TEN's first release since leaving SM Entertainment arrived on September 4, 2026, and it came out under a label he co-founded himself. The two-track single "OUTWEST" runs about six minutes total — a deliberately small package carrying a large amount of career context.
What TEN Released: OUTWEST and IRL, by the Numbers
"OUTWEST" is a two-track single by TEN (Chittaphon Leechaipornkul) released on September 4, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. KST / 12:00 a.m. ET , pairing the title track "OUTWEST" with the B-side "IRL" . The official music video, "TEN - OUTWEST (Official Music Video)," went up on his YouTube channel the same day . It is his first musical output since his SM Entertainment exclusive contract concluded in April 2026.source
Quick Answer: TEN released the two-track single "OUTWEST" on September 4, 2026 at 1 p.m. KST, with title track "OUTWEST" (3:18) and B-side "IRL" (2:42). It is his first release under ILLIMNT, the company he co-founded after his SM Entertainment contract ended on April 8, 2026.source
The runtimes are short by design. Spotify lists "OUTWEST" at 3:18 and "IRL" at 2:42, for a combined 6 minutes 1 second, with copyright and phonographic rights credited to ILLIMNT . Korean platform Bugs logs the domestic release date as 2026.09.04, total runtime 06:00, with Universal Music Korea as distributor and ILLIMNT and Virgin Music Group as production and planning companies; the release is also available in FLAC 16-bit . Some coverage frames the pair as a "double single" rather than a title-plus-B-side release .
The credits are the part worth reading closely, because TEN's name appears on both. Bugs lists him as a composer and lyricist on "OUTWEST" alongside Jason Yik Nam Wu, James "Yami" Bell and Olivia Knox, with arrangement by Rabitt, Y4MI and Olivia Knox . On "IRL" he is credited with Austin Corona, Wyatt Bernard, Jonah Shy, David Charles Fischer and Claire Chicha, with Corona and Bernard handling arrangement .
- Release: "OUTWEST" — two tracks, September 4, 2026, 1:00 p.m. KST / 12:00 a.m. ET
- Tracks: "OUTWEST" (3:18, title) · "IRL" (2:42, B-side)
- Label / distribution: ILLIMNT · Virgin Music Group · Universal Music Korea
- Formats: Streaming platforms plus FLAC 16-bit on Bugs
- TEN's role: Credited composer and lyricist on both tracks
TEN has described the two songs as a bridge rather than a destination, calling them "appetizers" ahead of a full album he has already begun working on, though no title or release window has been announced . First-week chart placements, MV view milestones and physical sales figures had not been officially reported at the time of writing.
Why It Matters: TEN's Exclusive SM Contract Ended in April
"OUTWEST" is the first release TEN has made outside SM Entertainment, the company he spent his entire career with until April 2026. SM confirmed through a Weverse notice that TEN's exclusive contract would conclude effective April 8, 2026, adding that it would continue to discuss his participation in WayV and NCT activities "where possible" . That framing matters for how the single should be read: the September release is not a departure from his groups but the first output of a separate solo structure he now controls.
That structure is ILLIMNT, the creative company TEN co-founded and which launched officially on Monday, July 6, 2026, roughly three months after his SM contract ended . The company's social accounts opened in May 2026, ahead of the formal announcement. ILLIMNT positions itself as an artist-centered global creative hub and IP company working across music, culture, visual arts, fashion, original content and brand partnerships, with TEN as co-founder and its first artist .
"At Illimnt, we believe creativity can make the impossible possible. We want to help artists stay true to themselves while freely exploring new possibilities, creating work that connects people across borders and resonates through shared emotion," — TEN, co-founder of ILLIMNT (source: The Korea Herald).
Two points are worth separating clearly, because they are often conflated in fan discussion:
- ILLIMNT handles his individual career, not his group memberships. TEN remains active with NCT and WayV; the company manages his solo work rather than replacing his existing affiliations .
