[INTERVIEW] Filipino-Argentinian actress ventures into K-pop

Chanty, a Filipino-Argentinian member of K-pop girl group Lapillus / Courtesy of MLD Entertainment

Chanty from Lapillus talks about life as K-pop singer

By Dong Sun-hwa

Starting again from scratch may not be the most desirable thing, especially when one has had a pretty smooth career. Nevertheless, high-profile Filipino-Argentinian actress Maria Chantal Videla ventured into the world of K-pop and debuted as a member of rookie girl group Lapillus in June 2022, with her new name, Chanty.

When a friend of her dad's first made her an offer to go to Korea and join a new K-pop girl group, the 20-year-old was hesitant. She loved working in the Philippines where she had been successfully expanding her repertoire by appearing on several popular TV shows and movies like "Spirits: Reawaken" (2018), "Familia Blondina" (2019) and "Starla" (2019-20). She had her family and friends there, too.

For her, it was a big risk to go back to zero and start all over again in a foreign country, which has a different culture and lifestyle. In the end, however, she opted to take on a new challenge and headed for Seoul in 2021.

"What if I can do more? I just could not stop thinking about that," Chanty told The Korea Times during a recent interview at a studio in central Seoul. "As a fan of K-pop and K-dramas, I thought I was given a rare opportunity. So I talked with my parents and in the end, I decided to grab this chance and see how it goes. They told me I can just come back if it does not go well and that I will still learn many things and use that knowledge somewhere else even if I do not succeed."

Chanty began her K-pop training at MLD Entertainment ― home to girl group MOMOLAND ― which was itching to have a Filipina member for its new act so as to target the Southeast Asian market. Just like other idol trainees, Chanty took vocal and dance lessons around the clock, as well as some Korean language classes.

"We had training every day except for Sunday, mostly from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.," she recalled. "But we could either start earlier or finish later if we felt dissatisfied (with our performances). It was up to us."

After training for about a year, Chanty debuted as part of Lapillus with the track "HIT YA!" The five other members include Shana (Japanese), Yue (Chinese-American) and three Koreans, Bessie, Seowon and Haeun. Shortly after its debut, the six-piece act rolled out its first EP, "GIRL's ROUND Part. 1," in September 2021. The music video of its lead single "GRATATA" has garnered more than 5 million views on YouTube as of Jan. 18.

Lapillus' Chanty smiles during a recent interview with The Korea Times at a studio in central Seoul. Korea Times photo by Yun Da-been

"Our group name is pretty unique," Chanty said, as she introduced her team. "It means a gem shining with different colors depending on the direction of light. I feel it really suits our group well because we can unite as one team, even though each of us has our own distinctive style."

She then moved on to talk about the group's music.

"Our debut track 'HIT YA!' is strong and powerful, and it mainly talks about confidence," she explained. "Through its lyrics, we say we are already at the top and you got to follow us because we are like the standard. And 'GRATATA' is about inspiring people to pursue their own dreams and not to copy anyone else."

Lapillus members' command of various languages is the group's competitive edge, she added.

"I speak Spanish, English, Tagalog and Korean ― although I am still learning it," she said. "We also have members who speak Chinese, French and Japanese. This is helpful because when we go to different countries, we can help each other communicate with our fans."

K-pop girl group Lapillus / Courtesy of MLD Entertainment

Chanty, who started learning Korean upon her arrival in the country in 2021, did face some language barriers in the beginning.

"At first, it was quite difficult to speak to our members using Korean, but they helped me a lot," she said. "Now I can communicate with them really well."

Asked about the differences between the entertainment industry in Korea and that of the Philippines, Chanty said they have different "atmospheres."

"In Korea, people seem to focus more on working, but in the Philippines, they want to have more fun and chill environment," she said. "Both of them have their own ways and approaches. In the case of Korea, it has certain rules on how to treat other people, especially those older than me. I did not know a very orderly way in the beginning, so it was quite interesting. But I naturally came to adapt to this new environment."

According to Chanty, who first stumbled upon K-pop when she was eight years old, Korean music is sweeping people off their feet in the Philippines. But she did not forget to mention the music of her country, "P-pop."

K-pop girl group Lapillus / Captured from Twitter

"There are many good singers in the Philippines," she stressed. "I know that SB19 ― a boy band comprising all Filipinos, which was launched by Korean entertainment company ShowBT in 2018 ― is very famous and that it was nominated for the Top Social Artist category of the Billboard Music Awards in 2021. It is nice to see how the music of the Philippines gets introduced to the international stage. I would say P-pop has its unique energy, vibe and atmosphere, and it is more about emotions and life. Every time when I listen to P-pop songs, it reminds me of who I am and makes me imagine different things."

The talented K-pop star has big ambitions for the future.

"I want to keep finding ways to improve myself, as I feel like there is still so much more I need to learn as a K-pop artist," she revealed. "I hope I can inspire my fans too, telling them to be more confident about their possible growth and helping them become stronger."