[Herald Interview] Hong Dae-kwang tries out more commercial feel on ‘With You’

Singer-songwriter Hong Dae-kwang rose to fame through the TV star discovery program “Superstar K4,” but that wasn’t his first experience performing for the public. On the show, he created buzz by talking about his extensive experiences busking on the street, and he says that those experiences influenced the way he approached his third EP, “With You.”

“I worked with a team that is really experienced and talented at creating really commercial albums,” Hong said in a conversation with The Korea Herald at a cafe in Seoul on Wednesday. “It was definitely a learning experience for me, to see how I can give my music a more commercial spin.”

Frank and sincere, the 30-year-old singer was completely unapologetic about wanting commercial success and believing that he could find it while staying true to his style of music.

“While busking, I learned to find the point where the music I like overlaps with the music the public likes,” he said. “There should be a very romantic melody and lyrics. The song should be easy on the ears, but refreshing as well, so medium-tempo. You get a boost if you have a guitar melody, and if you can pull off a slightly sad, minor tone ― it’s the best.”

“My previous song ‘No Answer’ fit this formula perfectly,” he continued. “With this album, I learned how I could widen that area where I could have popular appeal.” 

Hong’s third EP, “With You,” has five tracks, each with a different feel. “It’s like a Hanwoo (Korean beef) gift set,” Hong tried to explain. “It has all of these different beef cuts with different textures and they’re all good. There’s nothing to throw out.”

The title track “With You” is a sweet medium-tempo ballad confessing to a girl that all the singer wants to do is spend time with her. “Most of my lyrics before were poetic, but with this song they’ve become much more direct and easy,” he said.

“But it’s a layered song,” Hong added. “At first, I thought it was just a cute love song, so for the demo I sang it with a really happy tone. But the more I thought about it, I felt that the lyrics would feel sad if they were sung from the perspective of someone in a long-distance relationship or someone who knew their love would never be reciprocated.”

“Reading people’s messages on radio (as a disc jockey) has helped me get a wider perspective,” he added. Since August of last year, Hong has been hosting a show on EBS Radio featuring music and literature.

Before being a songwriter or a radio host, however, Hong said that he ultimately wanted to be acknowledged as a singer first.

“I’ve been singing much longer than I’ve been songwriting, so that’s most important” he said. “With this EP, I’m hoping that listeners will really feel that each track is special and that they’ll enjoy my singing.”

Hong Dae-kwang’s third EP, “With You,” was released at midnight Thursday.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)