Luna, 22, has been in the pop industry for 10 years, seven with girl group f(x) as its main dancer and vocalist. She released her first solo album, “Free Somebody,” May 31, with a heavy emphasis on electronic dance music (EDM).
Asked about feedback she’s received for the album, Luna said: “Once again, I realized that in Korea the public needs to be exposed more to EDM in order for them to appreciate songs like Galaxy,” indirectly referring to Korea’s competitive pop music charts usually dominated by pop dance songs and ballads.
Her album, which carries six songs ― “Free Somebody,” “Breathe,” “Keep on Doin,’” “I Wish,” “Galaxy” and “My Medicine” ― made the top 3 on Billboard’s World Albums chart in early June. In videos for many of the songs, such as “Free Somebody” and “Keep On Doing,” she sings and dances powerfully for more than two minutes. How does she do that?
“I worked every day for two months to prepare for the album,” she said. “For the song ‘Free Somebody,’ I initially could not digest the first verse.” So she went power-walking for about two and a half hours in the early morning in the Ttukseom section along the Han River, and did muscle training, focusing on the waist and abdomen. During those two months, she said she spent about 12 to 17 hours a day working out and preparing for the album. “I was worried about how I would appeal as a solo artist, but I feel I showed what I had prepared myself for, so I feel good about that,” she said.
Asked why she stuck with EDM, she said she started out in the genre with f(x), which is known for such hits as “Nu ABO,” “Rum Pum Pum Pum” and “4 Walls.”
“I do not like specifically defined music, and EDM is not a closed kind of music,” she said. “You can include ballads and R&B in it. Also, once I start something, I like to see it through.” Within EDM, she is into deep-house music, she said, like “Rumor Mill” by Rudimental.
She said she enjoys digging deep into one thing, in her case f(x) and its EDM songs. Luna, who has said in other interviews that she also wants to be a contemporary Christian music singer, was open to fusing the two genres.
Born Park Sun-young, Luna was recruited as a trainee by S.M. Entertainment in 2006 when she was a teen and debuted three years later with f(x). She said she feels proud and blessed that she is part of the group managed by a talent agency that can bring hit songs to its artists.
In doing a solo album for the first time after seven years in the industry, she said she was able to express herself clearly and more efficiently.
“As a music group, a lot of time is spent in reaching a consensus among a leader and the members,” Luna said. “Alone, as a solo artist, the process is quicker. But also there is also more energy as a group.
“I don’t think I could have done this without the support of the members,” she said, referring to Victoria, the group’s unofficial leader, and members Amber and Krystal.
The singer’s youthful energy and passion to explore a diverse range of music genres is clear. She said she practiced nonstop when she was starting out as a teen.
“When I was starting out, I wanted to beat global stars like the late Michael Jackson and become a star myself,” she said. To that end, she devoted much of her time to music, at the expense of her social life. “Now I pace myself better, I’m smarter about doing things, such as sound therapy, camping out in the woods in a tent and turning off electronic gadgets to cleanse and refresh my being,” she said.
Asked whether she feels a responsibility as a hallyu (Korean wave) star to keep showing something new in her work, she said she felt that way when she was younger, but now she constantly thinks about how to absorb new music and styles. “It is as if you are continuously looking for delicious food,” she said. “It’s like that for me, trying new music, new styles.”
Her role model is the late Whitney Houston, and one of her favorite songs is “One Moment in Time.” Like Houston, she wants to be a singer and an artist that people can look up to and aspire to be.
Luna and f(x) will have concerts later this year, though the schedules and venues have yet to be determined. In the meantime, despite her busy schedule, she likes to engage with fans on Instagram.
“I try to communicate (with them) as much as I can,” she said.
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