Creative Director + Photos / Lauren Nakao Winn
Creative Producer/Dakota Griffin, The 199x New York
Video Director/Jiwon Choi
Stylist/Morgan Bienvenue
Stylist Assistance/Hailey Lux
Hare/Jefferson T
Makeup/Scott Osbourne
Photo Assist / Jovita Tedza
Story and Place / Christine Terisse
Shot at Unified Boxing Club
After spending ten years as part of a team, DeYoung worked to convince his company that he deserved a solo shot. A music show win, viral dance challenges and chart success prove she was right all along. With his new music he is once again ready for the challenge.
Dayoung’s aunt was haenyeoThe diving women of Jeju Island, who hold their breath for extended periods of time, function well into their golden years. The pop star was born and raised on a volcanic island off the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula, but moved to Seoul at the age of 11 to pursue her dreams.
Now 26, she’s no longer holding her breath, having come a long way from the precocious, quirky teenager who auditioned in front of famous K-pop executives on competition shows. k-pop star Season 1.
For the last ten years, dayyoung Has been part of a ten-member K-pop group wjsnAlso known as Cosmic Girls under Starship Entertainment (IVE, MONSTA X, KiiiKiii). The group became known for its futuristic concept, dreamy vocals, and classic girl group choreography.
Ten years have passed and WJSN has remained together, but upon renewing his contract with Starship, DeYoung felt it was the right time to try something completely different.
Top and chaps, leathery. Shorts, Hailey Lux Archive. necklace, Marland Backus.
“I decided I would prove myself.”
“This K-pop industry is already full of competition,” she tells me. It’s March, but it’s sweltering in Hollywood, where DeYoung has dutifully arrived at a café to talk about her second digital album, “(What’s a Girl’s Gotta Do)”.
“It’s hard to stand on your own without members,” she adds, pointing out that the industry is brimming with talent.
Her label suggested she try camera hosting, making good use of her magnetic personality. And although she has tried her hand at some acting and is ready for the opportunity, music is her first love. Unwilling to leave his fate in the hands of another, at one point he pulled out a PowerPoint presentation with his ideas to share with label executives.
“I decided I was going to prove myself to the company,” she says happily. She realized she needed some help, and one person in particular came to mind: Eric, as she calls him. sunbaenim (More established peers). Nam, is a talented Korean-American multi-hyphenate and established star with a foothold in both the US and South Korea. A pop star and songwriter in his own right, along with his brother, he runs the company DIVE Studios, which produces Gen Z-focused multi-platform content.
“I called him up and asked him, ‘Hey Eric, can you help me with my solo project?’ And he said, ‘Can you come to LA next week?’
DeYoung was confident in himself as an artist, but found it difficult to wrap himself around the idea of songwriting. At first, she struggled with perfectionism, dubbing her first attempt a “cringe”, but the name encouraged her to press on.
“I always wanted to make a song, but I thought, like, I’m not good at it, and I had no confidence at all. But three years ago, Eric gave me a chorus, and he told me that, like, you’re doing great, and your voice is amazing, and you’re a really good writer. So, keep going and keep pushing it. You can do whatever you want.”
The songs, composed during his Los Angeles writing sessions, mark both a new sound and an aesthetic departure for Starr. Most K-pop idols debut in their youth; DAYYONG was only sixteen years old when WJSN launched. Generally, both the music and style of youth groups lean in a more demure direction. Later, as artists mature, they may introduce more “girl crush” concepts, perhaps toward a sexy theme, but generally more subdued than your typical American pop star.
Tops, Leatherette. Shorts, Wiederhoft. Boots, anvil.
number one rockstar
Daeyoung’s solo debut song launch “Body” In September last year, he had told the industry that he was not interested in starting a solo career nor in following others’ preconceived notions.
This was DeYoung free, free to explore and see how far she could go with a vision. it worked. “Body” is an infectious girly-pop bop. In its VideoShe leans into the California fantasy. Dark and blonde, she and a group of diverse female dancers dressed in primary-colored streetwear perform intricate choreography in a sun-drenched mansion.
The song spawned viral dance challenges and took off in Korea. melon chartand won him deyoung first music show winOne of the most obvious markers of success in the Korean pop music scene.
It was an emotional time for him. “I’ve been working (on the songs) for three years, and I always wanted to be a solo artist, and I always wanted to find my own identity. And finally, the songs came out, and people are listening to my music.”
But it wasn’t the awards show moment or other celebrities performing the “Body” choreo on social media that ultimately influenced the song’s success.
While returning home to Seoul, she saw a boy listening to music near a bus stop. “When I passed by,” she says, sounding slightly incredulous, “I accidentally looked at his phone, and it was ‘Body’! And then I said, ‘Oh my God, it’s me!’ But he did not recognize me. It was like living a dream.”
“Number One Rockstar” “Body” followed closely and saw DeYoung move into new sonic territory. The song is an emotional pop-rock ballad with a slight Avril Lavigne-esque emo tint, and its music video shows another side of “Body” – the hustle behind the dream.
