[Herald Interview] Russian K-pop soloist Lana returns with first English single

With her unique looks and charismatic stage presence, Lana may seem like just another foreign-born K-pop singer. However, she is the first Russian K-pop singer without any Korean heritage, having embarked on an adventurous journey in a foreign land from a young age to pursue her dreams.

Lana, who debuted in June 2019, celebrated her 5th debut anniversary this year with a new single. Released on July 12, her single "Circus" talks about the glamorous facade of a pop star and the loneliness hidden behind it, according to Lana.

"As an entertainer, I believe one must be bold and confident in their work, so I tried to capture that in the music video. I worked hard to show a side of myself that I haven’t shown fans before," said the 27-year-old singer in fluent Korean during an interview with The Korea Herald on July 11.

This song is also significant as it is Lana's first English track. The singer explained that she chose to release an English song to communicate with a broader audience.

"I enjoy all kinds of genres. I listen to classical music, rock and jazz. However, what I want to do is pop, and since there are various styles within pop these days, I plan to try different things one by one," added Lana, highlighting that she still has so much more to present.

Lana's life, which had no connection to Korea or K-pop, began to change when she stumbled upon a Korean drama. "My friends used to share external hard drives filled with fun videos, movies, and dramas. One day, a neighbor friend gave me an external drive with the Korean drama 'Boys Over Flowers.' I found it so enjoyable that I started looking for similar content, which sparked my interest in Korea. That was the beginning."

Korea was only about a three-hour flight away, so Lana often traveled the country and became fond of the cities. In 2014, at 17, Lana moved to Korea after persistently persuading her parents with detailed plans.

"I promised them that I would study Korean for a year at a language institute, go to college and find a profession. Initially, I didn’t consider becoming a K-pop singer and just focused on studying hard to adjust."

"Everything was very difficult at first," Lana said about living in a foreign country with a different language. But she recalled that giving up was never an option.

"The language barrier was tough, and without my parents and friends, I had no emotional support, so I cried a few times. But I had made a promise to my parents and was determined to complete my plans. I didn’t want to give up because of a moment of hardship and sadness," said Lana.

Although Lana was an ordinary overseas student in her early days in Korea, she accidentally found an opportunity to attend a K-pop singer audition. "In 2016, I started my university life at Sungkyunkwan University, majoring in Political Science and Diplomacy. Around the same time, I passed an audition I had accidentally taken and began my life as a K-pop trainee."

Having learned ballet and traditional Russian dance since childhood, Lana found formal dance and singing training very enjoyable. Initially, she trained with the goal of debuting in a K-pop girl group, but finally decided to choose the path of a soloist.

“I think I always had an aspiration to become a pop star, but I was a shy, insecure girl in my teenage years. But As I continued training, it became more and more enjoyable, and I started thinking that I wanted to choose this as my career.”

Despite it being a significant decision that would change her entire career, Lana recalled that she kept her decision to be a K-pop singer a secret and only informed her parents right before her debut. "I assumed my parents wouldn’t be delighted about the news, so I couldn’t bring it up easily. Honestly, they were very worried at first, but since they were in another country, they couldn’t stop me," said Lana with a shy smile.

"I believed they would only acknowledge my dream if I showed tangible results. So, I worked even harder, and now they support my career and music, asking about my music with curiosity."

Although it has already been five years since she became a K-pop singer, the singer still has a lot of dreams. “I want to continue on this path for a much longer time. It’s hard to believe that so much time has passed already, and there’s still so much I haven’t shown as an artist.”

Expressing gratitude to the fans who have supported her for five years, the singer revealed her ambitions. “I haven’t held any concert yet, so taking a standalone stage is one of my biggest dreams. I also want to release more music, diverse in genres and styles."