Megan boasts an impressive fan base online through her social media accounts on Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter, but at one point had a thriving career as a pop idol in South Korea signed to both SoulShop Entertainment and LOEN Entertainment. Her experiences in both facets of the music industry have given her a unique perspective and outlook on the industry itself.�
We had the chance to speak to Megan Lee and talk to her about her newest collaboration 'Young & Broken' with No Riddim, her identity as an Asian-American, how she got started in the industry, and much more!
AKP: Tell us a little more about yourself as an individual and artist! Where did you start off and how did you�get to where you are now?�
Megan Lee: I grew up singing around the house and at church as a child. I always loved to perform! I started acting at the age of ten when I got my first agent and at 14, I started to post covers on my YouTube channel. From then, I learned to write songs to tell stories and to express myself, which I finally get to showcase to my fans and the rest of the world.�
AKP: What has been your favorite aspect of your musical journey as an artist?
Megan: My favorite part of my musical journey is the discovery of my love for writing. I remember I was once so hesitant about my writing abilities, but now I learned to just let go, challenge myself artistically and grow.�
AKP:�As an Asian-American artist who has broken into the music industry on a global scale, what are the�biggest challenges you face?
Megan:� Getting listeners and labels to really listen to my music and view me as the artist that I am, past my ethnicity, is the biggest challenge. I've been told people are always surprised to hear my voice for the first time, coming from such a small Asian girl, and I would like to continue to break the mold for Asian Americans in the mainstream.
AKP: Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
Megan: I love Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, Jon Bellion, Tori Kelly, Emili Sande and so much more. I also am a huge fan of Zion T!
AKP:�Your YouTube is filled with amazing covers of tons of spectacular artists like Charlie Pluth, Ed Sheeran,�Adele and more. Which covers were your favorite to work on and are there any covers we can expect in the near future?
Megan: My favorite cover was actually my most recent medley cover of BlackPink songs! It was so fun to incorporate dance into my videos, which many of my fans have not seen aside from my show, Make It Pop. I definitely want to continue covering my favorite artists in the future, as well as K-pop.�
AKP: Speaking of Make It Pop, do you plan on pursuing acting further or focusing
on music for the meantime?
Megan: I always planned on pursuing acting as I did when I was 10 years old. It is my passion! However, music is equally something I love and happens to be more accessible during my free time as an actor, as it [acting] can be very slow at times. I can sing and write when I'm not on set or have auditions!
AKP: Now switching gears to your recent original work, you wrote Young & Broken in collaboration with up-and-coming EDM trio No Riddim. What was it like
working with them and lending your voice to such a melodic track? Can you tell AKP a little bit more about�the collaboration process? Who wrote what?
Megan: I wrote Young & Broken originally for another artist actually! I had the idea of being a young person/artist in a world that is corrupted and having the newly discovered power to change the world in a positive way. However, even with having really good feedback from the artists I pitched the song to, I ended up keeping the song for myself as my friends from Far East Movement helped connect me to No Riddim. They created a whole track to my song and I'm happy to have worked with them!
AKP: Wow! The concept for the song is really uplifting! We'd love to hear more about the music making process for Young & Broken. Was it difficult to write and perform on?
Megan: It wasn't much of a difficult song to write; however, it did make me think. I wanted to make sure my message to my audience was clear enough to understand and still have a poetic, artistic expression.
AKP:�What's the biggest difference between this track and the ones you have released prior? In what ways do you think your goals as a songwriter and artist have evolved since your start?
Megan: Young & Broken is my first ever EDM release and I'm thrilled to enter a new world with this song. I have gone into EDM ever since I started filming my show, Make It Pop, in which most of the music featured on the show throughout the season is actually EDM-inspired. I have definitely grown and evolved as an artist with the way I write and perform on stage. Through experiences in the music industry and even life experiences, I tried to take every opportunity to learn so that I can become a better artist. My goals have always been to write music that can touch peoples' hearts and I continue to grow and learn to do that. I am also learning to write in as many different genres and styles as I can.
AKP:�The visuals for the Young & Broken music video were stunning, could you explain the concept for the video a bit more? Did you film it in Los Angeles?
Megan: I got to give the visual credits to my boys at Life Thru Frames. They are the bomb. We went around downtown LA at night to portray living in a dark, busy, hectic world. As a young person in the entertainment industry, it can be very challenging. So, I wrote this song to send a positive message that anyone has the power to change the world.
AKP:� What platforms can fans use to listen to the track?
Megan: You can listen to the song on iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud, Youtube, and other major streaming sites!
AKP:�What can we expect for the rest of 2017 from Megan Lee -- collaborations, singles, acting roles?
Megan:�I'm working on a show that, unfortunately, I cannot talk about yet, but I do have more EDM collaborations and my own singles that will come out towards the end of this year! I am going to hopefully release an EP or album sometime in 2018! Keep an eye out for my collaborations with some Korean artists in a few domestic releases this year as well.
Follow Megan Lee on Twitter, YouTube,�Soundcloud, and Instagram!�
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