Yellow is a cold and distant color to Daniel but also represents the start of a new day, much like the yellow sky at the break of dawn. When his team laid out the plan for the color album series project, Daniel knew the things he wanted to talk about on this album in particular but needed some time to develop as an artist and gather his thoughts. He said this was why this album is “fitting to be the final chapter in the Color series but also the beginning of something new.” He wanted his previous albums to lead up to YELLOW as his most personal work.^[s] The pre-released single “PARANOIA” was a trailer for this series’ final EP, a diary-like album with his honest story.^[s]

Daniel explained in his online showcase that the message “not everything is as it appears” was the start of the album planning. It represents the duality of what’s happening and what lies beneath. All five songs reflect Daniel’s thoughts, emotions, and feelings like a mirror. He intended to make songs that reflect on his past and present self. Rather than focusing on the darker themes, Daniel hopes that the messages can be relatable. He delved into each song in his showcase and interviews.^[s]

Daniel told HYPEBAE, “The album starts off on a high note with ‘Digital’, where I felt angry and motivated. Then [it] goes into songs like ‘PARANOIA’ and ‘Misunderstood’, that are more self-reflective and questioning. ‘Antidote’, I felt like was my rock bottom, where I was just searching for an answer. The album ends with ‘Save U’, which is a song I wrote for myself looking back at that time.” He disclosed why the album cover features a diamond, “Depending on how much pressure is put on it, it becomes a diamond or stays a lump of coal. It’s about the pressures put on me and where I am right now because of those pressures.”^[s]

“Digital” has an upbeat rhythm in the retro genre. In contrast, the lyrics are about repeated pain that slowly devastates a person. In his Dazed interview, Daniel talks about the impact of relentless words, “I wanted to express what it felt like to explode. In my mind, at the beginning, it was like, ‘Say what you want to say’. As a celebrity, it’s your job to read the public’s feedback. Good feedback is very helpful but it’s really hard to ignore the bad comments. Reading those, I was getting more and more annoyed. It makes you go crazy!”^[s]

Daniel said the message in “PARANOIA” is the most intense. There’s something that hurts him, but it turns out it was himself. He said he poured his heart and soul into this song and the music video the most. He realized the moment when a person falls apart the greatest is when its due to your own self.

“Misunderstood” is about the struggles of being misunderstood due to baseless rumors and gossip. Daniel thinks the vocal tone in this song was closest to his speaking voice. Daniel thought the song was heavy at first but after recording did not find it so bad. The featured artist was suggested by A&R, and the song is also the head of A&R’s favorite track.^[s]

“Antidote” describes the stress and pressure people experience when confined to an extreme situation and they plead to recover and for negative feelings to end. Daniel commented that it was uncommon for a later track in the album to be the title track. For the vocal line to stand out in “Antidote”, he used a minimum soundscape and added some new color that he has not shown before to give a modern feel and portray his thoughts and emotions in the lyrics. He thinks the emotions in this song are very dynamic. He purposely bit his molars while recording in some parts as if there’s explosive anger at his situation pent up inside. He intended for his vocals to sound sharp. In addition, he wanted the outro to sound bright and liberating dance-wise and sound-wise. Daniel told HYPEBAE, “In ‘Antidote’, although the song is very emotional and dark, I felt like the act of searching for a resolution or ‘antidote’ meant that even though it was one of the darkest periods in my life, I always held out hope.”^[s] When asked in his press conference what was his antidote, Daniel expressed his gratitude for the people who helped him during his hard times.^[s]

“Save U” is the only song in the EP that conveys a message of hope. It was originally written as a message to his past self but also serves as a comforting song dedicated to DANITY. This is the last song in Daniel’s color series, so he did not want to end it on a depressive note. Daniel said he thinks people live in a cruel and competitive world where they can fall into despair. He wanted to give courage to those who are struggling and tell them it’s okay. Wonstein’s inclusion was a suggestion from his team. Due to the pandemic, they didn’t work with other artists face-to-face and sent the track back-and-forth.^[s]

After working on the trilogy, Daniel realized, “I’m able to work on more types of music than I had expected. There were a lot of songs that made me wonder, ‘Will I be able to pull this off?’ But those songs worked for me. And there were songs that I felt confident about but didn’t turn out the way I thought it’d be, from my point at least. So I think with the release of YELLOW, I became a little bit more mature.”

Daniel said the one word that would describe the album is memories. During the planning phase, Daniel said he wanted to turn some of his experiences into songs as a meaningful challenge. All of that has become a good memory. He told NME, “YELLOW is my most personal album because I wrote each song based on a difficult period in my career. Although it was difficult at the time, it has allowed me to really have a good look at myself and what was going on around me. It helped shape me into the person I am today, and I am thankful to everyone that helped me overcome those times. That is what this album is: the emotions and discoveries I made.”^[s]

In the December 2022 issue of WWD Korea magazine, Daniel revealed that among all the songs he had released so far, “PARANOIA” is the one that has his most inputs, from the theme, choreo, makeup, etc..^[s]