Brian Joo (born Min-Kyu Joo on January 10, 1981 in Abescon, NJ) is a Korean-American R&B singer, most notably, 1/2 of popular Korean R&B duo Fly To The Sky along with Hwanhee. Also an actor, Brian has manifested his skills as an entertainer over the last decade and continues to gain popularity as both a solo act and part of FTTS. Brian took some time out of his busy schedule to answer some of my questions, as he is one of my favorite R&B singers. There was a lot I discovered about Brian that I did not know until this interview, so check it out!
How long have you been doing music professionally for?
... Well,I've been doing music professionally for about 11 years now and I'm still loving it.
What style of music do you generally play, and which musicians/genres provide inspiration for your sound?
... I love all kinds of music. I honestly do not have just one favorite artist. I love every and anyone starting from Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Boyz II Men, Michael Buble, Jay Sean and you gotta love the Christian artists as well like Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith, Matthew West and the list keeps going on and on for me. And music that gives me the most inspiration has to be Christian Contemporary Music all the way baby~!
In December last year you released your second solo album “Manifold”, after just having parted ways with your former Fly To The Sky mate Hwanhee. How was the process of creating the concept for the album, and did you face any difficulties during the process?
... Well, there was no real process of creating the concept. I've always enjoyed dancing, and music that made me wanna dance was mostly what I wanted to do with this solo album. I was so excited to work on this album more than the others because I had more creative freedom as a producer for my own work, which I never had before. In the past, I would have to compromise with the label and Hwany and this time around, it was pretty much all up to me, which I can't complain about... haha. The only main difficulty that I faced while working on this album was the thought that people would hate the songs and then I would be hated as a producer. So, while I was picking songs to do and having meetings on which songs to record I was pretty nervous and anxious at the same time.
As many people know, you are one half of legendary R&B duo Fly To The Sky, alongside Hwanhee. You guys have been through many ups and downs in your careers both as a duo and as individual artists. What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career that have helped to shape you into the musician you are today? Do you think you could have done things differently to help keep FTTS going if that had been in the plan?
... The biggest challenges for me were probably trying to get a say in what I wanted to do musically. When you're with a big record label, you have to give up what you want to do pretty much 70% of the time, and I've learned so much from it like, why the label would choose one song to do and not the other, and also what types of songs/genres actually suit my voice, and that really helped me mold myself into who I am today. Well, first off, FTTS is not over. I know a lot of rumors have been going around that we broke up or we fought with eachother and that is all so not true. Hwany and I just wanted to go our different ways as solo artists but we are still going to come together as FTTS in the future and make great songs for our fans.
What was the biggest difference or change if anything, when you and Hwanhee chose the latter in 2004 to sign to PFull Entertainment and not re-sign with SM?
... We both needed to mature quickly with the decision that we made and thus forcing ourselves to grow up in this industry. This is probably the biggest change for the both of us. We literally went from BOYS in S.M. to MEN with Pfull. I'm not saying that we hated S.M. but in life, you wanna try out new things and since there are so many possibilities and choices out there, we both wanted to move on and try something different.
Is there any specific times in your life or anything that is around you on a daily basis that gives you the inspiration and energy needed to write music?
... Just feeling any kind of emotion inspires me to write songs. I could be walking down the street and see an old lady crying and that would put me in a sad mood and whatever melody or lyrics come to my mind, I record on my iphone or BlackBerry.
Can fans expect new material from you anytime soon?
... Oh yeah, I'm not stopping. I know that all these boy bands and girl groups keep popping out but, that just makes me wanna keep striving harder. I wanna do music till I can't sing or get serious stage fright... haha
Is there ANY musician that you would like to do a collaboration with in the future?
... Oh, this is a hard one. I have so many artists that I wanna work with so bad. Like Jay Sean, Rihanna, Beyonce, Lil' Wayne, Will.I.Am, Michael Buble, Matthew West, Steven Curtis Chapman and the list goes on...
Is there any chance of you pursuing a career in acting or music in North America, since you’re originally from the U.S. and you studied film and theatre at Dongguk University in Seoul?
... I wanna pursue a career in any country that wants me to be there, and yes out of all of them, North America is a definite YES. I've always wanted to break out in the States but just never had the luck and connections to.
Are you doing any projects and/or campaigning for anything right now aside from your music career?
... Not at the moment, but if something comes up, I'll be letting everyone know..
(On a side note, Brian was included in the PSAs for the Centre for The Pacific Asian Family, as that organization was involved in a contest with Chase Community Giving)
I imagine you have a lot of music tastes; what do you normally play on your iPod and/or when you’re at home?
... I play a lot of quiet music. Like, when I travel, I always look for Spa music CD's... It's soothing and that's what I play at the house when I just wanna chill and relax, and on my ipod, I've been pretty much listening to Jay Sean, Michael Buble, Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, Mario, Mat Kearney, Straight No Chaser...etc
Who is your closest musician friend, and how did you two meet?
... To be honest, I really don't have one close musician friend. I have a lot of good friends in the business but, I 'm usually just hanging with friends from my Church or my roommate. But, to name a few good friends, Choi Siwon (Super Junior), Bada, and I can't really think right now... hahaha, but we all usually all meet because of shows we've done together.
What do you do in your spare time when you’re not super busy?
... I love watching movies and catching up on TV shows that I never got to watch so I usually rent movies off of my Apply TV or buy Seasons of Shows that I've been wanting to watch for a long time. Also, I go out to the movies, go bowling, go shopping, search for good places to eat, workout, and etc... I pretty much keep myself occupied so it still feels like I'm working when I'm not... haha
Is there anything you’d like to improve on as a musician?
... Of course. I think all musicians or all people in any profession wants to improve in what they do. I always wish I could be a better vocalist, a better dancer, a better over-all performer. I'm not perfect, I'm human.
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 feel as if the music in Korea will be changing drastically in the future, in a good way of course, where people from all over the world will start to recognize what K-pop is all about. I just feel that Korean music is still unknown to the world. And now it's time for Korean artists to shine too, and people need change, that's what makes us all unique. We're not gonna like just one type of music throughout our whole lives, we all like variety, and as for me, I'll be getting more creative as the time goes by...
Do you feel you’ve contributed to the advancement of music in Korea as a solo R&B artist and an FTTS member? And is there anything you’d like to see done in this whole genre of music in Korea?
... Yes, I do feel that I have contributed in a way. I can't say that my music was a stepping stone but, I feel my music had a part of what music is today, as a solo artist and as FTTS. I'd like to see Korean musicians go more international. I know that a lot of artists are doing that now, but I hate how any countries' music is labeled as their countries music. Music to me is universal so why label Korean music or Japanese music just because of the language. Hey, if it's good, it's good...
Do you have any final words for the readers?
... Just that I hope that everyone really has an open mind to all types of music no matter what background you're from. And, I know certain fans and supporters go crazy for just one artist, but I really wish people would be more interested in the music itself. So, you can like more than one artist, because you like the songs... That's how I've been doing it and I'll continue to do it till I die... God bless you all and please, check out my music and just try and like it, hey, you never know, it might grow on ya... haha.
Dang, now I straight up have more respect for Brian after having conducted this inteview. Kamsamnida Brian for fitting this into your schedule, and thanks for reading! :)
J~
Brian Joo
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