Thai K-pop idol: Nathamon 'Nutty' Kongjak (with videos)

"My position in Korea is a Korean artist with Thai nationality..I sing in Korean even though I'm still learning how to speak Korean properly. Everything happened so fast." Check out "Power Of Nutty" just released in Korea.

MUSIC

Uploading the Korean dream

From humble beginnings on social media, Nathamon 'Nutty' Kongjak is the latest Thai star to become a K-pop idol
27/03/2015
Onsiri Pravattiyagul

Nathamon "Nutty" Kongjak is a net idol with 3 million followers and a budding artist who has just released an album in Korea: Power Of Nutty...

...Nathamon's internet fame caught the attention of Korean production company Dream Cinema, who put her on the Korean star map.

Power Of Nutty was recorded and produced entirely in Korea, and is only available in the Land of Kimchi.

The lead single, So What?, is now making the rounds in Korea and Thailand, but there is also a Thai version of the song, which Nathamon wrote the lyrics for.

"My position in Korea is a Korean artist with Thai nationality. All the album was produced in Korea, and I sing in Korean even though I'm still learning how to speak Korean properly. Everything happened so fast. I still can't believe it," she said.

Born to singer parents, Nathamon grew up with music. She learned to sing many songs and melodies when she was young and her parents... enrolled her in dance classes when she was just nine years old.... she also enjoys playing the ukulele and guitar.

Her internet fame began simply enough: she simply wanted to record herself singing and dancing to popular songs of the time....

"I wasn't trying to be popular. But then people started sharing my clips, and more people started to follow. It grew from there.

"I think part of my popularity might stem from the fact that I take requests from followers as they often suggest what songs or dance moves I should do.

"The beauty tips also started with fans, as they began to question how to do the hair and make-up I had in my clips," she said.

Nathamon... covers all kinds of music from whichever countries her followers want to hear. As expected though, the majority of requests are of Korean pop songs, which usually come with prepackaged dance moves.

Thanks to her natural ability to pick up lyrics and dance moves quickly, Nathamon's covers of K-pop hits are very popular.

"I guess I'm one of the lucky ones as I don't seem to attract many haters like some net idols do," she observed... 

Her ability soon caught the attention of Dream Cinema for the K Festival last year, a huge showcase for the biggest and best K-pop stars. Last year, superstar Jirayu "James" Tungsrisook and Nathamon were chosen from Thailand.

"They were looking for a new face, and I was lucky to be chosen. They knew I could learn a Korean song very fast, so they put their trust in me. It was nerve-racking at first, but I think everything turned out fine," she said.

It actually turned out to be more than fine and Nathamon was asked to stay in Korea for six more months to record her mini album. ... She returned home last December.

During her six months in Korea, Nathamon said she has learned more than she could ever imagine.

"I had a minder/manager with me all the time. The work ethics there are very tough. They are very strict with everything, including times. The practice hours are long and hard. Discipline is key. They wanted me to lose a couple of kilos, so they would prepare meals for me, and I found that the hardest. It was very difficult for me when it came to food. But I got through it all," she said.

"...there were talks that maybe Nathamon should stick around to receive further training ...but by that point she had started to find it too hard to cope with the extreme cold weather. So we decided that I would be based in Thailand. Honestly speaking, I don't want to be a full Korean artist. I don't want to relocate. My family and friends are here in Thailand, and there are many more things I want to explore here. I think it'll work out for me to work in both countries," she said.

Asked how her first single is doing in Korea, Nathamon said it made it to one of the music charts there...

...Nathamon is currently looking to diversify her talents with the help of Dream Cinema and so is kept rather busy. As well as waiting to shoot her second music video, Nathamon is also studying acting at Rangsit University, and continuing to please her online fans with regular clips. 

"I never thought I would be able to do what I'm doing now. It seems so unreal at times. I was just a girl who loved to sing and dance. Well, I am still that girl, but now I can do so many other things now. That makes me very happy." [Read the full article here]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/lifestyle/music/510067/uploading-the-korean-dream

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