Park Dahye is The Queen Of Covers: She Slays With KPop Demon Hunters And MAKTUB
Photo: 박다혜dahye (@o_dahye_o)/YouTube
Chances are you have heard Park Dahye’s stunning rendition of “Golden,” the popular song from KPop Demon Hunters. But did you know she’s absolutely been slaying with a whole lot of other covers on social media, the latest one being a collaboration with MAKTUB on his recent hit ballad, “Starting With You”? Well, sit tight, because you’re about to be blown away by her incredible vocal skills.
Let’s start with her latest single, “Starting With You : ♡” (시작의 아이 ❍ ハジマリのコ), which was released on August 10 on all streaming platforms. Park Dahye (박다혜) had been announcing it for some time in a series of videos in which she appeared beside MAKTUB (마크툽), the artist who originated the heartfelt, sweeping ballad and on whose YouTube channel we can see the official music video for this latest version, entirely sung by the female artist.
MAKTUB is known for his incredible vocal range allowing him to hit the highest of notes, so the pairing with Park Dahye is a total match made in heaven, as evidenced by the clip above. If you’re curious on how the two super powerful singers compare, here you can find MAKTUB’s original version, released earlier this year. Fun fact: it seems like the collaboration between the two might have stemmed from one of Park Dahye's cover videos on her social media, which caught the attention of MAKTUB. Dahye had been uploading several clips of herself singing the song, both in Korean and even a multilingual version in eight different languages. It was bound to pique his interest!
Park Dahye: A closer look
Born in 1997, Park Da Hye started off as a model, seeking fame already at 13 and finding it only two years later, after some gigs for GMarket. At 17 (in 2013), after seeing her fellow fitting model unnies making money as streamers, Park Dahye debuted in internet broadcasting and streamed for about six months. At a friend’s suggestion, she auditioned for SBS’ K-Pop Star Season 3 (K팝스타 시즌3), but was eliminated during the finals. Still, participating in the show eventually led her to join Facebook, after foreign contestants she met on K-Pop Star wanted to follow her. As the show aired on TV and her popularity rose, she naturally became a Facebook star (“Pae-book star”, “페북스타”). She later joined a Facebook MCN (multi-channel network) of fellow Facebook celebrities, which led to more opportunities in modeling and advertising. Then in January 2016, Park Dahye appeared on the Mnet/tvN program I Can See Your Voice (“너의 목소리가 보여”).
She kept a stable presence on all major social media platforms. She even released EPs and singles, but it’s only with her covers of famous songs that she started going viral in the last year or so.
The coolest covers from East to West
Browsing Park Dahye’s Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube profiles is a bit of a black hole. There are lots of short videos where she sings Western pop hits or Korean chart toppers but the most entertaining thing is seeing her trying to fit the literal Korean translation of English songs (and vice versa) within the metric of each verse. While doing so, she showcases a vocal range that can reach the highest pitches with apparent ease.
Here you can see her trying to sing the literal Korean translation of “Love on Top” by Beyoncé at a supersonic speed.
If you keep searching, you’ll also find the super funny and impressive renditions of “APT.” by Rosé & Bruno Mars, or “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele, or even “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, but sung in seven different languages.
The KPop Demon Hunters craze
By now, you probably know Park Dahye’s style; she tackles the most famous and viral songs — sometimes adding her own funny twist, other times delivering them with all the power of her vocal skills — and she chose the latter approach when taking on the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack. The first song to be covered was, of course, “Golden.”
Soon after that cover, she wowed audiences with her performance with Sooni Group and internet celebrity Namsoon on their YouTube channel.
But maybe the most noteworthy rendition of “Golden” was the duet she did with Ahn Junheon (안준헌), the leader of a musical group called Zamgolbers (잠골버스). Not many had heard of Ahn Junheon before, but after listening to his voice, reaching notes so high, we wonder how he got there without an oxygen mask. And now it’s hard to believe anyone could keep sleeping on him.
And in case you were wondering, Park Dahye also had her fun with “Soda Pop” and “Your Idol”, both sung in Korean. Hop over to her profiles if you want to see how she fared. Spoiler: she NAILED those songs too!
Edited by Sandy Ou