Flower Fields (album)

Flower Fields is the debut mini-album by South Korean Stray Kids member Seungmin. It was released on October 23, 2021, with "Flower Fields" as the title track and "Runaway" as the sub-title track, through JYP Entertainment. A solo version of Stray Kids' debut single "Hellevator" was recorded by Seungmin and featured on the digital version of the album.
Seungmin began writing songs for the mini-album in early March of 2021, and the writing and recording were finished in mid-August of 2021. There were initially 11 tracks on the standard edition of the album, but one was scrapped and one was replaced. Stray Kids member Felix was later added to the song "Breeze" sometime between May 2021 and July 2021. All three outtakes were leaked in 2021.
==Background==
On their Instagram story, on January 21, 2021, JYP Entertainment revealed that one of the group members from Stray Kids would soon be releasing a solo project.
On February 24, Seungmin did a short Q&A on his Instagram stories. He revealed that he would be releasing a solo project sometime that year, that the other group members would also be releasing things in 2021 and 2022, that he had not begun writing songs, but was due to write songs in the studio, and that he was "very excited and very inspired" to begin his solo project.
Seungmin was later revealed to be recording songs in March and April of 2021, and on April 29, "Flower Fields" was released as the first single from the album.
On his Instagram, on May 14, 2021, Seungmin posted a picture of himself. It was later revealed to be the image used for the cover art of his debut mini-album.
On May 25, Seungmin revealed that he would be releasing a single "very soon", but it would not be part of the tracklist. On the next day, he revealed the single cover art, its title and release date. On May 28, "Rose Petal" was released as the second single and his second stand-alone single.
For all of June, Seungmin was reported to be recording songs for an upcoming Stray Kids release. Not much info about the mini-album was revealed. 
On July 5, Seungmin revealed that he would be releasing the third single from the album "in a few days". On July 6, he revealed that there would be "a surprise" featured on the single. Stray Kids member Lee Know posted a picture of him in the studio with the caption "Big things coming soon". Fans speculated that he was releasing a solo project, but it was later revealed that he would be featured on the single. Two snippets of the song, one of Seungmin's vocals and one of Lee Know's vocals were leaked on July 8, and Seungmin expressed disappointment on his Instagram the next day. On July 10, "Dream Under the Stars" was released as the third single. 
On the same day, Lee Know posted an old picture of him and Seungmin with the caption "Come and dream under the stars with me..." 
Through Instagram, Seungmin revealed that nothing would be released in August, and that the final single would be released in September. He revealed that the album's pre-order would be available "soon". Later that month, on the 20th, Seungmin revealed that he had finished the single and was awaiting a response from his team as to whether he should release his single earlier. After the announcement, within 24 hours, Seungmin's latest post had gained 50.6K comments from fans, asking him to release the single earlier. On August 21, he revealed that the pre-order for his upcoming mini-album would be available on August 26. Fans also guessed that the single would also be released on that date, and this was later revealed to be true. On August 26, an hour before the single was released, Seungmin stated that the single was "[his] personal favourite" and "he couldn't wait for its release". Later that day, "Runaway" was released as the fourth and final single and sub-title track from the mini-album. Pre-orders were made available on the same day, with over 5,000 orders placed. The album cover was also posted on his social media accounts. 
On another interview with the Stray Kids members, he individually revealed that the tracklist for his upcoming debut would be revealed soon. 
On September 16, the tracklist was revealed on a 30-second visualiser on his social media accounts, with a snippet of his solo version of "Hellevator". 
On September 30, he revealed the album's release date to be October 21, and that it would be available in CD format with limited edition photocards. 
On October 14, an album trailer was released on the Stray Kids YouTube channel. On October 17, an album medley was released, featuring a 10-second snippet of all the songs from the standard edition. The video was later taken down and on October 18, it was replaced with another album medley, which now featured a 10-second snippet of Seungmin's solo version of "Hellevator". 
On October 20, Seungmin posted on his Instagram story "ONE MORE DAY!!!". He also posted the caption "Can't wait for you to hear track 7! ❤". 
On October 21, the mini-album was released through CD, digital download and streaming formats. 
On the day of the album's release, Seungmin's fellow group members promoted the album by posting on their social media accounts. Hyunjin, Han and Bang Chan posted on their Instagram stories, and Jeongin and Changbin posted videos of the group with some of the team from JYP Entertainment counting down the release of the mini-album. Lee Know and Felix also posted on their Instagram stories, with the audios of the songs they were featured on.
A range of merchandise were released around three days after its release. A series of hoodies, caps and shirts were available for purchase.
Throughout the end of November and the beginning of December of 2021, snippets of outtakes from the mini-album were leaked, and by December 15, all three unreleased songs were leaked.
== Theme ==
In an interview, Seungmin stated that he was inspired by a recent trip he had taken. In the same interview, he revealed the mini-album title, and stated that it would describe "experiences you would think or do in a flower field".
== Singles ==
"Flower Fields" was released as the first single and title track on April 29, 2021.
"Rose Petal" was released as the second single on May 28, 2021. On May 25, Seungmin confirmed that the song would not be featured on the tracklist.
"Dream Under the Stars" was released with Lee Know as the third single on July 10, 2021. It debuted at #34 on the Gaon Digital Chart and reached #20 by the end of its first week of release.
"Runaway" was released as the fourth and final single on August 26, 2021.
==Tracklist==
#"Flower Fields" Title
#"Runaway" Sub-title
#"Dream Under the Stars" (with Lee Know)
#"Hayfever"
#"Bring Your Friends"
#"Lightning Shock"
#"Breeze" (ft. Felix)
#"Field Trip"
#"Love to Leave"
#"Run Astray"
===Digital version===
==Outtakes==
Bold indicates that the song's full studio version has been leaked.
Italics indicates that the song or parts of the song have been performed live.
Underline indicates that the song's demo has been partially or fully leaked.
*"The Buzzing Bees" (scrapped)
*"Spring Around the Corner" (replaced by "Hayfever")
*"Breeze" (solo)
== Navigation ==
Category:Mini-Albums
Category:Seungmin
Category:Flower Fields
Category:2021
Category:JYP Entertainment
Category:Debuts
Category:Debut Mini-Albums
Category:Snoe's Projects