Jeon Somi on Her Path to ‘Ice Cream’ & Artistic Confidence

At the end of Jeon Somi’s set at KCON LA 2024, the 23-year-old seemed eager to launch into a rare act of K-pop rebellion.

“I don’t know if I’m allowed to do this, but I’m going to do it anyway,” she told the Crypto.com Arena’s thousands of fans with a rush of glee. “I was thinking for a long time if I should do this or not. I don’t know, this is just my personality: I have a comeback soon!” proceeding to spill that her next “summer, festive” single was on its way and led the festival crowd in a call-and-response to tease the track’s ending hook.

With a press release quickly confirming the release of new single “Ice Cream” for August 2nd from THEBLACKLABEL (her record company that boasts K-pop legends like BIGBANG’s Taeyang and BLACKPINK’s Rosè on the roster), Somi’s playful preview may have been a cleverly coordinated media moment but ultimately speaks to the control, vision, and comfortability Somi has spent a decade working towards in the increasingly international K-pop scene.

“It’s a very bright song: it’s ice cream, the summer, it has a real vibe and energy to match,” she says of the latest track, initially considered as a single — and, at one point, a collaboration — in mid-2021 to help launch her first solo album that fall. “But real tea: ‘Ice Cream’ was around the time when I was preparing ‘Dumb Dumb’ and ‘XOXO.’ I was greedy. I really wanted to do all three songs, but health-wise, I couldn’t really match the schedule, so we dropped ‘Ice Cream’ and didn’t do it…but I always thought maybe one day it’ll come out, even if it’s just me.”

An all-English, brassy pop romp, “Ice Cream” has the magic touch of legendary Korean-American producer and THEBLACKLABEL founder Teddy (who’s been behind crossover hits by BIGANG, Sunmi, 2NE1 and BLACKPINK, including the latter’s “Ice Cream” featuring Selena Gomez) as well as Canadian production duo Banx & Ranx, and lyrics written by British pop stars Elle Eyre and Ed Drewett (both of whom have Top 10 hits in the U.K. as singers and songwriters). The accompanying music video stars a peroxide-blonde Somi at the center of a glossy, glitzy, summery scene with a multinational cast of extras and dancers, as well as a special appearance by Korean-drama and Hollywood actor Park Seojun.

The blend of cultures that make up Somi’s “Ice Cream” can also reflect the unique position Somi herself occupies in the Korean music scene.

Born in Ontario, Canada, to a Korean mother and Canadian father of European descent, Jeon Somi (neé Ennik Somi Douma) moved to Seoul, South Korea with her family as an infant. The future star attended school with other international students but has been open about the discrimination she felt in Korea with features like her lighter hair that made her stand out from other kids.

“I am half Canadian, so in Korea, I would always try to go with the darker hair because I didn’t want to look like a foreigner,” Somi reflects on the past during a recent trip to New York. “Going blonde was always my one fear. It’s a very tricky line…so I’ve never imagined myself going blonde, but in the ‘Dumb Dumb’ era, I was like, ‘F-ck it. I am just going to do what I want to do. It’s a bold statement, let’s do it.’ But we just went for it — and I haven’t looked back ever since.”

A career-defining visual moment in the release for “Dumb Dumb” (and what would have been “Ice Cream”), Somi sees it as another step in her journey of continuously learning, earning, and gaining more autonomy in her career.

“I’ve been writing music ever since I came to THEBLACKLABEL,” she says without a hint of pretension. “But I’ve been only releasing a few [self-written songs] because I do have to get confirmation from my producers. I had songs like [2019’s] ‘Out of My Head’ and ‘Watermelon’ [from 2021], but last year I had ‘Pisces,’ ‘Gold Gold Gold,’ and ‘Fxxked Up’ that are really based on my writing so it feels different because it feels like they finally recognize me for my music. I’m just so close with my producers that I kind of don’t feel comfortable with my family being ‘professional’ with me, but this time they really acknowledged me. They said, ‘Oh, everything is good; I think we should put all of your tracks on this album.’ That was very different. In the ‘XOXO’ and ‘Dumb Dumb’ era, I was in a different state: I was confident and ready to show what I liked. As an artist, now I know what I want to show.”

In fact, her 2023 August single, “Fast Forward,” which doubles as a tribute to vogue culture, was inspired by her goals as a performer and travel inspirations from exploring the fashion world further.

