MONSTA X return as a full group with explosive single, ‘Do What I Want’

MONSTA X are back in full force.

• READ MORE: MONSTA X – ‘The Dreaming’ review: K-pop’s chameleons reveal a new spectrum

The Starship Entertainment group have returned with their first release as a full six-member group for the first time in several years. The release, which arrived on Monday (August 18), comes in the form of the pre-release single ‘Do What I Want’.

The dance-y single and its accompanying music video are the first of the group’s upcoming EP, ‘The X’. ‘Do What I Want’ features sharp synths and a thumping bass line, as the group spotlight the best of their K-pop sensibilities a decade into their career.

Check out MONSTA X’s ‘Do What I Want’ below.

The upcoming ‘The X’ EP will release on September 1, and will include the tracks ‘N The Front’, ‘Savior’, ‘Tuscan Leather’, ‘Catch Me Now’ and ‘Fire & Ice’. The EP will also mark the group’s first since 2023’s ‘Reason’.

The X also features the tracks “N the Front,” “Savior,” “Tuscan Leather,” “Catch Me Now” and “Fire & Ice.” The EP is the band’s first since Reason in 2023.

Since 2021, five of the group’s six members have been taking turn enlisting into the South Korean military for their mandatory service. Shownu was the first to enlist in 2021, followed by members Minhyuk, Joohoney, Kihyun and Hyungwon. Hyungwon is the latest MONSTA X member to complete his service, being discharged back in May.

The group’s youngest member I.M will enlist this year, though a confirmed date has yet to be announced. Between 2021 and now, MONSTA X have remained active, releasing music with members who weren’t serving in the military. The group released several EPs without Shownu while he was serving in the military.

In the meantime, MONSTA X have recently played their first string of live shows as a full unit in four years. The group most recently released a digital album of re-recorded songs in May titled ‘NOW Project Vol. 1’.

Their last full-length album was 2021’s English release ‘The Dreaming’, which scored a four-star review: “MONSTA X may have numerous “trophies to show and stories to tell” from their past six years, but nothing is more telling than the growth they’ve continued to achieve since then. Being the K-pop chameleons they are, MONSTA X continue to refine and redefine themselves with every style and genre on each new release.”