Tiffany Young: ‘I Want To Be A Fearless Artist'

The Korean-American pop star opens up about her artistic evolution, the misconceptions around girl groups, and walking away from SM Entertainment.

There’s probably no better journey than growing up with an artist. We are witness to their evolution both as musicians and human beings, they incorporate themselves into some of our best memories and are with us through all our ups and downs. It’s even better when instead of outgrowing them as we all get older, we are able to relate to them more. When I connect to Tiffany Young over Skype, it’s one of the first things we talk about. “I’m so glad we were able to grow and evolve with the times,” she says from L.A where she is currently based. “It really is about being able to shape and mold and grow with whatever is happening and still stay true to yourself.”

Born Stephanie Young Hwang in America, Young rose to fame after she moved to South Korea and debuted with superstar K-pop group Girls’ Generation in 2007. With a career spanning over a decade, Girls’ Generation are one of the most significant contributors to the spread of K-pop around the globe–even before YouTube’s viral powers kicked in. “We started 10 years ago, we started when there wasn’t social media and YouTube—I know, we sound like old people,” she says with laugh. “But we started out when the Internet was just exploding and the first iPhone was just out.” I relate to this immensely and we laugh at our mutual ageing woes.