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[Music]
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When I first started these interviews in
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2021, I reached out to three people to,
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you know, get that first interview. And
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it was Omega X who became the first
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interview I did. The boys and you and
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you and your company. Yes. So, this was
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2021. It was back
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then. Yeah.
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So, I don't know if I ever got to you,
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but then again, I also had zero
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experience with any interviews at the
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time. So, I'm not too mad about it, but
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I just have to say I've been I've been
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manifesting this interview for, you
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know, four years at this point. That's
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wild because it's it's really crazy
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because now that I'm out of there, I've
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had so many people send me messages be
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like, "Hey, so, you know, we requested
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an interview with your team way back
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when and they never got back to us or
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they never saw what we said." And I'm
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like, "Well, damn. I should have been
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the one in charge this whole time." So,
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apparently, I was like, "You could have
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been my my very first interview ever."
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But I'm kind of glad, you know, we've
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gotten I've gotten to wait to the point
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to where I have uh graphics made and I
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have all this stuff. And now I have my
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own my own series. So, you know, it's
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not that I have to rely on work. So, I
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think it it all worked out and it's a
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great time for you as well as 2025 this
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big rebranding of yourself. Yes, I
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agree. So, of course, yeah, I'm sure
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it's been a long time coming for you.
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Um, and you know, speaking of that,
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talking about your your name rebranding
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as Kim Sedi, um, you know, uh, tell me
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about that decision and does it reflect,
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you know, going, you know, from Alexa,
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which everyone knows and is known to Kim
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Si, does that reflect, you know, this
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new uh, personality or artistically that
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you've been trying to show? Ideally,
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what I'm wanting to do with the rebrand,
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which isn't, you know, happening
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presently yet. Um, again, I just want to
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show my organic artistry. That's not to
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say everything that was done as Alexa
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wasn't from a place of like, you know,
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being organic and true to what I want to
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do, what I like, la, but I think it's
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just having been under a label for seven
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years, you know, it's like, you know, I
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didn't hardly ever get to make the
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executive decisions. I never really had
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full input on a lot of things. And so
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now that I'm in control, I think it
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would be nice to, you know, go by one of
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my actual names at this point rather
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than just a moniker. Um, when is that
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rebrand going to happen? Hopefully by
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the end of this year. Hopefully. Um, I
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mean, because I know I just did Vital
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Check with Kiko as Alexa, but that was
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just from a business standpoint. A
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business standpoint because people know
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the name Alexa. But the Kimadi chapter,
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Alex's new artistic adventure, when is
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that going to begin? Hopefully end of
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this year. You know, that is such a big
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move. Like you're not just, you know,
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changing companies like some groups do
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when you get to keep the name. You were
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changing your whole name, what people
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have known you for for um so, you know,
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was there anything you were especially
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nervous about or, you know, on the flip
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side, something you were more excited
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for? I was definitely nervous uh because
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you know changing a name
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is a tremendous deal especially when
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that has been your brand so to say for
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the past seven years or so that I belong
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to this label and you know I knew
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straight off at the beginning it was
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going to confuse a lot of people
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especially if they were newer fans that
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maybe hadn't been with been with me
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since the beginning. Um but I mean you
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know I've I've rebranded once in my
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life. Who's to say I can't do it again?
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I've got my whole life ahead of me. You
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know, I went from Alex Christine to
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Alexa and then we're in this middle area
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right now, but hopefully that next
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transformation is in the Kim Haiti
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direction. So, what part of that Alexa
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era are you leaving behind? And are
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there any parts you're planning to bring
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with you on this new journey? Inevitably
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going to have to leave behind things I
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no longer have rights to. But that
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aside, uh definitely want to keep, you
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know, the I guess artist Alexa was
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always known as a performance artist.
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And moving forward, yes, I do want to
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release, you know, I
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guess non-Kpop style things, but you
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know, in the event when I do finally
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make K-pop releases, I do want things to
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be very performance focused. I want it
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to be like, you
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know, I definitely want the flavor to
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still be there and not be like a
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complete one to where it's like, oh,
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okay, well, she's still doing K-pop, but
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it's definitely not what she used to do.
