rookie of the month
Less than 12 months ago, Hudson Westbrook was attending school and making a living breaking cattle in his native Texas, with plans to join his family working in the oil and gas industry. Instead, he’s released a self-titled debut EP, has a slate of hit streaming songs to his credit — including “5 to 9” and “House Again” — and has swiftly added his name to a growing crop of new artists forging their music on traditional country sounds and timeless songwriting.
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“It’s been crazy,” Westbrook tells Billboard of his whirlwind year. “It’s gone way better than I expected, and I’d be happy if we had even half of the success we’ve had so far.”
Growing up in Stephenville, Westbrook’s life revolved around sports and farm life. He was part of a state championship-winning high school football team. He also worked with cattle and was involved with Future Farmers of America, serving as a chapter president for 75 schools.
He began playing guitar in 2020 and wrote his first song after enrolling at Texas Tech last year. In April Westbrook released his breakthrough song “Take It Slow,” which has earned over 10 million Spotify streams. Soon after he released his first video, Hudson says various music executives began reaching out, so he sought advice from a fellow Texan and musician, Grant Gilbert, who pointed him toward the Warner Music Nashville-distributed River House Artists.
“He was like, ‘These are the best people I can guide you towards,’ and then I talked to a booking agent and they said the same thing — ‘I trust them. I’ve seen it firsthand.’” Westbrook says.
Now with River House, and managed by River House’s director of creative/A&R Zebb Luster, Westbrook has followed with a steady slate of resonant songs over the past several months, including “Dopamine,” the romantic “5 to 9” (11.5 million Spotify streams since its August release) and the sobering “House Again” (over 14 million Spotify streams since its October release). In the process, he’s seen his Spotify followers swell to more than 2.6 million monthly listeners.
“When I started writing, I really was pushing myself to get outside of my comfort zone and find who I am as an artist,” Westbrook says. “When we released ‘5 to 9,’ I was like, ‘This is real; I think this can work.’ I feel like that’s a major reason why this is working right now, is because I’m writing about stuff that I’m experiencing firsthand.”
Westbrook’s “House Again” reached No. 14 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart. In November came his seven-song, self-titled project, which reached No. 46 on Top Country Albums, while Westbrook rose to No. 25 on Emerging Artists. According to Luminate, Westbrook’s catalog has earned 79.6 million official on-demand U.S. streams.
Those streams have translated to burgeoning concert audiences, and Westbrook says he’s doing his best to connect with as many of his fans as possible.
“We did a free show at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth and a thousand people showed up,” he recalls. “The merch line was four hours long, and I sat there and signed all those. Then, we went to open for Midland [in September] and the merch line was still going by the middle of their set.”
Westbrook seems poised to continue his ascendant trajectory in 2025. January will see the launch of his own headlining tour, while he will also play several country festivals in the summer. He also has his sights set on releasing a full album.
Westbrook, Billboard’s Country Rookie of the Month for December, opened up about his career journey, songwriting, and his favorite music.
What is the story behind “House Again”?
We came up with the hook and I was like, “What if this was about my parents’ divorce?” and we wrote about just little things that I experienced as a child, watching as my parents got divorced. I used to live in the country with tons of land around our house, then I had to move to a golf course [community] with like point zero of an acre around it. It was a big change. I feel like it was expressing my frustration as a kid, watching that happen and not being able to control any of it or figure out why it’s not working.
You worked with several top songwriters on your EP, including Marv Green. What was it like writing songs for this project?
It was great. I was very nervous. You’re a new artist, your whole life just changed. These people have been doing this for years and have written number ones and you’re like, “Screw me. I’m going into this room and anything I say is going to sound dumb.” I feel like the day we wrote “House Again” was the first day that really opened up, like “This was my idea. This was my experience.” I realized I have to make sure I speak up about my experiences, and that I’m writing about something that I experienced because I relate to that best and I can write towards that best.
Who would you like to write or record with?
I think Randy Montana is my dream [co-writer], and Dean Dillon. I love all the older dudes that have created country into what it is today. And then I think for collabs, Megan Moroney would be really cool, and Parker McCollum or Ella Langley.
What is a song you wish you had written?
“Like a Cowboy” by Parker McCollum, written by Chris Stapleton and Al Anderson.
What is your desert island album?
Benson Boone’s Fireworks & Rollerblades.
What is your take on the current state of country music?
I think everything new is going to go back to old. I think people are leaning toward sounds like Merle Haggard and Tracy Lawrence. I think we’re seeing that firsthand with Zach Top. People are leaning towards those older sounds.
What television show are you watching right now?
I started watching Landman on Paramount Plus. It’s a movie about what I would be doing if I wasn’t doing music. I watch it and I’m like, “Dude, there’s still something there.” I still would love to do that one day. I’ve never watched Yellowstone, but Landman right now is my stuff.
What is a holiday memory that stands out to you?
I think a Christmas memory that stood out to me is [from] three Christmases ago, when my grandpa was about to pass away. He sat all of us down and told us that he was going to pass away, but he prayed and said that everything was going to be okay. He was like, “Don’t worry about me. Y’all keep doing Christmas at my house. Y’all are always welcome to do Christmas here.” It was really sad, but it was really cool to watch him be like, ‘Y’all are still welcome here.”
What does being from Texas mean to you?
I’m always going to stay loyal to Texas. I live in Lubbock. If you live in Nashville — and not hating on anyone that lives [in Nashville] — but it can become a very cycle-based lifestyle. Write at 10, write at 2, play shows on the weekend — I love music, but I find beauty in separating yourself from what you love, so that you love it more once you do it again.
Hailey Knox has lived many lives.
There’s the doe-eyed, guitar-toting singer-songwriter who, along with her sister Samantha in their duo The Knox Sisters, performed covers at intimate clubs and coffee shops in her native New York in 2012. There’s the solo act, who drew inspiration from Justin Bieber‘s YouTube take off and Ed Sheeran‘s one-man band performances, as Knox paved her own path with an acoustic guitar, loop pedal and soulful voice that makes up the essential core of her music even to this day.
Then there’s Hailey Knox the teenage internet sensation, who built a massive fanbase on the live-streaming app YouNow, where she performed more covers and original songs from her bedroom, that led to her first record label deal with S-Curve Records in 2015. The following year, she released her debut EP A Little Awkward, a short collection of poignant yet playful adolescent pop songs that felt like they were ripped right out of her diary. She made Awkward with renowned producers Michael Mangini (Joss Stone, David Byrne) and Peter Zizzo (Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez) – who discovered Knox years ago through her YouTube covers – as well as songwriter Imani Coppola.
Her viral acclaim continued paving the way for her first breakthrough: getting a co-sign from Meghan Trainor, opening for Charlie Puth’s We Don’t Talk Anymore Tour in 2016 and AJR’s What Everyone’s Thinking Tour in 2017, and scoring a nomination in the new social star award category at the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards. She kept the momentum going with the release of her 2018 mixtape Hardwired, on which Knox showcased her confessional and cunning lyricism about romantic uncertainty and adjusting to life on the road as well as her boundary-pushing indie-soul sound through fully fleshed out tracks and late-night voice memos.
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But Knox truly can’t fit her genre inside any one box. She later dabbled with rap on braggadocious singles like “Butterfly Doors” and “Gucci Prada Balenciaga,” the latter of which interpolates Mike Jones’ 2004 debut single “Still Tippin’,” featuring Paul Wall and Slim Thug. The genre’s self-assured cadence stuck with her most as she continued experimenting with her sound, exploring various musical styles while learning production and new melodic flows through “trial and error,” she tells Billboard over Zoom from her Los Angeles home.
And now, there’s Hailey Knox the multidisciplinary star. SZA sang her praises earlier this year when she teased “Stranger,” a brooding ballad about wasting time with someone you wish you never knew, and “11th Hour,” an intoxicating earworm about a selfish ex wanting to salvage a relationship even though it’s too late. Those singles were eventually included on her 2024 EP For the Best, which she released in July via 10K Projects.
Across its eight tracks, Knox bares all about the intimate lifecycle of her own seven-year relationship through spellbinding vocals that tug at the heartstrings and polished, R&B-leaning production. “We were writing about stuff we go through, which was kind of therapeutic in a weird way,” she says. “Even though we did end up back together through the breaks and everything, I think it was for the best because there’s a lot of love there.” For the Best has garnered 33.5 million official on-demand U.S. song streams through Nov. 21, according to Luminate.
Billboard spoke with December’s R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month about why producing “opened more doors” for Knox’s genre experimentation, how Russ’ open verse challenge led to her first major collaboration and how she and her boyfriend opened up about their past relationship troubles while co-writing songs on her latest EP For the Best.
When did your fascination with the guitar begin?
My dad taught me [when] I was 7 years old. He would come home and jam, it was definitely a hobby for him. My first song I learned was “Blackbird” by The Beatles, it was very finger style. I grew up in a really musical household. I was in a duo with my sister for a few years. It’s something naturally I’ve always been drawn to.
Which guitar players did you look up to?
I grew up listening to Dave Matthews Band because my dad would listen to him a lot. And Ed Sheeran because he does a lot of percussive guitar stuff that I probably subconsciously picked up on.
When did your interest in making loops begin, and how did you start learning to create them?
The first loop I got was a one track, so I would do a lot of experimenting with that. I was 16 or 17. And the one that I’ve been using in my videos is this handheld Boss RC-500 my mom got me as a gift for Christmas. It sparked this whole different thing because online, people love to see the process and it’s a really good way to get my ideas out without thinking about it.
How often do the loops you create become the groundwork for songs you end up releasing?
It’s 50/50. For the most part, I do it for fun and just jam for hours. And sometimes it’s not even to make a song. But there’s been some instances like “Available For Me” [where] I did the loop not thinking anything of it, posting the video, and people really loved this guitar riff. So I was like, “Man, I gotta make this a song,” because it went crazy viral. It’s an interesting way to see what people resonate with.
When did you start producing?
During COVID, I really dove in. When I worked on my first EP, I had been around producers absorbing as much information as I could.
What kind of music did you grow up listening to, and how has that informed the music that you currently make?
So much different stuff, between what my parents listened to – Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews Band – but then I also loved Miley Cyrus and Aly and AJ. My first concert was Hilary Duff. I loved those pop girlies and people that really went for it.
And who are you listening to now?
A little jazz, a little Yussef Dayes. Mk.gee. People that are all about the music.
Your music has evolved a lot over the years. A few years ago you were making acoustic ballads and indie pop songs. But now, you’ve dug deeper into R&B. How did you make that sonic transition?
