- Last year, you represented Bulgaria at the Eurovision Song Contest. At the time, many K-pop fans in Bulgaria and also Europe found your style similar to K-pop’s. Did you seek inspiration from Korean music at the time?

I never referred to Korean fashion during Eurovision. I just wanted to present a clean and futuristic yet vivid look, that’s it.

- In May this year, you did a cover of the BTS hit “Serendipity“ and posted it on your YouTube channel. Was it hard to remember the Korean lyrics? 

 
It was actually easier than I thought. I find Korean very melodic as a language that just flows. I hope to learn it one day. Hopefully, I will have time to do so in the future.

- Why did you pick that BTS song?

I chose "Serendipity" because it’s my favorite song of BTS, my favorite K-pop band. So it was an easy choice.

- Are you planning more K-pop covers?

Yes, I definitely am. I moved to Vienna a little while ago so I’m getting used to here, but once I’m done with my room interior and music setup, I’ll get back to YouTube.

- So as part of the Army fandom event on Oct. 10, you shared on your Instagram account that you were in London for the BTS concert. How did the concert go and what did you like the most?

Oh, it's a really long story. It started in May and ended with the concert. To make a long story short, I couldn’t get into the concert. I waited in line for more than 16 hours with my friends to get stage-side seats. I can honestly say I'll never do that again and I don't recommend others doing it because if you sleep outside like we did, you can get sick because it’s really cold. It's fun to be with your friends and have a good time but it's definitely not good for your health. I honestly think that it doesn't matter whether you have seats by the stage or in the last row -- you can still enjoy the concert. And even after waiting 16 hours, I found out that my ticket was fake. I made a YouTube video about this experience and hope it’ll help others avoid a situation like that.

- As an artist who is gaining more attention, how do you get closer to your fans? Do they have a name like the fans of K-pop acts do?

I don’t like calling #TeamKris "fans." We’re friends. Period. We’re a community that loves music, kindness, art and love. They basically know everything about me. I never lie to them and if I have something to say, they know that I’ll tell them everything. And I listen to them, too. They share their stories, thoughts and worries with me, and if I can help them with something, I always try.

- So just like your favorite K-pop group, you want to inspire people to be who they are and love themselves?

Yes, my eventual goal is to make people believe in themselves and their dreams. As a child, I was always told that I couldn’t sing and never would be able to because of my vocal chords. I had a condition in which my vocal chords just wouldn’t connect, and that meant they couldn’t produce any sound. But I never gave up and constantly trained and tried to become a better singer. And look at me now, I travel the world, meet different people and make my dreams come true as a singer. So everything is possible if you believe in your dream and work hard for it .

wisdom117@korea.kr

* This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.