“”I won K-Pop Star, but I don’t even want to be labeled as a K-pop artist anymore.”
[…] Even though YG has helped shaped the landscape of K-pop and the Korean entertainment industry over the last two decades, alongside rivals JYP Entertainment (GOT7, Wonder Girls) and SM Entertainment Co. (BoA, Girls’ Generation), Kim felt as though she couldn’t produce her best work as a K-pop trainee. Especially not under the watchful eye of executives who she says have a hand in every aspect of their artists’ careers, from the songs they cut to the clothes they wear.
“Those labels are doing well, and they’ve been around for quite a long time. So I guess they’re doing something right. A testament to that is the fact that K-pop is having a big moment in the U.S. right now,” Kim says, calling out boy band BTS, whose unprecedented American crossover includes two No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and a historic, sold-out stadium concert at New York’s Citi Field on Saturday.
“That’s all wonderful and I’m happy for all the success that the K-pop scene is experiencing internationally,” she adds. “But that’s not me.””