Because I am a music lover, naturally I’m doing a lot of different things and seeing what excites me the most. Nobody has one phase of what they listen to, the same way I make music. I like to explore different pockets. I started out in a singer-songwriter space with guitar. When I started producing is when it opened more doors for me. I produced “Gucci Prada Balenciaga.” I got into a really big rap phase of loving Baby Keem. I love the way hip-hop makes you feel [and] hypes you up. When I produced “Charismatic,” that was a space for me to make a record where I can feel really confident in myself. I have a lot of different sides to me. One day, I feel like the more Hardwired Hailey, but other days, I’m like, “No, I f–k with Doja Cat so much. That could be sick to try something like this.” I don’t like to box myself in.
How did you eventually find your flow?
It was a lot of experimenting with my voice, playing with my tone and seeing what feels the most authentic and natural. I think “Butterfly Doors” hit a little too far one way, and “11th Hours” is where I felt most confident. I was like, “Oh, I like this space right here. It’s a little touch of R&B, but I’m still singing from a place that feels genuine to me.” [Sometimes] the perfectionism kicks in and I’m like, “I don’t want it to feel too perfect.” I want there to be that freeness.
When was the first time you remember going viral?
There were a lot of little moments in my career, but maybe the first was when I collaborated with my friend Juno and we did this video cover of “It’s Strange” [by Louis the Child, featuring K. Flay]. And then the Russ thing was a big moment because I had gone independent from my label. TikTok was hitting at that point, and I was like, “Let me explore this and see what I can do.” Open verses were really big, and I did an open verse to his song [“Remember”] and then he put me on the actual record. To see the power of the internet in that way, I was like, “Wow.” I flew out to his house, and we worked on the song. He was really sweet.
You were an internet sensation on YouNow in 2016. Almost a decade later, you’re experiencing viral success yet again but on TikTok. What are the similarities and differences between your experiences with both platforms, especially as it pertains to promoting and performing your own music?
When I was on YouNow, it was all about livestreaming. There was a bit of collaboration, too, because people go live together, the same way people do now. YouNow is more in real time, telling people, “Hey, I put a song out! Go listen.” Or you’d play the song on live. With TikTok, I’m always trying to find unique ways to promote the song because nowadays, our attention span is zero. [Laughs] I like to lead with the music, regardless of what platform, and show people something I made, whether it’s a breakdown of the beat or something I produced within the record. The passion of what I do comes through.
Last December, you posted a freestyle on Instagram about the “story of my life” that spoke on the challenges of being an artist in today’s music industry, from the faux affectionate moochers to the “algorithm A&Rs.” You sang, “I questioned my career, almost pivoted.” Did you have a Plan B if music didn’t work out?
I do not. Naturally, there’s self-doubt with any artistic thing you do. It’s a full-time job – there’s so much that goes into it day to day, like branding and sessions and being “on” at all times but also finding the vulnerability in opening up and trusting people to collaborate with. I don’t have a Plan B. This is what I’m doing.
The beat for that freestyle was from Drake’s “Stories About My Brother.” Why was that the right choice?
I loved that beat. Conductor [Williams] actually sent me some beats too, I love his stuff. It feels old-school but still modern. He’s really talented.
SZA commented “Ate” underneath the clip, and it’s not the first time she’s publicly supported you and your music. How did you react when you saw her comment, and what does her co-sign mean to you?
It’s kind of wild. I have a hard time really allowing things to sink in like that. I’m like, “SZA? Are you kidding me?” I love her so much.
What was the inspiration behind For the Best?
I was reflecting on my relationship, which I’ve been in for seven years, and I write with my boyfriend a lot. We were writing about stuff we go through, which was kind of therapeutic in a weird way. The majority of the project is [about] relationships and realizing even though we did end up back together through the breaks and everything, I think it was for the best because there’s a lot of love there.
Was it hard to revisit those rough moments with your man?
We’re in a good place, so to revisit these times and relive this stuff that I don’t want to relive, it puts this weird energy in the room like, “Wait, we’re back here?” We’re writing about these emotional times and difficult things we’ve gone through, and still being in a good place, but you’re living in that place, too. That was the hardest part.
[But] we communicate really well, and we find a way to write these unique almost rap bars through melody. We balance each other out in that way, and it’s cool ‘cause we both write and I find ways to put melody to some of his lyrics.
Did it feel cathartic for the both of you?
With “Innocence,” it’s talking a little bit about him being my first love and diving into that hook of “something’s gotta change” and feeling like there’s something that could be better in the relationship, but I don’t know how to let him know that. Those moments of “Do I communicate this, or is it going to ruin our relationship?” So, I guess.
I love the beat breakdown you did for “Don’t Matter” on TikTok. What was the most intricate song to produce on For The Best?
“Don’t Matter” actually was the hardest because it was a whole other song before, like all new verses, it was more guitar-based. And then I ended up reproducing the entire thing last minute because I felt like I’d outgrown this acoustic part of me, not completely, but in that sense of this song. I was like, “I need to reinvent this song somehow because I want to feel excited about it.”
On the contrary, what was the easiest and quickest song to produce?
The reinvention of “Stranger” came kind of quickly. The first record was more in this R&B, slow chill mood. And I was like, “Let me explore because I think it could be nice to bring the tempo up.”
Which song are you most excited to perform?
“11th Hour.” That one’s going to be just a vibe live.
I loved the promo song you made for your tour last month to the beat of 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop.” How did you come up with that idea, from the song itself to the video of you riding around in a blue toy car?
It’s funny, I guess it’s similar to “Candy Shop,” but I literally just made the beat and then people were like, “This sounds like ‘Candy Shop.’” And I was like, “Oh sh–, I guess it kind of does.” I was like, “Let’s find a fun way to promote this tour.” And that was the first thing we thought about. I had that blue car sitting here forever, it was for “Butterfly Doors.” I tried to do a video years ago with it and it was really bad, so we did not put it out. But I used it in the tour video.
What’s been the biggest “pinch me” moment of your career so far?
The moments with SZA and Justin Bieber [following me on Instagram] are really big because they’re people that I admire, and it gives me a little bit of the confidence I need some days where I’m like, “Oh sh–, people f—k with me.”
Manifest your next biggest career accomplishment.
I want to collaborate more with artists next year and put more stuff out without dissecting the sh—out of it [Laughs] and not overthinking my steps all the time. We’re in a world where you’ve got to stay on top of things, but I also don’t want to force anything, so finding that balance for myself.
Are there any artists you’d love to collaborate with in the future?
I love Yussef Dayes, he’s an incredible drummer. SZA, throwing it out there. Justin Bieber.
What’s next for Hailey Knox?
I am planning on releasing some songs top of next year that I’m finishing up now and am really excited about.
In just two months, MEOVV has leaped onto the K-pop scene by showcasing a promising range and bold artistry set to claw out a legacy all their own.
The five-member girl group is the first-ever launched by THEBLACKLABEL, the agency founded by legendary producer Teddy with over 25 years in crafting K-pop classics by the likes of BIGBANG, 2NE1, PSY and BLACKPINK, that now houses top talent like Rosé, Taeyang, Jeon Somi and more. The excitement around MEOVV’s debut translated into a record deal with Columbia Records, millions of views on the group’s intriguing, fashion-forward teaser visuals, and bold debut single “MEOW” roaring onto Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart at No. 10 in September.
Despite the ultra-polished visuals and Teddy’s guiding hand, MEOVV balances raw confidence and relatability as seen in their two new singles: the energetic anthem “BODY” and emotionally charged “TOXIC.” The songs establish the five-piece’s immense range of potential, effortlessly transitioning from a fierce, pump-up track to a throbbing, electro-pop midtempo with universal emotional resonance.
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MEOVV members Sooin, Gawon, Anna, Narin and Ella’s impressive multilingual abilities — able to communicate in English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish — are matched by an undeniable warmth and relatability. Speaking with Billboard from Seoul during an evening Zoom call, the members spoke mostly in English but flowed seamlessly between languages, exuding a genuine camaraderie that belied their relatively short time as a group. Even with just months under their belts as a team, the group spoke about the pride they had in their music (especially as “TOXIC” was co-written by Gawon and Narin) and hoping to be a place of comfort for fans (emphasizing how they want to be relatable and authentic).
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As MEOVV continue to prowl forward on their journey together, get to know the K-Pop Rookie of the Month for November 2024 as they share details about how they formed, advice from BLACKPINK, their inner cats and more.
MEOVV just debuted in September with two new singles in November. How have these past couple of weeks and months been for you?
GAWON: Wow. Super hectic, but very exciting.
ELLA: Where we came out with our debut only about a month ago, we got to see a lot about how we kind of are on stage in front of people so it was really a good learning period of time to see what we could do better, what we could maybe work on or keep doing. It was like a good time to learn and grow. And now we’re ready for our next release.
Can you tell us how MEOVV formed and what it was like when the five of you came together?
NARIN: We all come from different backgrounds and have lived very different lives. So when we first met at THEBLACKLABEL, we were like complete strangers. But I think we also had that strong connection to each other since we all love music — we have a strong, shared passion for music, shared vision, common interests and everything. I think it was very natural for us to connect to each other and really become a team.
GAWON: Yeah, I think that just brought us together. And then one day we just found ourselves recording “MEOW,” filming videos, preparing, and rehearsing. SOOIN unnie and I knew each other from a few years back and then we reunited at THEBLACKLABEL and it was like, “Oh my God, what the heck, you’re here!”
NARIN: And I think when we first started recording our first debut song, “MEOW,” we all have so different voices and it’s very unique, but when recording, it was all just like becoming one song.
GAWON: And I think we started to feel like, “Oh, this makes so much sense.” Like, when we were also in the studio, we just sonically made sense. At that time, we didn’t really like, know each other on a deeper, deeper level so I think through those kind of processes and preparing for our debut, we got to know each other and we bonded over that. I think it just felt right. Yeah, it felt right.
You are the first group from THEBLACKLABEL, millions of people have viewed just your trailer teasers, the “MEOW” music video earned over 30 million views. Did you feel pressure to live up to any expectations?
ELLA: I think there definitely was times of pressure, but I think it was mostly, like, excitement — we were excited to finally put out music now. But when there were moments of pressure, I think we channeled it well into working hard.
GAWON: Yeah and when there were moments of pressure, it was mostly just excitement. Like, “Yeah! We’re gonna debut! Yeah!” I think we were able to turn that into motivation and just fuel for the fire that we had while preparing to be out in the world.
MEOVV is the newest girl group produced by Teddy, a legendary producer. Were you Teddy fans or fans of any of the artists he worked with in the past?
SOOIN: We were all definitely fans.
GAWON: I came from the States, but I was still surrounded by his music growing up. It’s just everywhere.
NARIN: And his music is just so iconic.
GAWON: With the legacy that he created in music, we’re just so excited to be able to continue that as MEOVV. I love everyone and everyone he worked with — even 1TYM!
