Why South Korean Artist Aoora is Recreating Indian Hits: 'It Matched With My Energy

From Bappi Lahiri's Eighties songs "Auva Auva" and "Jimmy Jimmy" to more, Aoora brings K-pop flair that he's honed with prior releases like "Twerk"

- ANURAG TAGAT

If there’s one Indophile among K-pop artists right now, it’s Aoora. From trying vada pavs to dancing with Indian crews to singing “Naatu Naatu” from RRR, the publicity blitz that he’s undertaken in the country has been massive this year. He’s already performed five shows across India and most importantly, it’s come on the back of releasing “K-pop versions” of Bollywood’s iconic Eighties hits “Auva Auva” and “Jimmy Jimmy” – both composed by Bappi Lahiri – via major label Saregama.

In the music video for “Auva Auva,” Aoora is seen around different parts of Mumbai in different eye-catching outfits, including a “very warm fur coat,” as he mentions that the temperature was 38 degrees. “It was a crowded street and everyone was wondering if I had gone crazy,” he says over an email interview. He adds, however, that India is like a second home. “I love the energy and colors in India and they inspire me a lot. My last music video was like a personal journey for me where I could express my style in some very raw Mumbai locations,” Aoora says.

Being part of the K-pop landscape since around 2009, Aoora aka Park Min-jun, was previously part of the band Double-A and went solo in 2014. While he made a mark with singles like “Twerk” in 2020, it’s only in the span of the last year that Aoora’s mashups of Indian songs mark a move towards a specific country. In an interview Rolling Stone India, Aoora talks about the response he’s got so far and his upcoming version of R.D. Burman-composed, Kishore Kumar-sung “Yeh Shaam Mastani.” Excerpts: