When “Gangnam Style” arrived in the U.S., I interviewed Scooter and PSY, and they both told me that it was important that PSY didn’t change who he was to cater to the U.S. market. Did you have a similar conversation when you signed with Scooter?

Yeah, he definitely respects me already as an artist, and he loves what I’ve been doing. He just wants to bring that out here and balance it out. It’s not like I am going to sing a whole song in Korean like PSY, but I think it’s a good balance. I want to represent Asian women in the right way. He wants to support that.

Some K-pop fans think that to make it here you’ll have to sex up your image.

Well, you know my image when I was in 2NE1. And I’m not going to change that. I’m not against being beautiful or sexy or anything, but it’s just I have this—I don’t know how to say it—but I have this “cool” image that I want to keep.

Everybody is speculating that your U.S. debut means that 2NE1 will break up.

That’s not true! We just finished our tour and everybody gets to take a break now. It’s just I don’t get a break. [Laughs.]

What are your expectations for your solo album?

I feel like it’s all about good music at the end of the day. It’s not like I’m a rookie—I have been doing this for a long time in Asia. It’s just a new market. I have to have good music, so I’m just focusing on that.