Min reflects on K-pop journey, Broadway, and latest album

If you’re a true fan of K-pop, you know Min. Looking back at her nearly decade-plus career, Min says she always knew K-pop was going to become a genre loved by people globally, calling K-pop animated and choreography based, something that still attracts new fans today.

SEATTLE - If you’re a true fan of K-pop, you know Min.

Debuting in 2010 in the JYP Entertainment girl group miss A, she skyrocketed to fame alongside her three members with the hit debut track, "Bad Girl, Good Girl."

The song was an immediate hit and has become a classic song in the world of K-pop with groups still covering it years later.

With the rise of YouTube at the time, K-pop was becoming more popular in the United States.

Looking back, Min says she always knew K-pop was going to become a genre loved by people globally, calling K-pop animated and choreography based, something that still attracts new fans today.

"I always thought it would be something phenomenal, and an amazingly big genre, and I'm very happy that K-Pop is a global phenomenon," she says.

Throughout her career with miss A, she was able to see the growth of K-pop and the rise of groups still active today.

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While miss A disbanded in 2017, that wasn’t the end of Min’s music career.

Like a lot of idols, she started preparing for her solo career, but needed to take a break first after years in the industry.

"I took about a two or three year break and I started doing music again because, I know it sounds cliché, but I found my passion again. You know, like when you're doing something for so long and you feel like even if you love it so much, if it becomes your career or your work, then, you know, you get into that routine and I feel like it’s very easy to get stuck in that mindset," she says.

When she returned to music, she released songs like "Onion," a song talking about the different layers of herself.

Now in 2024, she has released her EP titled, "Prime Time," and the title track of the same name shows off the performance abilities she became known for in miss A.

"I just wanted to encourage people and say life is sometimes hard," said Min. "I would just want to say, ‘Look, don't give up because I am with you, and you're not alone, and you don't have to answer to anyone, just be yourself, and this is your prime time.’"

While "Prime Time" is a choreography-driven track, she also shows off her vocals in the track "M.A.W," the catchy melodies of "SHIMMY," and gives fans a special track in "HAPPY PLANT (A call from Grandma)," which is a one-minute phone call recorded with her grandmother, whom she was raised by.

"I was thinking about my whole journey and my career, my life and, you know," said Min. "Everything kind of came from my grandma, because I was brought up by my grandma and she is my number one fan, and I think my whole journey was affected by her."

That journey would also take her to Broadway, starring in KPOP in 2022, alongside other colleagues from the industry.

"I was on the Broadway stage singing every day, eight shows a week. And I'm just meeting all this new audience every day. That just got me thinking, like, ‘Wow, K-Pop has become so big,’" she says.

While it didn’t have the longevity on Broadway that fans would've liked, that opportunity took Min to New York, where she currently lives and is working on her music.

For her "Prime Time" album, she collaborated with artist Lil Cherry for the title track, but she is now looking forward to featuring a few others.

"I live in New York City and there's so many great artists, right? So I don't have one specific answer to collaborate with, but I am searching for New York artists," she says.

While she couldn’t give FOX 13 News many details on what is next, she says fans will have to stick around to see.

Whatever Min does, however, will certainly add to the iconic legacy she has made in the industry since 2010.