K-pop fans may have knew ELLA’s background and being close with the BLACKPINK members. How did you get to know them?
ELLA: It just came naturally because when I first came to THEBLACKLABEL, I met them when I was really young, just one time in the studio when they were working. Then while we were preparing for our debut, we got a lot of tips and advice from them so they’re really supportive. It’s kind of crazy thinking like, “Oh, I met them kind of doing what we’re doing now.”
GAWON: It really puts things into perspective. They’re so sweet and give such such great advice.
ELLA: They’ve been doing this for so long — it’s like, what better person to get advice from than them? They know it best.
In September, “MEOW” debuted at No. 10 on the World Digital Song Sales chart. Did you see the news?
NARIN: I definitely remember the moment when GAWON unnie found it out and then she told us — I think we were in the elevator, yeah —
GAWON: I was just scrolling and I was like, “Huh? What?”
ELLA: We didn’t believe her at first!
NARIN: We said, “What do you mean Billboard? What do you mean?” And then we all started cheering.
ALL: Yay, Billboard! [Cheering and laughing]
Let’s discuss the new singles “TOXIC” and “BODY.” What do these songs mean to MEOVV?
GAWON: Well these two new releases are very different from “MEOW.” The two songs are very contrasting to each other. But at the same time, they’re able to simultaneously compliment each other in a way where it just balances everything out.
NARIN: “TOXIC” is very emotional and very honest; it’s more vulnerable. We’re also more emotionally attached to this one because we wrote the lyrics. It’s been a minute since we wrote, but GAWON and I were in the studio and they just put on a random song, which was just the beat and maybe melodies for the chorus on “TOXIC.”
GAWON: Yeah, melodies for the chorus and a theme of “toxic.” This song is about being toxic and then, um, he [Teddy] left us in the studio. He was like, “Oh, I have to go do something. You guys do whatever you want with it. Have fun.” [Laughs]
NARIN: I love how the emotions that we had while writing lyrics are now for everyone to share with us.
GAWON: It shines in the music video too, it’s just a lot of shared emotions. It’s kind of like a full circle moment. We love “TOXIC.”
Would it be safe to say “TOXIC” is everyone’s favorite single over “BODY”?
NARIN: Oh, that’s very tricky because “BODY” feels like one of our members now — it’s like our friend. It’s always there in the practice room…
ELLA: It’s always there…
GAWON: …in the car. It’s this kind of energy that we just hold with us everywhere we go. Especially moments before stage, we’re like, “Let’s go, let’s go!”
How was shooting the music videos?
GAWON: Oh my god, it’s so special…both videos for each of the songs hold a very special place in our heart because It was very natural; it was very pure. Like us in our purest forms [for “TOXIC”].
ELLA: It wasn’t even like a music video shoot. It was just like, “Oh, it was like a hangout moment” and they were just capturing the moment. And then with “BODY” it’s just like, we just had so much fun; we just had so much fun having a party. We were bonding after that.
ANNA: There was a scene [in “TOXIC”] where we were just like running around the street, just playing like little girls, Everyone was watching us. Actually. It wasn’t like a set, It was just [outside] on the street and when the light green, It was like, “Let’s just go!” and then we started running, jumping, lying down. It was really nice.
ELLA: It wasn’t a [traditional music video] set, we were outside and when recording started, it was like, “Let’s just go!” and we started running, jumping, lying down.
What messages do you want to share with “TOXIC” and “BODY”?
NARIN: They’re both about our raw emotions and our authenticity.
GAWON: They’re very honest so I feel like people could look forward to that and we hope that a lot of people can resonate with both songs in these different aspects of being confident but also at the same time being able to be more vulnerable about your true emotions and your experiences.
ELLA: I hope that when people watch the music video, they’re entertained by watching us and our sort of vulnerability and emotion, but they are also like they also can kind of find that with themselves.
GAWON: Yeah, I hope they see themselves in us.
As a fun question about your concept, I’d love to know what kind of cat your members identify with one another.
ELLA: Starting with GAWON unnie, she’s such a big cat — like a leopard.
SOOIN: Or a cheetah! She has long legs too, she’s big and tall.
ELLA: And she likes cheetah print so it’s your vibe.
NARIN: And Anna Jang?
ELLA: She’s like a kitten!
NARIN: You’re like a little, white English Shorthair; that’s what you are!
ELLA: But it has to be a baby,
SOOIN: A small, shy baby, kitten.
ANNA: I agree with that. [Laughs]
NARIN: I feel like SOOIN needs blue eyes, because she loves blue, she’s obsessed with blue…
SOOIN: I love blue. [Shows blue accessories, notebook and blue phone case]
ELLA: So, a Siamese cat with blue eyes.
SOOIN: I like it.
ELLA: And for NARIN, I think you’re not a regular cat but from The Aristocats animation, what’s the one with the pink bow’s name? Marie from The Aristocats, yeah.
GAWON: She is so Marie.
NARIN: Thanks, I like that.
GAWON: You know what you are, ELLA? You are Puss in Boots — like a tabby cat.
NARIN: With the smirk.
ELLA: Yeah, I like the orange ones — that’s my personality too. I like it.
Thank you for the very satisfying answers across the board. To wrap up, looking at MEOVV overall, what are your goals and dreams as a group?
ELLA: I just hope that people will get inspired listening to our music and maybe discover more about themselves and their emotions.
GAWON: Being able to connect with more people through our music, I just want people to feel something when they see us. Whatever emotion that may be, just to share experiences and feelings together. In terms of goals, I think we just want to establish MEOVV further and just create our identity and while also keeping our own individuality.
What else should we look forward to, or do you want to share with fans now?
SOOIN: We have so many songs that we’re working on and we picked the best out of the best for this release. So, it’s just only a bit of what they’re about to show to the world. We hope that people are looking forward to us in the future!
ANNA: This time, our songs are really good so I want to show a better performance while preparing for it. In the future, I hope I can show it to the fans around the world soon.
GAWON: One last thing I would like to say is that we’ll just thank you for your continued support — all the fans and everyone who is tuning into our music.
In just two months, MEOVV has leaped onto the K-pop scene by showcasing a promising range and bold artistry set to claw out a legacy all their own. The five-member girl group is the first-ever launched by THEBLACKLABEL, the agency founded by legendary producer Teddy with over 25 years in crafting K-pop classics by the […]
It’s refreshing to discover new artists in this day and age. The Internet has essentially blurred the lines between what constitutes as underground these days, and depending on who you’re talking to, one can make the case that the world wide web has replaced the underground scene in hip-hop completely with social platforms like TikTok being critical to new music discovery.
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Enter Laila!, the teenage Brooklyn phenom with rap royalty coursing through her veins. The daughter of Yasiin Bey (formally knowns as Mos Def), her songs “Like That” and “Not My Problem” went viral before the masses really knew what she looked like. It wasn’t until she performed the songs on YouTube shows On the Radar and From the Block, that we really got a chance to put a face to the music we kept hearing on social media. She sings, raps, writes, and produces everything herself and her stage presences isn’t half bad either.
Last month, Laila! performed her first headlining show at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn, a place that’s earning the reputation as the first venue to catch your favorite up-and-coming artist. The place was packed to the brim and featured a diverse crowd of all races, ages, and creeds coupled with an infectious energy in the air as we all waited for her to hit the stage. She ran through the hits, but also performed some cuts from her earlier work featured on her In Ctrl! EP that fans in the crowd seemed to know the words to. There was also a part of the show where she reminded me of her father.
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In the middle of her set, Laila! brought out the keyboard and started jamming out and singing. Yasiin did something similar in back in 2010 during his Martin Luther King Day Weekend performance at the Highline Ballroom. During the middle of his performance, Bey hopped on the drums and started jamming out, too. I don’t know, it just felt like a surreal, full circle moment. “That’s sweet,” she said when I brought it up during our talk. “I get anxious, but I like being on stage. I like showing people that I’m versatile.” And versatile she is, all you have to do is check out her debut album Gap Year! if you haven’t already.
We talked about a wide range of topics including her freestyling with her father and Jay Electronica in Puerto Rico when she was just a kid. Hopefully, that footage will be released from the vaults one of these days. Maybe for the documentary.
Check out our chat with Laila!, October’s Rookie of the Month, below.
I went to your show at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn, so I want to lead off with that. Tell me about that experience, because you seemed nervous at first, but you did pretty good for it being your first headlining show.
Yeah, I was definitely really nervous. I always get really nervous before I got on stage. I don’t know what it is, I just get super anxious. But then when I saw everyone’s energy and how excited they were to be there, it was just really beautiful. It was special for me, so I kind of was able to calm down and give them a good show.
I was impressed because people knew the words to songs that were relatively new.
That was the most insane part to me. Just to hear them, not even just singing the most popular songs, but the other ones too. It was just insane. It was very big for me. It was also my first time ever in front of my own audience, people that really came specifically to see me. It was really special. I was able to take pictures with some of them and sign stuff. And it was just really sweet. It was the sweetest thing ever.
I’m assuming you had a lot of family and friends there too because it was a packed house, and you could tell some people were family.
I had some people from my high school, my tías [my aunts] were there. Like, just everybody. But then there were kids with their parents and it was the cutest thing ever. It felt very supportive.
You mentioned your “tías” and you had a voicemail of your grandmother Mami Nelly on your album telling you how proud she is of you. Are you Dominican or Puerto Rican? The Caribbean delegation is looking to claim you.
Yeah, she has a thick accent. I’m Dominican and African-American. My mom is Dominican and my dad is from here. My accent comes out sometimes [Laughs.]
Your sister Sani DJ’d your show and she killed it. Is that the same sister that was freestyling about you not wanting to go to school on your album?
Yeah, it was so funny because me and my sister put the whole show together. We rehearsed for like two weeks and put everything together, and we literally did not even think about doing the freestyle song live. We didn’t even think about that. Looking back, we should’ve done it, but we were so focused on making sure everything was right. Definitely a learning experience, but it was also very fun doing the show with her.
I liked her set. She was playing U.K. garage and jungle, some Jersey Club, and mainly dance music. I know you mentioned Brent Faiyaz, Frank Ocean, Solange and SZA — these are people that you listen to a lot — but what are some other genres or artists that you also listen to and draw inspiration from?
I really like jungle music, too. My sister Sani introduced me more to like jungle music because she’s a DJ. She has such a broad taste in music. I feel like she’s kind of helped me in that aspect where she’ll play really good club tracks from forever ago, or a lot of old mixes. The thing that’s really cool about it is you can find a mix and sometimes it’s just specific to that period of time or that specific DJ, so you can’t find that same version of the song anywhere else, which is kind of cool about garage music or jungle music.
