On February 1, Kang Daniel officially began the countdown for his comeback with a teaser video. A week later, KONNECT released the digital single’s cover image and described “PARANOIA” as a new turning point. Kang Daniel, who wrote the song himself, expresses the pain, conflict, and anguish that he actually experienced.^{[s] [s]}

Daniel held an online press conference to commemorate the single’s release and shared that “PARANOIA” is a song that acts as a keyword for his story that will unfold. Performance-wise, it was constructed so one could be stimulated but also find comfort.

When asked to summarize “PARANOIA” in a sentence, Daniel stated, “The moment when a person falls apart the greatest, it’s not due to an outer force, but rather when you fall apart due to your own self.” His concern was how to portray a person going crazy, and the answer to that came from his own experience. On MBC’s Radio Star, Daniel said “PARANOIA” was inspired by his hiatus in 2019 due to mental and physical health issues, so the song is very dark. The song expressed his paranoia that he might harm himself. He confessed he lost his will to live but overcame his condition after being inspired by other artists.^{[s] [s]}

Daniel shared during his press conference, “The theme in itself is heavy and distant, but since I’m resolving feelings I’ve personally felt, I wanted to express them honestly. I believe this is a feeling everyone can relate to, there’s only a difference in the extent and the depth. I’m thankful that I can display the feelings I’ve felt through music. The reason I put focus on such a dark aspect is because the majority of people are reluctant to bring this up. I wanted to confess my inner concerns and communicate them.”^[s]

Daniel also said he thought more into how he could convey his feelings well and how they should be expressed in the lyrics. After finishing the recording, he thought, “Such dark topics and things can be just simply shared like this,” and was happy because he felt like he overcame his pain. Kang Daniel added, “I think I was able to feel my inner strength grow. It’s like I surpassed my past self. My perspective became wider, and I can see things around me I wasn’t able to see before.”

The choreography was inspired by movies Venom and Constantine and conveys a subdued mood. Daniel explained that the choreography resulted from him thinking about how to portray his story and emotions without being too stimulating.^[s]

In Daniel’s Insertlive interview, he said when he first heard the beat, he started with asking himself what story he wanted to tell. He said people are aware of his bright and cheerful side, but he had another side that he hid. People knew about that side through the news of his hiatus, but this song marked the first time he revealed that dark side. His previous lyrics were largely based on movies or content he was inspired by. This time Daniel wrote all the lyrics based on his personal experience.

Kang Daniel further discussed the lyrics in a MU:PLY ASMR video. He said his favorite part is the first verse, “Days are as dark as the night. It’s getting scary in my lightless room. It’s becoming routine, one by one.” He said this echoes what he truly felt. He feels the most comfortable and safe at home at night with the curtains drawn. In that verse, he expressed his fear of the daytime when there are many people out. The part where the lyrics say to close his eyes is a homage to horror movies and also his habit when he has a difficult time is to close his eyes. The “PARANOIA” subplot is that he is afraid of his ego hurting him, which could lead him to giving up on himself. The fear of a dramatic consequence was what Daniel tried to express. “Oh my” is used to ask himself, “How come I got into this?” The hiding part of the lyrics refers to his awareness of his changes. “Don’t mind” refers to his desire to be alone where nobody can find him. Verse 2’s “la-la-la” is sung as if he is having more fun taunting himself. “In a space without a single light” is a metaphor for malicious comments. Daniel said he uses his devices on dark mode, and the comment sections are also in a dark color. Aside from the display settings, there is a darker thing coming with worse malicious words. “Wasn’t with me back then, but they right here now” refers to the two egos.^[s]

During iHeartRadio’s interview, he thanked fans for being there for him in 2020: The mental wounds inflicted on me by those who don’t like me. If it was hip-hop they can just [express themselves in this way]. I think you understand what the motion I’m making infers. But I think I have a different stance with the song “PARANOIA”. Though I may stumble and fall and be afraid… this song represents these stages. It’s a really deep and dark story but because of DANITY, this has been able to become just another story. It’s not a wound anymore but a story I can tell via song. And because of this I am so thankful.^[s] In an interview with Malaysia news outlet Astro AWANI, Daniel said, “‘PARANOIA’ is the start to a lot of really, really big pictures, and it contains a lot of my personal stories.”^[s]

Daniel kickstarted promotions by previewing the making of the music video on the February 13 episode of MBC’s Omniscient Interfering View. On February 16, he held an online press conference and comeback countdown live on V LIVE. Shortly afterwards, MU:PLY released the monthly project collaboration with TikToker Always Wet Boy. During the two weeks of promotions, he performed on all music shows and also appeared in variety shows. KONNECT also released a music video commentary and DaniTV episode with his UNIVERSE personas Kang Sa and Kang Soniel.

“PARANOIA” took first place on 4 music shows: The Show on February 23, Show Champion on February 24, M Countdown on February 25, and Show! Music Core on February 27.

“PARANOIA” debuted at #2 on Gaon’s weekly chart with of 32,505,273 digital points, making it Kang Daniel’s highest charting song to date. He also achieved double crowns in the download and BGM weekly charts and topped Gaon’s download monthly chart for February.

On the international charts, “PARANOIA” debuted at #20 on the iTunes Worldwide Songs chart, reaching #1 in nine different regions, including Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Macau, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Chile.^[s] It also charted in the top 10 in Vietnam and Finland, and it reached the #1 TOP SONG on the iTunes K-Pop Song chart in the United States and Canada.^[s]

Kang Daniel also made his debut on a new chart when the song peaked at #5 on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales and charted for 3+ weeks.