Paul Kim talks music, songwriting and what inspires him
Whether you first head him sing on your favourite OST or you discovered him by chance on YouTube, one thing we can all agree on is that Paul Kim’s talent is beyond measure. His beautiful, and soulful voice makes you stop whatever it is you are doing and take notice. In this interview he talks to us about growing up in New Zealand, songwriting and his favourite song to perform live.
You create the most beautiful and soothing ballads; We would like to know what the creative process to creating such enchants tunes is like.
Thank you for such flattering comments. Most of my songs comes from personal thoughts and sometimes experiences of my close friends. My inspiration comes very suddenly and also disappears so fast, I try to focus on that moment no matter what my status is. Capturing that feeling thrills me especially when I put them in the right position.
Being both a singer and songwriter, when creating a song which process do you enjoy more?
They are very different types of joy. In the process of creating music, I feel freer and more fearless since I can draw whatever I want and when it’s all done, it makes me feel like I got the whole world. On the other hand, being on the stage requires more concentration, energy, skills for quick adjustment and communication with the audience. It’s actually stressful sometimes to push myself to be the best version of myself but at the same time, the energy I get from my fans it’s what you cannot describe in words.
“Wanna Love You” is the type of song we would love to listen to live, tell us what’s your favourite song to perform live?
Actually, it’s also one of my fav songs to perform. However, since my ballads got very high on music charts in Korea, I assume people might prefer me to sing those ballads rather than other songs such as ‘Wanna love you’. But having this interview in English makes me wonder what my fans from overseas would expect from me. Curiosity…
How were you able to navigate a complete career change between studying Accounting and Marketing and going into music?
To be honest, I don’t think Accounting and Marketing were ‘it’ for me. I could never picture myself sitting at a table finishing reports every day. One life, one chance. I would easily give my all to live free and motivated, no doubt. The only thing I loved about being a university student was my friends.
Getting a number 1 hit song is one of many goals that musicians aspire to, what was it like when “Me After You” hit no 1?
Even though I did predict that ‘Me After You’ would go high on the charts, it was more like a miracle to me. It’s such a shame that I couldn’t celebrate the way I should have because I was so scared that me getting too excited might wake me up from this beautiful dream. I wanted a dream that never ends.
In a recent interview with “L’Officiel” you mentioned that growing up in New Zealand was sometimes difficult given your conservative upbringing, what about music made you turn to it during those challenging times?
I remember one time at my friend’s house, he got me listening to ‘If I ain’t got you’ by Alicia Keys, and I couldn’t stop listening. That friend later told me that he thought I was weird because I was doing nothing else but listening to that music at someone else’s house. I guess I loved music since day 1 and yes, it did help me get through my tough times.
Some song writers feel inspired to write songs that they feel would be better sung by somebody else. Do you ever have those moments and who would you want to write a song for?
It might sound selfish, but I always write songs for myself, because I know my good and bad better than others. But sometimes I wonder how it would sound if somebody else have sung them.
African fans would like to know, is a concert in Africa, namely South Africa something to expect or look forward to in the future?
I would most definitely love to. Hope I get the chance to meet the audience eye to eye and sing together. I’m already looking forward to it.
What’s next for Paul Kim? Do you see yourself venturing and experimenting with different genres in future?
I don’t just see myself as a ballad singer. I don’t want to be stuck in a frame and stay safe. New challenges and inspiration are the strongest form of motivation for me. I can’t wait to meet that Paul Kim in the future. Thank you for the interview. I enjoyed it.
