HOHYUN performs his first headliner show in Los Angeles

by Ethan Vovan

During a warm summer night on June 18 in Downtown Los Angeles, eager fans were given an exhilarating and moving performance by Korean American artist Jason “HOHYUN” Lee, performing his first-ever headliner show at the Moroccan Lounge. With support from (and a slow dance with) his girlfriend on stage, and a beautiful opening act by Micah Yoo, Lee enthralled fans with the first live performance of his debut album “DRAMA” — a deeply personal anthology of his life and experiences as an artist. Rice & Spice caught up with Lee to discuss the emotional night, the serendipity behind his recent debut album, and what it means to be an artist within and beyond the Asian American community.

Congratulations on your first-ever headliner show! What was your favorite part about it? 

My favorite part was just being able to connect with my audience for the first time. I got to meet my fans in person and really connect with them on stage, and it was really cool to get to sing some of the songs that I've never gotten to sing live yet because I just released an entire full-length album. To get to share that with my audience was something really special. And I feel like it's gonna be really hard to recreate some of the emotions of this first show because of how special it was. It's awesome.

Can you comment a little on the raw emotions of being on stage as the headliner?

It felt surreal. I've performed before on stages that weren't my own, I've opened for friends or done a little festival here or performed for a college there. But this is the first time where everyone came out to see me specifically — my fans, my friends, everyone who supports me. I was able to express everything to those people directly, knowing that everyone was there to support me. It was a completely different feeling, and it was really special because I had never felt that before. Honestly, before going on stage, I was very anxious, and I was just not feeling ready to perform. But as soon as I hit the stage, everything just kind of went away. I feel like somebody took over, and I just really connected with the audience.

You’ve recently released your debut album, DRAMA. How did the process of creating it make you feel throughout?

It was kind of spontaneous, so it was really fun to watch it piece itself together. And it was really fulfilling to me to be able to say some of the things that I've wanted to say in a project that I haven't been able to in a smaller EP. Since it's a full-length album, I was able to articulate more of a story and a narrative throughout. I was in Korea at the time writing and recording the album, [even though] half the songs had already been released. But piecing it together was probably some of the most fulfilling times in my creative career. And once I came back, that's when all the hard work with the mixing and the mastering, all the logistics of putting together an album started. Since I'm an independent artist, it was definitely very stressful. A lot of work went into making sure everything came together correctly. But I think in the end, it was definitely very fulfilling when it came out and I was able to present it to the audience and all of my friends.

Five to ten years from now, where are you?

Ten years from now, I hope to be selling out stadiums, that would be the goal. And really connecting with a much larger audience. I want to transcend culture. Right now, I'm in this Asian space, which I'm very grateful for as an Asian American to be able to connect with my peers and people who understand me from the culture that I grew up in. But I also hope that in the future, I can really connect outside of my culture, because I feel like a lot of the emotions and feelings that I express are not limited to any specific ethnicity. And so I hope that in five to ten years, I could reach a much larger audience that's transcending just one culture. 

What are your thoughts about being in the Asian American space as an artist? And with all the trends and tropes permeating through social media and the cultural landscape, how do you stay true and authentic to yourself and your art?

I think [being in] the Asian American community is a great way to connect with culture and have representation. I feel like there's a lot of things that we weren't able to talk about the past, just because we weren't given the platform. And I think, now that we have this platform for ourselves, whether or not it's shared with the rest of the world, I don't think matters as much because at least we have this space for ourselves now. And I think that's really great. But I do think it can be limiting sometimes if an artist is trying to express something outside of a culture, that it can be kind of boxed in not just by us, but by the rest of the world, because they see it as “Oh, that's their thing.” But I think as we move forward, we can learn to embrace our own culture, but also share it with the rest of the world and hope that the rest of the world will be as receptive as we've been to our own culture. 

It's also really easy to get boxed into certain types of content, especially if you're an Asian musician. There's those stereotypes of liking boba, or playing Valorant, those types of clichés, and it's very easy to fall into that. But I try to just present myself as authentically as I can, because I don't personally identify with that culture that much. I didn't grow up in SoCal, I never really experienced those things growing up, so I just try to express myself in the ways that make sense to me. What I'm trying to do is pave my own path and really make a distinct voice for myself in this space so that I can have more longevity and connect more deeply with people who can relate to the same things, not just because it's within a trend or because it’s something familiar to someone.

HOHYUN’s brand-new single, “TODAY,” was released on June 21 on all streaming platforms. It is part of the upcoming deluxe version of his debut album, “DRAMA - Epilogue,” which will be released later this year. He is also working on hopefully having a tour within the next year.

Opener Micah Yoo