase scene, followed by an unidentified person pointing a gun at a masked Kang. The teaser video ended with a black screen displaying Bible verse Matthew 10:28, followed by a date, "2023.06.19".^[1] The EP's title was officially announced four days later, along with the start of pre-order availability.^[2] According to Kang, the title, Realiez, is a portmanteau of three words: "real", meaning truth, "lies", a lie disguised as truth, and "realize", the process of realizing the truth and lies.^[2]

On June 2, Konnect announced that "Wasteland" would be released ahead of the EP on June 7. The song, recorded entirely in English, was said to contain the central message of the album.^[3] The EP's track listing and production credits were released on June 14, confirming the lead single's title, "SOS",^[4] followed two days later by audio samples of all songs.^[5] Realiez was officially released on June 19, 2023, along with lead single "SOS" and its accompanying music video.^[6]

The EP was Kang's final release under Konnect Entertainment, which was dissolved in mid-2024 after Kang filed a criminal complaint against the company's largest shareholder for embezzlement, forgery, and fraud, among other things.^[7] Kang's next Korean EP, Act, was released under a new agency, Artistic Round Alliance (ARA).^[8]

Realiez is described as a exploring a variety of genres, such as synth-pop, modern pop, rock, and grunge.^[9][5] The opening song, "Wasteland", is recorded entirely in English and written by Kang. The song is described as a synthpop track with a dark ambiance.^[10] The EP's lead single, "SOS", is an electronic-rock influenced track with arpeggio synthesizers, aggressive electronic guitar riffs and powerful drums.^[5] "Supernova" is a pop-rock track with funk influence.^[9] "Liar" is a pop track with "interesting" instrumentation and "spacious" sounding reverb and synths.^[9] The final track, "Dreaming", is a softer track with choir backing.^[9]

The EP explores themes of dystopia and apocalypse, which were conveyed through the graphics and visuals leading up its to release.^[11] This continued with the music video for "SOS", which was filmed in the desert near Las Vegas^[6] and was compared to Mad Max.^[9]

Realiez debuted at number five on South Korea's Circle Album Chart for the week ending June 24. A second version of the EP also charted at number seven, for a combined total of 149,455 copies sold in the first week.^[12] On the monthly chart, the two versions of Realiez peaked at numbers seventeen and twenty-nine, respectively, for June 2023.^[13] As of August 2023, the EP has sold 169,996 copies in South Korea.^[14]

Track listing and credits adapted from the EP's liner notes.^[15]