Interview Spotlight: Introducing Megan Soo
Singer, actress and content creator extraordinaire, Korean-Trinidadian-Canadian Megan Soo is an up-and-coming artist that should be on everyone’s radar. From featuring in films such as xXx: Return of Xander Cage to releasing her first single featuring a mix of Korean and English, rising artist Megan Soo aims to conquer one dream after another. The Kraze had the wonderful opportunity to sit down and speak with Megan Soo and get to know a little more about her and her work.
J: Well, hello thank you for joining us for an interview, Megan! For everyone who is getting to know you for the very first time, can you please introduce yourself and what you do?
M: Of course! Well thank you so much for having me! First of all, it’s a pleasure. My name is Megan Soo. I am a Canadian multiracial Asian Torontonian, content creator, actress and singer.
J: Just to get to know you a little bit, you recently released a single “Let me love me,” and it's a pop song that has very much summer vibes. Can you tell us a little bit about it?
M: So my single is called “Let me love me.” It's about embracing who you are and specifically, for me, what inspired me to write this was being a mixed artist of Korean and Trinidadian descent. In high school, I felt like I didn't fit in with a certain group of people and I always felt like I was kinda floating in the middle. And that kinda affected me later on, even in acting. I was always subconsciously feeling like I was not good enough for certain roles. I want others to know that it’s okay not to fit in. So that’s how “Let me love me” came to be.
J: So is this the first time you’ve incorporated Korean lyrics into your music?
M: Yes, I thought about it for a really long time, but I wasn’t too sure again with being mixed. I know that I don’t fit the look of a K-pop artist. I just want to be able to open up more opportunities for other mixed artists and even someone who is not Korean. I am super happy with how it's coming into mainstream music and more K-Pop artists are doing collaborations with all these North American artists and I just want to be able to open that up even more.
J: Being a multiracial, what are some things you struggled with in the past but now you've come to embrace about yourself?
M: Similar to what I was saying earlier, I just felt like I never fit in anywhere. It affected me in college just realizing, “Why do I always feel like I'm not good enough for an audition?” or something and just constantly caring like, you do look like this enough or don’t look like that enough and then I started thinking: “Oh I don’t even look like that, so why even bother submitting myself for this audition; Oh I don't fit the description; I don’t look Korean enough so I'm not even going to try.” Then I realized if I keep thinking like that, I'm not going to get anywhere so it took some time to realize that I'm just going to create my own niche and just do it anyway.
J: We LOVE THAT. More about yourself...how did you get into the entertainment industry?
M: It was just two years ago that I started singing. I was in an Asian beauty pageant and there was a performance side to it so we got to work with a vocal coach and I started falling in love with it each week as we had to train. From then on, I started taking vocal lessons after the pageant. So that's how my singing career started. For acting, it was when I was in college during my second year. I saw a background post or background actor posting. I thought, “That’s kind of cool.” I never even thought about acting. I was in school for kinesiology. So I was like, “Sure, let’s try it out.” I submitted myself for this background acting role, which is on xXx with Vin Diesel and I got a call back from the agent that they wanted me to audition for an actual actor role and that’s really rare. Long story short, I got the role and got on set and fell in love. I couldn’t be happier in my life to be working on set, being in front and behind the camera. From then I knew that this is what I was meant to do.
J: You also created Tales. For those who haven’t heard of Tales or your work with it, can you please give people who are reading this interview what it is about and how Tales came to be?
M: With Tales, I did a road trip right out of college after that acting role. I didn’t know what to do with my life anymore. I decided to take a year off and while on the road trip, I started writing from there. I really had no other distractions. Being in a foreign place that you’re not familiar with, you really just focus on what you are doing. I specifically went out to Los Angeles to test out content creating, making YouTube videos and writing. That’s where Tales was born. I wanted to write myself a role. I wasn’t getting a lot of lead roles. I was getting a lot of supporting actress roles, one-liners or “ethnically ambiguous” roles. It’s getting better now but it’s what led me to writing Tales. It turned into a full blown TV series. I raised money for it, pitched it to many production companies, got a budget and shot it last year in the summer. My idea was to incorporate as many multi-racial Asians and people of color, so they have their opportunity for exposure.
J: When you were not only creating Tales (going through the filming process etc.) what were some struggles that you had and overcame?
M: What I learned the most from it was I can’t be too overly friendly with everybody because I don’t want to come off as a pushover. I learned to stand my ground with certain things. Another thing was definitely the amount of work that goes into it. You know it takes a lot, but you really don’t know until you have to do it. For one person, it was definitely too much to do. I wish I brought on another director because acting and directing was very difficult. Watching it back, I was like, “I could have done that many other ways that I might have liked better,” but it was a learning experience for sure.
J: And acting isn’t the only thing you’ve dipped your feet in. You’re also on YouTube and TikTok. You do a lot of things. How do you manage being such a diverse content creator? How do you find the time and space to be on these platforms?
