SAAY: What is the distinction between life and art?

In a global industry of polished-to-perfection pop idols, SAAY sees her music not as a neatly packaged product, but as life spilling over into sound. Ahead of her performance at Frieze Music, SAAY shares a photo diary of her week in Seoul.

SAAY isn’t exactly easy to figure out. In one interview, the Busan-born artist reflects on her years as a heavy metal “fangirl” (growing up on Megadeth and X Japan) before throwing a curveball and naming Justin Timberlake as her dream collaborator. In our conversation, she mentions Michael Jackson (her first ever concert experience) as her most formative musical influence. While SAAY’s own music can also feel sonically eclectic—combining contemporary R&B, classical, soul, hip-hop, and trap influences—what remains consistent is her undeniably soulful voice, and a seemingly steadfast sense of confidence.

I spend almost all my time performing these days—or working in the studio to release a new album this fall-winter season.

In a global industry of polished-to-perfection pop idols, SAAY sees her music not as a neatly packaged product, but as life spilling over into sound. “I don't share or separate the flow of my life and art,” she explains. “I try not to force myself to release my emotions and inspirations, but let them flow with the flow of my life.”

That’s not to say she isn’t a perfectionist—we only just managed to squeeze in a short conversation between back-to-back studio sessions and daily choreographed rehearsals for her 30-minute performance at Frieze Music in Seoul, which took place at the Shilla Hotel’s Yeong Bin Gwan last weekend. In fact, SAAY has been diligently developing her sound since making her debut as the lead of short-lived K-Pop group, EvoL in 2012. Then a teenager, SAAY fronted the five-member act until they disbanded in 2015—a setback she took to heart.

The vibe of this week is “Goodbye summer, hello autumn, high sky and cool wind.” And expectations for the end of the year.

In the nine years since, SAAY has flitted between South Korea, Japan, and the US, signed to Universal Music Korea, and produced for K-pop icons including Baekhyun and the futuristic hyperpop girl-group Aespa (interviewed by Grimes for Rolling Stone). Thisprocess has directly inspired her own music: “I learn new things from their energy,” she notes, pointing to a kind of creative exchange that extends beyond any singular track. “[They] make me feel like I can sing my songs in a different direction and feeling.”

Enjoying lunch time at the best brunch place— 도시의 숲 (Forest of the city).

Dropping into the Billboard K Power 100 launch party at Shilla Hotel Yeong Bin Gwan.

SAAY has described the process of making music as therapeutic—a way for her to traverse the complexities of loss, heartbreak, grief, and pain. Her second album, S:INEMA, is a reflection on life and death, written in the wake of her grandmother's passing. “Every single moment of meeting and parting in my life is my inspiration,” she explains. And it’s this organic approach that allows her to create music that is both intensely personal and—she hopes—universally relatable. Her latest track, “Domino,” sees her raspy, rich, and resonant vocals layered over a trap breakdown and heavy 808 slides, while she reflects on the push and pull of ambition, where anticipation and anxiety sit in a delicate balance. For SAAY, music is less about grand narratives and more about the fleeting, often contradictory feelings that punctuate everyday life. “I think any music that tells the truth can be a sound of healing.”

Riding horses at Incheon horse training center.

Gearing up for solo tours in the US and Europe, and the release of her third album this winter, 032c joined SAAY in Seoul last week, as she hopped from studio to snack to a literal stallion, ahead of her performance at Frieze Seoul.

Stage rehearsals with TEAMSAAY before the Frieze Music show. The set list for the show consists of the highlights that I've released so far. I'm planning to perform “DOMINO” for the first time live in Korea—I'm looking forward to that the most.

Trying the most famous Korean chicken soup with ginseng—samgyetang—at Hosu Samgyetang.

Before and after the show.