K-Pop Special ft. Adelyn Paik
Since the early 2010s, K-Pop has established itself as a worldwide phenomenon. Today, we’ll tell you more about the genre, feature a few Epidemic Sound K-Pop artists and treat you to an exclusive interview with Adelyn Paik.
Since the early 2010s, K-Pop has established itself as a worldwide phenomenon. Today, we’ll tell you more about the genre, feature a few Epidemic Sound K-pop artists and treat you to an exclusive interview with Adelyn Paik.
K-Pop (Korean popular music) is part of “Hallyu,” known as the Korean wave, the successful and global export of K-Beauty, K-Drama, and K-Pop. The genreless genre, influenced by sounds and melodies from Pop, Jazz, Hip Hop, Rock, and Dance music has also, with the likes of BTS and BLACKPINK, brought boy bands and girl groups back into the spotlight in a massive way.
Recently, we’ve seen K-Pop artists and groups win Grammys, have their own Netflix and in-theatre documentaries, perform at Coachella and the United Nation’s general debate, as well as outsell Western superstars in album sales. Many Western artists have also crossed over and featured on K-Pop records, helping them and Korean artists expand their reach into each others’ markets.
Apart from being sung predominantly in Korean (and at times including a few phrases in English), K-Pop is also notorious for its polished aesthetic, high production value and sound, and, oftentimes, choreography-driven music videos. The power of the genre has placed K-Pop on the map of global pop culture.
Today, we’re honored to discuss music with our very own, phenomenal, Adelyn Paik, whose dreamy vocals we just cannot get enough of.
A chat with Adelyn Paik
Adelyn Paik is one of Epidemic Sound’s biggest K-Pop artists and has over 7000 monthly listeners on Spotify. She was born in South Korea and her musical career began in the gospel group ‘Clema,’ which has toured countless churches around the country. Since then, her sound and her career have evolved to something incredibly special. Her uniquely soothing pop lullabies are soulful and powerful, with Paik’s talent shimmering through her melodies. Now living in Los Angeles, she’s garnered support from Epidemic Sound, and Adelyn’s talents are limitless. She looks forward to continuing to collaborate with musicians from all over the world as she hones her one-of-a-kind sound.
Q: ‘Snow Flower’ is one of your most-streamed tracks and we love it. Can you tell us more about the song and what you want people to take from it?
A: Having ‘Snow Flower’ as the most-streamed song is a very honorable achievement for me. After writing the composition of its melody, I remember asking Collin Lim - a great and talented lyricist/artist - to write lyrics that go in-depth with a personality that can be considered cold-hearted. I want to thank Collin, who expressed the song’s meaning even deeper than my first explanation. I wanted to share how, just like a flower in the snow, a person is capable of building a wall of thorns designed to withstand hardships in life because of previous burns. It’s not their intention to hurt but to shield themselves, and their “words are sharp but [might] mean exactly the opposite.” I hope the people who struggle with opening up due to past hardship will listen to this song and be reminded that they are not alone in this world.
Q: You were born in South Korea but moved to LA. Has that influenced your music in any way?
A: Definitely. Well, your playlist changes even when there’s a slight weather change near you. I think moving from my hometown must have influenced my music in multiple ways, even before I realized them. In Seoul, I was naturally exposed to K-pop on the street. Now, that’s shifted to pop charts in the States. One thing that doesn’t seem to change is that I don’t stop digging for music I love. It doesn’t really matter where I live when it comes to music, which I’m very thankful for those who listen to my music from all over the world!
Q: Can you tell us about your creative process and what inspires you as an artist?
A: What inspires me the most is people. Whether it’s people around me or celebrities, the music I pursue reveals the story of people's lives through songs. I want to give the listeners as many options as possible to relate and be consoled and motivated in some ways.
Q: How do you want a first-time listener to feel when they hear your music?
A: This is what I want people to feel when they hear my music for the first time: “Whose voice is this? It’s so soothing. OMG, this melody is so catchy that it will be stuck in my head at least for this winter (or spring, summer, fall).”
Q: We love the dreamy quality of your songs. How would you describe your own sound?
A: It's nice to hear you describe my song as having "dreamy quality"; thank you! Last September, a friend of mine listened to me singing and said it was "soul-soothing." I loved that expression, so I think I'm going to use that.
Q: How has your journey with Epidemic Sound been thus far?
A: It is such an honor to experience music with so many professional musicians through Epidemic Sound. I’ve already met countless people who live their life to the fullest by creating incredible music or support those who do. I can certainly say that I’ve been able to live a truthful and joyful life ever since day one on this journey. I cannot wait for what’s more to come!
Top track by Adelyn Paik:
More Epidemic Sound K-Pop artists
I'MIN
I'MIN is a Korean American singer/songwriter based in NYC. He began his music career as a singer featured on his college roommate's project "Jivin N Vibin", which went on to garner the attention of various music labels. I'MIN, now further along in his career, has been working with world-class producers leveraging his support from music/tech company Epidemic Sound. He has released an EP entitled "NITM" in addition to several more singles straddling the genres of PBR&B, Lo-Fi, K-POP and Soul.
Top track by I’MIN:
Collin Lim
Collin Lim is a South Korean-born K-Pop singer and songwriter. It all began when he sang at a concert and connected with other world-class performing artists through an organization named 'P@N.’ There, he had the opportunity to write plays, musicals, and of course, perform. His involvement in musical theatre led to the role of lead vocal in an acoustic band, 'Seoul Train,' tasked with creating music for South Korean Broadcasting Network. In addition to composition, Collin works as an actor and strongly believes in the inevitable correlation between his music and acting, as he ceaselessly longs to inspire others.
Top track by Collin Lim:
At Epidemic Sound, we’re proud to highlight the amazing K-Pop artists on our roster, such as I’MIN, Collin Lim, and Adelyn Paik. We hope you enjoyed this K-Pop special. If you can’t get enough of it, check out all the tracks by Adelyn Paik, I'MIN, and Collin Lim by clicking their names.
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