- "OUTWEST" is the first project he has overseen end to end. Coverage of the single frames it as the first release under his own creative oversight rather than a label-assigned title .
The move also fits a wider 2026 pattern among established K-pop artists building independent operations while keeping their group work intact. Mark, whose SM contract also concluded on April 8, 2026, founded Upper Room, and Lisa established Lloud . Read against that backdrop, the September single is less a comeback than the first visible product of an infrastructure TEN spent the spring and summer assembling — and the reason the release arrives packaged with a label identity, a U.S. routing and album work already underway.
Inside the Sound and the Music Video
"OUTWEST" is a performance-first track that shifts between hip hop, tech house and R&B inside a single three-minute-eighteen-second runtime . Coverage from Bugs and Bandwagon Asia frames the song around TEN's senses and cravings as a performer — a pull toward new places and new sensations rather than a fixed genre lane . Bugs credits the track to TEN, Jason Yik Nam Wu, James "Yami" Bell and Olivia Knox, with arrangement by Rabitt, Y4MI and Olivia Knox .
The B-side moves in the opposite direction. "IRL," at 2:42, is brighter and warmer, written as a direct thank-you to the fan community that has followed TEN since his 2016 debut with NCT U — the ten-year span the release marks . It is not filler around a lead single: Bugs lists TEN as a composer and lyricist alongside Austin Corona, Wyatt Bernard, Jonah Shy, David Charles Fischer and Claire Chicha, with Corona and Bernard handling arrangement . Across both tracks, TEN holds a songwriting credit.
The visual rollout started four days ahead of release. KBS World reported that a teaser went out through TEN's official SNS channels on August 31, 2026, showing him opening a door and walking through in a one-take-style sequence, with the sound shifting as the space around him changed . That door-and-corridor logic carried into the full video, published on TEN's YouTube channel on September 4 as "TEN – OUTWEST (Official Music Video)" .
Release-day coverage read the MV as a choreography showcase. Soompi ran it under a headline about TEN's "sleek moves," describing the video as a display of the performance identity that has defined his work since his group years . Descriptions in KBS World, Soompi and Bugs line up on the same points: movement over narrative, dreamlike and deliberately opaque imagery, and art direction with more of TEN's own hand in it than his SM-era videos allowed.
One gap is worth naming. As of publication, no director, choreographer, cinematographer, production company or budget credit for the "OUTWEST" video appears in accessible secondary coverage. Readers who want the exact production line-up should check the YouTube description directly. First-week chart placements and view milestones were also unreported at the time of writing, and early figures circulating on fan and chart-monitoring accounts have not been matched against official platform data.
What Fans Need to Know: US Tour Dates and What Comes Next
TEN's first solo U.S. run is the TEN US SHOWCASE TOUR, announced through official SNS on August 25, 2026 and covering 14 cities from October 17 at The Moore Theatre in Seattle to November 10 at Terminal 5 in New York . Ticketing has already run its full cycle: artist presale and VIP from August 26 at 10 a.m. through August 27 at 10 p.m. local, local presales on August 27, and general on-sale August 28 at 10 a.m. local . Fans without tickets are now dependent on venue-side resale and any capacity releases.
| Date (2026) | City | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 17 | Seattle, WA | The Moore Theatre |
| Oct 18 | Portland, OR | Roseland Theater |
| Oct 21 | San Francisco, CA | The Regency Ballroom |
| Oct 23 | San Diego, CA | Humphreys Concerts by the Bay |
| Oct 24 | Los Angeles, CA | The Novo |
| Oct 26 | Phoenix, AZ | The Van Buren |
| Oct 28 | Houston, TX | White Oak Music Hall |
| Oct 29 | Dallas, TX | Studio at The Bomb Factory |
| Oct 31 | Minneapolis, MN | Uptown Theater |
| Nov 1 | Chicago, IL | Cermak Hall @ Radius |
| Nov 3 | Atlanta, GA | Buckhead Theatre |
| Nov 6 | Baltimore, MD | Nevermore Hall |
| Nov 8 | Boston, MA | Big Night Live |
| Nov 10 | New York, NY | Terminal 5 |
The routing is not a standalone booking. Rolling Stone Korea ties the showcase run directly to the "OUTWEST" campaign and to TEN's 10th debut anniversary year, the same anniversary he marked with the three-night TEN:CORE0110 run at BITEC Live in Bangkok on July 17–19, 2026 . Theater and mid-size hall capacities across the 14 stops suggest a promotional showcase format rather than an arena tour, which is consistent with a first solo outing under a new label.