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I want there to be a change significant
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enough to where it's like, okay, this is
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still recognizably her, but just leveled
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up. Yeah. I mean, when you were
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releasing like Revolution and
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everything, you had such a unique style
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that was like I could not compare your
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releases to another solo artist at the
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time, you know, we had artists like
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Chunga and Sunmi and everything and I
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love their styles, but you were so
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different that you were really able to
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stand out on your own. So, I was like,
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you know, moving moving like forward
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with this, it's like, do was that all
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all you, you know, was that something
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that you were all in for? And is that
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something you want to possibly, you
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know, bring in with that style? I mean,
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yeah, I would love nothing more than to
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go back to the super like hard style
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stuff that we did in the beginning. I
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don't think if I don't think hard style
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is a correct adjective, but you know,
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the hard-hitting stuff we did in the
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beginning. I mean, we did that whole
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trilogy from Bomb Do or Die to
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Revolution and then I was the one that
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requested to the label to do a bit of a
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switch up and that's how we got extra
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because I wanted to go towards the more
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feminine, more fun and light-hearted
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route rather than like I am an AI who
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has to defeat an evil company and here I
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go. I'm dancing on the moon, you know,
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like no harm, no foul, either one. But I
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wanted to switch it up because, you
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know, it's it's great to have
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consistency. It's great to have your
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brand, your image, what people think is
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classically you, but at the same time,
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you know, change is needed. You can't be
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like a onetrick pony, you know? Yeah,
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for sure. Like with like I when it comes
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to watching music videos for me, I know
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their stories. Honestly, my brain is not
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wrapping around them. It doesn't matter
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what it is. So like with their music
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videos, I was like, "This is so cool. Do
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I understand it?" No. But I'm like, I I
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love it either way. And it was and like
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like I said, it was it was standing out.
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So, it was cool. But I I get what you
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mean by that for sure. Um, you know,
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with this, you know, new chapter that
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we're starting this year, um, are you
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thinking of this as a new beginning for
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yourself or is it more of like an
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continuation of your previous music and
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releases? Um, well, that's a great
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question.
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Um, you know, if I were to compare
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everything to the cliche of a book, this
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is merely just the start of a new
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chapter. This book isn't closed. I guess
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the story arc isn't exactly finished. We
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haven't, you know, I was going to make a
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Lord of the Rings reference, but then I
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realized I don't really know Lord of the
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Rings like that, so never mind. But, you
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know, I don't either. You're good.
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Exactly. There's there's arcs. This arc
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may not be over. There's still chapters
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to be fulfilled before whatever the next
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big move is. So, is this a continuation?
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Is this a new
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beginning? I don't I I'm not quite sure.
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I'm not quite sure cuz I don't want to
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completely abandon everything, you know,
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I've done and worked hard for for the
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past seven years moving forward, but at
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the same time, I'm not going to carry
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absolutely everything with me. I saw
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that you recently attended it was a song
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camp, right? Some I think that's what
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your story said. Yes. So tell me a
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little bit about that. Um why you
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decided to do that and what you kind of
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did there. Well, unfortunately I'm not
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yet at liberty to say what it was for.
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Um all I can say regarding that aspect
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is uh hopefully great things to come
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this year. Well this and next. Yes.
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Hopefully. Fingers crossed. Everything
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crossed. Um, but how it happened is
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because at my old label, uh, one of the
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foreign employe employees employees we
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did have, uh, she was raised in Sweden.
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So, you know, most of my discoraphy, I'd
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say 95% of my songs, like the K-pop
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stuff was sourced from Sweden because
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Sweden and the whole Nordic area of
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Europe is like the hot spot for like
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K-pop songwriters, songwriting in
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general, but it's huge for K-pop. And so
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through this staff member, I got to be
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introduced directly to these, you know,
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producers and topliners and songwriters.
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And uh she knew they had this camp
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coming up. She she we're still tied to
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this day, though we do not work together
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anymore. We're still, you know, bonded,
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trauma bonded. Um she knew this camp was
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coming up and she pitched me to the head
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of uh KMR, which is uh creation music
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rights in Sweden, and they were like,
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"Yeah, we'd love to have her on board
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for this." And that's kind of uh how
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that happened. And I got to reunite with
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my uh OG producers and songwriters. So
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that was a very fun two weeks that I
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spent in Sweden. I want to talk about
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American Song Contest
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because first of all, congratulations on
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winning. It was so deserved. All your
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performances were incredible. Um, but
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like obviously like American, you know,
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music shows these days, they're not
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really doing a whole lot for the people
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that win the shows, you know, and they
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haven't for a while, which is so sad to
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see because so many talented people win
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these shows. But, you know, can you tell
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me kind of what happened with that? Like
00:09:57
once you won, I'm sure you were like,
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"This is it." Like this is going to be
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that break into a different market, you
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know?