You could hear a song that you like and then hear a part of it that you’ve never heard before, and it’s only specific to that remix. I listen to jungle, I listen to a lot of Budgie. He does sample flips. He’s mad cool, and I found him on SoundCloud, but he does like stuff like that. I also listen to a lot of older ICYTWAT beats when I’m trying to get into a hype mood.
His song “Shirt” is one of the greatest songs ever. I still play some ICYTWAT’s Soundcloud remixes and mixes.
I listening to his older stuff, those are my favorite albums from him, like Fubu vs. Twat any ICYTWAT Radio.
He’ll have some ill flips too, like he’ll remake songs and s–t like that.
I love listening to all kinds of flips. Also, I just be playing my SoundCloud, it just be playing shit. Like once you play a song, it’ll keep recommending really good stuff.
Do you have any flips or remixes that you have in the stash?
I certainly do, and I used to post them on TikTok. So like, some of the real OG people that follow me, they’d be like, “Where’s this flip? Where’s the Aaliyah flip? You need to post this.” And I’m like, “Yo, the fact that they remember that is so insane because they’ve been around for a minute.” I have so many that I want to put out.
You were working the crowd and it was crazy when you started playing the keyboard. Is the piano the only instrument that you know how to play?
I would say officially, yes. When I was younger, I used to be in band like in elementary school and stuff like that. And the first instrument that I learned was the trumpet. My mom was a teacher, so they had a steel pan band. So I would like, go there and play steel pan sometimes. But then, yeah, I think piano was like the first instrument that I learned that really stuck with me. I feel like it’s the basis for everything that I produce, or everything that I make. But I’m not classically trained, and I really want to learn, so hopefully that’s something I build on in my future.
When you were on the keys and Juan was on the guitar, that was my favorite part of the whole show.
I think that was probably one of my favorite parts as well, because it was just so special. And when I was putting together the show, and thinking about what I wanted, I was like, I have to have Juan come and do “Talent Show.” We made this song together, and it’s so special to me. And to hear people singing along was even more insane for me.
The show felt like a New York show before the pandemic. There used to be shows with that energy all the time in the city. It was interesting to experience. You and Cash Cobain have NYC on lock right now. The city is behind you guys.
Yeah, I love that. That’s so sweet. That’s all I ever wanted to do. Whenever I talked to my team about doing a show, ,all I wanted was it for just to feel like good vibes, comfortable, just very familial so everyone could enjoy themselves in a good environment. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. So I’m glad that it felt that way.
So, you taught yourself how to play the piano and the keyboard. What do you use when you make beats? Any programs or drum pads?
More often than not, I’m actually just using the keys on the keyboard because it’s easy and it’s simple for me, but then a lot of times I also just use my MIDI keyboard that I could just put into my computer, and then I’ll just play like that. And yeah, it has beat pads on it too, which is cool, because you can do fun little stuff there. If I wanna play the drums, and maybe don’t wanna use the keyboard, I can use that.
Do use a program like Fruity Loops or something?
I use GarageBand, it’s very helpful. There’s so much good stuff on there that I feel people tend to overlook.
You know when you’re young and growing up, you don’t always know what your parents do for a living. Were you always musically inclined, like even before you knew what your father did for a living?
Yeah, it was just always a part of me. My mom has videos of me just singing and doing all this stuff, and I was like, a little, little kid. I wasn’t at the age where I knew what my dad did. The moment I could form words, I think I was singing and dancing and doing all that stuff. I don’t know a life without music, or making music.
When did it really click for you, though, where you wanted to take music seriously? Angela Yee mentioned in an interview with that you were in Puerto Rico freestyling with your father and Jay Electronica, when you were really young — which, I wish there was audio or a video of this. I wanna hear this freestyle.
I feel like my mom probably has a video [laughs]. I think it wasn’t until my sophomore year of high school. I always wanted to make music and have that be my career. That was always my plan. I was like, ‘I’m gonna get out of school and then I’m gonna start making music and, you know, whatever.’ But I was always so shy and so nervous about it, and I just didn’t really know what I was doing. So, at certain point I had to stop being so afraid and follow my passion do what it is that I feel like I love to do the most. I put out my first song, and that’s kind of where it all began.
So this was when you’re 16, right? When you made “Like That.” Do you feel like you’ve gotten better since then already?
I think I’ve definitely gotten a lot better. I don’t know how to explain it, but once you make something, you’ve sat with the feelings, you felt the way that you felt, you’ve written the lyrics, and then once you release it and it’s out there, it’s kind of like, OK, I don’t necessarily have those same feelings or I’m not the same person. It’s almost like a release. You know what I mean? I don’t know. So I feel like, when I look back at “Like That,” it was a period of time in my life, but now I’m moving on, and I’m growing up, and with everything that I make, it feels like I’m growing up a little bit more.
So yeah, I think that the stuff that I’m making now versus “Like That,” I think it it shows my growth in that sense, even just as a person, maybe not so much like sonically, maybe it doesn’t sound a million times different, but as a person, I feel different.
I definitely get what you’re saying. You blew up so fast and I’m curious about how old some of the songs are on Gap Year!
Yeah, that’s actually such a good question, because Gap Year! is basically just a compilation of the stuff that I made from the time I was, like, 16 until now. So a lot of the songs on there are actually older. “If You’re Listening,” I recorded that when I was 16. “We’re So Over,” too. But then I made “Want To” around four months before we dropped the album. I made the beat for “Are You Down?” maybe when I just turned 16. That was one of the first beats that I made where I was like, “Yo, I’m kind of good. Maybe I’m nice at this like, maybe I could really make beats.” I made the “Like That” beat when I was 15, and didn’t record on it until about a year later. It was a blend of the journey that I’ve taken with music and learning how to make beats.
You mentioned feeling anxious when you go on stage. Do you feel any pressure right now?
Yeah, sometimes. I feel like I always feel pressure, though. I’ve always felt pressure even before I had put out a song, even before people followed me, or anything like that. I always felt pressure because… I don’t know, sometimes pressure can be bad, but sometimes it also can feel like I wanna get this done, I wanna execute an idea I have, or whatever. And when I say pressure, it’s not like pressure from my family or pressure from external people, because I always have so much love and support around me, which I’m so grateful and thankful for. Everybody’s always just trying to make sure I’m good or whatever, just whatever I need. They’re always there for me. I’m just really grateful about that. But I think the pressure kind of comes from within. I want to make sure I’m doing everything to the fullest capability. I’m just always trying to be better than I was before.
This is a complicated question, but how would you describe your sound?
I think I really would describe my sound as fresh and fly and cool, but also nostalgic, I pull from so many things that I love. I have such a love for R&B and writing. I always think so melodically. And a lot of that comes from my biggest inspirations, and I kind of take the bits and pieces that I can.
I feel like an important thing about music and even human life, is that we learn through imitating. We see something we like, and we try to become that. For me as a producer, it’s been really interesting being able to take like, ‘Okay, I like this progression, or I like the way that this bassline sounds, or I like the way that the snare hits here on this song. And you take those little bits and pieces and almost transform that into something that’s completely different by studying things that I really like, whether it’s The Neptunes or an Aaliyah song or whatever, or a Darkchild beat. I’ll sit there and I’ll listen to things that really make that specific song click for me. Nostalgic, but fresh is how I would describe my music.
Yeah, it’s like an amalgamation of all these things. It’s like retro and futuristic at the same time.
Thank you. That’s what I’m going for.
Your On the Radar performance made me look into you more — and and then obviously when people figured out who your father was, everyone’s minds were blown.
Yeah, it was very funny how it kind of just built up and people started. None of this has been planned. The only thing that was planned was to do something cool like On the Radar. The whole objective was to get my face out there. I wanted people to get a sense of who I am or what I do.
As it was going viral, were you like, “Yo, I have to put my name on this somehow?”
I just wanted people to be able to connect the song with who I am, like, as an artist, because I feel like, I don’t know, nowadays, it’s so easy for the artists to get lost in the shuffle when something gets really popular. So, I just kind of wanted to do something. And I did the From the Block, which was really cool. That was just an awesome experience. Doing that like at the playground was mad fun. But yeah, I wanted to do stuff that people could be like, “OK, this is her, this is her face. This is what she’s doing.” It was such a cool moment for me, aand I did not anticipate how crazy it was gonna go at all. And then even the whole thing with my dad, I couldn’t have anticipated that would happen. That was the Internet.
So, you wanted to be a rapper first, right?
Yes. When I was a little kid, I used to always love singing songs and always write songs. But I really used to freestyle. I had a whole thing, I had a little swag. I was probably, like, nine or or 10, but I used to write all these raps, and I used to go to school, and I used to show all my friends. It was my thing.
And I remember I had this one teacher, and I was like, “I guess we were talking about our future?” This was in middle school, so I must have been like, 11 or 12, and they were like, “What do you want your career to be?” And I was like, “I’m going to be a rapper.” And the teacher was like, “Sure.” That always stuck with me — because what do you mean, “Sure?” Like, you really don’t think that I could do this? From that day on, I was like, “You know what? This is exactly why I’m going to do whatever the f–k I want to do.” And I was like, 11, but I was like, “No” — because what do you mean, “Sure?” Like, I know, I know I could do this.
Did you have a rap name?
I never had a rap name. I was just writing raps. Like, I wasn’t rap name. Even now, sometimes I’m like, damn, should I have come up with an artist name or something cool, but I just couldn’t think of one. I literally just couldn’t think of one. That’s why I put the exclamation point, because there was too many other Lailas and I just couldn’t think of anything else.
Now that the the album is out, are you going to produce for other artists? I know one of your dreams is to produce for artists that you like. Send some beat packs out.
Absolutely. That’s what I’m working towards now. I really want to be able to work with other artists that I admire, but I really love working with artists in person, like I like to show, like, I don’t know. I like to see how people feel about what they’re listening to. I prefer to show people what I’ve been working on when I’m with them. Let’s actually connect. And feel the music together.
BOYNEXTDOOR‘s latest single, “Nice Guy,” begins with the K-pop group crooning, “Don’t be such a wuss, Seoul is mine tonight/ Let’s rizz up all night” for a synth-pop anthem of declarative self-confidence. While it seems like a stark contrast from “Dangerous,” the rebellious pre-released buzz single about teens pushing curfew which kicked off the group’s 19.99 album, it all connects into BOYNEXTDOOR’s multifaceted world of limitless freedom and friendliness.
With less than a year and a half since their debut, Billboard’s K-Pop Rookie of the Month for October 2024 is seeing its message reaching audiences worldwide. 19.99 scored BOYNEXTDOOR’s first No. 1 on Billboard’s World Albums chart and top 40 entry on the Billboard 200, while the group has performed on festival stages in South Korea, Spain, Japan, Hong Kong, and the United States. The sextet has modeled for Korea’s most prominent brand, Samsung, but is also the face of Japan’s popular casual clothing brand, WEGO, and has competed for best new artist recognitions at the MAMA Awards, iHeartRadio Music Awards, Asian Pop Music Awards and beyond.
