{"id":379313,"date":"2026-04-07T09:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T09:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/379313\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T09:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T09:46:15","slug":"dayoung-asks-whats-a-girl-to-do-after-debuting-last-year-with-banger-body","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/379313\/","title":{"rendered":"Dayoung asks ‘What’s a girl to do’ after debuting last year with banger ‘body’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Singer <\/p>\n

Singer Dayoung poses for photos ahead of an interview for her second single, \u201cWhat\u2019s a Girl to Do,\u201d at Starship Entertainment\u2019s headquarters in southern Seoul before the single\u2019s release on April 7. [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]<\/p>\n

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After a strong solo debut with last year\u2019s banger \u201cbody,\u201d singer Dayoung is approaching the next phase of her career with both ambition and careful calculation, determined not to simply chase the formula that first worked for her.
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The next step begins with a song that the WJSN member described as a deliberate pivot away from \u201cthe \u2018body\u2019 part 2 that listeners may have expected.\u201d
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\u201cWhen a sequel comes after a successful film, it can sometimes feel underwhelming because of those initial expectations,\u201d said Dayoung during a group interview with journalists on Thursday at Starship Entertainment\u2019s headquarters in southern Seoul.
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Singer Dayoung of girl group WJSN [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo this time, I wanted to show what kind of genres I\u2019m capable of before once again coming up with something that fits those expectations and keeping up the momentum going,\u201d she said.
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Set to be released at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Dayoung\u2019s second single \u201cWhat\u2019s a girl to do\u201d is her latest experiment, expanding on her musical boundaries while underscoring her versatility as a solo artist.
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The single features the title track of the same name, as well as a B-side, \u201cPriceless (kaching kaching),\u201d with Dayoung credited on both tracks for songwriting and lyrics.
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\"Album <\/p>\n

Album cover for singer Dayoung’s second single, “What’s a girl to do” [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]<\/p>\n

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Singer Dayoung poses for photos ahead of an interview for her second single, \u201cWhat\u2019s a Girl to Do,\u201d at Starship Entertainment\u2019s headquarters in southern Seoul before the single\u2019s release on April 7. [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]<\/p>\n

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Dayoung, who debuted as a member of girl group WJSN under Starship Entertainment in 2016, launched her solo career in September last year with her first digital single, \u201cgonna love me, right?,\u201d featuring three songs: \u201cbody,\u201d \u201cnumber one rockstar\u201d and \u201cmarry me.\u201d
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The lead track, \u201cbody,\u201d climbed as high as No. 9 on streaming platform Melon\u2019s Top 100 song chart, and No. 17 on the monthly chart. Dayoung also earned her first music show win with the song on SBS\u2019s \u201cThe Show\u201d in September.
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The scale of the success, she said, was something that she never had imagined even in her wildest dreams. It felt like being inside \u201cThe Truman Show,\u201d the 1998 satire, and that the world had somehow been staged around her, a girl who dreamed of performing on stage since she was 4 year old.
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Singer Dayoung of girl group WJSN [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen I won first place on a music show 14 days after my solo debut, the first thing that came to my mind was, \u2018Wow, I might actually be able to keep making music,\u2019 which was something I\u2019ve always wanted,\u201d said Dayoung. \u201cAnd when I looked down from the stage, my crew were all crying, and directors I\u2019m close with ran out of the editing rooms to congratulate me.\u201d
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But Dayoung\u2019s ambition extends far beyond becoming a one-hit wonder.
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Building on that dreamlike breakthrough, the new single \u201cWhat\u2019s a girl to do\u201d marks a sonic evolution rather than a mere continuation or recreation of the previous hit. While \u201cbody\u201d was an upbeat dance pop with addictive synths, Dayoung\u2019s latest title track, \u201cWhat\u2019s a girl to do,\u201d leans more heavily into the R&B territory with a slightly slower tempo and a relatively restrained mood.
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Dayoung admitted that the pressure to meet heightened expectations weighed heavily on her, and that the slower pace of the new single made her wonder how audiences might respond. \u00a0
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Still, she believed it was a now or never moment.
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Singer Dayoung of girl group WJSN [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]<\/p>\n

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\u201cI want to keep making music for as long as circumstances allow,\u201d Dayoung said. \u201cAnd my goal is to continue putting out good music. I really love this song, \u2018What\u2019s a girl to do,\u2019 and I thought that this is the kind of song that would only work at this exact point, when people might be expecting a \u2018body\u2019 part 2.\u201d
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R&B is a genre she has long wanted to pursue, Dayoung added, having grown up singing songs by powerhouse divas such as Alicia Keys, Brandy and Monica and Christina Aguilera. That impulse ultimately led her to fly to the United States in search of the right sound for her solo debut, a venture that resulted in \u201cbody\u201d and in \u201cWhat\u2019s a girl go do.\u201d
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The singer was deeply involved in the project\u2019s creative process beyond the music itself, taking part across the production pipeline from styling to the making of the music video.
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Visually speaking, her style remained largely the same from last year \u2014 blonde hair with dark roots, smoky makeup and hip-hop-inspired styling, while leaning into her natural skin tone, which Dayoung said is sometimes mistaken for an intentional tan.
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Singer Dayoung of girl group WJSN [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen I think of artists from the past, I can immediately picture certain visual elements, like a specific eye makeup or hairstyle that defined their brand,\u201d Dayoung said. \u201cFor me, I wanted people to think of a girl with smoky makeup and blonde hair.\u201d
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For the music video, Dayoung envisioned something that would fuse the music and performance into one immersive package. She also intentionally avoided CGI, wanting the visuals to feel grounded rather than detached from reality. \u00a0
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Since the success of \u201cbody,\u201d fans have increasingly told her that she has become a role model for them, a responsibility Dayoung said she does not take lightly.
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Singer Dayoung of girl group WJSN [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve realized that what I do can give courage or inspiration to some,\u201d she shared. \u201cThat\u2019s why I want to complete this single\u2019s promotion successfully, because not being brought down by challenges and not giving up could be examples for others.\u201d
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Dayoung said she hopes to remain active as a musician and performer for as long as possible, which means she is already thinking about what comes next.
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\u201cMy goal is to have people thinking about me around the clock,\u201d she said with a smile. \u201cSo \u2018body\u2019 worked for the hours between 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., while \u2018What\u2019s a girl to do\u2019 is perfect for between 7 p.m. to 4 a.m.\u201d
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As for the remaining hours, Dayoung said, she is planning a summer song already.
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Singer Dayoung of girl group WJSN [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]<\/p>\n

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Singer Dayoung poses for photos ahead of an interview for her second single, \u201cWhat\u2019s a Girl to Do,\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":379314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[146,85,46,409],"class_list":{"0":"post-379313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}