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What kind of happened with that from
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your perspective? None of this is shade
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towards NBC whatsoever and the folks
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that did American Song Contest because
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they did what they were legally
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contracted to do and they fulfilled
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their end. So, yehaw, love them. Uh much
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love to that team. Now, what happened
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really like cuz I I know there was a
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buzz going on when I won. And what even
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blows my mind to this day is last night
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when I was at this restaurant with my
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friend, she had called one of her
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friends who's also another artist that I
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never met, but you know, she's very well
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established. And upon meeting me, she
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was like, "Oh, well, I saw you do that
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American song contest thing." And I was
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like, "Hold on now, what?" And then
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maybe like a couple of years ago after
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the song contest happened, I was at one
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of my friends concerts and I went
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backstage to say hi. And then the rest
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of their group was like, "Yeah, we saw
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you on that American song contest
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thing." And I was like, "Why does
00:10:55
everybody in Korea know me now? This is
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weird." Um, so there was a lot of
00:11:01
commotion, so to say, a lot of
00:11:03
commotion. And I personally think the
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ball was dropped in
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uh, in essence because having won the
00:11:13
American song
00:11:14
contest, the label wanted to focus on
00:11:18
America because that is home of where I
00:11:21
just won the thing. And
00:11:24
so after winning, in my mind, there
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should have been proper promotions for
00:11:31
Wonderland if we were going to do
00:11:33
anything in Korea at all. I mean, I did
00:11:34
have a stage on Simply. I did get Studio
00:11:37
Tomb, so forever grateful for that
00:11:39
because Yeah. But there should have been
00:11:43
proper promotion for that there.
00:11:45
And I I had I been the one in charge, I
00:11:49
would have given me a comeback
00:11:51
immediately to ride the wave. However,
00:11:54
that was not the case. I was sent back
00:11:56
and forth to America every couple of
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weeks or every couple of months. I don't
00:12:00
quite remember at this point, to do like
00:12:02
fan signs, fan meetings, which isn't
00:12:04
bad. Not complaining cuz I love any
00:12:06
chance I get to meet my friends.
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Friends, fans, you know what? fans,
00:12:09
friends. Same same thing at this point
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cuz there were a couple of them when it
00:12:13
was like 200 people sold out and I'm
00:12:15
like, "Wow, that's that's insane." So,
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you know, I was still busy. I was still
00:12:20
riding off of the Wonderland wave. But
00:12:22
the thing is it was all done in
00:12:25
America, whereas I was finally finally
00:12:29
finally finally starting to get a
00:12:31
domestic buzz in Korea because, as we
00:12:34
all know, I really am not top-notch here
00:12:37
in Korea. I'm not the big dog here, but
00:12:39
in America, you know, and abroad, that's
00:12:41
where my fans lie. But finally, I was
00:12:44
like, "Okay, well, now's my time to
00:12:46
shine because people are actually
00:12:47
starting to know my name and see my
00:12:49
performances and stuff." But we didn't
00:12:52
do anything from May
00:12:55
until November is when Back in Vogue
00:12:58
came out.
