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With an impressive 11 years of music industry experience under her belt, you’d think k-pop star and Thai singer SORN would be a bona fide pro by now — which she is, judging from how she exudes an aura of seasoned confidence in front of the lens — though that’s not what she tells us during a, perhaps more comfortable, chat while we’re both seated on the couch after the cover photoshoot.
You see, this is a girl who’s used to navigating the, often brutal, world of k-pop since she was a teenager, having left her home country of Thailand at the young age of 15, in order to move to South Korea to pursue her dream of being a k-pop idol; as you might already know, she did, in fact, achieve that dream, by being a part of popular 7-member girl group CLC. So what’s a girl to do once her dreams have come true? Make new ones — though that’s not without its challenges.
For the last two years, SORN’s dream — and reality — is of being a solo artist, someone who’s in-charge and in command of the next stage of her music career. She has since released over five English-language singles in record time, and while this is exciting and fulfilling in many ways, the 27-year-old is honest enough to admit that going solo is, often, a double-edged sword.
On one hand, she gets to be her own person and is empowered by her total creative freedom, “now that I’m by myself, the only person I ask approval from is myself — if I’m comfortable, if I like it, if I want to put this out for my fans to listen to”, she tells us. On the other hand, she’s also aware of how lonely that journey can be, since she has had to forge ahead without six other members by her side:”It’s been two years since I’ve been doing this on my own, but I’m still not really used to it. Sometimes, I do miss having that support, but I think I’ve grown a lot in a really short period of time, as most artists do.”
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That relatable sentiment is mirrored in her recent track, “Rowdy”, a darkly powerful dance-pop anthem where, on the surface, she’s upfront and disparaging towards the dissenters and unnecessary noise in her life. She’s bold, her voice of cool, unwavering confidence as she tells them to “sit back down”. Dig a little deeper though, and you’ll find that this is the musician’s way of expressing her pent-up frustration, of processing those feelings and releasing it into the world via her craft. The song further marks an important point in her sonic journey, as she elaborated on how recording it had challenged her immensely — she had to experiment with a new vocal style, as well as rap on the track, both firsts for her.
And since we’re talking about firsts, fans will be glad to hear that they can soon catch SORN live at her upcoming solo concert, presented by Viu Scream Dates, happening on 25 November at the Capitol Theatre Singapore. “It’s a big moment for me,” she said. “It will be the first time in a while where a lot of my fans get to see me live, while it’s also meaningful because I do have friends and family flying in from Thailand and Korea; it’ll be their first time seeing me on stage as a soloist.” Ahead, we catch up on how she feels about these pivotal stages in her career, just as she gives us a glimpse of her upcoming plans.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY ADELE CHAN USING LEICA M11 + APO-SUMMICRON-M 50 F/2 ASPH LENS.
MAKEUP BY PETER KHOR.
Hair by JACLYN TAN.
WHAT SHE HAS BEEN UP TO LATELY
“I’ve started venturing on my own as a solo artist, for almost two years now, and recently, I’ve been prepping for my first-ever solo concert, coming up on November 25 — and prepping to release an EP too, next year. It’s just been a super hectic past few months for me.
I do fly around quite a bit, between South Korea, Singapore and Thailand pretty often, though I’d call Singapore my base because my management company is also based here. I make most of my music here in Singapore too, though I have another set of producers, and a whole team in South Korea, and also in Los Angeles.”
HER PASSION FOR MUSIC
“I enjoy being on stage, but to be really honest, when I became less active with the group [CLC] in general, I was thinking of quitting music — but I think my passion for music is so strong that I kind of wanted to give myself a second chance. So that’s why I’ve been venturing on my own, doing my solo music stuff.
I also really enjoy having people say that they get joy from listening to my music, or seeing my presence, on social media and things like that. That’s something that makes me really happy, and something that pushes me to just keep putting out songs and have myself be seen by people all around the world.”
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ON GOING SOLO — HOW IT WAS A TOUGH TRANSITION FOR HER
“I’ve been with my members for 10 years, and I’ve worked with them as a team from when I was a teenager all the way till my early 20s. It’s an important phase in a person’s life, and I’ve definitely learned a lot from being with the group. I did create this sort of attachment to being with them, because I was just so used to having six other humans around me all the time when I work.
