Chung Ha shares the next step in her evolution

It's dinner time in South Korea when Chung Ha shows up for a Zoom interview at the management company's Seoul office. Dressed casually in a white T-shirt and a cozy beige hoodie, she's eager to discuss her new two-song digital album, EENIE MEENIE, which was released earlier this morning. But first, she apologizes for her English language skills, which are actually spot-on – right down to the nondescript accent that makes it hard to pinpoint where she's from.

“I grew up in Korea and the United States,” Chung Ha, 28, tells Rolling Stone. “I was born in Korea, went from kindergarten to second grade in the US, then returned to Korea for second to fourth grade, before returning to the US from fifth to eighth grade and then to Seoul to become [K-pop] trainee.”

This upbringing meant that she became bilingual at a young age. But perhaps even more important to her future career, Annie Kim—as she was known to her classmates in Texas—was immersed in different genres of music that would influence the songs she would write.

“Growing up with both cultures really helped broaden my musical tastes,” he says. “Whenever I was in the States, I also listened to hip-hop, country and pop. And then when I was in Korea, I listened to trot (which is an older style of Korean pop music), ballads, and of course K-pop. I got to the point where I was like, “Hmmm, I want to try them all.”

With EENIE MEENIE, Chung Ha says she's eager to show this musical duality in her fandom, HAART (a portmanteau of her name and the word “start”). “I'm Ready” is a gift to fans who loved the sultry vocals featured on her previous songs “Dream of You” and “Stay Tonight.” But in the accompanying music video, she adds a new twist: Her bold vocals are complemented by rabida 1970s dance style popularized in Los Angeles gay clubs.

“It's my first time waking up [in a video],” she says. “Of course I've done fashion before. But this time, I wanted to do something that would hopefully surprise my fans a little bit.”

This leads to “EENIE MEENIE”, a bass-heavy collaboration with ATEEZ rapper Hongjoong. The song's title might lead listeners to believe they're about to hear a simple nursery rhyme, but the lyrics reflect an exploration of options rather than settling for the obvious. (“I'm not sure what to choose?/You can choose anything/Trust your heart and make your move.”) Chung Ha sings lower on the album than she was initially comfortable with, which adds a sexy and mysterious tone in the title track.

While Chung Ha has previously collaborated with artists such as Danish singer Christopher and Puerto Rican rapper Guaynaa, joining forces with Hongjoong was what she needed to step out of her comfort zone, she says.

“Hongjoong has a really cool vibe and his rapping skills are insane,” he says. “Upload this whole piece. For me, I had a lot of melodic songs in the past where I just sang. I had never recorded in low pitch before for my title tracks. They were always bright and shiny. But for that, I had to sing and rap and also whisper. This time, it's more serious. It was really challenging, difficult and fun.”

Chung Ha's career began in 2016 when she competed in the first season of the reality variety series Production 101. Selected from a group of 101 young trainees from 46 different entertainment companies to join the short-lived group IOI After the 11-member girl group disbanded the following year — in line with the show's concept at the time — the artist says she chose to go the solo route and test her own abilities.

It had a successful run, winning first place on the Korean music program Show Championappears as a featured vocalist on Ravi's single “Live”, singing on the soundtracks of popular K-dramas Dr. Romance 2 and Youth Recordand get cast in the reality series The law of the jungle in wild Korea (one Survivor-like a show with Korean celebrities). In 2021, Chung Ha released her first full-length solo album Querenciawhich scored year-end best lists from various publications and won a song you should know from Rolling rock for the Spanish version of “Demente”.

“Demente” was associated with her desire to learn more about different cultures. So when she took a year-and-a-half break before her current comeback, Chung Ha considered going back to school to study psychology—something that would also tap into her desires to better maintain her own mental health—and expand her knowledge. of the foreign language.

“I really want to be more involved with my Spanish-speaking fans the same way I am with my Korean and English-speaking fans,” she says. “I feel like the language most of my fans speak after English is Spanish.”

While she knows some fans were worried that her career hiatus would be permanent, Chung Ha says that was never her intention.

“I knew I had to make a comeback eventually, because I had promised my fans that I would,” he says. “That's what I like to do. And the timing worked, because then Jay started calling.”

It refers to former 2PM member Jay Park—a solo artist and K-pop idol himself—knowing that he had not renewed with his previous management company and wanted to sign with his boutique label, MORE VISION.

Asked why he was so interested in wooing Chung Ha, Park says Rolling rock, “Chung Ha's versatility and potential add an extra level of excitement to her presence on our roster. She undoubtedly stands out as one of the best performers and we believe in her ability to captivate the audience in various styles. I am confident that her journey with MORE VISION will be nothing short of remarkable.”

One of the advantages of having a K-pop star as your boss is that he understands what you're going through as an artist, he says. Chung Ha says she and Park – who was born and raised in Washington state – are comfortable speaking to each other, often in Konglish (a combination of Korean and English loanwords).

As our interview ends, I ask Chung Ha what she would tell her teenage self, who wasn't sure what country she would live in as an adult, let alone what her career would be.

“I don't think I've ever been lazy, but I'd tell little Chung Ha to be fearless,” he says with a laugh. “She was afraid of everything and worried about so many things. But because he was worried, I think he tried even harder. So I don't want to comfort her too much. But I want to assure her that she has and will have wonderful people around her.” Thinking about the question some more, Chung Ha adds, “Oh! I want to tell her to learn English more, because she will have many interviews in English in her future.”