00:13:00
And even so, that whole album was really
00:13:03
messy. There was a lot of stuff going
00:13:04
on. I don't know. It's just I think a
00:13:07
lot of K-pop labels get blindsided by
00:13:11
the idea of success in America because
00:13:15
there are a handful of iconic artists
00:13:17
who of course have succeeded abroad and
00:13:18
that has helped them substantially with
00:13:20
their you know home country fan base but
00:13:24
it's not the method that everyone should
00:13:25
take and it doesn't always lead to
00:13:27
success and that's what I really hope
00:13:28
some people take away from what happened
00:13:31
to me. Do you think some companies I
00:13:33
mean especially you know be with K-pop
00:13:36
becoming so big in the states and
00:13:38
globally do you think some companies are
00:13:40
kind of blindsid you kind of mentioned
00:13:41
it blindsided by getting success you
00:13:44
know elsewhere there are a lot of groups
00:13:46
if you take card for example you know
00:13:49
they are so popular in I think it's
00:13:52
Brazil and Latin America and everything
00:13:53
Latin America yeah yeah but they're and
00:13:55
they do so many tours I've seen them
00:13:57
they're so good but they're a group that
00:13:59
is not I feel like pushed as much in
00:14:01
Korea, you know. So, do you think these
00:14:04
companies are, you know, forgetting
00:14:05
about, hey, we're still K-pop, we're
00:14:07
still a Korean group and trying to push
00:14:10
for that that global success even if
00:14:12
they're not doing the right way. I
00:14:14
definitely think it's a fantastic idea
00:14:16
to promote your artists abroad because,
00:14:18
you know, especially I mean, when you
00:14:20
look at the demographics, I don't know
00:14:22
everything to a tea, but like
00:14:23
statistically, I'm pretty sure only 10%
00:14:25
of the Korean population actually
00:14:27
consumes K-pop. And so, of course,
00:14:30
marketing K-pop and Korea is going to be
00:14:32
difficult no matter what. You know, you
00:14:34
only have a limited audience here. As
00:14:36
devoted as they are, it's only a limited
00:14:38
audience when there's the rest of the
00:14:40
world. But like Card for example, you
00:14:42
know, they they own Latin America, you
00:14:44
know, like they found a fantastic target
00:14:47
audience and it's they have that kingdom
00:14:51
for them, you know, but then what I've
00:14:53
come to realize is there's so many
00:14:57
countries around the world where K-pop
00:14:59
acts have like never set foot or if they
00:15:01
have, it's maybe been only one artist or
00:15:03
two. As it stands, I've never been to
00:15:05
Turkey before, but I'm going in two
00:15:07
weeks with Kiko. And that it never would
00:15:09
have occurred to me. And not just
00:15:11
Turkey,
00:15:12
Azerbaian, a country that because I'm an
00:15:15
ignorant American, I really had no
00:15:16
knowledge about prior to this being
00:15:19
booked. And it's just so surprising.
00:15:22
Well, not surprising. It's incredible to
00:15:24
see the swarms of fans that go to like
00:15:27
support Kiko and like other like maybe a
00:15:30
couple of other friends I know when they
00:15:31
go to Turkey. It's like crowds. like
00:15:34
she's a superstar there and it's like
00:15:38
there's so many other countries in the
00:15:40
world aside from America that have such
00:15:44
devoted and passionate fans and I just I
00:15:47
really wish that seeking American fame
00:15:50
was not the goal for some of these
00:15:52
companies.
00:15:54
Yeah. What is something you want to do
00:15:57
more of, you know, this year with this
00:15:59
new uh rebranding and then something you
00:16:02
want to avoid doing now that you're kind
00:16:05
of you you're all hands on deck for
00:16:08
yourself? First and foremost, I think
00:16:10
with what is to come,
00:16:14
definitely going more global and, you
00:16:17
know, having gone to Sweden recently,
00:16:19
I'm pretty sure I'm going to wind up
00:16:20
going back for more music stuff. So, you
00:16:23
know, actually going to see Europe
00:16:25
because I was scheduled to go to Germany
00:16:26
last year, couldn't go due to family
00:16:28
circumstances, but you know, there's so
00:16:30
many countries that I want to go.
00:16:32
There's so
00:16:33
many there's so many fans around the
00:16:35
world that I finally want to meet that I
00:16:37
never had the opportunity to. Not
00:16:40
necessarily because of prior labels
00:16:43
mismanagement, but you know, sometimes
00:16:45
opportunities just weren't there for me.
00:16:47
But now that I'm in charge, I can find
00:16:49
things for myself and I can go wherever
00:16:52
I can as long as, you know, funds are
00:16:54
feasible. But definitely want to take
00:16:56
myself more global. Uh yeah, that's a
00:16:59
really important thing for me this year.