During a weekend morning interview and photoshoot with Billboard in Seoul, any understandable tiredness from BND takes a back seat as members Jaehyun, Sungho, Taesan, Riwoo, Leehan, and Woonhak excitedly emphasize their desire to connect with audiences through authenticity rather than just chart placements and awards. “Rankings aren’t everything,” Taesan says in the Zoom call. “Our priority is really talking about what we want to and conveying that to the audience in a very free kind of way. So, that’s what we try to do and I’m happy that is actually connecting with a lot of people out there. It makes us really proud.”
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Those themes are present in the narrative structure of 19.99, which is grounded in the guys’ real-life experiences. Without fixed roles within the group, BOYNEXTDOOR pride themselves on a collective creativity, where members can contribute across different areas like music, storytelling, choreography, stage direction and more. While half the group is credited as lyricists, and Riwoo added personal touches to their new choreographies, 19.99 has the DNA of all six stars divided throughout the EP.
That philosophy of artistic expression and prioritizing personal experiences and creativity over external pressures feels like a founding block of BOYNEXTDOOR’s label KOZ Entertainment, founded by boy band member-turned-chart-topping soloist-producer ZICO, that’s housed in the HYBE LABELS system. While ZICO has been a presence on the Billboard charts for over a decade (earning his first No. 1 on a U.S. sales chart earlier this year), BOYNEXTDOOR says his mentorship and tips have been crucial to the group’s impressive and quick takeoff.
“He always told us that you have to have a really good attitude and be cautious of how people would see you,” eldest member Sungho says of their mentor. “He always cared so much for us and gave us a lot of advice even before we debuted.”
With BOYNEXTDOOR’s first tour on the horizon and a growing global fanbase awaiting the group’s next steps, the “Nice Guy” singers remain ambitious to make Seoul — and every other city — their own by doing it their way. Read more on BOYNEXTDOOR’s story as the next group to watch as Billboard’s K-Pop Rookie of the Month for October 2024.
Congratulations on the latest chart success with 19.99, BOYNEXTDOOR! Do you feel the impact and that you’re growing your audience overseas?
TAESAN: Yes, we feel like more and more people are starting to like and enjoy our music, which we are very happy about. But you know, grades and rankings aren’t everything; grades aren’t our priority. Our priority is really talking about what we want to convey to the audience in a very free kind of way. So, that’s what we try to do and I’m happy that is actually connecting with a lot of people out there. It makes us really proud and gives us the confidence to stride forward.
19.99 starts a very different musical chapter from your previous trilogy of EPs. What are some of the differences between your past releases and this project?
SUNGHO: So, I think the “First Love” trilogy [the Who!, Why.., and How? EPs] was a big narrative that we had and tried to follow. When we were recording, creating and on stage, we tried to follow the overall kind of narrative and scenario that we had for the trilogy. But after that, with 19.99, rather than going with a narrative, this was an album where we really infused our experiences and the members’ stories. What we experience in our daily lives and what we go through is really infused in the tracks.
So, when we were recording or on stage, we felt like we were speaking our own language and just talking about what we experienced as boys. Even when we were performing, I think we focus more on our individual style and vibes… it’s more grounded and more heartfelt this time around. We paid more attention this time.
How do you express your stories? Is it sharing your experiences with each other? Writing lyrics? The concepts? Performing on stage?
JAEHYUN: I think my answer to that is really all of the above. It really starts at the very beginning of the creative process: we discuss a lot about what we want to talk about in the songs and in the album, so I think that naturally infuses into the songs — both in the songwriting and performance. So, we would talk a lot with the performance director and the music producers so that we could add our input into the lyrics and the overall concept of the performance as well. So, yeah, I think it’s all parts of what you brought up.
I see BOYNEXTDOOR as having a lot of freedom. There are no fixed positions within the team. Does that freedom allow you to be more creative, or is it difficult to balance that in a group dynamic?
TAESAN: As JAEHUYN said earlier, we are very heavily involved in the creative process; we have a big say. And as you said, we have a lot of freedom. Instead of thinking of that as a stress factor, we enjoy it because it gives us the freedom to be more creative and I think we’re even more eager to participate more in the creative process. So, rather than finding it difficult, I think it’s our fate to make these stages.
Even from your teaser videos, “friendliness” feels like a keyword for BOYNEXTDOOR. On one hand, artists who are so friendly can come off as less mysterious and intriguing. Do you have ideas or methods for bridging that gap?
JAEHYUN: I guess the secret lies in our music. So while we are friendly as people, our music can be mysterious; people can always wonder what’s coming next. You said that the name BOYNEXTDOOR is a very “friendly” name, but you never know who’s living next door. That boy might be a hip-hop lover, that boy might be a rock lover or love ballads. So, I think there is an air of mystery to that name as well. So, we kind of have both.
You deserve a lot of credit because not many rookies can say that and it feels like you’re sharing even more on 19.99. Can you share more about the title and what the EP represents?
WOONHAK: The six of us talked about what kind of album we wanted to make and what kind of music we wanted to do…
TAESAN: The producer asked us to talk about how we felt about our 20s one by one — [asking] “What was it like for you?” or “What do you expect from turning 20?” — and we gradually came up with the theme. After we came up with the theme of the number “20,” we discussed what kind of stories each of us wanted to incorporate into the album. JAEHYUN, WOONHAK and I actually wrote the lyrics based on that. We tried to capture 20 as much as possible in our own way.
When it comes to 20, the youngest member of BOYNEXTDOOR, WOONHAK, will soon be turning 20. Have your members shared any advice for you?
WOONHAK: So, instead of giving me advice directly in words, I think I just learned from them vicariously and naturally. Seeing them, I can understand that there are certain things that people don’t see or understand because I’m underage, you know? They recognize when I tell them I’m facing certain challenges and say, “That’s okay.” But when I do turn 20, there will be more responsibilities as an adult — and I see that through our leader JAEHUYN, our oldest SUNGHO, RIWOO, as well as TAESAN and LEEHAN. So, I think I kind of learn by looking at how they behave and take on different tasks. They continue to teach me a lot.
Along with JAEHYUN, TAESAN, and WOONHAK’s songwriting, how do you all collaborate creatively?
JAEHYUN: Although there are just three of us in the album credits, I think it really should be the six of us together because we talk a lot amongst ourselves and are sources of inspiration to each other. So, we would talk to other members and gain insight from their experiences and stories. So, all six of us are actually involved in the creative process.
SUNGHO: While JAEHYUN, TAESAN and WOONHAK are involved in the songwriting, in terms of the stage, RIWOO is really involved a lot in terms of the stage; when we actually go perform, he can lead the crowd. When we need to rehearse, we practice together under RIWOO’s guidance. He even creates and organizes the setlist and has a lot of input and ideas about the setlist. RIWOO is the one who has the most to say about our performances; each of us has such different personalities and individual styles, but RIWOO is the one who kind of becomes the anchor to help us combine and blend together as a group.
RIWOO: When we learn the choreography for the first time from choreographers, we usually learn choreography that is almost complete, but I feel like we have to include our own style into it and tweak it a little bit to make sure that it really fits our own style and not the choreographer’s style. From facial expressions to gestures and movements, I personally think about it a lot. If our members want to express something, I want to make sure we can express it and edit it a little so that it’s more BOYNEXTDOOR and our style.
Talking about stage performances, you recently announced your KNOCK ON Vol.1 tour. What are you preparing for your first tour? Do you think you’ll have more “volumes” or dates beyond Asia?
JAEHYUN: Our first concert is in the planning process, but there are a lot of stages and performances that we’ve saved for the concert. The stages that you’ve wanted to see and the performances that you wanted us to do, we’ve been saving them all to show you at our first concert so I think there will be a lot of stages that our fans, ONEDOOR, will really like.
LEEHAN: We’ll go anywhere. We’re willing to fly to anywhere where ONEDOOR exists. And we hope there are many more opportunities going forward to share these great times with ONEDOOR.
Do you have any worries ahead of the tour?
TAESAN: There will inevitably be some challenges because it’s our first concert and first tour, but I think we need to focus on how to overcome those difficulties. But I think what’s always on our mind is our next step forward — what we’re going to talk about in our next album.
I recently met with ZICO, and he spoke so affectionately about you. Do you notice that affection or is this his everyday self? Any fun stories you can share about your time with him?
SUNGHO: We actually noticed his affection ever since when we were trainees. He was always very worried about us. He always cared so much for us and gave us a lot of advice. Even before we debuted and after our debut, when we became “professionals,” he always told us that you always have to have a really good attitude and be cautious of how people see you. But the difference between the days when we just debuted and now is that in the early rookie days, he would try to really help and assist us in all kinds of ways. But now I think he really respects us as professionals and that we have our own way of communication and style. And then when he thinks we need help or if there are parts where he can help us, he will kind of jump in. I don’t really remember any specific anecdotes to share…
WOONHAK: I actually do remember one! He said, “I regret taking really bad selfies.” [All laugh.] So, we should really make sure that we take nice selfies.
JAEHYUN: My father! There are so many funny moments. Recently, ZICO has been telling me to show him some aegyo, like doing something cute or adorable, because he said that JAEHYUN as a trainee and JAEHYUN as a member of an idol group is really different. So, he wants me to show him those aegyo moments like I do with ONEDOOR, but for him. So, he’ll kind of tease me, telling me, “Can you show me some aegyo?!?” [Laughs.]
Any other messages you want to share with international fans or Billboard readers at this time?
JAEHYUN: Thank you for loving our tracks. I’m happy to see our songs on the Billboard charts and I hope you all keep loving them.
TAESAN: Please stay tuned for our tour and our concert. I hope that we’ll have more opportunities to go to other continents and other countries as well!
WOONHAK: Love you!!!
On singer-songwriter Julie Williams’ new five-song EP Tennessee Moon (out Oct. 17) the Florida native draws listeners into songs that evince all the facets of who she is, both as a person and as an artist, intertwining elements of folk, ‘90s country, and pop with her soothing vocal.
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“Music was always in our household in every single car ride, my mom and I listened to ‘90s country women like The Chicks and a lot of folk too, indigo Girls, John Denver, Dan Fogelberg, that was the soundtrack to my mom’s car,” Williams tells Billboard. “And my dad played a lot of Michael Jackson, Prince, the Temptations. So there was music constantly.”
In elementary school, Williams became involved with music programs, then singing and performing at church. By middle school, Williams was singing the national anthem prior to Tampa Bay Rays baseball games. A friend from church who played guitar began giving Williams guitar lessons and eventually they formed an acoustic music duo and playing at bars around Tampa Bay.