“It did take some time for us to get the concept and what we want to project and show,” Somi explains in her unexpectedly low timbre that comes out when describing her musical visions. “I did a lot of self-developing. I also went to my first fashion show in Milan, and after that, everything got together in my head of how to project and how I should do it — getting the looks done, the dance, and everything just happened. I’ve always wanted to do that kind of a concept with the dancers for something very bossy and edgy but simple. It’s, like, effortless.”

The last two years mark a significant shift from how her K-pop career began. In 2015, she was first introduced as a survival-show contestant competing for a spot in the nine-member girl group TWICE. A year later, she reemerged to capture the most votes among 101 K-pop hopefuls to join the sensational but temporary 11-member girl group I.O.I.

“If you’re in a girl group, you really don’t have the chance to write and you don’t know that you have the power to write,” she says of her past experiences. “You just do what they give you, wear what they give you; you don’t really have an option. And I didn’t think that that was weird or anything — it was just a system. But now, I’m working on every project and have a voice for everything.”

Somi adds that being well-known but “a blank canvas” was intriguing to a super-producer like Teddy after he launched THEBLACKLABEL in 2015. Since Somi joined, the company has grown to represent a range of artists, including genre-ranging artists, actors, models, and its first girl group soon. Somi has a touching sense of pride about how she’s seen the label grow.

“I don’t want to be cocky, but I see the ‘Somi power’ in that,” she says. “’Cause I did a lot of promoting. I really love our company and my producers. We’re such a small circle and everything’s very ‘inner circle.’ My fans always say, ‘Stop promoting your company. You’re like the A&R.’ I can’t stop. I love them.”

In a loving and creatively fulfilling environment, Jeon Somi has literally grown up in front of K-pop fans eyes but is now thriving with a recently found, but deservingly earned, confidence as an fully immersed artist. Read on for more with Somi during her latest international visits as well as exclusive photos from her visit to the Empire State Building in New York.

Jeff Benjamin: You’ve prioritized being so involved in your music. Do you read the comments or reviews?

Jeon Somi: I do watch a lot of reaction videos. I think everyone loved “Fast Forward” and that’s not easy, you know? But after seeing all the reactions, I was very happy and satisfied. I watch for my entertainment but also out of curiosity because I’m always open for feedback — and some people do get a little bit mean sometimes — but I take it as their generous opinion. I try to capture all feedback, I watch everything.

Benjamin: Speaking of watching videos, I saw you duet with artificial intelligence cover videos of “you” singing other artist’s songs. It looked like you did it in good fun, but what are your feelings about AI-created music?

Somi: Honestly, it’s kind of freaky. But also, I sound better, and that’s why I wanted to just sing in person to win against the AI, basically. Like, “Yo, you lost—this is the better version!” It is interesting and fun, but I hope it ends at the fun level. I hope they don’t get better because that’s creepy. When we love an artist and are waiting for their album or new music, AI things like this can mess up the vibe. Hearing their voice in other songs gives listeners something else in the meantime, and I don’t think that’s good for the artists or the fans. At some point, fans could be satisfied just with the AI covers, but I don’t think that’s healthy for the artist or the fans.

Benjamin: I’ve always felt like Jeon Somi is the social butterfly of K-pop. Are you the kind of person who reaches out or do people hit you up?

Somi: Yeah, a lot of people call me that. I think I’m mostly the one who reaches out. And I don’t get sad if they reject because of their schedule — I’m just like, ‘Okay, I’ll ask you another time.’ I’m cool about it and I think that’s why they don’t feel the pressure to say “No” to me a lot of times. I’ve been in this industry for eight years so I kind of know everyone. I don’t know the “new fourth gens,” but I know a few. I know a lot of the oldies, the old groups from like 2 or 2.5 Generation — but I’m also considered one of the “oldies” and I’m like 23!

Benjamin: Anyone K-pop artists people might be surprised you’re friendly with?

Somi: I think people were really surprised when they found out that I knew BTS. People kind of went crazy over that; they’re so nice. Amazing guys.

Benjamin: So, what’s next?

Somi: The company doesn’t know this yet, but there’s something that I want to try for my next release. There’s something that I have in mind that I have not shared with my people yet, but after sharing that, I think that might come to life. But last year was the first time in New York, which started Somi’s international promotions, so please look forward to that, what countries I might visit next, and also my next song that I’m only picturing in my head at the moment.