00:17:01
But avoid something to avoid
00:17:07
something many things to avoid when upon
00:17:11
reflecting on my journey. Uh, I
00:17:16
[Music]
00:17:18
think for now I think it's just not
00:17:21
signing with a label immediately cuz
00:17:24
I've had a lot of people ask me, "Are
00:17:25
you looking?" And I am, but it's not my
00:17:29
immediate concern at the moment. Do you
00:17:31
think there are more pros or cons to,
00:17:34
you know, going at it by yourself right
00:17:36
now? I mean obviously the the cons being
00:17:39
like financially having that label's
00:17:40
backing but I mean do you do you in an
00:17:43
essence feel a little more free at the
00:17:45
moment? I do because in essence it's
00:17:48
I've you know I'm allowed to do things
00:17:50
like this now you know this interview
00:17:53
probably wouldn't have happened had I
00:17:54
not finally broken free and you know
00:17:56
been in charge of my own social media
00:17:58
screen who's sending me messages and
00:17:59
everything. I mean, as it stands,
00:18:02
um I can't say what yet, but I have
00:18:05
another schedule in like Augustish. That
00:18:08
is something I've never been able to do
00:18:09
before, and it's only now happening
00:18:11
because I'm technically independent. So,
00:18:14
I mean, yes, of course, finances and
00:18:16
funds are always going to be the cons
00:18:17
cuz it's it's not very uh what's the
00:18:21
word? proactive
00:18:23
to, you know, pay out of my own pocket
00:18:26
when I don't exactly know if there's
00:18:27
going to be any real source of income
00:18:30
yet because this is a fresh start. You
00:18:32
there's so many elements that are like
00:18:35
unsure of, you know.
00:18:37
Um, but it's just nice knowing that uh I
00:18:41
don't have to listen to somebody else's
00:18:43
ideas and if I say no, it means no. So,
00:18:46
that's always good. Yeah, I'm sure.
00:18:48
Yeah. I think there's something about
00:18:50
Americans in the industry um is which
00:18:52
actually what I want to get into now is
00:18:54
you know as an American who works in
00:18:56
this industry. I think the mentality of
00:18:58
K-pop companies and K-pop the Korean
00:19:00
culture you know versus American
00:19:02
culture. Um you know Americans go and
00:19:05
they're like oh this is so cool I get to
00:19:07
do this but why are we doing it like
00:19:09
this? Um, and so I wanted to know like
00:19:12
for you, what do you think are some of
00:19:13
the biggest changes that, you know, the
00:19:15
industry needs to see for the betterment
00:19:18
of their artists? Um, I mean, yeah, cuz
00:19:20
that's the thing coming at it as an
00:19:22
American. I'm someone that started
00:19:24
working when they were 15 and a half.
00:19:27
Uh, so, you know, up until I moved here
00:19:29
when I was 21, I was used to getting
00:19:31
paid for my labor. Uh, you know, I knew
00:19:34
the thing is I knew very well going into
00:19:36
the industry that odds are I'm not going
00:19:38
to see money until couple years down the
00:19:41
line, if even then. I knew it was going
00:19:43
to be strenuous hours. I knew it was
00:19:45
going to be physically and mentally
00:19:46
taxing. I knew all this going in. I
00:19:48
didn't have some deranged fantasy of it.
00:19:51
Trust like all this I had to heart
00:19:53
already. But now having lived through
00:19:55
that experience for 7
00:19:58
years, yes, there is the concept of debt
00:20:01
that happens when you're an artist, you
00:20:03
know, the company will house you, the
00:20:05
company will pay for the music videos,
00:20:07
for your food occasionally, but
00:20:09
like at the same time, it's like, could
00:20:12
you not spare a little bit of money just
00:20:14
to make everyday life a little bit
00:20:16
easier when there isn't a schedule over
00:20:18
the weekend? Because some companies do
00:20:21
provide allowance for their, you know,
00:20:23
artists, but not everybody because I've
00:20:27
had various conversations with other
00:20:29
friends and other companies about stuff
00:20:31
and when you compare notes, some things
00:20:33
line up, some things don't. But I think
00:20:37
a little bit of pocket money should be
00:20:38
mandatory for, you know, the trainees or
00:20:42
the idols in the system just to help
00:20:44
them get by with everyday life. And
00:20:47
everybody and their mama says this, but
00:20:49
I'm such an advocate for it. I do think
00:20:51
mental health needs to be
00:20:53
considered a lot more. It's it's a very
00:20:58
serious taboo still in a way and it gets
00:21:01
overlooked cuz you know, oh, you're not
00:21:03
depressed. Everybody just gets sad
00:21:05
sometimes or oh, you're having a hard
00:21:07
time. Well, fighting, you can do
00:21:11
it. It's not always a mindset, you know,
00:21:14
in in my experience.