She is shown struggling over the lyrics, working in the studio (Nam makes a cameo), going through difficult dance moves, ultimately emerging victorious. After reaching her goal, a ray of hope shines on her face as she looks up at the lights of LA at the song’s climax. Music plays, and she is seen walking down the street. Looking up, she sees herself on a billboard: the quintessential Hollywood sign of “making it.”
“You found this girl.”
DeYoung is about to enter the next chapter of her artistic evolution. Her second digital single album (What’s a Girl to Do) follows on from the previous releases, both mostly in English, but with a slightly more groovy quality. The lead single, “What’s a Girl to Do” is a funky pop song, with a light tropical house vibe over a hip-hop beat. The video, shot in LA, features DeYoung at his spirited best, channeling his love’s frustrations in captivating choreography.
Dancing beside him is a talented band of talented dancers, including Alyssa Santos, who performed for BTS’s J-Hope on his solo tour last year. But it is another dancer of his who grabbed the headlines. Right before (what’s a girl to do?) a short teaser of the video came out, featuring a screenshot of a dancer receiving an unexpected amount of attention. As it turns out, one of DeYoung’s female dancers in the video is Shiloh Jolie, Angelina Jolie’s daughter. DAYYONG’s video is his first video.
In an official statement, DAYYOUNG’s company said, “Starship Entertainment held an open audition in the United States for artists to perform in Dayoung’s music video. among a group of artists affiliated with muhvaShiloh was ultimately selected in the final round.
With her strong dancing skills and impressive appearance, Shiloh contributed to enhancing the overall quality of the music video.
Spotlight aside, Dayoung remains the main attraction, effortlessly charming through the camera.
With this release, she continues to further her songwriting abilities. Speaking about ‘What’s a Girl to Do’ she says, “There’s an introductory sound. I recorded it with my voice, and then I changed it to some instruments, guitar sounds, yes, but it was my voice, so I’m really proud.
The second song, “Priceless (Kaching Kaching)”, is a dreamy mid-tempo ballad whose lyrics playfully compare her life to a life of luxury. “Like a Birken bag so expensive,” she sings sweetly, but follows it up with “Look, look at yourself, baby, I’m glowing.” It’s all fun, she seems to say, but don’t forget that real treasure can’t be bought.
DeYoung is stunning up close, effortlessly charming with a megawatt smile. When she’s not working, she likes to wear sweats and doesn’t wear makeup. However, unlike her pop role model Sabrina Carpenter, she enjoys fully dressed-up diva mode and loves playing with fashion.
“Okay, I will reveal it”
Hat, Nana Jacqueline. Top and shorts, leatherette. SSpade, Jeffrey Campbell. bRaclette, stylist’s own. Defeat, from New York.
Although she was confident from the beginning, she lost her way for a while.
“I was insecure and feeling small,” she says of her teenage transformation. “But I started finding myself, and I started finding my energy, and now I have a lot of confidence. And always in the morning, I say to myself, ‘You’ve got this girl!’ I actually say it out loud. ‘You’re going to have an amazing day’.”
we are gone Unified Boxing Club Down the street from the café where DeYoung is getting ready for a photoshoot. She laughs with him as he explains the concept of the hair and makeup team “Completely defeated.”
They have a tight-knit team that includes long-term employees from Korea and new hires based in LA. He takes pride in taking care of them like family. She works hard to take care of her health, eating well, working out, and even training her voice while running. Apart from work, his only hobby is music. “Really,” she insists, “I’m obsessed, because I love singing and dancing. I’m always inspired by great artists, and I love watching other artists perform… I’m always thinking about music. Yes, it’s my life, boring as it is.”
But she knows that “boring” is simply the grueling process of manifesting a dream.
“Okay, I’ll reveal it,” she previously said when talking about future goals. “I really want to go to the Grammy Awards and Coachella and Lollapalooza one day.” But first, she wants a solo concert. “I’m thinking about starting small,” she says, thinking about her core fans. “Starting with a very small venue and then, after that, maybe an arena or something. Reveal, reveal!”
But for now he is content with getting into the boxing ring on the sets. Her iconic transformation complete, she poses expertly around the ring. The photoshoot features another powerful singer who defied societal expectations. In 2002, Christina Aguilera released her album snatch. with controversial “Dirty.” Its accompanying music video was a gritty and sexually-free pivot from the sweet pop princess box she found herself in at the time.
Like Aguilera, DeYoung has abandoned the core sense of self that allows him to reach global dreams of stardom, and perhaps reject what it means to come from an idol system. Despite the fact that her solo music is in English, and she has found a kind of second artistic home in Los Angeles and a visual pop identity that is more in line with the West; The mechanism that drives it runs straight back to its Korean roots.
“Jeju women have to survive for themselves,” she explains. “They’re always diving in the sea, catching something, selling it, and they make money to feed their children… A Jeju woman is fiercely independent.”
