Ida Simmons aka Isak Kim (born May 25, 1985 in Uplands, California) is a SM Entertainment artist, more well known for being one half of shortlived SM duo Isak N Jiyeon (alongside Jiyeon Lee, who is now in SM group TSZX The Grace), and a VJ/DJ for Arirang TV (a Korean channel that broadcasts all over the globe) among many other professions. Currently enrolled in school in Korea, Isak hopes to start her own entertainment company some day as well as continue to support fresh new talent in both Korea and the US.
How long have you been doing music professionally for?
I debuted in Korea as a memeber of the duet Isak N JiYeon in 2002. So about 8yrs? Does musical theater in the US count~?hehe
What style of music do you generally play, and which musicians provide inspiration for your sound?
I don't play any intruments anymore~ but I love all genres~mostly r&b or soul~ trying to get into more jazz~
Between 2002-2004, you were part of a shortlived teamup with The’s Grace’s Lina, known as ‘Isak N Jiyeon’, under SM Entertainment. In a nutshell, how was that experience? Have you grown more as a musician since INJ’s disbandment? And what do you think could have been done differently to have kept INJ going?
I leanered a lot from working with unnie(jiyeon)~ kinda shy to talk about it~ but it is my past and even though I scream and leave the room when old mv or our songs come out I'm proud of myself for being able to have debuted and work with her~
I think I have learned a lot about music personally, yes~ I can actually relate to the lyrics~ and I think my voice has changed to a tone where I am comfortable~
To keep INJ going...~hmmmm ask me that after my contract with SM is over~and I'll tell u then~=)
What was your first impression of SM Entertainment, the founder of SM, and your partner Jiyeon in INJ?
First impression of SM~? I was the BIGGEST SM FAN~ thats what got me to audition in the first place~
Lee Soo Man 선생님~is amazing~ he treats me like his own daughter and I'm so thankful for that~
First impressions on unnie~hm~ honestly she was always at practice late and left early because she lived so far away~so I honestly didn't really pay attention to her~but when we started working with each other she was amazing!! sweet and lovely~
Can fans expect new material from you anytime soon?
Musically not sure...SM has given up in that field~ I'm working on trying to feature on other artists music~and I'm still singing on my radio show~and arirang loves to make me sing when we go overseas~so other than that a personal album is not in the future..~
Is there ANY musician that you would like to do a collaboration with in the future?
In Korea? there's too many~! Anyone who would take me~?hehe
In the US my dreams are taking me too far~ but I hope I can work in the US later~and Beyonce, Lady Gaga, and Christina Aguilera are just a few to name~
Currently, you’re a VJ/DJ for Arirang, the United States’ biggest network for Korean programming. How has the experience been thus far?
I've loved every day! I had the honor of being the first VJ in Pops in Seoul's 10yr history to go overseas~ and since then I've been to the Philippines, India, the US, and we're planning on going other places to spread k-pop love~ I'm honored to be able to spread a music genre that I love and to just see the fans face to face everywhere I go it's amazing!
Are you doing any projects and/or campaigning for anything right now aside from your music/entertainment career?
I'm apart of a Hip Hop Crew~ very small and still in the works~ NITRAW is the name~you can see links of it on my cyworld. We just started the crew so no projects yet but I've been working with them so maybe a crew album soon~
I imagine you have a lot of music tastes; what do you normally play on your iPod and/or when you’re at home?
Because I'm in radio I have to stay on top of both Korean and the billboard top 100 at least~~so I try to keep a 'recent' folder on my ipod~ and I also have a lot of friends who are in the music business here so they send me stuff they are working on too~ I sometimes listen to a 'practice' list I have~it's a lot of female artists that I like to practice vocals on~
In an interview you did with HypnoticAsia.com in 2009, you mentioned that at some point that you’d like to start an entertainment company of some sort. Do you see yourself closer to that goal, or is there more you need to get done beforehand?
I'm getting closer~ I recently enrolled at Sungkyun Kwan University as a business major~so I'm hoping that will get me one step closer and all I need now is the money~~hehe=)
Who is your closest musician friend, and how did you two meet?
Tiffany of SNSD i guess~ she's more of a lil sis than anything else~ met her through SM~ and we got to spend a lot of time in LA~ so even though I don't see her often we keep a deep connection~
And I'm really shy about the friends I have in Korea~ I know A LOT of people but with everyone being busy including me~ I don't really keep in touch with everyone~
What do you do in your spare time when you’re not super busy?
meet with friends~ go to church~ watch movies~ check out musicals~ just hangout~ hehe that's about it i think~
Is there anything you’d like to improve on as a musician?
I would like to work on writing my own music and lyrics...tried many times and I just can't stand to listen to the end results~ so slowly working on my skill~
To the critical question now. You have been involved in music for some time now, and music tastes and styles are changing quickly in this day and age. Where do you see music in Korea going in the future, in the sense of changing tastes, and will this allow you continued creativity down the road?
I think that thanks to truely talented artists like 2ne1, Big Bang, all the ballad singers, talented song writters here in Korea the music in Korea is only going to get better~ I hope that it does and we can make our mark in the world market even more~~ honestly I only have about 2 1/2 yrs on my contract~after that I doubt I'm going to be in Korea~
Do you have any final words for the readers?
Keep your head up~ and thank you for taking time to read my interview~ I still find it weird when people want to know more about me~ I'm just a very normal person and it's still odd that I get asked for interviews~ I wish everyone an amazing 2010!!!
Yatta! Thank you Isak nuna for the interview, and thank you for reading, so stay tuned for more interviews! :)
P.S. "Nuna" is a Korean term, look it up hehe
J~
Isak Kim
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