00:21:17
Quantity does not match quality
00:21:19
sometimes. You know, it's like before I
00:21:22
debuted, I was in a practice room from
00:21:24
anywhere from 13 to 18 hours a day, you
00:21:29
know, just doing the same thing over and
00:21:30
over again. And it's like great, you
00:21:32
booked me here for all these hours to
00:21:35
know that I'm working, but like quality
00:21:38
over quantity, which is crazy cuz in
00:21:41
preparation for vital tech with Kiko, we
00:21:43
would maybe practice 3 hours every
00:21:45
couple of
00:21:47
days and we were just fine. So yeah, I
00:21:51
don't know. Mental health contributes a
00:21:53
lot. If your mind's not okay, your
00:21:55
body's not okay and you have to use your
00:21:57
body as an idol. So because you have
00:21:59
been there in Korea for quite a while, I
00:22:02
mean, we've seen tragic stories
00:22:04
involving idols dealing with this, do do
00:22:07
you think it's changed, gotten better at
00:22:09
all, even just a little bit since you've
00:22:11
been there, or do you think it's still
00:22:12
kind of uh not talked about? I feel like
00:22:16
it really is case by case because every
00:22:17
company is different. You know, it's not
00:22:22
to say boo big corporate everybody bad
00:22:24
because that's an easy mindset to have
00:22:27
as an artist but also as a fan looking
00:22:28
in from the outside. There are some good
00:22:31
companies some.
00:22:35
But again, it really just depends on the
00:22:38
companies
00:22:39
because I have seen cases where, you
00:22:43
know, people have been allowed to take a
00:22:45
rest, go on a bit of a hiatus because
00:22:47
they're not doing well. And I think that
00:22:50
needs to be a policy that every company
00:22:53
follows. And then on the flip side, I've
00:22:56
had personal friends, you know, going
00:22:58
through the absolute like just going
00:23:02
through the ringer and their label still
00:23:05
just pushes them and pushes them and
00:23:07
pushes them. But it's like what happens
00:23:08
when we get to a breaking point and it's
00:23:11
like in in my point, sorry, at one point
00:23:14
in my career, I almost got to a breaking
00:23:16
point and
00:23:18
uh even then I I wasn't allowed to get
00:23:22
help. So, it was I don't know. Again,
00:23:26
it's just it really depends on the
00:23:27
label. I
00:23:29
think what I've gone through has just
00:23:31
left such a sour taste in my mouth. But
00:23:32
at the same time, I know for a fact
00:23:34
there are good labels. Because in
00:23:36
working with Kiko recently, I see how
00:23:39
amazing and functional her label is. And
00:23:42
I'm like, wow. Imagine if every artist
00:23:44
had this kind of treatment. So, if you
00:23:47
could try or do anything without
00:23:49
worrying what the fans thought, what the
00:23:52
public thought. Um, you know, and this
00:23:55
could be anything. It could be an
00:23:56
activity, a hobby, something that you
00:23:58
want to do, but you're like, "Oh, but
00:24:00
I'm I'm a public figure. Can I do that
00:24:02
without worrying about people's
00:24:04
thoughts? Is there anything like that
00:24:05
you would do?" The thing is, I I like to
00:24:07
think I'm pretty open most of the time
00:24:10
with my presence on social media and
00:24:12
just me as a person anyway. Sometimes a
00:24:14
little too open. I will say that.
00:24:17
But I don't know cuz I like being as
00:24:21
transparent as possible. But of course,
00:24:23
you know, I'm allowed to have my
00:24:24
boundaries. But at the same time, it's
00:24:27
like there are some things I wish I
00:24:28
could really
00:24:29
just speak my mind on and just let
00:24:32
people know, especially regarding things
00:24:35
that have, you know, happened to me in
00:24:36
the past, whether it was, you
00:24:38
know, through prior labels or just
00:24:42
any prior, you know, jobs I may have
00:24:46
had. It would be so nice just to share
00:24:48
those stories to be like, hey, you know,
00:24:50
these things happened to me, too. you
00:24:53
know, just cuz I'm an idol doesn't
00:24:54
really make me any different from any
00:24:56
other average human being. But at the
00:24:58
same time, it's like how much sharing is
00:25:01
oversharing? Because parasocial
00:25:03
relationships also get very dangerous.
