With the global popularity of K-pop on the rise, the music industry is starting to see some new faces.

There are already a number of non-Koreans in the K-pop scene: Han Geng, the Chinese member of Super Junior; f(x)’s Taiwanese-American member Amber and Chinese member Victoria; Brad of the indie band Busker Busker; and 2PM’s Thai-American member Nichkhun.

As the international interest in the K-pop continues to attract talented people, the industry seems to have opened its doors even wider to non-Koreans who wish to pursue a career in Korean entertainment.

The ‘New Natthew Project’

Thai singer, actor and model Nat Thewphaingam, more commonly known as Natthew, was first introduced to K-pop when he was in high school. “My friend was a huge fan of TVXQ, and because of her I heard all their songs,” said the Bangkok native. “I was very impressed by the music, because a lot of songs in Thailand maybe had piano or guitar, but in Korean music I heard a lot of different sounds.”

Natthew was just an ordinary guy who had always loved music, but never actually considered becoming a singer until he discovered the reality talent show “Academy Fantasia Thailand.” He was instantly hooked and began watching the program every day. 

In 2008, when he was 19 years old, he decided to just to go for it and auditioned for the fifth season of the show. “I never thought about being a singer before, but I just wanted to be a competitor in this reality show.”

The program was basically a music academy where competitors participated in a three-month training during which the students learned how to sing, dance and to act.

Natthew, a young student who never thought about a career in the music industry, ended up winning the show. Since then, he has not only gained tremendous fame in Thailand as a singer, but as an actor and model as well, releasing several albums and singles, starring regularly as a TV actor, modeling for magazines and appearing in numerous TV advertisements.

However, despite his all around success in Thailand, Natthew’s intrigue in K-pop music eventually brought him to Korea.

“K-pop style is very popular in Thailand,” he said. “I’m really interested in the Korean entertainment industry, I think it has grown a lot.”

Natthew said his fascination about K-pop was about more than just singing, but as a grand performance with its stage presence and dance choreography. 

“Popular Thai music is mostly pop rock, ballad or easy listening. It doesn’t really place a big emphasis on performing, but in Korea, I think the songs have a lot to do with performances,” he said.

It was his interest in Korean entertainment and popular music that led to the “New Natthew Project.” Through a joint Korea-Thai production between CJ E&M and CP Group, Natthew participated in a month-long K-pop artist training program to further pursue his singing career and develop a new image as a solo artist.

During his one-month training program in Korea, he went through a lot of physical and academic training, working out every day, taking part in vocal and dance lessons, at the same time having to learn Korean.

“Everything challenged me here,” he said. “At first, I felt like I was going to die. I had to change everything ... my hairstyle too.”

The training program was intense, he admits. He had to make a lot of changes in order to adapt to the K-pop scene.

“In Thailand, I mainly sang ballads and easy listening-type songs ... so I had to change my style,” he said. But one of the most difficult challenges he had to face was, without a doubt, the language barrier. “The pronunciation is so difficult,” he said. “But I work hard at it every day. I have a teacher.”

After his training, Natthew had the opportunity to work with Yong Jun-hyung of the idol group Beast, who wrote the rap interlude of his K-pop debut single,

In November, he released his debut song titled “She’s Bad,” featuring Yong, and completed his debut with a performance on M! Countdown.

“After recording and performing, I felt so accomplished,” he said with a smile. “Like when a student passes a big exam.”

Natthew’s debut single showed a complete transformation of the quiet, soft image that he was known for in Thailand. “She’s Bad” is an electronic dance song that emphasizes not only Natthew’s dance moves, but his ability to articulate more intense emotions while performing.

The song expresses some angry and frustrating feelings toward a certain woman, and the style of song was a huge change for the singer. The meaning of the song is, essentially, “Blame the woman, she is breaking my heart ... blame her,” he laughed.

Through his experience in Korea, Natthew hopes in the near future to create a fusion genre of Thai and K-pop music. On Nov. 30, he performed his K-pop single at the Mnet Asain Music Awards ceremony, and starting next month, he will be promoting the Thai version of his debut single.

Skarf

The debut of the four-member girl group “Skarf” represented a breakthrough in the K-pop music scene by introducing the first ever K-pop group to include Singaporean members.

Skarf, which released its first single, “Oh! Dance,” in August, features two Singaporean performers: Natasha Low ― the leader who goes by the stage name Tasha ― and Ferlyn Wong, the main rapper and dancer of the group.

“Before Skarf’s debut, the K-pop scene had yet to recruit any Singaporeans,” said Ferlyn, who said her interest in K-pop first struck after listening to Super Junior’s “Sorry Sorry.” “I wanted to make the first breakthrough into the Korean entertainment industry,” she said.

“I have always loved singing and dancing, and my dream was to be a singer,” said Tasha. “When I was 16, I watched a K-pop video on YouTube and was really attracted to the choreography. So I started to learn the choreography and that was when I got interested in K-pop music.”

K-pop to them represented something new, an opportunity for the two to become a part of the K-pop wave, which they observe has been showing a lot of growth.

“I think K-pop has a very special color to it,” said Tasha. “The songs are really catchy and I think the dance moves are easy to follow.”

“The training system is something that we won’t get to experience in Singapore,” said Ferlyn. “With this, we are able to produce our own music and going along with a stage presentation.”

Both the girls expressed their desire to remain the K-pop industry and are currently preparing for the release of Skarf’s first EP, which they hope to release sometime early next year.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)