The word querencia, in Spanish, means a place where you can feel at home; where you can be your true self. Chung Ha revealed that she first learned the term through her therapist. “I was ill [with COVID-19], and I had a lot of other personal issues in 2020. Throughout that I was like, ‘What helped me the most?’ and it was my record, so I named it Querencia, ”She explained at the time of a virtual roundtable before they were released.
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And while there is an obvious difference between Chung Ha, the artist, and Chung Ha, the man, experiments bring them together. When home means a place as multifaceted as Querencia, no wonder Chung Ha can shine from R&B to reggaeton, from soft boys to EDM, and still make everything sound and look sensible. The 60-minute-long album (“Stay Tonight”, “Play” by Changmo, “X,” and “Bicycle”) had four promotional singles and is divided into four distinct sides, Noble, Savage, Unknown, and Enjoyment – a comment from Chung Ha ‘s representative. “Because we had so many songs, it was like, ‘Why don’t we divide them into four sections so that the fans can separate them more easily, like a library?’ ”She explained.
But before she moves on to the next book on her shelf, Querencia one more surprise is up the strait. The music video for the Spanish track “Demente,” by Puerto Rican rapper Guaynaa, was released today, March 17. A great admirer of Latinx music and culture, Chung Ha has this connection to the years she lived in Dallas. “I had a lot of friends from Mexico, so I think that was my first connection with him. español, ”She says. “I’ve always loved Latinx music and tried a lot of the juice Querencia, trying to make it a part of [the album], and I’m glad I did. “
Adding to the auspicious year “Demente,” Latinx influences run through the album, as the short but memorable “te amo” in the same “Bike,” the “Masquerade,” inspired by salsa and boogaloo in “Play,” and the avid nova bossa of “Lemon,” by Colde. “I think music is about sharing and culture is about sharing,” she told the roundtable. And what is it Querencia, if not Chung Ha shares all the cultures that shape and inspire it?
“My journey through Querencia I was about trying different genres of music and characters that I had never tried before, ”she explains. Such figures can be bold and bold, like the confident woman who shouts “you love him when I ride her” in “Bicycle,” or the seductress in “Dream Of You,” your girlfriend was invited to her room and she sang “I’ve got whiskey, I’ve got gin, and clothes. ”Chung Ha knows that those lyrics are pretty simple for the average K-pop song, but that’s part of what makes things enjoyable, by its very nature. “I love working out different types of characters that the writers send me, or that I want to write, or that I want to be… So, yes, it’s just fun! ”
There is also the sad lover “Flying On Faith,” singing “I wonder if you want to stay,” and the sweet vulnerability of “Byulharang (160504 + 170607)” – perhaps the only song where she let on her own to come privately face – where she sings “It’s OK not to be well” and explains how the support of her fans has helped her through hard times. “It’s a song I wrote for my fans, so it’s kinda special because it’s our story,” she notes. Through the elaborate round table, Chung Ha also mentioned that Byulharangs was “my biggest. querencia through 2020. ”
In just five years, Chung Ha has taken K-pop by storm, creating her own status in images, sounds and performance. It’s hard to imagine a style that she can’t pull off, or a collaboration that wouldn’t be appropriate, or a country that wouldn’t value at least one of her songs.
“I don’t look at myself, like, ‘Wow I did so many things, I achieved so much,’ you know? I’ve never thought of it that way, “she says, looking back on her career so far.” But I’d say I have no regrets about one thing. I want to keep doing what I do, be passionate about what I like, share what I share, and just keep an eye out. ”
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