{"id":547811,"date":"2026-07-28T12:14:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T12:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/547811\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T12:14:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T12:14:16","slug":"from20-on-rated-r-big-boy-and-a-global-audience-of-kpop-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/547811\/","title":{"rendered":"From20 On ‘Rated R,’ ‘Big Boy’ And A Global Audience Of KPop Fans"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"from20<\/a><\/p>\n

The phrase behind from20\u2019s most talked-about song started as a joke between friends over drinks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were joking around and complimenting each other, saying things like, \u2018Oh, look at you, big boy,\u2019 \u2018No, you\u2019re a big boy,\u2019 we just kept calling each other that and at one point I thought, \u2018Wow, \u2018big boy\u2019 really conveys a great message,\u2019\u201d the Korean singer-rapper-video director says via translator. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about gender, it\u2019s about confidence. Isn\u2019t it great when someone calls you a big boy? It has nothing to do with whether you identify as a man, how you look, your race, or your sexual orientation. You\u2019re a big boy because you have that energy \u2014 because you\u2019re confident and feel like you can do whatever you want in this world. That\u2019s the message I wanted to share.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBIG BOY\u201d is the title track of Rated R<\/a>, released June 26, the second full-length album from an artist who has spent five years rebuilding on his own terms. <\/p>\n

Before he was from20, Kim Raehwan was known simply as Raehwan and the main vocalist of BIGSTAR, a boy band under hitmaker Brave Brothers\u2019 Brave Entertainment agency that slowly fizzled out after years inactive. He officially went solo in 2021 and now runs WAY BETTER, the label he co-founded with the collaborator HELLO GLOOM (another former boy band member) and where the two serve as co-CEOs and constant creative collaborators. In fact, from20 shares how \u201cthe phrase \u2018BIG BOY\u2019 actually came about when [SKY720 CEO] Jin Choung, HELLO GLOOM, and I were having drinks together.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a leadership position at an independent label focused on male soloists, nobody at his company can veto a lyric. But Korea\u2019s public broadcaster can \u2014 and KBS ruled that seven of Rated R\u2019s thirteen tracks were ineligible for broadcast airing, citing profanity, vulgar language and sexually suggestive content. The main single \u201cBIG BOY\u201d itself was rejected twice for \u201cexcessively sexual lyrics\u201d before a third, further-revised submission finally cleared review. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, his listeners are largely elsewhere with from20 citing the United States and Latin America as top listenership, as Spotify<\/a> currently notes Bangkok, S\u00e3o Paulo, Singapore, Taipei and Kuala Lumpur as his five biggest cities \u2014 none of them in his home country.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly, the biggest response has come from international audiences,\u201d from20 reflects, able to quickly pull statistics even while taking the interview from inside a car ride due to a schedule shift. \u201cEven when I look at my Spotify statistics, the U.S. and Latin America consistently rank as my biggest markets, and that\u2019s where most of my listeners are. That said, this album is about diversity. There\u2019s a lot of diversity throughout the project, especially in \u2018BIG BOY.\u2019 Even though people often associate these conversations with international audiences, LGBTQ+ communities and many other diverse communities also exist in Korea. They\u2019re engaging with the music and supporting what I\u2019m creating as well. There has definitely been support from my home country, too; however, when it comes to television and mainstream media in Korea, these topics are still approached quite carefully. It\u2019s a more conservative environment, so I think they\u2019re still warming up to conversations like these.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, any of the album\u2019s perceived provocation is deliberate \u2014 not for clicks.<\/p>\n

\u201cMessage-wise, I wanted this album to be controversial but not for the sake of being controversial,\u201d he explains. \u201cThe real message is: gossip about me all you want. You can judge me, but you can\u2019t change who I am.” <\/p>\n

He adds, \u201cThe reason \u2018BIG BOY\u2019 became the title track [single] is because I\u2019ve always admired artists like Michael Jackson<\/a>. Songs like \u2018Heal the World\u2019 and \u2018You Are Not Alone\u2019 carry such positive messages and I\u2019ve always respected artists who create music that reaches people and truly resonates with them. I\u2019ve always thought that for from20 to become a great artist it would be incredible if I could also share positive messages with my listeners and anyone who might come across my music.\u201d<\/p>\n

After releasing his single \u201cEye Candy\u201d<\/a> in April 2025 featuring a music video where he spends half the video shirtless in playfully sexy scenes ranging from a football team locker room to a fruit cart where from20 seductively chews on peaches and bananas, the star absorbed a wave of online criticism. Instead of being broken down by it, he built it into the record as an interlude co-narrated by queer Taiwanese-American indie pop singer sora<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople would say things like, \u2018Stop being half-naked on Instagram,\u2019 or, \u2018When the music isn\u2019t selling\u2026\u2019 there was just a lot of negativity directed at me online,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI took those comments and turned them into a skit. In a way, it felt like I was getting revenge on all the hate I had received. I remember that after I wrote the script and assigned the lines, we were in the recording booth with the actors who were playing the people gossiping about me. I kept telling them, \u2018More. Give me more!\u2019 I wanted it to feel real \u2014 as if they were actually talking shit behind my back and spreading rumors about me. When I released the album medley on X, it included a preview of \u2018Skit 1 (They All Gossip About Me).\u2019 I quote-posted it and wrote, \u2018Thank you for giving me inspiration, guys.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The accompanying \u201cBIG BOY\u201d music video applies the same instinct for \u201cmore\u201d when it came to casting.<\/p>\n