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Williams’ aspirations have always centered around making a difference in the lives of others, and to that goal, she studied public policy at Duke University, but was also still drawn to music. She signed to Small Town Records at one point, and continued writing songs more regularly, pouring out songs of elegance, vivid detail and forthright honesty.
In 2019, shortly after graduating, she chased her musical aspirations to Nashville. Williams, a proudly mixed-race, queer singer-songwriter, found her musical breakthrough when she wrote “Southern Curls,” detailing her experience of growing up in the South, but with, as she sings, “the wrong kind of Southern curls.” The sharply-written, exquisitely-sung track also delves into forging her own path in her early days in Nashville, with the lines, “Twenty-three in Music City with dreams and high heeled boots/ Singin’ for a crowd of blue eyes/ Will they want me too?”
“That’s when it felt like, ‘Oh, I’ve tapped into who I am as an artist and the type of songwriter I want to be,’” Williams says.
She continued writing and performing songs, resulting in her 2023 self-titled EP. Meanwhile her music and artistry caught the attention of The Black Opry, as well as CMT. She was named a member of CMT’s Next Women of Country class in 2023, and was part of the CMT and mTheory Equal Access program.
Her keen artistic mission further evolves on her new five-song EP. Williams is a writer on every track, working with writers including Melody Walker and Natalie Closner. She looks back on the last moments of a relationship in “Tennessee Moon,” while “Reckless Road” meshes banjo, pedal steel and acoustic guitar, evoking the timeless feel of ‘90s country songs.
“I know it’s not going to be an easy road,” Williams says of her journey as an artist. “Every single day is a grind and a step. But for me, if I’m moving in an authentic way and I know that I have people around me that love me, I don’t care. I just love it so much. I’m just going to keep doing it for as long as I can.”
She just launched her Tennessee Moon Tour, which runs through November. Billboard spoke with Williams about her inspirations, career journey, her new EP, her work with the Black Opry and more.
What is one album you could play forever and never get tired of playing?
Eva Cassidy was one of my first musical influences and my dad used to play [Cassidy’s versions of] “Autumn Leaves” and “I Know You By Heart.” Her album Songbird is one I listen to, and it feels like my Dad is with me.
Who would be your Mount Rushmore of country music?
The Chicks, 100 percent. I remember when they got kicked out of country music radio and I was so mad. I remember in my fourth grade class, we had to write a speech. I wrote about how mad I was at the president [then-president George W. Bush] because he got my favorite band kicked off the radio. And then Sara Evans, I loved “Born to Fly,” and all of the late ‘90s, early 2000’s country.
What inspired the title track to Tennessee Moon?
I went to Percy Priest Lake [in Nashville] with a former partner, and I took this photo of them under the sunset, as the daylight was fading away. I could just tell that the relationship was fading, but I wanted to capture it and hold onto what it felt like in this golden era. Something about sunsets, as beautiful as they are, you can’t quite capture them. I think there’s beauty in how fleeting it is — and there are people in our lives aren’t necessarily meant to stay, but we just appreciate them when we have them.
One of your frequent collaborators on this project is Melody Walker. How did the two of you connect as musicians?
I believe we met at a Song Suffragettes show. I was a big fan of the music she was making and we sat down to write and came to her with that photo that inspired “Tennessee Moon.” I just said, “I want a song that feels like this picture.” Within two or three hours we had the whole song and we just keep coming back to each other because if we really do have that writing chemistry, I think we push each other in some ways. I can sometimes get so lost in lyrics and verses — if I could just write verses for the rest of my life. She’s like, “Okay, what’s our hook? What’s our big moment?” We work well together and it’s great to have people in Nashville that you feel a hundred percent comfortable to be yourself around.
Another song on the album, “Just Friends?,” also highlights part of your journey as a queer woman. How did that song come about?
I was playing shows with an artist called Denitia, and she has a song that’s called “Old Friend.” And I was hearing her play this song night after night about looking back at an old friendship, and it made me think of some friendships in my past and one in particular. I just was wondering why I am not close with that person anymore and why looking back at it, I felt so much pain and regret, almost felt like it was a breakup. I look back now, and realize, “I think I had feelings for that person,” but I didn’t even know at that time.
That was just such a powerful time to write this song that touches on that confusion of young love, of friendship, female friendship, especially for queer women, kind of discovering who it is that you love — it can be a confusing process at first. I grew up with very, very liberal, accepting parents and I still felt confused. So, I wanted a song that would capture that and I wanted to give myself a little bit of grace, too. I was very lucky that my queer journey, it wasn’t a sad one. I was very lucky that when I told my family they were accepting and my friends as well, but it still was something that took that time. So, I wanted to show the beauty in that journey, too.
What was your journey like in finding community as an artist in Nashville?
I didn’t find that community when I first moved to Nashville, but also because I don’t think I really knew myself too much then. I still was straightening my hair. I found this picture of the first Whiskey Jam [concert] I was playing, and I used to spend hours straightening my hair just to then curl it into those big, southern curls. I was like, “Why am I straightening and curling my hair again just to get a different curl pattern, because I think this is what people want to see?”
I moved here and I was in a long-term partnership that I thought this was going to be the person that I was with for the rest of my life, and I didn’t think I’d ever have a chance to explore my queer identity and I didn’t really know myself. Writing songs like “Southern Curls” and getting connected with organizations like Song Suffragettes and the Black Opry, I met some of my favorite people that I work with and my favorite collaborators.
How has the Black Opry been instrumental in your career?
I met [Black Opry founder/leader] Holly G and a number of the Black Opry folks, and just sat with them in a hotel room and passed around a guitar and played songs. I told Holly at that moment, “I will play whatever show you have. It could be in a dumpster and I’ll be there.” I was really wondering if I was going to stay in Nashville. I had gone and visited friends in New York and DC and was like, “I think I’m going to go back into the policy world. I don’t know if this is going to work out over here.”
Right after that was when I first went on my first Black Opry tour, and it really changed everything. I started playing with Black Opry and then realizing that there were opportunities outside of Nashville, that there were venues and places that wanted to be a part of what Black Opry was building.
How did you build upon those shows you played with the Black Opry?
I would just reach out to [those venues] as an individual — this is before I had an agent. I would just reach out and say, “Hey, I saw you booked Black Opry this time. I’m a Black Opry artist. I would love to come and play.” And so I started booking myself and doing my own tour. That’s when [management company] Prater Day saw what I was doing and wanted to jump in, too.
The past few years, I’ve played over 120 shows and I think it’s 26 states now and a few countries. And I think that once again touches on that magic that I had found when I first started playing. But now I get to feel that all around the country and the world and meet new people. And so, I think my career is now growing because of my time on the road and the road will continue to have a huge part in my story.
You are also an activist and in 2023 launched Green Room Conversations, to raise awareness of sexual harassment in the music industry, and to offer a safe space for women to discuss navigating the industry. Why has that been so important for you?
I wanted to start that organization, just being a touring musician and just a woman in this industry. I’ve had my own share of stories, and I think you could throw a rock and ask somebody to share a story that they have had in the music industry. I wanted to empower people with those little frank lessons that can help save people from a lot of uncomfortable situations. I remember when I first met [singer-songwriter-radio host] Rissi Palmer in a little café in North Carolina, it was just before I moved to Nashville. I remember asking if she had any advice for me and she said, “Do not take a business meeting with a man past 6:00 p.m.. That’s not a business meeting; that’s a date. If he wants to work with you, you can get coffee the next day.”
I think music is an industry, where at least for artists, there is no HR [department]. It’s an industry where show are late at night, that often involve alcohol. You could be in a position where you have to share a hotel with a co-worker because there’s not enough money to get everybody solo hotel rooms. Or you’re writing a song about sex and love, but that doesn’t mean you want to sleep with your coworker.
We come into this industry with so many hopes and dreams and we tell people to say yes to every opportunity because that could be your next break. We’ve been going to different colleges, talking with music business students. We’re just saying those frank things that women have been saying in green rooms forever, like, ‘Watch out for this guy,’ or ‘This person who you think holds so much power over you in your career, you don’t have to work with them.’ Sometimes you need that permission to say no and know that it’s not going to destroy your career. And in fact, there’s people out here that can support you.
What book or podcast are you into right now?
One that I’m reading right now that I’m really liking is called Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield. It’s a little weird, but I love it. It’s so cool. I’ve just been just diving in.
A smiling Big Ocean greet you for a nighttime Zoom call with shaking hands — the American Sign Language translation of applause and cheering — which encapsulates a palpable energy bursting from a K-pop trio unlike any other pop group.
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HyunJin, ChanYeon and JiSeok came together as Big Ocean to debut in April this year as the first Deaf/Hard of Hearing group in K-pop. The group’s warm embrace onto the scene by superstars, production and executives across Korea points towards a more inclusive global music scene.
Brought together by Korea’s only agency representing talent with disabilities Parastar Entertainment, Big Ocean sees three stars with different backgrounds and hearing abilities as a sign of hope and possibility.
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The group’s main vocalist Park HyunJin lost hearing in his left ear after a childhood accident, but a cochlear surgery led him to learning to play the piano, speak some English, and break out as a YouTube creator and TV personality educating viewers about hearing disabilities. Main rapper Lee ChanYeon, who underwent cochlear implant surgery for both ears, developed his musical interest after experiencing the positive side effects of music therapy. Meanwhile, youngest member and main dancer Kim JiSeok was born Hard of Hearing and attended a special school for those with disabilities before becoming a professional ski racer for Seoul skiing team.
Big Ocean admits that the members’ varying auditory perceptions can present challenges when it comes to learning choreography, singing in rhythm and performing live, but it’s inspired innovative ways for the group and their Parastar team to find new ways to rehearse successfully like utilizing vibrating smartwatches as metronomes or flashing lights for rhythmic counting.
While the definition of a K-pop act has expanded from Korean-born pop singers to artists representing a range of different countries, cultures, and languages, Big Ocean not only look the part of handsome, shining stars with international appeal but align with one of the core messages within in K-pop to instill inspiring messages to listeners both with their stories and music.
“The message from our song ‘Slow’ is that if you move forward and continue, slowly and steadily, you can do anything,” HyunJin says of the group’s latest single released last month that features Young K of chart-topping K-pop rock outfit DAY6, marking their latest venture to share more personal storytelling through their songs.
“Not only our seniors but also people from outside the company are giving us a lot of support, so we are really thankful,” adds JiSeok. “If we didn’t have that help, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
“Not only our seniors but also people from outside the company are giving us a lot of support, so we are really thankful,” adds JiSeok with a special shoutout to the group’s fans, known affection as PADOs. “If we didn’t have that help, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
With recognitions from members of Stray Kids, ITZY and even the President of Korea, read on for more from Big Ocean’s story and why they are a group to watch as Billboard‘s K-Pop Rookie of the Month for September 2024.
