American Idol Season 11 alum, Heejun Han, is getting ready to release his first single, “Bring The Love Back.”
The Hollywood Reporter details how Heejun wooed producers, Kadis & Sean to colaborate with him on the single to be released on the Korean-based Polaris label both here in the US and in Korea.
After the American Idol tour wrapped up last summer, Heejun went back to Korea, where he lived years before he competed on Idol. Finding a record deal didn’t come easy. The first lesson he learned, was that his Idol exposure would only take him so far. He was going to have to hustle.
“I had meetings with 10 labels,” Heejun told THR. “I pursued [Polaris] for three months. They wanted to release my album in Korea but I told them I was confident of being successful in the States. I said, ‘Why don’t you guys fund and support the whole project?’”
After the label execs agreed, it was off to America to work in the studio.
After a long search for a song, Heejun convinced his production team that “Bring the Love Back” would be the perfect single. Heejun describes the Studio City recording studio where the record was cut as “…really, really vintage. It was very small and had no air conditioning. I went into a small boutique booth and sang it not like I’m trying to be a star but I’m just trying to deliver a message to the audience, to the world.” Heejun said, “It was a magical moment when I recorded it.”
The producers wanted a rapper to add vocals and they found Pusha T, an Island Def Jam artist signed to Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music label. Heejun, a big fan, was thrilled. “I love Pusha T. I’ve been a big fan of him since he was in a group called Clipse in New York. That was the anthem back in my day when I was in high school. Every day and every night they would play that song. Back then, I didn’t even speak English and I liked that song. We reached out to him and he said he would do it. He’s been really supportive and cooperative. It’s an honor to have him on the track and here on the set.”
Heejun is on a Korean label and working with a Korean production team, but don’t assume he’ll be jumping on the super popular Korean Pop bandwagon, popularized by Psy and “Gangnam Style.”
“I eat Korean food every day. Trust me, I can’t eat non-Korean food. Deep down inside, I’m most Korean in this Korean world. But I am not a K-Pop singer. I’m an American. I’m an artist who also happens to be Korean.”
Heejun plans to release the single soon, and hopes to follow up with a four song EP. THR interviewed the singer on the set of the “Bring the Love Back” music video. SYTYCD choreographers, Napoleon and Tabitha are in charge of Heejun’s smooth moves. This video could be pretty interesting.
Check out a teaser below.
