[INTERVIEW] How Frank Wildhorn became most popular musical composer in Korea

American composer Frank Wildhorn speaks during a recent interview with The Korea Times at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Prolific composer calls himself 'joyful warrior'

By Dong Sun-hwa

What makes a great composer?

Talent, effort or luck may help, but in the case of American musical/popular song composer Frank Wildhorn, his ability to enjoy the entire process of songwriting seems to be the most powerful weapon he has. Being creative can be a form of torture for some people, but for him, it is pure joy.

"I am a joyful warrior," said Wildhorn, wearing his signature Dallas Cowboys hat, during a recent interview with The Korea Times at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul. "I wake up every morning feeling like I am the luckiest guy in the world, who can make music with people I love and see how it touches their lives. The river of creativity is still flowing pretty well in my life and songwriting is the most joyful thing for me. But at the same time, I have to be a warrior because it costs a lot to produce a theatrical show and so many people's lives are affected by what I do."

Even those who do not have much knowledge about musicals must have heard of "This is the Moment," the world-famous number included in the musical, "Jekyll & Hyde," which has had a total of 1.5 million viewers here since its Korea premiere in 2004. In Korea, "This is the Moment" has been sung by A-list musical actors and even K-pop stars like V of the Grammy-nominated septet, BTS.

BTS' V / Courtesy of Big Hit Music

"I recently saw an Instagram video featuring V singing 'This is the Moment' and I loved it," Wildhorn said in an excited tone. "I want to tell V that if he wants to play 'Jekyll & Hyde,' we got it. I would love to make music with him."

But "This is the Moment" is only one of the numerous creations by Wildhorn, a prolific composer who is dubbed the most popular musical composer in Korea. He currently has four of his shows ― "Jekyll & Hyde," "Death Note," "The Man Who Laughs" and "Mata Hari" ― running in Seoul at once, with each of them garnering rave reviews for its quality music.

"This is a crazy time," Wildhorn said with a beaming smile. "It seems there is an incredible romantic connection between my music and the Korean audience. There have been wonderful collaborations between I and them over the past few years, and I call it a collaboration, because I don't do a show for the audience, but I do it with the audience. I can always feel different energy from them every night."

A scene from the musical, "Jekyll & Hyde" / Courtesy of OD Company

There might be various reasons that people react wildly to Wildhorn's songs, but he believes his "common touch" makes him stand out the most.

"I am an audience member, not a snobby guy from New York," he stressed. "I feel like I have a common touch with people and I can put myself in their places. I actually came up as a self-taught musician on the street. I don't try to show people how clever I am, but I just want to move them and touch their hearts."

American composer Frank Wildhorn during a recent interview with The Korea Times at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

The young Wildhorn, who did not have a formal music education, began his musical journey as a soul jazz piano player. But he later stumbled into pop music, giving birth to a series of smash hits like Whitney Houston's "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" (1988) that reigned atop Billboard's main singles chart. Then he dived into the realm of theatrical shows by chance. He did not initially dream of exploring all of these genres, but his pursuit of eclectic music has led him to where he is today.

"I used to work at a publisher and made music for different stars every day," the composer recalled. "I had to create songs of all genres ― including R&B ― while I was at a publisher, which later turned out to be the best training school anyone can go to. When I first set foot into the theatrical world, some people were quite snobby and they called me a 'pop guy,' using the word 'pop' as a bad thing."

Today, however, Wildhorn is internationally acclaimed for his genre-busting style. Being eclectic often helps him get over any slumps, too.

"I sometimes got into a slump as I do so many things at the same time, but I don't stay in a slump for very long because I can always switch to another genre if I feel like I am hitting the wall," he said. "A lot of people would not think that the songs in 'Death Note' and 'Mata Hari' were written by the same person. But whether I write music for Whitney Houston or for theatrical shows, I hope they are all soulful."

Although Wildhorn is inspired by almost everything around him, he does not compose music for all shows. For him, the characters in each show should be "bigger than their lives" and their stakes should be high enough.

"Delivering the feelings and emotions of characters is important," he added. "But I hope my songs can also transcend the show and speak to all of us. That's where my big songs have come from. In the case of 'This is Moment,' anybody who is about to do something that will change their lives would find it relatable."

Wildhorn then moved on to talk about the future of the Korean musical scene. He believes it is "incredibly bright," not only because of talented actors like his "Korean brother," Kim Jun-su, and actress Ok Joo-hyun (Julia Ok), but also because of his young audience here.

Singer-musical actor Kim Jun-su / Courtesy of Palmtree Island

"Korea has the youngest audience I have seen in the world," he pointed out. "It looks like watching a musical is a date night thing for boys and girls to come together, but it is more heavily populated by women who want to see their favorite stars on stage."

According to ticket-booking company Interpark, 77 percent of people who bought tickets for different theatrical shows were women in 2020.

In Wildhorn's eyes, this high interest is healthy for the musical industry, as those young people who grow up seeing musicals will have relationships with theaters for the rest of their lives.

"When they grow older and have a family, they will take their kids to see musicals too," he said.

American composer Frank Wildhorn smiles during a recent interview with The Korea Times at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Asked what makes Korean musicals look different from those in the U.S., Wildhorn thought for a moment and then said they have more elements of contemporary pop crossover music in them.

"Korean musicals have a relatively short history," he said. "They started with the shows like 'Cats' and 'The Phantom of the Opera,' so they have a little less legitimate singing. The U.S. has had different styles of singing influenced by various genres, ranging from ragtime to jazz."

As always, Wildhorn currently has a lot of things on his plate.

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, I got another home in Hawaii and I have been prolific there," he revealed. "I have written music for many shows and now they are ready to go. In particular, I wrote my first symphony titled, 'The Donau (The Danube),' that will premiere in Vienna on Nov. 3. I will be the first American ever to have a premiere from the Vienna symphony. It will be a life-changing thing. I am looking forward to seeing what that's going to do to my life."