Congratulations on your debut this year and being named Billboard‘s Rookie of the Month! Overall, how has 2024 been for you?
JiSeok: I was really worried if we could do well. I was concerned, “Are we going to be okay?” But fortunately, so many people and so many senior idols gave us a lot of support and help. Not only our seniors but also people from outside the company are giving us a lot of support, so we are really thankful. If we didn’t have that help, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
HyunJin: And even today, we got an opportunity to meet with the President of Korea. We are also getting tons of invitations from outside of the country, so we’re getting so much love and support. So we are really, really grateful.
ChanYeon: And so many of our fans, PADOS, from so many countries, are sending us love and then recognizing us. So, we are really thankful and I feel like we have to pay back with even greater performances.
Thank you for taking time while you’re so busy. Congratulations on your latest single, “Slow,” featuring Young K of DAY6. It’s such a great collaboration; how did it come together, and how was your experience?
HyunJin: The message from our song” Slow,” is that if you move forward and continue, slowly and steadily, you can do anything. And in the process of making this song, we made a proposal to DAY6’s Young K that featuring his voice would sound great and work great with our song. He said “Yes” immediately, so that’s why we were able to release the song successfully and we’re so grateful for it. Thanks to him, we were able to feel even more support and we feel he really has our back.
JiSeok: We were really hoping that we could thank him in person, [but] because Young K was very busy preparing for the [new DAY6] album, we weren’t able to do so. But if we could meet in person later, that would be really great.
Are you guys fans of DAY6? Their latest album is topping the charts in South Korea.
HyunJin: We listened to one of the new songs released from their album, “Melt Down,” and really, really loved it. We wanted to pay back our debts for Young K featuring our song, so we took the highlight of the song and turned it into a challenge on social media with sign language.
JiSeok: The song is doing really great and is really popular — we really want to congratulate them!
I was curious about how you create your sign language challenges and incorporate signing into your performances. Are you the ones making the moves? Do you work with a team?
ChanYeon: When we do a simple sign language challenge, we discuss among ourselves and make it. But when we’re choreographing or releasing something like our official music videos where we are mixing Korean and American Sign Languages, we actually get reviewed by sign language experts to make sure everything is expressed in the most precise way.
Some readers might be surprised to learn that Deaf or Hard of Hearing people can sing, dance, rap and more. Can you tell us about your different backgrounds with just music?
JiSeok: I go to a special school for people with hearing disabilities. At the time when I was in school, RM from BTS sunbaenim actually made a large donation to help the school’s music education. It was thanks to that donation that I actually got a lot more interested in music; I learned about dancing for the first time, I had a lot of opportunities to learn different musical instruments. So, that’s how I was able to fall in love with music and able to dream of becoming an idol.
HyunJin: When I was nine years old, I had an accident and lost hearing ability in my left ear completely. I had a surgery that allowed me to hear sounds; however, afterward, it didn’t really sound natural to me anymore; it sounded very artificial. I felt very uncomfortable hearing any kind of or type of sound.
At the time, I was also learning piano and attending an academy. Listening to the actual piano was very pretty and the only pleasant sound to me. So, as I played piano, sound felt positive, not negative anymore. So that’s when I started to become more interested in music because the piano was the only sound that made me feel good. After I grew up and became an adult, I became a YouTube creator and made many videos about breaking the barriers regarding misunderstandings and prejudices regarding hearing disability. I started making TV appearances and that’s when I actually learned about my current agency, Parastar Entertainment, so I naturally challenged myself to be an idol.
ChanYeon: In my case, I wasn’t really interested in music at all. Only after I got the surgery for cochlear implants for both my ears did I go through a lot of music therapy, and music actually really helped me. That’s when I found my interest in music.
As a boy band, how do you interact with music to perform as a group? Can you share the different ways you overcome any challenges?
HyunJin: Because the level of hearing is different in each one of us, the way we perceive beats and rhythms is also different. So, our company came up with the idea of using smartwatches and vibrations from the smartwatches as metronomes. That’s how we were able to feel the beat and rhythm in sync — and it made it so much easier for us to feel the music.
We also developed a “beam monitor” that flashes lights in sync with the music. So, that was another way. We also continuously film ourselves dancing to the music and constantly monitor ourselves and review to see who feels the beats differently or if we’re not in sync. And we continuously practice. And that’s how we can move in sync.
You’ve performed on Korea’s weekly K-pop music programs like Show! Music Core, Inkigayo, The Show, Music Bank and more. These shows are famously very fast-paced. How was your experience, and could they meet any accommodations you needed?
JiSeok: Our first time going on music programs, they were aware of the fact that we had hearing difficulties, so they always made sure to use hand gestures, give visual signals for cues to enter the stage, or whenever they wanted to send us some type of message. They were really nice about it; very, very kind. They constantly asked us whether we had any problems hearing or listening to the music. So, thanks to them, we could put up a good performance.
HyunJin: If the set or environment is too loud or noisy, we might have trouble listening for the start of the song. So, during rehearsals and the actual shooting, they made sure to ask for the audience’s understanding and to be quieter than usual so that we could actually hear the music. They were very generous for that. Also, our dancers make sure the choreography opens with a starting dance move. The background dancers initiated the choreography so then we knew the performance had started.
ChanYeon: And even our staff members ensured that everyone at the TV stations and on-site knew we might have trouble communicating or listening. So, they ensured everyone was aware, and I think we had no trouble. We’re really grateful for everyone being so considerate.
I saw you met with Felix from Stray Kids backstage during the shows to learn the “Chk Chk Boom” challenge. Tell me about that experience.
JiSeok: After the broadcast, I met Felix for the first time. I thought he was a complete angel — I really thought he was an angel. As soon as I met him, he greeted me with American Sign Language. He prepared it himself and showed us that he learned “Nice to meet you” and “How are you?” It really impressed us. We did the dance challenge together — I was so nervous, soo nervous! — but I was happy and really appreciative of everything. I thought about how I should practice and work even harder to perform even better.
After the dance challenge, Felix gave us [Stray Kids’] album as a gift. I was so grateful; I can’t even express it in words. I really want to see him again and meet him in the future.
I saw a recent announcement from Parastar Entertainment that Big Ocean is auditioning new members. Could we see the group expand in the future?
HyunJin: We have three members, right? We think three of us is too small and that our group is not big enough. That’s why we’re we’re hiring new members. If you come to our website of the company you can apply for the audition 24-7 so please come! We’re definitely looking for more members to apply.
Any other messages you want to share with your international fans at this time?
HyunJin: So three days after this interview, it will be five months since we debuted as Big Ocean so I really want to say thank you to all the fans and people who made Big Ocean possible and gave us a lot of support. To our fandom, PADOS, who are continuously supporting us, promoting us, and even doing all these activities to attract more PADOS on social [media] communities — I really want to say thank you. We will do our part and work harder to show you even greater performance and activities.
JiSeok: Thank you so much for such this great opportunity. Also, in November, we’re trying to release another song, so we will really work hard with our company. If we do release our new song, please send us a lot of support. We will work hard.
With millions of viewers around the world tuning in and casting votes for contestants in the K-pop survival show Boys Planet, contestants who didn’t make a place in the final band left the program with fans eager to see their next steps. No group perhaps better embraces such potential than EVNNE, the seven-member boy band quickly ascending the K-pop ranks and proving themselves as far more than just a simple spin-off act.
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Noted for an intense collective charisma, the boy band’s debut with hard-hitting singles “Trouble” and “Ugly” spoke to a viewpoint as the convention-defying underdogs ready to prove themselves to the world. The group scored number-one hit songs and awards on Korea’s competitive music programs, and this summer embarked on their first U.S. tour to expand their international fanbase and showcase their dynamic performances across multiple cities.
“We didn’t expect it, but we really wanted it,” EVNNE’s leader Keita says of the group’s ability to break out beyond Korea and tour the States. “We felt that there were a lot of fans all over the world cheering for us while we were doing such a program like Boys Planet…it’s really a dream come true.”
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But it’s not just the awards and accolades that define EVNNE’s success. In less than a year, the group has shown remarkable evolution in their musical style, transitioning from the rebellious anthems of their debut to a softer, more romantic sound with their third EP, RIDE or DIE from June. The lead single, “Badder Love,” a soothing rock-pop track recorded in both Korean and English, marks a new chapter for the group.
“The reason we came out with the concept of bad guys when we made our debut was because we wanted to show the public what we can do best,” Yunseo says. “But we released a refreshing album like this because we wanted to show a new side of us.”
With accomplishments both in awards and aristry, Keita, Hanbin, Lee Jeonghyeon, Yunseo, Seungeon, Mun Junghyun and Jihoo have managed to carved their place in the industry and show lasting potential even if the group’s time together may be short. Read on for why else EVNNE is a group to watch as Billboard‘s K-Pop Rookie of the Month for August 2024.
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Congratulations on the success so far and being named Billboard‘s Rookie of the Month! I wonder how you feel about your achievements over the past few months?
YUNSEO: We’ve been through a lot with our members and together we’ve achieved a lot of things, but time is really flying by so fast — faster than I thought. It feels surreal that we’ve been spending so much time together and able experience a lot of things in such a short time, but it also has been very short. Even so, we have realized that there are more fans and more people really supporting us, giving us so much love, so we are just very happy and grateful for everything.
SEUNGEON: I want to add that I’m so happy to be able to come to the U. S. tour following the Asia tour and so excited to meet people from different places. We truly believe that winning on the music shows and being able to go on tours in different countries is all thanks to our fans’ love and support for us. So, we are very thankful for that. We are also very happy and excited to be named as the Rookie of the Month on Billboard. We have been really wanting this so thank you so much.
While you didn’t earn a place in the final group for Boys Planet, you are here now winning awards and going on tour. Did you guys expect all these things to happen?
KEITA: We didn’t expect it, but we really wanted it. We felt that there were a lot of fans all over the world cheering for us while we were doing such a program so we always dreamed that we wanted to go to many cities, perform for many fans, share our energy and communicate with them. It’s really a dream come true.
How has touring the U.S. been for you?
JIHOO: So we were really happy that the crowd cheers were so much bigger than we expected. From what I understand, there’s about 500 people per venue for this tour, but from what we felt on stage, it really felt like the cheer was coming from 5,000 or even 50, 000 people — it was really loud. I feel like we’ve been really eager to share our energy with the audience, but in return, I think we got even more energy and motivation from them.
MUN JUNGHYUN: We were able to sing the English version of “Badder Love” for the first time, and I think the response was good because the fans sang along to the whole song which made us really happy. Also, we were able to show “XO” with its choreography in full for the first time on this U.S. tour and it felt like were cheering so much for that song.