When I started doing my solo music and activities however, it’s a completely different world. Now, I have to take responsibility for everything I do. I don’t have people standing on stage with me, which is a very big thing for me because I’m so active; I’m a pop singer, so I’m not just standing there holding a mic and singing, I’d be dancing on stage, and I’m used to having six other people fill up that energy on the stage. Not having that left a big hole in my performance, which gets super stressful because now I have to bring all that energy myself. I do have backup dancers, but it’s different knowing that everyone who’s looking up on stage is looking at you, and only you, there’s no one else to share the stage with. When it comes to music and concepts and filming as well, everything comes out of my brain, my creativity, where previously, I was able to hear ideas or opinions from my other members.
It’s been two years since I’ve been doing this on my own, but I’m still not really used to it. Sometimes, I do miss having that support, but I think I’ve grown a lot in a really short period of time, as most artists do.”
AND YET, HOW SHE’S CURRENTLY ENJOYING HER CREATIVE FREEDOM
“I do like the fact that I am able to be more creative with the stuff that I put out though. I don’t have to ask people for like, approval, or care too much about what everyone thinks about certain music or if they’ll be comfortable with certain concepts. Now that I’m by myself, the only person I ask approval from is myself — if I’m comfortable, if I like it, if I want to put this out for my fans to listen to. I like how I have the creative freedom to just do whatever I want to do.”
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Makeup: shu uemura x jojo collection stone ocean adventure eye palette, $150
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Above: mcm cyber cowboy sweatshirt dress
Makeup: shu uemura x jojo collection stone ocean adventure eye palette, $150
shu uemura x jojo collection rouge unlimited kinu cream, $53
HER LATEST SINGLE, “ROWDY”
“When I make music, I often base my lyrics off situations that are happening in my life. So like before, when I made “Nirvana Girl”, that was when I had left my old company and I felt like I wasn’t myself as much, and how I’m trying to find my new self; “Not A Friend” was made during a time when I had personal friendship problems as well. “Rowdy”, then, was written when I felt like people around me were telling me what to do and having so much opinions about my life, it was like, you are being so rowdy, leave me alone, you do you, I do me, and I don’t need your opinion. That’s that’s how “Rowdy” came about.
The single was also challenging because it’s a very “dance-y” kinda song, and the producer wanted me to rap in it. That was challenging because I’m more of a vocalist, so for me to, all of a sudden, sing in a lower tone with rap on top, we were debating quite a bit on whether to add the rap section in or not. The song itself also features, not a singing chorus, but more of a shouting type of chorus, which is a vibe I’m really not used to. I was challenging myself in every possible way! But I’m glad that it turned out well.”
WHAT SHE’S CURRENTLY LISTENING TO
“I’ve been listening to a lot of LANY. It’s a genre where people might be like ‘oh, you listen to them?’, when in fact, I barely listen to k-pop at all, and I only listen to pop music just to keep myself updated with the music market. I really enjoy more indie pop or indie rock music!”
Above: Loewe Jacket (Editor’s own)
Makeup: Chanel LUMIÈRE GRAPHIQUE EXCLUSIVE CREATION, $128
Chanel Rouge coco bloom in 120 freshness, $62
WHAT’S NEXT IN HER CAREER
“I have my first solo concert on November 25. We’re blessed to be able to have one here in Singapore, because I remember telling my friends last year how I’d one day be able to have my own concert, but I didn’t know that that would be so soon! It will be the first time in a while where a lot of my fans get to see me live, while it’s also meaningful because I do have friends and family flying in from Thailand and Korea; it’ll be their first time seeing me on stage as a soloist. I’ve done shows overseas, like my first big show was in Indonesia for a festival, and then performances at closed-door events, but I don’t think anyone has seen me singing onstage before, so it’s a big moment for me.
I will also be flying off to L.A. soon to start on my EP, which I hope to release mid next year. I’m super excited for that too because, so far, I’ve got five singles, and I know a lot of friends have been asking when I’m going to release an EP or an album. Oh, and I might be dropping another single before the end of the year, and another song coming out next year, so yeah, two upcoming singles within the next three months!”
LISTEN TO sorn, HERE. AND FOLLOW her ON INSTAGRAM HERE.
click here to get your tickets for sorn’s first-ever solo “Nirvana GIRL” concert, presented by viu scream dates, happening 25 november 2023 at capitol theatre singapore.
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