{"id":929088,"date":"2026-10-11T14:20:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T14:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/929088\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T14:20:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T14:20:24","slug":"k-pop-star-sunmi-loves-notion-and-ear-cleaning-videos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/929088\/","title":{"rendered":"K-pop star Sunmi loves Notion and ear cleaning videos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunmi is an undeniable force in K-pop. She first made her debut as a member of the Wonder Girls back in 2007, one of the first K-pop acts to really break through in the West. The English version of their single \u201cNobody<\/a>\u201d was the first K-pop song to hit the Billboard Hot 100 in October 2009.<\/p>\n

In 2010 Sunmi left the group to go back to school, but the siren call of a music career pulled her back in. She released her debut solo EP Full Moon in 2014. That began a run of award-winning releases for the pop star, including Song of the Year for \u201cGashina\u201d at the Gaon Chart Music Awards.<\/p>\n

Despite her near-constant presence in the K-pop world as a solo artist and as a member of the Wonder Girls, whom she rejoined in 2015, Sumni only just released her first solo LP, Heart Maid, in 2025. This year she released the single \u201cForever July<\/a>,\u201d which blends \u201990s R&B synths with rubbery bass and UK garage-inspired drums. Sunmi has called it one of her most personal songs. And she wasn\u2019t afraid to get personal in our Q&A either, revealing details about her writing process, her greatest disappointment as an artist, and her love of ear cleaning videos.<\/p>\n

What is your most indispensable tool?<\/p>\n

My phone. I use the Notes app and Voice Memos a lot when I\u2019m writing lyrics or making music. Whenever I have a good idea, I can immediately pull it out and write it down, so I really can\u2019t live without it.<\/p>\n

Which is the most underappreciated?<\/p>\n

The Samsung Galaxy series. It has made my work environment so much easier.
Team Galaxyyyyyy!<\/p>\n

What is the first app you install on a new phone or computer?<\/p>\n

These days, you can transfer all the apps and data from your previous device, so I don\u2019t really have to install anything separately. But if that process didn\u2019t exist, I\u2019d probably install KakaoTalk, a messaging app, first.<\/p>\n

What is one thing you wish you could change about your phone?<\/p>\n

I have so many unnecessary photos and screenshots in my gallery. I wish there were a feature that could recognize similar or duplicate photos and group them together, so I could delete them all at once.<\/p>\n

What sites do you have pinned to your tab bar?<\/p>\n

Notion. I use it a lot because I work on many group projects. It\u2019s convenient, but it takes quite a long time to get used to. I think the UI could use some improvement.<\/p>\n

How many tabs do you have open right now?<\/p>\n

Four: Notion, Google Drive, YouTube, and Claude.<\/p>\n

Which social media platform do you use the most?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t really use social media that much, but I think I use Instagram and X the most.<\/p>\n

What is your happy place online?<\/p>\n

Videos of people getting their ears cleaned on YouTube.<\/p>\n

What is your favorite gadget you\u2019ve ever owned?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not really good with technology, but I think the Samsung Z Fold 8 that I\u2019m using right now is probably my favorite device. I often need to work on documents or edit videos while I\u2019m on the go, and it\u2019s incredibly convenient. I can work with both hands on a wide screen, and it\u2019s surprisingly light. It\u2019s exactly the kind of device I\u2019ve always needed.<\/p>\n

What game do you have the fondest memories of?<\/p>\n

MapleStory by Nexon. I played it when I was in elementary school, and even after becoming an adult, I would sometimes play the mobile version. The graphics really bring back memories of my childhood.<\/p>\n

Which tech trend do you wish would go away?<\/p>\n

What is one thing you wish you had created?<\/p>\n

Stranger Things 5 and Game of Thrones 8.<\/p>\n

What creation are you most proud of?<\/p>\n

\u201cTail.\u201d It\u2019s a song that still gets me excited every time I perform it live. When I hold my breath, the audience holds their breath too, and when I explode, they explode with me. It creates this really unique experience.<\/p>\n

Which are you least proud of?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou Can\u2019t Sit with Us.\u201d It was the first song where I ever tried rapping. But the lyrics and even my voice were terrible.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the best piece of advice you\u2019ve ever received?<\/p>\n

Always stay humble. You should never let yourself become arrogant.<\/p>\n

What is your current obsession?<\/p>\n

I really love ice cream. Korean summers are shockingly hot, so it\u2019s hard to survive without ice cream. I absolutely love Salt & Straw\u2019s Salted Caramel Waffle Cone, but there\u2019s nothing quite like it in Korea.<\/p>\n

What do you do when you need to focus?<\/p>\n

I find a small space to organize my thoughts.<\/p>\n

What do you do when you\u2019re feeling stuck?<\/p>\n

I say \u201cNo?\u201d out loud. For example, if I start thinking to myself, \u201cI can\u2019t do this,\u201d I immediately say \u201cNo?\u201d out loud.<\/p>\n

When was the last time you went somewhere without your phone?<\/p>\n

When I\u2019m shooting, I leave my phone with my manager. Even during short breaks, I barely look at my phone. But I\u2019ve never actually gone somewhere without my phone.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the last piece of physical media you bought?<\/p>\n

The Senses of an Everydayist, a new essay collection by lyricist Kim Eana. She sent me a copy as a gift when it was published, but I believe there\u2019s something meaningful about personally buying and reading someone\u2019s creative work, so I bought a copy online.<\/p>\n

What do you think is worth splurging on?<\/p>\n

A meal with the people I love.<\/p>\n

What would the tagline for your biopic be?<\/p>\n

Dancing on the Borderline.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the last GIF or meme you used?<\/p>\n

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See All Report<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sunmi is an undeniable force in K-pop. She first made her debut as a member of the Wonder…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":929089,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[49,48,75,4150,341,1660],"class_list":["post-929088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-interview","tag-music","tag-report"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=929088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/929089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=929088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=929088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=929088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}