Eric Nam on being a K-pop artist: "I was just mimicking the sounds." | PEP Exclusives - video Dailymotion

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Eric Nam wanted to become a K-pop artist and started singing on his YouTube channel.  When an opportunity opened for him to go to South Korea, Eric went for it with the goal of becoming as well-known as possible in K-pop.  But there was a problem—he was born and raised American and he did not speak the Korean language very well.  In the second part of his PEP Exclusives interview, the 34-year-old singer-songwriter and host shares his struggles as a newbie singer in South Korea and how he became one of the most successful solo artists now in K-pop.  #ericnam #houseonahill #pepexclusives   Video & Interview: Rachelle Siazon Edit: Stephanie Bianca Lim  Subscribe to our YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/PEPMediabox  Know the latest in showbiz at http://www.pep.ph  Follow us!  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pepalerts/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PEPalerts  Twitter: https://twitter.com/pepalerts  Visit our DailyMotion channel! https://www.dailymotion.com/PEPalerts  Join us on Viber: https://bit.ly/PEPonViber  Watch us on Kumu: pep.ph

Transcript

00:00 I was singing but I didn't really know what I was saying all the time.

00:02 I was just mimicking the sounds.

00:04 I think a lot of misunderstandings is because I couldn't speak the language perfectly.

00:09 What ends up happening is I was just anxious all the time

00:13 because I was scared I was going to make a mistake.

00:14 So earlier you've talked about your unexpected entry to the business,

00:27 to entertainment, in the entertainment industry.

00:29 So can you share just a few memorable things that happened to you

00:34 during your first few years in the industry?

00:37 Oh man.

00:38 Um...

00:39 I mean everything was unexpected and new.

00:42 When I moved to Korea, I was not very good at Korean.

00:47 So I had a very hard time really understanding what was going on all the time.

00:53 So I was on TV and I just was confused a lot.

00:56 But, you know, my goal was to become a singer

01:03 and be as well known as possible so that I can make music.

01:06 And so that's what I really focused on for the early years of my career.

01:11 Just really sticking it out, being as positive as I could be,

01:14 and then really focusing on doing music the best I could.

01:18 Was there any challenging part about, as a beginner, the experience?

01:26 Yeah, I mean, I think I was a solo artist, I am a solo artist.

01:29 And so it could be very lonely at times because a lot of it is dependent on me.

01:34 I have to go on a show and explain myself and be fully communicative

01:39 when I don't really have a full grasp on the language.

01:43 And even the music I was singing, I was singing,

01:46 but I didn't really know what I was saying all the time.

01:48 I was just mimicking the sounds.

01:50 And so those were some of the really big challenges that I had.

01:54 And there were always, I think, a lot of misunderstandings

01:57 just because I couldn't speak the language perfectly.

02:00 But I think, thankfully, people were very gracious with me

02:05 when there were misunderstandings.

02:06 And I was always super apologetic in the case that there were misunderstandings.

02:10 So I think that can sound very simple, but in many ways,

02:16 what ends up happening is I was just anxious all the time

02:19 because I was scared I was going to make a mistake.

02:20 So I remember for a large part of my career early on,

02:24 I was just super, super intense and anxious a lot when I was starting off.

02:30 And now?

02:31 Now I feel, you know, I feel a lot more in my skin.

02:36 Naturally, I do a lot more stuff in English,

02:38 which is what I consider to be my first language.

02:40 So it's a lot more easy to get my thoughts across

02:44 and to be very clear when I communicate.

02:47 And so that's great.

02:49 And then in Korea, I think my Korean's obviously gotten a lot better.

02:55 And so I don't feel as anxious or as nervous when I'm speaking to people,

03:02 which has been a good thing.

03:04 So you are into a lot of things, acting, singing, hosting.

03:07 Which do you enjoy the most?

03:10 I think singing is what I still enjoy the most.

03:12 It's what I started this career for.

03:16 You know, when I tour, I love to perform. I love touring.

03:19 I think that's what makes me feel most alive and happy.

03:22 And so at the moment, that is what I still love and enjoy the most.

03:26 Did you ever consider pursuing a singing career in the U.S.?

03:33 I think it was always a dream.

03:34 And it was like, if I could, I would.

03:36 But I just didn't even know where to start.

03:39 And that's why many people turned to YouTube

03:41 because that was the only place that Asian or Asian-American people had an outlet to sing or perform.

03:49 There were not many Asian, Asian-American singers active in the States at the time.

03:55 And even now, it's—there are not that many.

03:58 There's a lot from K-pop, but not Asian-American, unfortunately.

04:01 But, you know, I think there's a bunch of us working really, really hard to change that.

04:06 And we're working really hard to be seen and to be heard and to develop our music and craft

04:11 so that there are more of us very, very visible to many people.

04:15 [music fades out]

04:20 [silence]

Eric Nam on being a K-pop artist: "I was just mimicking the sounds." | PEP Exclusives

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