How FLO helped craft Hearts2Hearts’ K-pop debut hit
British girl group FLO / Courtesy of Tom Emmerson
What do Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran and Charli XCX all have in common? Apart from all having no. 1 records and hit songs charting around the world, they have also written songs for K-pop artists.
British R&B group FLO is one of them. However, when they first wrote “The Chase” with producer Lauren Faith, they never imagined it would end up as the debut single of a K-pop group.
Originally written early in FLO’s career, the track found new life through SM Entertainment’s rookie act Hearts2Hearts, who released it as their dreamy, synth-pop debut.
FLO, made up of Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma and Renee Downer, has made waves across the U.K. and U.S. by capturing audiences with their 1990s-inspired melodies and collaborations with hit artists like Missy Elliott and GloRilla. But K-pop gave their song an expectedly fresh stage.
“‘The Chase’ is a song we wrote with Lauren Faith very early on in our career. It’s such a fun song and we loved creating it, but we weren’t sure if it was the right song for us. We always hoped it’d find a home, and Hearts2Hearts definitely gave it a new life. We’re happy that our song is in the world and that people love it just as much as we do,” Downer told The Korea Times.
“The Chase” wasn’t written with K-pop in mind. Instead, Quaresma described the song as being inspired by FLO’s love for R&B and pop with a “noughties nostalgia” and “Fergie-esque” vibe.
It was transformed, with the help of longtime SM Entertainment producer Kenzie, from an R&B love letter to dreamy synth-pop with images influenced by Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s book, “Alice in Wonderland.”
Despite not knowing much about K-pop beyond global stars like BLACKPINK, FLO were excited to be a part of Hearts2Hearts’ debut, saying it has taught them about the power of music to connect people around the world.
“Something to take away from this experience is that music is universal! Genres don’t necessarily define an artist or song,” Downer said. “From an R&B girl group to a K-pop girl group, if the song is a banger, it’s a banger!”
Rookie girl group Hearts2Hearts performs its debut single, "The Chase," during a media showcase at YES24 Live Hall in Seoul's Gwangjin District, Feb. 24. Yonhap
The track's journey from London to Seoul reflects a broader trend in how K-pop agencies actively source music globally. According to an SM Entertainment official, the company regularly works with songwriters from around the world, including FLO producer Faith.
“We received a demo for ‘The Chase’ from Lauren Faith and felt that it perfectly matched the mysterious mood we envisioned for Hearts2Hearts’ debut,” the official said. “Since FLO is an overseas act, our International A&R (Artist & Repertoire) team handled communication and arrangement revisions alongside Faith and FLO and longtime SM producer Kenzie helped develop the sound elements further to fit SM’s signature style.”
For the Hearts2Hearts version, they aimed to highlight the track’s dreamy vocal layers and rich harmonies, while also experimenting with nontraditional K-pop song forms, such as its anti-drop and rap-inflected chorus.
“We tried to keep the expressive R&B qualities of the original while letting Hearts2Hearts’ vocal tone and identity shine through,” the official said.
While the song has changed from FLO’s original version, the British group enjoyed seeing it take on a life of its own, as Hearts2Hearts brought a new energy and vibe to the song.
“It was nice hearing how it had developed, and hearing it in a different language was cool. I was also happy they kept my original ad-libs,” said Douglas.
Following the success of Hearts2Hearts’ “The Chase” — which has over 65 million streams on Spotify as of mid-August — FLO noted that they’d be open to collaborating with more K-pop artists in the future.
“Writing for us and working on our own music is always our priority, but this experience has been a fun surprise, and we’re excited about what the future holds for us,” said Quaresma. “We’d love to go to Asia soon and connect with local artists.”
BLACKPINK’s Rosé, right, and American pop star Bruno Mars perform their song "APT." during the 2024 MAMA Awards in Osaka, Japan, Nov. 22, 2024. Courtesy of CJ ENM
Borderless collaborations
As K-pop continues to be a force in world music, major Western artists are contributing to the genre and collaborating with some of the K-pop’s biggest acts, including BTS, BLACKPINK and TWICE, to create fan-favorite hits.
These cross-cultural collaborations reflect both K-pop’s global reach and its evolving creative process. K-pop agencies increasingly tap outside writers for their versatility and genre fluency, while, for many international artists, working with K-pop acts offers a new outlet for songs that might not fit their own style and an opportunity to reach a massive international audience.
One of the biggest international K-pop collaborations is “APT.” by Bruno Mars and BLACKPINK’s Rosé, which topped the charts in over 50 countries and has more than 1.9 billion streams on Spotify. At one point, it could be heard virtually everywhere in the world, whether walking by Hongik University in Seoul or strolling through the streets of Manhattan.
During an interview with U.S. outlet The Cut, Rosé described the influence that Mars had on her songwriting, especially his advice on her hit single, “Number One Girl.”
“I’d always feel like, ‘It’s my fault, I should have an idea by this time,’ or, ‘Maybe I’m just not good enough.’ Bruno showed me that, as a creative, you have to listen to your intuition and your timing, and you’re allowed to trust in it,” said the BLACKPINK member. “I’ve become more confident in what feels right to me and in doing whatever it takes to have that come to life.”
Cross-cultural collaborations like “APT.” and “The Chase” have the ability to blend genres and offer something different to global fans, and it reflects how music is becoming more and more universal, enjoyed by everyone.
Adam Davidson is a London-based arts journalist who specializes in music and movies and has contributed to publications such as LA Times, Radio Times and The Boston Globe.