SEUNGEON: You know, the global fans who don’t necessarily speak Korean tend to hum to our songs, instead of like singing along to the actual lyrics, which is still really cute but we always had a little bit of regret that and wish everyone could really sing along together from start to finish. But with the English version [of “Badder Love”] they were really able to do it and were singing along to the song while we were performing so it was really a great experience. It really motivated us and, one day, we would love to release more songs in different various languages in the future.
Any languages you might want to record in next?
HANBIN: We go to Japan a lot and there are a lot of our fans and people who support us in Japan so I think it would be nice to make a version that can be done in Japanese.
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Going back to “Badder Love,” it feels like this album is centered around a softer image and less intense than the concepts for your singles like “Trouble” or Ugly.” What does EVNNE want to prove this time around?
JIHOO: Our main focus was to really show a different side of ourselves compared to our first two albums. For our first and second mini albums, we really wanted to show that “cheeky rascal” side, which is more powerful and very straightforward. But with the third album, we wanted to show more of a romantic, a softer side of us.
YUNSEO: Actually, the reason we came out with the concept of bad guys when we made our debut was because we wanted to show the public what we can do best while talking to the company. That’s how we made our debut. We released a refreshing album like this because we wanted to show a new side of us. We’ve always been able to do this, but we’ve shown you a little bit of a bad boy and a strong image, but this time, we’re going to show you a bit of a different image.
LEE JEONGHYOEN: We have some all-white outfits in the music video that are very fitting for summer. There’s also no really bright hair colors. Actually, this is my first time dying my hair in brown so we really focused on showing the right styling for the concept through this album. A lot of the backgrounds in the music video are set in the ocean so in my opinion that really emphasizes on that refreshing cool side with the song and the music video.
I saw you guys compete in the Idol Star Athletic Championship and reunite even with some of the Boys Planet contestants. How was that after all you went through?
HANBIN: We participated in two of the events during the program and we really prepared ourselves to do our best in it while preparing for this tour. We had to find little moments here and there to really prepare for ISAC, but I think it was a great opportunity for us to promote who we are and what we can do to even more people. So, it was a really great experience in overall and like you mentioned, we were able to talk and chat with many other artists as well including ZEROBASEONE. It’s actually been awhile since we got to chat and reunite with them so it was really fun to be reconnecting.
YUNSEO: Our schedules don’t really leave us a lot of time to meet in person or privately, but I was so happy to meet my friends that were at Idol Star Athletics Championships, talk, and play sports and games together.
KEITA: I met Matthew and I told him, “Hey Matt, I’m studying English!” and he said, “Hey, your pronunciation is not as bad as I thought!” but in Korean. So, I got a compliment from him.
SEUNGEON: I think fans who watched the show were really waiting to see us all again and a Boys Planet reunion one day. This was actually our first opportunity for all the Boys Planet groups and artists to come together, really reunite, talk to each other and just have a good time in general. I felt like it was a school event in some ways because there are a lot of idol seniors, juniors and colleagues but we all have the same dream and passion for music and artistry so it really felt like we were at a school event all together. So, overall it was a very, very fun event.
HANBIN: I actually ran into some friends who I trained with so while it felt really very new, and it also really reminded me like we were back in school all together and we were at a school event together rather a TV show program.
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Do you have a message you’d like to share with international fans who are waiting to see you?
YUNSEO: First of all, we were selected as the Rookie of the Month so I’d like to say thank you so much. It’s a great honor and beginning with this, we’d like to show you all more and promote our name to an even more bigger audience around the world so we can really share our artistry and who we are to everyone around the world. And in the future, we really hope we can someday have our song chart on the Billboard charts. We will work hard for that so it would be great if the American fans and international fans know about us and send us your continued love, support and attention.
SEUNGEON: We’ve been really eager to share incredible performances through this tour and please please look forward to all our activities and performances in the future as well. It’s a great honor, again, to be selected as the Rookie of the Month with Billboard.
Some spur-of-the-moment decisions — and some industry champions — have led singer-songwriter Ella Langley to her breakthrough song, and her newly released debut album.
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“It’s not even my birthday, but it feels like the best birthday I’ve ever had,” Langley told Billboard on Aug. 2, the release day for her 14-song debut album Hungover, out on SAWGOD/Columbia Records.
Langley’s Alabama twang has been all over social media lately, thanks to “You Look Like You Love Me,” a pedal steel-soaked, flirty song about a woman making the first move. The Hope Hull, Alabama native teamed with fellow country hitmaker Riley Green for the largely spoken, retro-sounding collaboration, which sits at No. 15 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. The track previously reached No. 5 on Billboard’s TikTok Top 50 chart, and peaked at No. 36 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.
“You Look Like You Love Me” was gaining steam even before the song became a duet. In May, Langley posted a clip to TikTok of singing the song’s verse and hook solo; that clip earned 10.5 million views. Langley was opening shows on Green’s Ain’t My Last Rodeo Tour earlier this year, when the two performed the song together in a spontaneous moment during the final show of the tour.
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“We had no idea we were going to do the song that night onstage, but we did,” Langley says. “He’s from Alabama too, and I remember a long time ago playing for a line of people waiting to get into a Riley Green show. I didn’t have a ticket, I just watched his show through the gate. So getting on his tour was good. I really just sent it to him so we could sing it together on tour. We had been doing another song together, but then we just ripped into this song and it’s been a whirlwind ever since,” Langley says.
In June, a video was posted to TikTok of Langley and Green performing the song together during a soundcheck at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Their voices wrapped around the song’s amorous verses resonated; that 30-second TikTok clip now has over 12 million views.
”It kind of blew up that way,” Langley says.
With the song riding high, she follows with Hungover, an album that seems poised to showcase Langley as an intrepid artist with a fully developed perspective and a fine-tuned sound, thanks to songs like the sashaying “Cowboy Friends,” the tender “People Change” and honky-tonk heater “Better Be Tough.”
In addition to potent songs, Langley has been a road warrior. She will launch her 14-date headlining North American tour later this month, interspersing those dates between opening for Morgan Wallen’s One Night a Time Tour, as well as opening shows for Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley. She just opened for Wallen at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, marking her first stadium shows.
“It was insane,” she recalls of playing the stadium. “I was talking to Lainey [Wilson] the other day about when I used to watch concerts as a kid and how I just had the toughest time going to watch concerts. I wanted to be up there so bad — just like, I could throw up. So, getting up in that stadium yesterday felt like that little girl’s dream just came true, and just letting her enjoy the hard work that’s been put into this.”
Below, Billboard’s Country Rookie of the Month for August opens up about her new album, country music’s current communal spirit, and the journey of “You Look Like You Love Me” from creation to hit song.
How did “You Look Like You Love Me” come about?
“You Look Like You Love Me” was written two years ago, inspired by a conversation with one of the song’s co-writers, Aaron Raitiere. His ideas are nuts and I love writing with him. We were in a write and he was like, “So how’s your relationship life going?” and I said, “Honestly, I’m at the point where if they look like they love me, I just got to get out of there.” And he was like, “That’s a great song title.”
Six months later, we had another writing session. I wanted a funny song that I could play around a bonfire. We literally just hit record and wrote probably 16 verses and then picked our favorite ones and put it together. Then Riley added a verse, and it’s just this sweet love song.
You never meant for this song to be released as a single. How did that happen?
Mya Hansen, who was my publisher at the time but is now on my label side, always loved the song. I was like, “Mya, this song is just a joke.” She tried to get me to put it on the EP [2023’s Excuse the Mess] and I didn’t let her. So, she put it in the Dropbox link on her own for this album, and that’s how the label heard it — it was the last one of all of the demos. Everyone loved it, and I was like, “If y’all believe in this song, then let’s cut it.” It was right after we cut it that Riley asked us on tour.
How did you first get interested in music?
My whole family is musically inclined. I was three years old the first time I got up to sing in church. My mom tells a story where my grandpa sits down at the piano and we’re going to do “Amazing Grace,” and my mom’s trying to help me with the microphone and I’m three years old, and I’m like, “I got it. I know how to do it,” and everyone in church is laughing. So this is what I’ve always wanted to do. When I was a teenager, I picked up guitar.
Did you play in a band in high school?
I played a lot of wedding ceremonies. Then I played bars and restaurants and everywhere that would let me play. I went to Auburn for two years and that got me into the cover gigs, the bar scene and the [Southeastern Conference] schools. That was a massive education, because you learn so much playing covers for four hours, multiple nights a week, trying to make people give a s–t. But I reached the point where I was like, “Nothing’s going to happen if I stay here,” so I moved to Nashville and I’m glad I did.
There are some very personal songs on Hungover, like “Closest to Heaven,” which is based on the story of your grandparents. What does that song mean to you?
My grandma had a stroke when I was 10 or 11. My grandpa lived with us and she was in a nursing home. We’d bring her home to stay the night. My grandpa passed away and a lot of times when someone is at the end of their life, they bring a pastor into kind of talk with and it’s kind of like a quiet moment. He came over and my grandmother was there and they wheeled her into my grandpa’s room and shut the door. I’ll never know what was said in that room, so this is my song about what I think was said.
You have this collaboration with Riley. Who else is on your bucket list of collaborators?
Eric Church, Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert. Miley Cyrus has also been at the top of my list—I would love to even just sit in a room and ask her questions. And Ashley McBryde’s songwriting is so incredible and just very real-life and honest. I think me and Megan Moroney could come up with something awesome.
There have been several artists, such as Megan, who have brought your name up as an artist to watch. How do you react to that?
It’s hard to comprehend because you spend so much time wishing for something to happen and when it does start to happen, it’s nuts. Just to hear people you respect say that. [Megan and I’ve] known each other since before we moved to Nashville. I was at Auburn and she was at Georgia and my manager Bradley Jordan is part of a sunglasses company that’s partnered with Luke Combs, Blue Otter Polarized. Megan was doing a lot of influencer stuff back in the day and Bradley connected us. We wrote together once right when she moved to Nashville. It’s just awesome to see how many women are crushing it right now and we’re all just friends. It’s fun, it’s supportive and everyone has worked so hard to get here, so it’s great to be excited for everyone.
What was the first concert you saw?
The only concerts I saw growing up were at the Montgomery County Fair. The first person I remember seeing was Justin Moore. I remember Luke Combs came through right when “When It Rains It Pours” blew up, and I got sick that night and couldn’t go. I had the worst FOMO ever, not going to that concert.
What’s the best advice you have heard along the way?
I heard Chris Stapleton on a podcast when I moved to town, and this has been stuck in my brain ever since I heard it. Joe Rogan asked him about advice for young artists, and he said, “When you’re putting out songs, you never know the song that’s going to change your life — and then you could be stuck singing that song for the rest of your life, so really pay attention to the songs you release.”