00:25:05
So, it would be nice to be able to be
00:25:07
completely transparent, but I don't
00:25:10
think there's ever going to be a day
00:25:11
where that's feasible.
00:25:13
As you look as you step into this new
00:25:16
part of your career, what does success
00:25:19
look like for you now? like I don't know
00:25:20
if you had a different idea as Alexa
00:25:23
with the former company versus now that
00:25:25
you're kind of on your own and you're
00:25:27
you're trying to start this rebrand. So,
00:25:30
I I just remember when I first started
00:25:33
in the industry and like one of my
00:25:35
biggest dreams, one of my biggest
00:25:37
accomplishments of knowing, oh, I made
00:25:38
it as an idol was to, you know, whether
00:25:41
or not I received an award was to
00:25:42
perform on like the Mama stage. But I've
00:25:45
gotten to a point where I'm like, you
00:25:46
know what, that's no longer the dream.
00:25:48
That's no longer where my ceiling is. my
00:25:50
ceiling is far beyond that. And I do
00:25:52
think that winning the American Song
00:25:54
Contest definitely helped, you know,
00:25:56
break that little glass ceiling or
00:25:58
whatever. But like, do I have a like a
00:26:00
direct goal for myself that I would like
00:26:03
quantify a success? Not exactly yet. I
00:26:06
think my main goal at the moment is just
00:26:08
to put myself out there on as many
00:26:12
stages as possible around the world. uh
00:26:15
make sure that people don't think I've
00:26:17
disappeared because I've been getting
00:26:19
that a lot. I'm still here. Just
00:26:21
uh trying to do the best I can on my
00:26:24
own. And I think as long as you know my
00:26:27
name remains unforgotten, that's enough
00:26:29
success for me. For your name
00:26:31
especially, I it's it's like Alexa slash
00:26:33
Kim said it. So like currently right
00:26:36
now, what are you okay with people
00:26:38
addressing you as? And you know when you
00:26:40
when you finish this rebrand, is it like
00:26:42
I don't want people to call me Alexa? I
00:26:45
don't want that. I don't want that on my
00:26:46
profile. You know what's your head like
00:26:48
with that? That's the thing. I This has
00:26:50
been a thought that has been rolling
00:26:52
around in my head for the past couple of
00:26:54
years because I knew when I was going to
00:26:56
leave the label that I wanted to change
00:26:59
it up because I mean the name Alexa,
00:27:02
it's always going to stick with me. I
00:27:03
guarantee the day I inevitably die, it's
00:27:06
going to be on my gravestone as well.
00:27:08
But, you know, I don't mind if people
00:27:10
call me Alexa. I don't care. People call
00:27:12
me Sy. People call me my real name,
00:27:14
which is literally just Alexa without
00:27:15
the last A. I'm really not picky. I
00:27:18
think it's
00:27:19
just I think there's just so much
00:27:22
attached to the name Alexa, both good
00:27:25
and bad. But I think just the trauma
00:27:28
speaking for me, just wanted to
00:27:29
completely separate from the bad. That's
00:27:31
why I was desperately seeking to like
00:27:33
rebrand. Mhm. But like I think it just
00:27:37
Do I want to go by Sandy professionally
00:27:39
later? Probably. But until I really
00:27:42
establish myself in my new artistry,
00:27:44
that's a completely
00:27:46
like, what's the word I'm looking
00:27:48
for? I guess just until I completely
00:27:51
reestablish myself as an artist, I guess
00:27:53
Alexa is just going to kind of be what's
00:27:56
sticking with me until then. And lastly,
00:27:58
you know, um, if fans could take away
00:28:00
one message from your journey, from your
00:28:03
story, um, what do you want that to be?
00:28:05
I mean the cliche never give up
00:28:09
because don't like it's life. It's not
00:28:14
easy. Anybody who says it is is
00:28:18
lying. But like you
00:28:21
know yeah just don't give up. Keep
00:28:25
fighting. Eventually good things will
00:28:29
come. It's not going to be immediate.
00:28:31
You know, there there's not like a genie
00:28:34
granting wishes that's going to give
00:28:36
instant gratification all the time. And
00:28:39
hard work does not go unnoticed, you
00:28:41
know. So, just be patient with life and
00:28:45
with yourself, I guess. Yeah.
00:28:49
[Music]