Shao Hao has spent years writing hits for some of East Asia’s biggest artists. Now he’s putting that same craft to work on his own story, and “Thursday” makes a strong case for why that’s worth paying attention to. Listen here.
The new single fuses K-pop’s forward-thinking melodic energy with hints of 80s Brit-pop instrumentation. Sparkling synths and propulsive beats drive a chorus built to linger, while the lyrics bottle the excitement and vulnerability of falling for someone new. It’s bright, energising, and effortlessly catchy, the kind of track that feels like a late-night confession wrapped in neon. “Thursday” was written and produced with a team from BLACKPINK’s label YG and recorded in Seoul, where Shao also took K-pop performance classes ahead of the release.
The video leans into the fun, setting Shao inside a fictional retro TV dating show called Thursday Night, where he plays three different alter egos navigating a love quest. Drag icon Bitchtrice hosts the whole thing, a deliberate and celebratory nod to self-expression and freedom. “‘Thursday’ reflects a new way of loving,” Shao says, “one that’s more honest, playful, and unafraid of being seen.”
The backstory here is considerable. Shao broke through as a songwriter after winning a competition at London’s Roundhouse, which led to a publishing deal in Taiwan. Since then, he’s crafted number ones across China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan, written for Mandopop superstar Stefanie Sun (whose latest Asia tour used his song as its theme, reaching half a million audiences), and scored anime and Netflix series across Japan and Taiwan. He was also nominated for Best Original Song at Taiwan’s Golden Bell Awards.
“Thursday” is a taste of a forthcoming EP arriving this spring, and it signals an artist stepping confidently into his own spotlight after years of defining other people’s.