NCT leader Taeyong and EXO member Baekhyun have released a brand-new collaboration, ‘Monroe’.

The jazz-inspired pop song pays homage to and honours the late pop culture icon Marilyn Monroe. On the track, the duo compare the love and beauty of their partner to the Hollywood star, while making references to luxury brands like Tiffany & Co. and Burberry.

“Yeah, give me the, give me the sign / Oughta be your cigarettes / So give me your, give me your time / All I have left is time and time so / You’re a gold diamond Tiffany or white gold rose / You are my Marilyn Monroe,” Taeyong sings, as translated by Genius.

Taeyong released ‘Monroe’ on his SoundCloud account, which he opened in March with the release of a self-composed song called ‘Dark Cloud’. The singer also wrote the lyrics to ‘Monroe’, which he co-composed with producer SQUAR. The latter had previously helmed NCT 127’s ‘Interlude: Neo Zone’ and a remix of NCT U’s ‘90s Love’.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun dropped his third solo mini-album ‘Bambi’ in late-March. The six-track project featured the previously released song ‘Amusement Park’ and dropped alongside a video for the title track ‘Bambi’. It also included a contribution from R&B singer Clode on ‘Love Scene’.

In a glowing four-star review, NME’s Rhian Daly called ‘Bambi’ a “smooth, sultry R&B that vividly explores all sides of love”. She added that the songwriting on the mini-album was “so vivid that even without Baekhyun’s colourful voice, each song paints striking images”.