Paul Kim on his musical evolution and the meaning behind ‘Love Me Hard’
Paul Kim on his musical evolution in ‘Love Me Hard’
Paul Kim, one of South Korea’s most recognized singer-songwriters behind some of K-drama’s biggest original soundtrack hits, is looking to the English market after nearly a decade in the industry.
SEATTLE - Paul Kim, one of South Korea’s most recognized singer-songwriters behind some of K-drama’s biggest original soundtrack hits, is looking to the English market after nearly a decade in the industry.
Debuting in 2014, Paul is behind chart-topping hits such as "Me After You," "Traffic Light" and "Every Day, Every Moment," bringing in global listeners across generations.
On October 30 he released "Love Me Hard," his first English-language track, and he says it had been a long time coming.
"I've been trying to release an English album for so many years, and it just got delayed and delayed since COVID and everything," he tells FOX 13 Seattle.
"Love Me Hard" captures the familiar frustration of falling for someone who keeps one foot out the door, and goes into the route of traditional pop, which is a genre Paul, who is primarily known for ballads, hasn’t released often.
He says his time in other countries led to its creation.
"Releasing this album means a lot to me because I've studied in New Zealand for a while, and also, I've been in Japan for a while as well, so I was trying to find the meaning of my whole experience in different countries, and I wanted to write music in different languages because each language has different unique style," he explains.
The challenge of writing in a different language from his native language of Korean was something he looked forward to, but writing a pop track was something he wanted to do to show new listeners, as well as fellow South Koreans, a new side of the Paul Kim they have known for over a decade.
"It's not something that Korean people would expect of me, but I really wanted to challenge myself with different genres while singing in a new style. I think it could really help with my vocal abilities or songwriting process," he adds.
As an artist who has seen the industry both before and after the K-pop industry took to the global market, Paul says that even though he is releasing an English track, there is one part of the industry that he would like to see more, or less rather of.
"There's a lot of songs written in English. They use a lot of English in the lyrics. Sometimes it's like 70% English, 30% Korean. I still think that's fine, but I'm kind of missing a lot of the Korean, you know, the songs with only Koreans in it," he explains.
Following a successful Asian tour and his 10th-anniversary album, "Sincerely yours," in 2025, Paul is looking to continue his growth as an artist and says he can expect to hear more English music in the coming future.
"I've recorded quite a few songs already, so I've been preparing this project for a few years, but it just took us so many years to find the process of how to release it in other countries..but I've got lots more music coming up, so please be patient," Paul says.
Whether through heartfelt ballads or songs featured in Korean dramas, Paul has used music to capture life's most emotional and memorable moments, and now he hopes his music can become part of those moments for listeners, both good and bad.
"I listen to music when I need to just relax or feel refreshed, or when I'm driving or traveling. I think that music is what releases you from stress, so I hope my fans spend a lot of time with my music when they're having good experiences, like fun, or even loving somebody, or breakups. I want to be part of my fans' lives," he explains.
As he expands into English-language music, Paul hopes to reach new audiences without losing sight of what has defined his career over the last 12 years, which is making songs that connect with people through every stage of their life.
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