from20 directed and cast the video himself, deliberately filling space with \u201cdifferent body types, different genders, different skin tones \u2013 just as much diversity as I could bring together in one video,\u201d a concept rarely applied in a K-pop visual. From Korea\u2019s first openly gay celebrity, Hong Seokcheon, to a diverse array of romantic interests, when asked whether assembling the cast was difficult for a Korean production, he first questions the overall premise.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, is this music video really that diverse?\u201d he asks with a smile. \u201cI don\u2019t know, but hearing that makes me realize how conservative the K-pop scene still is because you really don\u2019t see things like this in K-pop music videos. To me, I just thought, \u2018I\u2019m going to have a big girl in my music video.\u2019 But the reaction has been incredible. I remember seeing a post on X that said, ‘Wow, someone who looks like me can kiss an idol. From now on, I\u2019m really going to support from20.\u2019 Reading that made me realize there really hasn\u2019t been anything like this before. It also made me think that I should keep doing more of this to show people that they have a place in this world just like everyone else. More than anything, though, it reminds me that K-pop is still very conservative and that there\u2019s still a lot of room for change\u2026it definitely wasn\u2019t easy, but it was a very meaningful project for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

While conversations around allyship to the LGBTQ+ and other minority communities are becoming more commonplace, from20 wants to push the media and fans to rethink questions about the bare minimum of being an ally.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you asked that question of whether I\u2019m an ally, my first thought was, \u2018Do we really have to support people who simply exist?\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong, we all live in the same world, and they could be my friends, my children, my colleagues, my neighbors, but do I need to express special support? That\u2019s what I ask myself because they\u2019re already by my side. We\u2019re all the same. We\u2019re all human. Sexuality shouldn\u2019t determine how we see or treat someone. Ever since I was young, my parents taught me to love everyone regardless of how they present themselves or who they are. Someone in the LGBTQ+ community may simply love a person of the same gender, but that doesn’t make them any different from me.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, that perspective proved itself in part through error. When from20 drew criticism for wearing a durag in an earlier album\u2019s photoshoot and accompanying music video, rather than issue a company-derived PR-safe statement, he quickly looked to learn from bringing in local Black men and women living in Korea to a set and film an educational conversation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy entire perspective changed,\u201d he shares. \u201cThe two hours I spent with them were extremely important and meaningful. Looking back, I think people can make mistakes simply because they don\u2019t know. But this experience taught me how important it is to take the time to educate yourself about the things you don\u2019t know, so you don\u2019t repeat those mistakes. I wish more people in this industry, and people in general, would take the time to learn about things they\u2019re unfamiliar with \u2014 or at least watch my video because I learned so much and the way I look at Black people\u2019s hair completely changed. I realized it\u2019s part of their daily lives and lived experiences. I also came to understand that the way their hair looks can affect how they\u2019re perceived by others; it\u2019s not simply about style or looking cool. Now, whenever I travel abroad, I notice those things. I hope people can be a little more open-minded and willing to admit when they don\u2019t know something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet for as forward-thinking and progressive as a record Rated R is, its musical conversation reaches back rather than pushing into new territories.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the music I grew up listening to the R&B of the ’90s and early 2000s,\u201d the 34-year-old shares of the LP that boasts clear inspiration from the Neptunes, Scott Storch and StarGate. \u201cI loved that music so much growing up and it still holds a very special place in my heart. I\u2019ve been making music for a long time now so that sound feels very nostalgic to me. At the same time, I think it feels fresh to younger listeners because they didn\u2019t grow up with it. We experience the same music differently depending on when we first hear it. When I was a trainee, I practiced to a lot of R&B songs so I feel very connected to this genre.\u201d<\/p>\n

from20 for ‘Rated R’<\/p>\n

WAY BETTER<\/p>\n

For all of Rated R\u2019s different aims, goals and inspiration points, opening track \u201cCelebration\u201d is from20\u2019s most straightforward declaration of belief in himself.<\/p>\n

“For me, it\u2019s like opening the door to a new beginning,” he says. \u201cWhile I was making this album, I had so much faith in it. I wanted to create something that felt incredibly confident, something that says, ‘Right now, you\u2019re witnessing the success of from20. You\u2019re witnessing the birth of a star.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently in the midst of a Europe tour with his WAY BETTER label mate Kang Yuchan, from20 will continue Rated R\u2019s global push with multiple performances during KCON LA in August<\/a> and a slot at the 2026 Atlanta Korean Festival in September, adding that he and his label mates \u201chave a lot happening internationally, I\u2019m beyond excited\u2026touring gives me the opportunity to share them with people in person. That\u2019s what I’m looking forward to the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet for as much as from20 is looking forward to connecting in person, he also has come to recognize the importance that his work does for helping those feel safe and seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mentioned that I showed support for the LGBTQ+ community in the \u2018BIG BOY\u2019 music video, but honestly, I just wrote a few lyrics that came straight from my heart,\u201d he reflects. \u201cI read all the DMs and comments on my music videos, and when people tell me, \u2018You created a safe space for us,\u2019 it really warms my heart. At the same time, it also makes me a little sad, because to me it was just a few honest words, yet they became something so meaningful to so many people. If my music, my concerts, or anything I create can become a safe space for someone, then I feel like I should continue to show them even more appreciation and love.\u201d<\/p>\n