Before debuting his first single in 2013, Atlanta-born Eric Nam worked in New York City at a local consulting firm. Scared by the prospect of settling down, he decided to give singing a go. “I kept thinking, Can I be experimental and pursue my passions and dreams? So I took a year off,” he says. When he made it to the top five in one of South Korea’s leading talent shows, he moved to Seoul where he was hailed as one of K-pop’s most promising solo acts. On the phone from his apartment, he explains how a lack of Asian stars in the US brought him to South Korea, and what it means to be a solo K-pop artist in an industry dominated by sharply choreographed groups.

Did you grow up knowing you wanted to become a singer?
I think it’s one of those things you always know you want to be...