cover story

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cover story ✦

After spending his formative years navigating the K-pop world’s relentless grind, 19-year-old Daniel Kim—known as kyu—steps into the spotlight with his thrilling solo debut, “tempo.” This is finally his time, and it feels electric.

Photography: Oscar Tam | Cover: Laramie Cheyenne

Sonically, 'tempo' pulses with a magnetic blend of R&B charm and electronic flair—a cocktail that feels masterfully balanced. It’s the sound of an artist breaking free, a liberation that kyu traces back to childhood. “This [career path] was actually a decision I made a long time ago,” he reveals with conviction.

“My dad showed me a Michael Jackson live video when I was a baby, and I remember thinking, ‘Damn… I gotta be a rockstar.’ I didn’t even fully understand what that meant at the time, but I knew I wanted to perform. I wanted to make my own music. I wanted to be a solo artist.” That spark, planted before he could even articulate it, grew into a fire that no amount of industry pressure could snuff out. “Now that it’s finally happening, it doesn’t even feel like a decision anymore,” he adds. “I think it was just meant to be. Twelve-year-old me would be proud.”

When asked how he landed on "tempo"’s distinctive sonic landscape, kyu keeps it disarmingly simple: “Honestly, I just picked this song because I liked it. R&B, hip-hop, electronic—those are my favorite genres.” Reiterating his thirst for artistic exploration, he continues, “But at the same time, I don’t think there’s any specific genre for my music. I don’t really care about fitting into a box.” And, for him, creativity is all about embracing one’s instincts. “Whenever I’m in the circumstances of making art, I don’t wanna make any limitations,” he explains. “I just go for whatever feels right in the moment.”

Inspiration doesn’t come from a checklist of influences either; it’s more elemental. “It’s life. Just living,” he says. “Every day is a gift from God, and you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. If you’re present, you can catch something new at any moment. And if you’re really thankful for what you have right now, I think good things come without trying.”

Despite being his first solo outing (with over a million streams so far), kyu didn’t craft "tempo" with a global audience in mind, making its popularity even more organic. “I just made something I thought was good,” the singer reveals—but its raw honesty and genre-defying pulse give it a universal pull. kyu elaborates, “I do think it’ll connect with people who are into good music with raw lyrics.”

Still, "tempo" is just the opening chapter of a broader narrative. kyu describes his upcoming album as something that’s “really just about me being me and finding my sound.” He paints it vividly: “It’s like a movie, where each track is a different scene. Every song has its own vibe, its own emotion.” For an artist who’s spent years navigating others’ pre-determined vision and expectations, that freedom is everything.

“For a long time, I felt like I was just doing what I was told; I didn’t feel like an artist,” he confesses. “I was sorry to my fans for that, but ‘tempo’ is the beginning of showing them the real me.” It’s a promise of authenticity, a lead single that sets the stage for an album about pace, momentum, and self-discovery—themes that resonate deeply for someone finally taking control of their own destiny.

That authenticity doesn’t stop at the music. kyu’s artistic vision spills into every visual he creates, from the cinematic "kyu: Intro Film" to the stark, emotional "ISOLATED" live clip. The intro film, a collaborative effort to tell his story, came together with a raw spontaneity he’s grown to love. “We sat down and talked about how to show my story visually, and it kind of just happened naturally,” he recalls. “When I pulled up to the set, they didn’t even give me pants. I was like, ‘Damn…’ But that’s how art works. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense, but it feels right.”

Meanwhile, the official release of his vulnerable track "ISOLATED" remains a question mark. “I’m still debating on releasing it,” he admits. “I uploaded it originally just to vent. I made it when I was at my lowest, and now that I’m in a different headspace, I don’t know if I like it anymore.” Regardless of its fate, his priority is clear: “I just want everything I put out—music, visuals, whatever—to feel honest.”

When looking back at his experience on the 2020 survival series I-LAND, (a program that formed K-pop group ENHYPEN), it felt like both a launchpad and, in many ways, a reckoning for the young artist. Though, at 14, he entered the show with a simple goal that was far more attainable than he initially realized. “To be honest, I went on just to get my name out,” he says of his viral participation on I-LAND. “I didn’t expect to make it that far. I did my best, but a part of me feels like I just got lucky.”

The reality hit harder than the fantasy he’d built as a kid with a simple dream to perform. “The experience was not what I imagined it would be,” he candidly reflects. “I had this fantasy in my head, but I didn’t know better. I felt like a product. And after a while, I couldn’t live like that.” Yet that pressure cooker still offered more lessons than he originally anticipated. “It taught me a lot,” he says. “About the industry, yeah, but mostly about myself.” It was essentially a crash course in resilience, individuality, and the cost of chasing someone else’s dream.

The rigorous training system attached to the K-pop industry could’ve molded him into something meticulously polished and group-oriented, but also at the risk of becoming dependent on direction from others. Instead, kyu rebelled in his own quiet way to find his footing. “Honestly, I didn’t really train the way they wanted me to,” he admits. “I’d lock myself in the practice room and just make beats while they were knocking on the door trying to get me to come out. I wasn’t trying to be rebellious, I was just young and didn’t want to be a trainee.”

That inclination to resist ultimately became his salvation. “That whole period taught me more about what I didn’t want,” kyu explains. “It helped me figure out the kind of artist I actually am. I had to fight to not lose myself. I was trying to do cool shit, but that wasn’t it for me.” Now, he channels that hard-earned clarity into a style that’s as sharp as it is singular.

Surrounding him as he steps into this new chapter is a growing community of fans who’ve become his anchor in the years that followed his daring dive into the industry. “I honestly think I’m just lucky,” kyu says, his gratitude becoming a focal point. “I never expected this many people to care about what I’m doing, but I’m grateful. The fact that some of y’all have stuck with me through every phase of my career… that means a lot.”

During this liberating phase of his career, the young artist also makes it known that chart placement, statistics, and streams aren’t what drives him; connection does. “I don’t care about numbers,” he insists. “I just wanna give back by being real and making art I can be proud of.”

Fortunately for kyu and his growing support system, the unapologetically bold energy of “tempo” marks a defining moment—a clear statement of who kyu is and where he’s headed. After years of moving to someone else’s beat, the young artist is finally setting his own pace. “It’s been a long road to get here, and I had to go through a lot of things—people trying to tell me who to be, what to sound like— but going solo gave me the space to remember why I started.” He concludes, “I’m not doing this for anyone else. I’m doing it for me.”

Now, having broken free from the industry’s constraints and found his voice, kyu is ready to tell a story that’s undeniably his own.