Ingyeong Choi describes how and why she makes music that often comes from her diary entries and always comes from emotional openness. 최인경은 종종 자신의 일기에서 비롯되고 항상 감정적인 개방성에서 나오는 음악을 만드는 방법과 이유를 설명합니다. Photo credit: Instagram For those who have not heard your music before, how would you describe it to them? How would you finish the sentence “Ingyeong Choi is ___” or “Ingyeong Choi’s music is ___”?
이전에 당신의 음악을 들어본 적이 없는 사람들을 위해, 당신의 음악을 어떻게 설명하시겠습니까? “최인경은 ___입니다.” 또는 “최인경의 음악은 ___입니다.”라는 문장을 어떻게 끝내시겠어요? This is one of the topics I always worry about and find difficult. It's always difficult to summarize my abstract music into simple, clear words! My diary is where I get the most inspiration when I write songs, so I think it would be fun to describe my music as “a story that has been hidden until now.” Aren’t you curious what the story is about? Come listen! 제가 늘 고민하고 어려워하는 주제 중 하나인 것 같아요. 추상적으로 풀어낸 저의 음악을 간단명료한 단어로 정리하는 게 늘 어렵다고 할까요! 제가 곡을 쓸 때 가장 많은 영감을 얻을 수 있는 게 저의 일기장이에요. 그래서 저는 제 음악을 “최인경의 음악은, 이제껏 숨겨왔던 이야기입니다“라고 해봐도 재미있을 것 같아요. 어떤 이야기인지 궁금해지지 않나요? 들으러 오세요! When and how did you first dream of becoming a musician? Did any specific person or experience inspire your love of music? 언제, 어떻게 처음 뮤지션의 꿈을 꾸게 되었나요? 특정 사람이나 경험이 음악에 대한 사랑에 영감을 주었나요? The idea of becoming a musician [has been] a vague dream I [have] had since I was very young. As a child, [I] loved the music played on the CD player in [my] dad's truck and often sang along. I think I first tried writing a song as a joke when I was in the first year of middle school. I don’t remember the melody, though! I have naturally loved music for a very long time. 뮤지션이 되고 싶다는 생각은 아주 어렸을 때부터 어렴풋이 갖고 있던 꿈이었어요. 어린 시절 아빠의 트럭을 타면 cd 플레이어에서 나오는 음악들을 너무나 좋아했고 자주 따라 불렀어요. 중학교 1 학년 때 장난삼아 처음 곡을 써봤던 것 같아요. 무슨 멜로디였는지는 기억 안 나지만요! 저는 아마 아주 옛날부터 자연스럽게 저절로 음악을 사랑해왔던 것 같아요. Please describe your newest single, “helpless.” 최신 싱글 'helpless'에 대해 설명해 주세요. The song is about [falling in] unrequited love with someone. How great would it be if a person’s mind could go [the way we want it]? I also [have tried having] a few unrequited loves, even though I knew [they] wouldn't work. Love is infinitely beautiful when we are facing each other, but it seems to be infinitely painful when the directions are misaligned. I tried to put only the painful aspects of that love into the song. ‘왜 사랑은’이라는 곡은 누군가를 덜컥 마음에 품어버린 짝사랑에 대한 곡이에요. 사람 마음이라는 게 내가 마음먹은 대로 되면 얼마나 좋을까요? 저도 안될 줄 알면서도 해보았던 짝사랑이 몇 번 있었어요. 사랑은 서로 마주 보고 있을 때는 한없이 아름답지만, 방향이 어긋나있을 땐 한없이 아픈 감정인 것 같아요. 그런 사랑의 아픈 면모만을 곡에 담아보았어요.
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Yangsun shares her experiences writing an OST, participating in a songwriting camp, getting noticed by BTS’s V, and much more! 양선은 OST 작곡, 작곡 캠프 참여, 방탄소년단 뷔의 주목을 받는 등 자신의 경험을 공유합니다! Photo courtesy of Yangsun For those who have not heard your music before, how would you describe it to them? How would you finish the sentence “Yangsun is ___” or “Yangsun’s music is ___”?
