Today we’d like to introduce you to Yoonha Verse.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I moved to Los Angeles about a year ago to pursue music as a singer-songwriter. It’s been a long time coming, but I’m so happy to be here.
I was born and raised in a small town in South Korea until I moved to another small town in Texas when I was 13. People who know me are always surprised to hear this since they see me as a city girl. I used to dream about moving out of Texas and thriving in cities like New York or LA.
Even though my love for music has always been there, I never saw it as a realistic option and ended up following the traditional path to success. You know, studying hard for good grades to go to a good college then working hard to climb up the corporate ladder. So after attending Princeton, I moved to San Francisco and worked as a digital marketer for a few years. The creative side of marketing was interesting in the beginning, but I couldn’t stop feeling lost and empty inside as time passed. Then one day, my friend and I decided to learn how to produce music together. It was purely for fun in the first year, but we got more serious about it and ended up forming a duo to start releasing music. It’s funny how at the time, I felt too self-conscious to say I could “kinda sing” even though that was secretly my favorite thing to do.
My friend and I eventually made the decision to quit our 9-5 jobs to travel in Southeast Asia for a few months while completely losing ourselves in music. I was so hyped to start this new chapter and move to LA after. But during the trip, my bandmate told me that he changed his mind and was gonna go back to SF to continue working in tech. I felt betrayed and hopeless at first since I didn’t even know anyone in LA, and the thought of moving here alone as a noob scared the shit out of me. Ultimately, my passion for music was too deep for me to let that fear get in the way, so here I am. I’m still constantly figuring out how to navigate the scene but have been loving it here so far. There’s so much creativity in this city, and I can’t wait to keep meeting awesome creative people who inspire me.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s definitely not been easy. Leaving the career I built that offered me a comfortable lifestyle and starting from the bottom all over again was a challenge. Leaving my great community of friends was a challenge. Moving to LA alone and trying to learn my way around was a challenge.
As an independent artist, I have to manage hundred things at once, and making music is only one of them. Since there’s no boss but myself, I really had to learn how to hold myself accountable and get things done. I can’t wait to have an awesome team of people that can hustle together and help each other grow.
Thankfully, as an immigrant, I’m used to dealing with struggles especially when it comes to being thrown into new environments. I don’t like getting complacent, so I kinda enjoy it.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
My music takes influences from genres like R&B, trapsoul, and alternative pop. People have compared my voice to artists like Jhene Aiko, Alina Baraz, and Billie Eilish. I’m a dancer too, so I can’t wait to incorporate that to my music.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am looking forward to this pandemic ending, whenever that might be. Hopefully soon. I love performing and would love to be able to start doing that. I’ve been working on a lot of new music and can feel my exponential growth as an artist, so I can’t wait to share it with the world. I have so many big things I want to accomplish, but for now I’m just gonna keep grinding and enjoy the process.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yoonhaverse/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yoonhaverse
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/c/YoonhaVerse
Image Credit:
Daniel Nguyen, Mattew Romasanta
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