MAMAMOO wants to collaborate with Jay Z
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Mamamoo / Courtesy of RBW Entertainment
This is the third in a series of interviews on top K-pop idols. ― ED.
By Kim Jae-heun
The four-member K-pop girl group MAMAOO, who recently won high praise from popular American singer-songwriter Siedah Garrett and Hollywood actress Chloe Moretz, said they wish to sing with American rapper Jay Z one day.
Each member has her own favorite genre, which leads to various choices for artists they want to collaborate with, such as Rihanna for Hwasa, Big Sean for Wheein and Snoop Dog for Solar ― but Jay Z was their common wish.
It may not be an absolutely hopeless dream, as Garrett introduced MAMAMOO on Twitter posting, “Loving the energy and #music at #SXSW, making new friends with #KPop sensation #Mamamoo.” Garrett watched the girl group’s performance at music festival South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, last Thursday.
The singer-songwriter also said in an interview with Korean news channel YTN that she would love to work on the girl band’s next project.
Siedah Garret won a Grammy in 2008 and was nominated for Oscars twice. She has worked with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Madonna and Jennifer Hudson.
Moretz also tweeted footage of MAMAMOO performing “Taller than You” with a message asking “Korea!! Help! Who are these girls / what song is this!? So Fun,” on her arrival in Seoul three weeks ago.
Mamamoo / Courtesy of RBW Entertainment
The girl group debuted in June 2014 under the medium-size management of Rainbow Bridge World. They were not an instant hit nor had they belonged to a big company that could help them to capture the public’s attention the way JYP Entertainment did for its latest girl band TWICE.
However, MAMAMOO slowly expanded its fanbase with their strong vocal performances and strong retro, jazz and R&B influences.
They released the first official single “Mr. Ambiguous” from their EP “Hello” which contains seven tracks including three collaboration songs with singer Bumkey, K.Will and Wheesung.
MAMAMOO’s second EP “Piano Man” with a title track of the same name peaked at 41st on Gaon Digital Chart, a Korean national chart often compared to the United States’ Billboard charts. By the end of the year, it ranked tenth among girl groups in digital sales ― winning the Rookie of the Year title at the Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards.
The third EP “Pink Funky” and lead single “Um Oh Ah Yeh,” released last June, became the was the girl band’s first top three ranker on the Gaon chart. The EP also ranked seventh on the Billboard World Album Chart and the group was named one of the top 5 K-pop artists to watch in 2015 by the American chart.
MAMAMOO revealed their first full-length album “Melting” on Feb. 26 with R&B ballads “I Miss You,” “1cm/Taller than You” and “You’re the Best,” which won the first TV music show of SBS’s Inkigayo, on March 6.
Now, they are growing in popularity overseas, especially in America, faster than any other K-pop groups.
Q. You finally won first place. How do you feel?
A.
Moonbyul: We are really happy about it although we think there is so much to improve. Our whole company went for dinner after and we had Korean barbecue. Now, we are starting to see more smiles on the faces of people working in the management office.
Q. You are now seen as the next leading K-pop girl band. What do you think?
Hwasa: We saw our songs ranking high on the iTunes charts. I can’t believe it. We had few chances meeting our fans abroad. We wish we could grow more popular internationally to perform overseas.
Q. What is the secret behind the unique voice for each member?
Moonbyul: I guess because I am a rapper and I have a slightly deep voice. There is no secret method but I think we all have such appealing vocals because we pursue distinct music styles. Also we have different tastes in music varying from R&B, south hip-hop and medium-tempo.
Q. Your titles for songs are quite unique. Do you come up with them on your own?
Wheein: Usually, our producer Kim Do-hoon names them and asks us for opinions and we add our ideas.
Q. Why do you use such unique titles?
Solar: First we happened to give a unique name to our first official single, which was “Mr. Ambiguous.” Then people started to remember us for using such a distinguished title so we decided to continue the same thing.
Q. Which foreign artists do you wish to work with?
Hwasa: Rihanna and Jay Z.
Wheein: For me, Big Sean and Jay Z.
Moonbyul: I also thought of Jay Z!
Solar: I want to collaborate with Snoop Dog because I like hip-hop so much. I also want to sing with Jay Z or Beyonce. Oh, also Christina Aguilera.
Q. What kind of girl band you do wish to be ultimately?
Moonbyul: We want to be iconic Korean musicians. Proud Korean musicians.