이전에 당신의 음악을 들어본 적이 없는 사람들에게 당신의 음악을 어떻게 설명하시겠습니까? “양순이는 ___입니다”, “양순이의 음악은 ___입니다”라는 문장을 어떻게 끝내시겠어요? “Yangsun's music is made by my taste.” 양선의 음악은 나의 취향이 만든다. Who or what first inspired you to become a musician? 당신이 음악가가 되도록 처음 영감을 준 사람은 누구입니까? I don't remember who inspired me to start music, but [it might have been] S.E.S. [I have] practiced and recorded songs since I was eight or nine years old, [and] I always wanted to be a singer. I definitely remember why I wanted to write songs and what inspired me: I wanted to tell my story somewhere. Even now, the most important thing for me is writing [songs like a] diary. 처음 음악을 시작하게 영감을 준 건 누군지 기억이 나지 않지만 나는 8살 9살부터 노래를 연습하 고 녹음해보곤 했다. 아마 나의 첫 아이돌 S.E.S.가 아닐까 싶다. 나는 늘 가수가 되고 싶었다. 왜 곡을 쓰고 싶었는지 무엇이 영감이 되었는지는 확실히 기억이 난다. 그건 나 자신이었고 어딘가에 든 내 이야기를 하고 싶었다. 일기처럼 곡을 썼다. 지금도 가장 중요한 것은 일기쓰기이다. The one-of-a-kind artist answers questions about where her passion for music comes from and what to expect from her next release! Photo credit: Instagram Your sound is difficult to summarize in just a few words, but how would you describe it if you had to in a brief way?
Jazz-influenced indie J-pop. Can you describe some key points in the evolution of your music interests? My grandma bought my family a piano when I was four, and I started taking lessons. Around the age of eleven, I was inspired to switch to guitar because of a scene in the movie Back to the Future. In high school, I was introduced to jazz [music], and in college I got more into jazz and wrote my first song with Japanese lyrics. What was your experience like moving to New York, and has the New York music scene changed your sound in any way? Moving to the city was a hard transition at first, especially since I had just graduated college and was trying to figure out what to do. But I became really comfortable after the first year and love New York so much. I am influenced a lot by my friends and bandmates in the city, [including] Noah Leong, Claudius Agrippa, Noam Tanzer, Ransom McCafferty, and John Roseboro. Unpacking the profound life lessons in a classic novella, TXT’s discography, and the points where they collide. View the Substack version of this piece here! The Little Prince, a classic novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, begins with the narrator lamenting how adults reacted to his childhood dream of becoming an artist. They saw his drawings and not only mistook them for things that they were not but rebuked him for thinking he could make a career out of his work. Disheartened, the narrator gave up art and became a pilot. The rest of the book covers the narrator’s recollections of the days after he crashed his plane on an island and befriended the other person there, who is referred to as the little prince. While the narrator tells his story to the readers, the little prince recalls his adventures to the narrator of traveling to different planets. Through his storytelling, the prince transforms and expands the narrator’s worldview in downright magical ways, reconnecting him with his inner child. TXT’s musical storytelling has a comparable impact, and while the group’s most overt nods to The Little Prince appear in their new era, minisode 3: TOMORROW, many of their previous eras share The Little Prince’s most important lessons, similarities that are clearer in hindsight.
Seeing and Believing One of the first memories the narrator recounts is the little prince asking for a drawing of a sheep and repeatedly asking for a new version that looks closer to what he has in mind. Growing more frustrated and impatient with every draft, the narrator eventually gives up. He draws a box and tells the prince to picture the sheep residing inside it. The boy reacts giddily, saying that’s exactly how he envisioned the ideal sheep picture! The last time the narrator tried perfecting an image through redrafts, he was a child, and adults saw his work’s unconventionality as a lack of quality. “Drawing Number One” was the narrator’s attempt to draw a boa constrictor digesting an elephant, but all the grown-ups saw was a hat. This became his test of character: The one-of-a-kind group talks about their name, animated alter egos, pre-debut nerves, and goal of having a “perfect” performance. Photo credit: X / Twitter Please introduce yourselves and share a fun fact about yourself and/or a special skill you bring to the group!
YEONJUNG: Hello! I have a very unique voice [and] dreamed of becoming a dancer. So I'm interested in dance and choreography creation. JIANA: I'm JIANA, the lead vocalist of YOUNG POSSE. I love to sing Ariana Grande's songs. SUNHYE: Hello, I'm all-rounder leader SUNHYE. I'm into writing lyrics and [working with] MIDI these days. JIEUN: I'm the youngest in this group. As I wrote in the lyrics of "ROTY," I made my debut suddenly, but I'm calmer and [more] passionate than anyone. DOEUN: I'm DOEUN, and I'm [like the] giraffe [in] YOUNG POSSE. I love cooking delicious dishes for my members! For those who have not heard your music before, how would you describe it to them? How would you finish the sentence “YOUNG POSSE is __”? “YOUNG POSSE is young and playful at heart,” but on the stage we [have] charisma! Your band name has been described as meaning “youth with a purpose.” What does that expression mean to you? When we work together, things that we can't do individually become possible. “POSSE” means “anything is possible” [“to be able”] in Latin, so it's a word that we like to dream about all the time. Sohyang talks about finding inspiration in Mozart, faith, and iconic artists. Photo courtesy of Entertainment Arkhe For those who have not heard your music before, how would you describe it to them? How would you finish the sentence “Sohyang is __” or “Sohyang’s music is __”?
