WVVE kicks off her solo career with her first single

The Korean singer-songwriter WVVE released her debut single ‘Sweet Like Sugar’ as a kick off from her solo career. It got exclusively premiered on the platform NYLON on the 28th of April. WVVE was previously to be seen in the 4th season of reality-competition series K-Pop Star and has been a back-up singer for the Korean pop-star IU. WVVE is not someone that’s unfamiliar with the music scene and is ready for a new adventure on her own. WVVE had some time for us to speak about her solo career and more!

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Congratulations on your first single release ‘Sweet Like Sugar’ – How does it feel to have your own song out?

Thank you! I feel a bit nervous about it because I think people didn’t expect it from me to sing a song in this genre, it’s the first time that I try something like this. I’ve recorded this song last January and after that I was waiting for the right time to release it. But now is the time and I feel also very excited about it.

What was the inspiration for writing this song?
My inspiration was the weather in Los Angeles. I like the vibe in that city: There’s loads of sun and I feel like the vibe from the people there, they’re bright, positive and I love their view on life as well. So yeah, mostly the positive vibes that Los Angeles gives me, I wanted to bring those vibes back in the song.

I see that back in the music video as well since it was filmed in a house at the seaside! Can you tell us more about the process of filming the music video?

Exactly, LA was also an inspiration for that! Further about the video, my team and I wanted to express the concept of love in the music video, so we wanted to use a couple that is really in love with each other. But at the end I also wanted to be the main character and that it was focused on me, so it was basically me and someone else projected as a couple. Because I wrote about a sort of ‘God’ that I created in my mind; someone that I really like, love but also miss. – So, we tried to show that in the music video with me as the main character haha.

You already have a lot of experience: From doing backing vocals for IU to participating in the TV show K-Pop star. How do you look back on those experiences and how do you think you’re going to use them in your solo career?

Firstly, I want to say that those experiences mean a lot to me. I learned a lot from it because I gained so much experience with being on stage and sing for big crowds, which also made me feel more confident about myself. So, I think having more confidence in myself that I gained through these performances is the main thing that I’ll use for my solo career, it helped me also being confident about my songs and releasing them.

Because how would you describe yourself now as a solo artist?

As a huge wave (that’s why my name is WVVE haha). I want to leave footprints in the sand for people. A wave can be so quiet and calm, and I hope to make people feel calm with my songs when they listen to it. But waves can also get big, so I hope to be an influence for people as well.

I think that’s beautiful, and it matches well with your name too! How would you describe ‘Sweet Like Sugar’ by yourself?

This song Is very bright and sweet. I think it will make people feel the weather back in Los Angeles: very sunny and breezy. I hope it will make people feel comfortable as well, as a sort of calm song to listen to for on the beach in the summer. I just want to make feel people feel relaxed and them about the concept of love.

For the song you worked with Jordan Lewis and Thomas Ross Johansen, how was that for you to work with them?
It was awesome, Jordan is so nice! He literally can do everything that I want, so when I re-record a particular part he’s just like: ‘Let’s do this!’, he’s very talented and he brings some magic in my song. About Thomas, he is the sweetest person that I’ve ever met, his engineering is great and he’s a very soft and calm person that also makes me feel comfortable. So, the experience with them was great and really a highlight of my career.

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Speaking about your career, I saw on your Instagram that you were playing in stadiums last year. Was that something you were aiming for when you started with singing?

I think performing in big stadiums was never my dream, but of course it was helpful for me. So yeah, it was not something that I was aiming for, but it was a great experience. For now, I don’t really have specific goals besides practising a lot and working on my songs. Oh, or maybe… I want to win a GRAMMY award!

You already have a lot of experience when it comes to performing, do you have a sort of routine before you go on stage? Or do you have any strengths or weaknesses when you’re on stage?

My routine before going on stage was not eating anything before going on stage, I only drink water. I think my strength on getting on stage is the confidence that I have right now, I’ve been on so many stages, big and small so I can perform wherever I want. My weakness is dancing haha. When I was performing on stage for IU, I had to sing and dance, but I think my dancing skills are poor. I think a good performer needs to sing and dance well, so I really have to practise a lot on my dancing.

I’m sure you can improve with that haha! Then finally, what are your future plans besides winning a GRAMMY award?

I want to release more songs in different styles. I think ‘Sweet Like Sugar’ is just a start on my career, I want to be very various with my songs, having a lot of diversity and a wide music catalogue. I was on the starting line, and I want to express more with what I can do!

Big thank you to WVVE for having some time to chat with us. – We can’t wait to hear more from her. You can stream her first single ‘Sweet Like Sugar’ right here: