You can, you should, and if you're brave enough, you will.
That is your motto as you navigate the K-pop industry as the first female Caribbean-Korean Idol.
With my schedule being packed after planning to release my English Album next month, my promotion schedule has been crammed into a single month. So, the next morning, after the party, I pack up and get onto the first flight to America.
By the time I get off the flight, it's 5pm and time to head to the set for James Corden's Late Late Show.
"Excited?" Addy asks, dusting makeup onto her face. "More nervous than anything," I chuckle, refraining from moving my face too much. "You'll be fine," She smiles, squeezing my shoulder. "Honestly."
~ YOUR OUTFIT ~
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"And today," James announces as I stand backstage. "We have a very, very special guest! Please welcome, THE ZEEZEE!"
The spotlight goes up where I should be entering.
"Wh- what's going-"
The lights go out and I walk out onto a different stage. The lights go back up and:
"Well, I wasn't expecting that," James laughs as I walk up to the interview table. "But oh my god, they weren't joking when they said your live vocals are insane." "Thank you," I chuckle, taking a seat. "Please," James smiles. "Introduce yourself."
I turn to the camera.
"Hello!" I wave. "For those of you that don't know me, I'm ZeeZee, a K-pop soloist, and I just released my second album: Collaboration Project Vol.1." "And it is brilliant I must say," James smiles. "Thank you." "And so impressive. You've only debuted three months ago, and you're already collaborating with some of the biggest names in pop and K-pop. I mean, SZA, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, NCT and one of your best friends, Jackson Wang."
I laugh.
"So, how did these collabs come about?" "Well, Kiss Me More, I was originally saving for my English Album, but as I was recording it, I thought there was something missing. And, at the time, I had just gotten into SZA'a music, so I reached out over Instagram, sending her a voice note of the chorus and she – I'll read the messages actually."
Sung-ho runs on stage with my phone.
"And who is this?" James asks. "This is my manager, Sung-ho," I smile. He bows awkwardly and runs off. "He's brilliant, but he hates being on camera." James laughs.
"Anyway, she replied only a minute later 'OMG GIRLLLLL! This is sooooo good! I'd love to be on it. Gimme a time and place and I'll be there.'" James laughs at my impression. "So, a week or two later, she sends me some vocals and they were perfect. I got her on the next flight to Korea to record the MV, and well, you've seen the results." "You're so casual about it," He laughs. "Yeah I just messaged SZA and she just replied." I laugh. "But, I have to admit, the one I'm really curious about is Nicki Minaj."