Like my fans always say, “Sohyang is a dreamer,” [and] “Sohyang’s music is grace.” I would like to say that you can feel grace in my music. I love to challenge [myself to do] various kinds of music. “BLESSING” is hip-hop, [a] quite unexpected challenge for me, but [still infused with] grace. Do you remember much from your debut days? Do you ever reflect on how much your perspective or sound has evolved since then? Oh my gosh, when I think about my debut, I feel so embarrassed. I was just a kid who didn’t know anything about music. I was naive and unknown. Of course, I really love music, but I didn’t know how to [incorporate] it into my voice and my life. Fortunately, I encountered lots of artists through listening to many songs [by] Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Ella Fitzgerald, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, and Kendrick Lamar, and [I] learned many things from them. I got enormous ideas and insights from their songs, album concepts, vocal skills... As a musician, I realized that a song has to communicate its message, life, and soul [through] the melody [and] lyrics. What are some of the most influential life experiences that have shaped your music? The first was encountering Mariah Carey's music. I still get inspiration from her. She is [one of] the best-selling female artists in the pop market. Her Christmas song is still number one, and her vocal skills are incomparable. Her range and riffs are a gift from God. It’s undeniable. I listened to her music repeatedly and mimicked her techniques. Through this tedious process, I finally built up my own skills. But it's not just Mariah; I've learned from many other artists, too. THE CHARM PARK talks about working with Rei Yasuda, his collaborations with Ohashi Trio, Japanese music recommendations, geographic differences between listening habits, and more. Photo courtesy of THE CHARM PARK For those who have not heard your music before, how would you describe it to them? How would you finish the sentence “THE CHARM PARK is ___” or “THE CHARM PARK’s music is ___”?
To be honest, I really can’t objectively describe my music to anyone who has never heard my music. However, having a bit of a complex background (born in Korea, raised in Los Angeles, [and] currently residing in Japan), I think it’s safe to say that my music portrays my background by being somewhere between East Asian and American music. I would like to think that I am the gray between the black and white, and I strive to be a bridge that leads one culture to another. Did anything specific inspire your stage name, and did you consider any other names before “THE CHARM PARK”? I always loved bands, and I didn’t want people to know THE CHARM PARK was a one-man operation, so I just stuck “THE” in front of my name. I did start this project with the same name, but as one word, “theCharmPark.” I decided to change it when some platforms wouldn’t let me capitalize the letters in between, and it looked terrible without it! How and why Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stops in Singapore sparked heated reactions. View the Substack version of this piece here! In Thailand…
During a mid-February forum in Bangkok, Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin accused Singapore of striking an exclusive deal with Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
Additional Context Behind Thailand’s Hopes for a Taylor Swift Concert Links to all of 2024’s articles and episodes so far! View the Substack version of this piece here! On the 17 Carat K-Pop Podcast
Best New Music: February 2024: My ranking and review of the best new releases from K-pop, J-pop, and T-pop artists! Stream this episode on Spotify here! Stream this episode on Apple Podcasts here! Stream this episode elsewhere here! Hi, It’z Me Again: After explaining the reason for this show’s hiatus and what the future of 17 Carat K-Pop looks like, I make seventeen predictions for 2024 (mostly K-pop-related, but some more general ones too)! Stream this episode on Spotify here! Stream this episode on Apple Podcasts here! Stream this episode elsewhere here! TY for TY Tracks: The ultimate guide to TAEYONG’s TAP Era: the best lyrics, the thematic parallels to the SHALALA Era, theories about the “TAP” music video, the hidden meanings in the teaser images and videos, and so much more! Stream this episode on Spotify here! Stream this episode on Apple Podcasts here! Stream this episode elsewhere here! LE SSERAFIM’s New Era: I use the movie Black Swan as a starting point for understanding the messages in LE SSERAFIM’s new mini-album, EASY; assess the ways the group’s new songs build on the foundation of their older ones; describe how the poem “Good Bones” is uniquely incorporated into the group’s story; and overall show why LE SSERAFIM’s discography remains as praiseworthy, resonant, and thoughtful as ever! Stream this episode on Spotify here! Stream this episode on Apple Podcasts here! Stream this episode elsewhere here! Photo courtesy of FNC Entertainment Tour News
P1Harmony are following up 2023’s epic “P1USTAGE H : P1ONEER” tour with the “P1USTAGE: UTOPIA” tour, starting this May! The globally-beloved group will kick things off in Houston before taking the show to eleven other cities, including a festival slot at New York’s Governors Ball. |
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