Eric Nam was plucked from obscurity after going viral on YouTube and being invited to Seoul to compete on Star Audition: Birth of a Great Star 2 in 2011.

Placing top five on the reality competition, Eric became an instant star, and was soon snapped up by B2M Entertainment as a solo artist.

Fast forward eight years, and Eric has three hit EPs under his belt, as well as a host of singles and collaborations and a successful TV career, and is about to take his tour to Europe for the first time.

But while the 30-year-old cut his teeth in K-pop, that’s not all you can expect from this star.




Speaking to Metro.co.uk, Eric – who was born in Atlanta, Georgia – said: ‘My music is a pretty eclectic mix of ballads and pop-driven dance songs. We have interesting R’n’B sounds with Epik High, and great pop songs with Timbaland. I read some of the reviews, and the general consensus of the concerts has been it’s a rollercoaster of emotions – we start off really high energy, really fun, then we mellow out, then we drive it back up again. For people that don’t know me, I’m a singer songwriter, but I’m also active on TV and in media, so there’s a good amount of banter and interaction that comes with the show.

Eric is taking his tour to Europe for the first time (Picture: Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

‘For the first half of my career, I was very Korean in terms of my music, because that was what I was kind of told I had to be and to do. But I knew, and I still know, that at my core, I’m a pop music guy. I love pop top 40. Three or four years ago, I kinda went “I appreciate the Korean side, but I’m still American”. I wanted to make my own colour as a musician rather than fit into the Korean mould of doing things.

‘And that’s still a struggle – is this too American, is this too pop, is this too sophisticated? But I’d rather challenge that and get people to listen where I’m coming from. That’s why I can tour in all these places – K-pop sells well, but internationally, a lot of people find that when they listen to my music, it has a Western take on it, so it’s not as foreign to them.’

But that doesn’t mean Eric, who debuted in 2013 with his first EP Cloud 9, is shunning K-pop. The star, who was named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in 2017, believes Korean culture has influenced the way he performs and interacts with his fans. K-pop idols appear on weekly music shows, hold regular live streams and are active on social media, meaning Eric’s fans basically know him inside out.

The Hold Me singer told us: ‘A concert is ultimately a place for fans and artists to interact and engage. I think it’s fun to be able to have a dialogue and poke fun at things that are going on in my life. One of the great things about K-pop and K-culture is that in Korea, we’re required to be active on multiple forms of media. Fans are fully involved and aware of what we’re doing on and off stage. Being able to talk about things behind the scenes and our personal lives, perhaps a lot of Western artists aren’t able to do that.’



While K-pop has always had a huge fanbase, the Western world as a whole has sat up and took notice over the past two years, particularly with the rise of BTS – who debuted the same year as Eric. Groups including BLACKPINK and Monsta X have also broke through on the Western charts, and Eric thinks the K-pop explosion has benefited all Korean artists – although hopes the attention soon spreads past the boybands.

‘Generally, K-pop has become a genre of its own, just like we have rock and rap, hip-hop and pop – K-pop has become a thing of its own, which is great. I think it definitely has increased visibility, opened doors and provided opportunities that previously weren’t there, because people are curious about K-pop and want to dive into the deeper layers of it. They’re [BTS, BLACKPINK] doing a great – I don’t want to say service, but they’re helping K-pop as a genre, as a whole.

Eric has collaborated with Timbaland, and reckons he’s pop to the core (Picture: VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

‘Sometimes, what I wish was better – people are obviously drawn to bigger acts and bigger names because that’s what gets the most exposure, but there are so many talented artists and soloists in Korea. I think if people took the time to check out the music, they would fall in love with it. I hope we progress and develop to that stage.’

And as K-pop’s influence continues to progress, we could see Eric return to the stage of The King Of Masked Singer, which he comperted on in 2015 – only this time, could he do battle on Fox’s The Masked Singer?


‘Absolutely! I don’t think they would know who I am,’ Eric laughed. ‘But that would be super fun. It would be really cool to take it back home. That’s one of my dreams and my hope, to be able to do stuff back in the States – I was born and raised there. In many ways, I started in Korea because that door was never opened for us to be able to do that.

‘But with the growth of K-pop as a genre, and the Western media generally being more open to Asian faces, those are slowly becoming real opportunities and possibilities.’

Eric’s European tour kicks off on 4 June in Lisbon, with the I’m OK singer performing two dates at London’s Islington Academy – one of which is already sold out – and Eric is excited for his first gigs in the UK.

‘Every country has a different personality, in terms of how they interact. Japan is more reserved, Thailand is also quieter, then you have the US or Mexico, who are very vocal and excited, they’re always screaming. Korea is a mixed bag, it really depends on the situation that you’re in. But everyone sings along to every song, no matter what country we’re in, they all seem to have learned the Korean lyrics! It’s really cool. I’m looking forward to seeing what the European fans are like.’

And fans who have been following Eric since the beginning will get to see his progression not only as an artist, but as a person.


‘I’ve become much more comfortable in terms of music. When I started, I never had formal training, everything was kind of up to the company and the label. I’ve really taken the reins and decided I want to go a certain direction with a certain sound, a certain visual, let’s move this way because it’s true to who I am as an artist and an individual. That’s been the greatest development over the past few years – to be able to display and portray what I’m feeling. In doing that, I’ve become a lot more comfortable on stage.’

Eric Nam plays O2 Academy Islington on 21 and 22 June. Tickets available here.

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