There are two sides to K-pop star Kang Daniel. One moment the 27-year-old will be commanding an audience as he works the stage, performing his latest single “Electric Shock,” and the next he’s in a cozy sweater, seemingly a bit more reserved during a Saturday afternoon Zoom from Seoul with The Hollywood Reporter.
Kang has had some time to figure out what works best for him, as he’s been working in the industry since the age of 20. In 2017, he got his start after winning the second season of Korean music competition show Produce 101, earning him a spot in the show’s temporary boy group Wanna One. After a successful run with the group for a year and a half, the singer decided to launch his solo career. His fans, collectively known now as FLOWD, have been with the performer since day one.
Since then, Kang has had several critically acclaimed albums in Korea. He’s also acted, making his onscreen debut in the 2022 mini-series Rookie Cops, Disney+’s first Korean original series. The K-pop star also hosted the wildly popular Korean dance competition series Street Woman Fighter and its equally popular spinoffs Street Dance Girls Fighter and Street Man Fighter.
Now, the singer is back with a new EP, Act, having signed with a new management company, Artistic Round Alliance, known simply as ARA. He joined the agency after shuttering his self-founded agency Konnect Entertainment due to embezzlement by a major shareholder.
The singer says it “wasn’t so easy” for him to move on from his previous company, but releasing his latest album has almost felt like he was “restarting” and continuing his job as an artist again.
Below, Kang opens up about the process of making his fifth solo album, what a perfect free day looks like for him and what’s next for his music and acting careers.
What was your experience like making Act? How did you feel going through promoting the album?
Being a solo artist, I always need to act for my music videos. This time I played two roles. It was kind of a new experience for me as well. It was a really good time shooting my music video.
Have you had a favorite part of the album release, whether it be shooting the music video, performing or anything else?
The music video. I mean, this is my job. The music video is part of my job, but I feel like it’s something brand new this time.
Do you feel that your own personal journey as an artist and as a person in the world influences your music?
Usually, when I watch movies or drama [series], I think about music too, even though I’m trying not to do my job whenever I have time to relax at home. That is my hobby — watching movies and drama series — and it makes me imagine a lot. Sometimes it’s really helpful to me, that imagination [it] brings to my work. I could say that this kind of influences my music.
How do you recharge? What do you like to do in your free time?
There’s a lot of ways to recharge. Some people workout or watch movies but, for me, just staying in my home… I mean home is everything to me. I’ve got cats in my home. I’ve got my computer in my home. I’ve got TVs in my home. Yeah, just staying at home.
How are your cats? They’re very cute cats.
They’re really cute. They’re always cute. They’re perfect.
Do you have any hopes to act again in the future? Was that something you enjoyed and want to try again?
Maybe. If I get the chance, I’d love to. When I was shooting [Rookie Cops] for the first time, I would feel really nervous. But now I feel comfortable. I can do more stuff.
How do you want to be seen as a performer at this point in your career? Obviously, since you’re so young, it’s funny to say, but you’ve had a long career already. How do you want people to see you? Is it different than it used to be?
Thank you. [Laughs]. Thank you for saying that. I love to be myself on stage and in performances, but for me, rather than being someone’s best singer in their memory, I want to be a singer in their playlist. That [they] listen to my music often. That’s part of my goal.
If you could say something to your fans at this moment in time, what that would be?
To my FLOWD. Unfortunately, I had no choice and I had a situation that unfortunately we changed the fandom name. Even before and even now, I appreciate all my fans. I would like to say thanks for your support all the time. I was able to release this album all because of you, and I’m going to become a cool person so that the direction that I chose doesn’t deviate from your imagination all the time.