There are K-Pop fans across the globe who share the same passion. But on online platforms, it is hard to know about each other’s stories and K-Pop life. Even if we are in the same fandom, it is hard to get to know each other. So at Kpopmap, we started the Kpopmap Fan Interview Project to get to know more about K-Pop fans from different countries: more about their K-Pop life and tastes and to give them the opportunity to share with our readers about their favorite group(s) and bias. Eri from the US is the next fan to answer our questions. She is a fan of Kang Daniel! Check out how she entered the fandom, the songs and content she advises to new fans, and much more! Can you introduce yourself? Where are you from? Hello, I’m Eri, a DANITY from the US. How and when did you enter the fandom? It was actually fairly recently, around May of this year. I had heard of him before, but didn’t know much about him, I went on a run and decided to listen to more of Kang Daniel’s songs, as I was curious about his discography, and I found that I enjoyed his music a lot. After I saw a few videos of him, I became more interested in being part of the fandom. It’s exciting for me, as I don’t usually stan solo artists, mainly groups, but he’s definitely becoming one of my favorite artists to date. What are the reasons why you love your favorite artist? There’s too many! First of all, I appreciate how he tries to express a variety of themes and messages within his songs, which his “Color” trilogy encapsulates perfectly—the 3 EPs are distinct from each other in the overall feeling they evoke from the listener. Some songs are playful, others dark. Personally, “Yellow” would be my favorite of the trilogy, because it’s there where he shows a lot of courage and vulnerability in telling his story and the struggles that he overcame, and I respect him for doing that. In essence, he’s a great storyteller who continues to try new genres and grow with each release he puts out. Another reason why I love him so much is that in watching his content, I found more common ground with him than I expected and I feel like I can relate to him a lot. We both love EDM, hate insects, can’t really play any of the “ball” sports, are homebodies, and are passionate dancers (credit to his 3-minute speed interview with Buzzfeed for a lot of these facts!). To talk even more about his dancing, I enjoyed watching any clips or compilations of Daniel’s b-boy moves, and since I don’t do breakdancing, I found his skills even more astonishing and cool. He’s definitely made for the stage! There are definitely other things I could talk about, like the fact that he established his own company (KONNECT Entertainment), his infectious laugh, or how he cares for his 4 adorable cats, but I’m sure you’ll discover many reasons to love him when you delve into his content. Can you recommend a title track and a B-side track for new fans? For a title track, I’d recommend ‘Upside Down’, an easy-to-listen song relatable for anyone who feels like things just aren’t going right for them. For a B-side, I’d recommend ‘Save U’, which features Korean rapper Wonstein. It’s an encouraging reminder that we don’t have to face our challenges by ourselves. To me, you’ll get a fuller experience if you listen to an album straight through, so I recommend checking the albums those came from too! Can you recommend a fancam, V Live, cover video, cover dance, or individual content video of your bias to our readers? Watch “DaniTV”. It’s a lot of behind-the-scenes footage and a good series to get to know him more. A performance video I really liked from him is his performance of ‘Antidote’ from the “Recording Academy” / Grammy’s YouTube channel. The arrangement was neat and as usual, Daniel performs with a passion. Can you share with us one of your favorite lyrics? “차가운 어둠이 널 외롭게 가두면 (When the cold darkness traps you alone) I’ll be there to Save U.” What type of concept do you prefer: cute, dark, sexy, etc? I prefer dark concepts, but I’m open to any as long as they’re executed well. I think Kang Daniel’s done many concepts well, and so I’ll just say I appreciate them all in the end. Can you describe your bias in only one word? Charming—he’s extremely easy to fall for. For me, my bias is my: Happiness. If you could spend the day with them, what would you want to do together? I definitely want a dance class from him someday! He’d be such an entertaining teacher that I’d probably spend a lot of time joking around with him too. Whatever we do, it’s sure to be fun. If your bias were to collab with another idol, who do you think would be best? I’d like a collaboration with members of THE BOYZ. I feel like they’d have a strong synergy with each other—a soloist and a large group, both with such a varied discography, would be an interesting combination. Are there any words from the artist you would like to share? “It’s important that you open up yourself. If you close up your heart, it’s just so hard to overcome it by yourself.” What is your bias’ influence on your daily life? I have a lot to thank him for. I’m a dancer who’s done ballet for a while, but seeing Daniel’s breakdancing makes me want to expand my horizons and try new styles of dance. His confidence while he dances inspires me a lot too! I also am encouraged by his willingness to talk about mental health and dealing with struggles (which is not usually easy), like in the answer to the above question, and it helps me deal with some of my mental slumps. When I listen to his music, read his words or even just watch him laugh, I don’t feel like I’m alone, and it brightens my day. Eri’s message for Kang Daniel: Even though I haven’t been a fan of you for a long time, I’m very glad I found you when I needed it most in my life. I hope you continue to stay humble as you are now, and that many opportunities will come to you. And if there’s ever a tour in the future, you’ll likely find me there, trying to dance to your songs. Thank you for answering our questions, Eri. If you are interested in joining Kpopmap Fan Interview Project, please get in touch with us at [email protected] Everyone is welcome to participate.
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