“I’m PSY, the 22nd-year dance pop singer back after five years!” PSY said during a press conference for his new album “Psy 9th” at the Fairmont Ambassador Seoul in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Friday.

The singer’s first release in five years is set to drop on 6 p.m. today with a star-studded lineup of featured artists: Hwasa of Mamamoo, Crush, Jessi, Heize, Tablo of Epik High and Sung Si-kyung. Singer-turned-actress Suzy will appear in the music video for the track “Celeb.” The final surprise came on Tuesday when Suga of boy band BTS was revealed to be the producer and featured artist on the album’s lead track “That That.”

Many of the videos for this album were filmed in the vertical format, PSY said, and he has attempted to update his music style as well.

“You know how we often say ‘old people stuff’ and ‘young people stuff,’” he said. “In the industry, there’s also ‘old people dance’ and ‘young people dance,’ ‘old people rap’ and ‘young people rap.’ I tried a trendy ‘young people’ beat and rap style [for the album’s sixth track, 'Ganji']. It was a big challenge for me as a musician, different from the style I’ve been doing for a long time.”

“I think what long-time musicians must be most weary about is being too satisfied with oneself,” he added. “That’s a shortcut to becoming complacent and out of style. I’ve always been trying to collaborate with younger artists to prevent such complacence and get new inspiration. Working with Suga was a big source of inspiration for me. Working with younger artists motivated me for dance practice too, so I could catch up with them.”

PSY debuted in 2001 and is known for the songs “Champion” (2002), “Father” (2005) and “Right Now” (2010). He became an international sensation in 2012 thanks to the viral hit “Gangnam Style.” He went on to release “Gentleman” (2013), “Daddy” (2015) and “New Face” (2017). His release prior to “Psy 9th” was his eighth full-length album “PSY 8th 4X2=8" in May 2017. During his five-year hiatus, PSY focused on fostering new talents at his agency P Nation, such as K-pop stars Jessi and HyunA.

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]