On the road to K-Pop stardom: Anthea Wang

Text/Photos: Lee Wei Lin
Video: Tay Yixuan
Additional Photos: Channel M

Seventeen-year-old Anthea Wang may seem like your regular girl-next-door with everyday worries such as her looming GCE ‘O’ levels, but the spunky lass is on a quest for something more than just an ordinary life – Anthea is on her way to becoming a star – a K-Pop star.

Going into the hotly contested K-Pop Star Hunt Season 2 with “no expectations”, the petite lass was “so surprised and honoured” to have been crowned the local winner. What lay ahead for Anthea was even more challenging – to pit her skills against regional winners, including those from Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

With K-Pop talent contests and global auditions heating up, xinmsn delved into Anthea’s journey and picked up a few tips for those who are aiming for the same goal.

One of the most important pieces of advice that Anthea shared was not to try to be a carbon copy of an existing idol – despite drawing inspiration from B.A.P, 2NE1 and Big Bang, she stressed, “I don’t want to copy them or be like them.” Despite going through weeks of rigorous training in Korea, she shared that she has yet to find a distinct flavour she can call her own.

Prior to auditioning for the contest, the plucky girl disclosed that she “went for twice the number of vocal lessons” and also spent three weeks studying the Korean language “so that I could communicate with the staff better”. Despite her tender age, her dedication and perseverance ultimately led her down the path to stardom.