Beyond November, the next marker is a full-length album. TEN told Variety that "OUTWEST" and "IRL" function as "appetizers" ahead of an album he has already begun working on . No title, tracklist or release window has been announced, and ILLIMNT has not published a schedule beyond the tour.
The concrete takeaway: two tracks totaling roughly six minutes, 14 U.S. dates already on sale, and an album in early preparation with no date. For anyone tracking TEN's post-SM trajectory, the tour's October–November stretch is the next verifiable checkpoint — and the album announcement, whenever it lands, is what will show whether ILLIMNT can sustain a release cycle on its own.
Frequently asked questions
When did TEN release OUTWEST and IRL?
TEN released the two-track single on September 4, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. KST / 12:00 a.m. ET, and published "TEN - OUTWEST (Official Music Video)" on his YouTube channel the same day . Korean entertainment outlet TenAsia confirmed the release went out at 1 p.m. KST across global streaming platforms . Korean platform Bugs lists the Korean release date as 2026.09.04.
Is IRL a separate single or a B-side to OUTWEST?
Official Korean platform metadata treats it as one release with two tracks: "OUTWEST" as the title track and "IRL" as the B-side, distributed by Universal Music Korea with production and planning by ILLIMNT and Virgin Music Group . Some outlets describe the pair as a "double single" instead . Either way, the contents are the same: Spotify lists "OUTWEST" at 3:18 and "IRL" at 2:42, roughly six minutes total, with rights credited to ILLIMNT.
Why did TEN leave SM Entertainment?
SM's notice stated that TEN's exclusive contract would conclude effective April 8, 2026 . Rather than sign elsewhere, he co-founded ILLIMNT, a creative and IP company spanning music, visual arts, fashion, original content and brand partnerships, which launched on July 6, 2026 with TEN as co-founder and first artist . The same 2026 pattern shows up elsewhere: Mark, whose SM contract also ended April 8, founded Upper Room, and Lisa established Lloud, per The Korea Herald.
Is TEN still part of NCT and WayV?
Yes. ILLIMNT manages TEN's individual career and does not replace his group affiliation, and SM said it would continue to discuss WayV and NCT participation "where possible" after the contract conclusion . Coverage of the ILLIMNT launch describes the company as an artist-centered hub for his solo projects while group activities continue . No announcement has framed the label move as a departure from either group.
When and where is TEN's US tour?
The "TEN US SHOWCASE TOUR" was announced on August 25, 2026 and runs 14 cities, opening October 17 at The Moore Theatre in Seattle and closing November 10 at Terminal 5 in New York . Stops in between include Los Angeles (The Novo, Oct 24), Chicago (Cermak Hall @ Radius, Nov 1) and Atlanta (Buckhead Theatre, Nov 3). Artist presale ran August 26–27 and general on-sale opened August 28 at 10 a.m. local time . Variety reports the run is tied to the "OUTWEST" campaign and TEN's tenth debut anniversary, with a full album in early preparation and no announced date.
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This article was written using information collected and analyzed by NAMANE's in-house K-pop research AI engine. We use AI technology to bring you faster, broader coverage, and in the process some details may occasionally differ from the latest facts. For important information such as dates, venues, and prices, please double-check with official sources.