M: I honestly think just with where our world is at right now with all these digital platforms, I feel like ten years ago you could just be an actor and stick to that. As an artist, actor, singer, content creator, whatever you are, you kind of have to dip your toes in a little bit of everything and be comfortable with it because you never know where you’re gonna get thrown at. Ten years ago, or fifteen years ago, we didn’t have this kind of stuff. Now, so many artists and actors can do their own kind of self promotion, whether it's creating short films, skits, monologues, singing. It’s just so many great avenues to get yourself out there. It is very time consuming, but it’s so rewarding because that’s where you meet a lot of people that you can collaborate with and supporters, make cool friendships and relationships with people. And that’s where a lot of the support does come from, where you have these personal interactions with people.
J: How do you avoid burning out? Being so active on different platforms, burnout can happen. So what are some tips or things you do to avoid burnout or refresh yourself?
M: I’ve definitely felt that before. I didn’t realize how much I felt [burnt out] ‘til COVID-19 happened and the world just stopped. After a month of it, I realized how much I was doing and wasn’t taking care of my mental and physical health. The biggest thing for anyone who feels like they are burning out and to prevent it is taking even just one day out of the week for yourself. Set aside a specific time out of the week just for yourself to relax and do whatever you like. I did get burnt out when I was in L.A. and when I got back [to Toronto], I didn’t touch anything for three months straight.
J: Going back to your song, “Let me love me,” this is your first single. Is there any music we can expect from you in the future?
M: Yes! Definitely! I’m currently working on my second single that is most likely going to be released in the new year. I have a cute, little cover remix of a Jay Park [song] that is coming out sometime this year. I’m definitely working on incorporating more Korean and the song is going to be a little more slow and urban. Definitely more music coming out!
J: What made you decide to tackle the Korean music industry and create your take on K-Pop?
M: Mostly what it was, was being mixed and being partially Korean and growing up, listening to K-Pop. When I was in the Miss Asia beauty pageant, I was listening to BTS and did my performance to “Blood Sweat & Tears.” At that time, I thought there was just no way and didn’t think about it because I don’t look anything like a K-Pop artist but I love the performance side. I love how serious they take it. Throughout the years I realized and thought, “Screw it, I’m just going to do what I want to do.” Because there needs to be more multi-racial artists out there doing any genre. I’ve always had a love for K-Pop and it was when I performed, I fell in love with singing. I just wanted to fuse two things that I loved a lot and represented me as well.
J: Who are your favorite Korean artists or soloists and releases that you’ve been listening to as of late?
M: This is hard. I’m going to stick with my top three. Jay Park. I’m literally obsessed with him. He is so talented and OG from day one. I love his song “Dank.” I was blasting it in my car earlier. Another favorite song by him is “Soju.” Aside from Jay Park, I’m a huge BTS fan. I’m part of the ARMY. I love them so much. “Blood Sweat & Tears” is probably my favorite song from them. I haven’t really gotten much into girl groups. I don’t really listen to them. I love BLACKPINK but I honestly dove into that. I’m kind of vibing with ZICO.
J: Who is a group or artist, whether they are Korean or any type of artist, that you would love to collaborate with?
M: I’ve already thought about this! I’ve been meditating, visualizing it, you name it. It would be Jay Park, Diplo, and me. Put them all together! Diplo has the cool dance hall vibes and can do all the EDM stuff and Jay Park is so talented that he can rap, sing, and is amazingly good-looking. Those two artists have been my favorite since forever.
J: What kind of music would you like to create next? What are some genres or sounds that you would like to create next?
M: I would love to implement a bit more of the island feel. My first song was a bit more pop. I want to add things in like a steel pan. I feel like a lot of the music now is starting to get into the island feel and vibe. Which is great! I know Major Lazer has been doing it for a while now. I really want to put that into my music because it’s such a feel-good type of beat and vibe.
J: What is a piece of advice that you would like to tell someone who is wanting to pursue a career in entertainment, music, acting or being on social media platforms as a content creator?
M: My advice would be to just do it. You’re never going to be ready or prepared. You’re gonna plan your butt off for months. Just do it. There are so many things that I’m still planning and I just gotta do it. That’s what has gotten me to where I am today. I was never “ready.” I just dived right into it. I feel like that’s an important thing to keep in mind. If you don’t do it now, you’re going to keep postponing it. We can plan forever. The longer you wait, the more anxious you’re going to get.
J: Last question! What can we expect from you in the near future?
M: I won’t give away too much but I am in two feature films that are currently in production right now. So, keep an eye out for that. We are [in the middle of] filming. And some more YouTube content. Christmas is coming around and I’m very festive! So I have a lot of content coming out. Of course new music is coming out next year!
J: Any last words for our readers?
M: If you are reading this [and gotten this far], thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I really appreciate all the support, everyone that has been talking to me and interviewing. I really appreciate it and we are in such an amazing time in the entertainment industry where the Black Lives Matter movement is happening and people of color are finally getting their voices heard. There are more roles now for people of color. I think it’s amazing. Things like K-Pop too! It’s finally becoming more mainstream in North America and I think that’s great.
On behalf of The Kraze, thank you so much to Megan Soo for taking the time to speak with us. Be sure to keep up with her on social media. Listen to her debut single, “Let me love me” and continue to support Megan Soo!