mikah reflects on his journey of evolving as a solo artist: “At the end of the day, the music I make is what I hold dear to myself”
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“Every time I work on a new project, I better myself and my writing ability,” mikah expressed in his interview with Bandwagon.
The musical career of mikah is a tapestry of illustrious milestones. Born and raised in Hawaii, his journey began as part of the Japanese boy band, INTERSECTION. In 2021, he showcased formidable talent on the Chinese idol survival reality show, CHUANG 2021, emerging in fourth place, and debuting as a member of C-pop group INTO1, which disbanded in April 2023 due to its project-based nature.
During the show, mikah stood out with performances of ‘Unremitting Love’ and ‘SO SICK’, drawing in views that scaled over 880 million, accounting for more than a third of the total program viewers.
As a former member of various groups, mikah reflects: “Being in a Japanese boy band helped me experience J-pop and then being in a Chinese band helped me experience C-pop. Trying different genres helped me find my own sound to help me find a genre that I really like myself. I'm really happy that I was able to start off in bands before being a solo artist.”
The ‘melancholy song’ act who is now based in Beijing, has since released his EP bleached and is gearing up his new EP due later this year. Following the ripples of his journey, there is no doubt that his artistry is leading him to new and exciting places.
Bandwagon spoke to mikah to talk about his experiences being a guest mentor in CHUANG ASIA Thailand, the formation of his solo career, how he overcame the challenges he has faced, and the (many) milestones he has achieved.
You started your career as part of a group, and now you're a solo artist. How did being in a group help you in your journey as a soloist?
I definitely think that being in two groups helped me ease into the industry, and the process of becoming an artist. If I were to just go from being "a trainee", just a kid to being a solo artist, I'd have too much pressure on me. It helped me understand and learn the industry before I had to take it on myself and I'm really grateful about that.
Besides that, it definitely helped me find my own sound as well. Being in a Japanese boy band helped me experience J-pop and then being in a Chinese band helped me experience C-pop. Trying different genres helped me find my own sound to help me find a genre that I really like myself. I'm really happy that I was able to start off in bands before being a solo artist.
You were a product of CHUANG 2021 and recently participated in CHUANG ASIA THAILAND as a guest mentor. What was that experience like being on the other side of the fence?
I felt really weird being on the other side. When I was on the show and I was looking at all the trainees, I felt really bad for them because it just brought me back to the way that I felt throughout that whole show and when I stood on that stage.
It must be hard to understand what it feels like until you go through that because, over there, you're fighting for your life pretty much for those couple of months and you can't leave that situation, that atmosphere for however many months you're shooting the show. And finally, when you get onto that last stage, everything you did for those couple of months leads to that one day. You can't really understand what that feels like until you go through that.
So seeing those girls on that stage just brought back a bunch of memories and I felt really bad for the girls who didn't make it because even though I debuted, I remember seeing all my friends who didn't stand on that stage with me, a lot of my really good friends. It just brought back a lot of very sad memories too so definitely, seeing that whole scenario playback out was just very surreal.
You've released a number of albums, singles, and even soundtracks throughout the years. What is the most meaningful song that you've written so far? Why does it mean so much to you?
I think that the most meaningful song that I've written so far is one of the songs that will be on my new EP that I'm releasing this year.
Every time I work on a new project, I better myself and my writing ability. And I feel like in the past, it was "melancholy song" but I feel like now, it's the lead song of my new EP where it's not really just talking about love, my sad past and my sad memories, but it's more of me reflecting on my life and reflecting on a bigger concept and I've never really written lyrics about that before.
I feel like I write very good love songs, but I feel like I've never really tried to push myself to write a song that kind of goes beyond love, and I feel like it's more therapeutic and kind of describes a hardship in my life.
Performing is an art form you excel at. What's the most important thing to remember when one is onstage in front of an audience?
I am still definitely learning how to perform on stage. I think for now, I am a much better studio artist and much better artist that writes music than performing on stage. And I am very shy and introverted so sometimes I feel I don't match going on stage. So when I'm on stage, I just try to remember to have fun and remember that everyone who's there watching me is there to enjoy the music. So if you enjoy the music, they will too. If you're scared, they will feel it then they will be scared as well.
What are some challenges you've faced in your career and how did you overcome them?
I face a lot of challenges much like anybody else. This industry can be very hard so even just at the beginning, you face challenges, critics, people who are telling you their opinions, and rejections. No matter what, if you're in this industry, you're judged by other people. You put your product out there and you can't really help but other people give their own opinions and comments.
So even if you do face challenges, be sure to remember why you started doing what you're doing, why you started to pursue music, this career path and you shouldn't really care about what other people say.
When I write music, I write it for myself. Not that I'm saying I am not open to listening to other opinions but at the end of the day, I don't really change anything based on other people's opinions. I do it because I love what I'm doing and I love the sound I'm making. You should just be true to yourself and true to your opinions. And always remember why you started doing what you're doing and don't let other people stop you from pursuing your dreams.
What milestone in your musical journey are you most proud of, and why?
Moving from Hawaii to Japan for music was a big milestone, moving from Japan to China for music was a big milestone, gaining as many listeners as I have after moving to China was definitely a big milestone.
But I feel like it's more of the little things that I want to express when I get asked this kind of a question. At the end of the day, the music I make is what I hold dear to myself. After I wrote "melancholy song", it was a milestone for me to think "wow, I can write a song like this" or when I wrote a new couple tracks for my new EP, "wow, I have progressed a lot in writing music" so whenever I write new music, it is a milestone for me.
What's next for mikah?
It's definitely my new EP that will come out this year. I am super stoked for that, it's a super new sound for me, I'm really excited for it. I'm shooting a music video soon too so I hope everyone likes it.
Check out bleached here.
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