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The Korea Times

From an early age, Ahn Hyo-seop has had a burning passion for music. After school, he would talk about music and even produce tracks with his friends for fun. This passion led him to train under JYP Entertainment with the hopes of becoming a K-pop idol.
However, Ahn decided to follow a different career path as an actor, becoming a household name in South Korea with performances in Dr Romantic (2016) and Business Proposal (2022).
After starring in films and shows for over 10 years, Ahn recently surprised fans by announcing his musical debut in a collaboration with US R&B star Khalid.
The duo released “Something Special” on May 22, a cross-cultural track that blends K-pop and US R&B seamlessly.
“Music has been a hidden passion for me for a long time,” Ahn says. “This project came to me very naturally. It was a good opportunity to be part of a fun project with a very creative team. And of course, Khalid, I’ve been listening to his music for a very long time. To be able to make music [together] was a great honour.”


Ahn has previously performed on soundtracks for the film KPop Demon Hunters (2025) and K-dramas A Time Called You (2023) and Top Management (2018). However, he feels “nervous” and “thrilled” about releasing the new track because he is revealing personal experiences and showing a new side of himself creatively.
“Music needs to have a message. Everyone has personal experiences that they want to share and I was doing that through acting. But this time I got the right opportunity, and I’ve always had a passion for music, so I wanted to [pursue this] at some point in my life,” Ahn says.
“Music connects to people on an emotional level globally. It doesn’t have to have language barriers; it cuts across cultures, so I wanted to send my personal experiences and messages through my music.
“It’s pretty nerve-racking to think that something I love so much is going to be out in the world. I’m very curious to see what people will think. But, at the same time, I don’t care what people think because I’m doing what I love.”

Ahn wants to continue to make new music for a long time to come. However, he insists on taking the process day by day and living in the moment.
“I imagined myself performing on big stages for a long time, but that shouldn’t be my goal. I’m the type of person who tries my best every day to survive. I don’t reach out for big dreams or goals. I just try to make good music day by day,” he says.
“Something Special” will feature on the coming Fandom album, a project that brings together Korean and Western artists to show how genre, geography and audience are becoming less defined.
“K-pop stands as its own genre, but there are a lot of artists who are collaborating and all of the language and cultural barriers don’t really matter any more. After all, we are all just human beings. We experience the same life, we have the same feelings, and to be able to connect in this way is so amazing,” Ahn says.
He adds: “I love the fact that K-pop is now globally known as K-pop; it’s not just music from somewhere. They know it’s K-pop and that’s great. When I was a kid, I could never have imagined that K-content would be recognised globally in this way.”
The popularity of Korean culture was encapsulated by the record-breaking success of Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters in 2025. Ahn made his voice-acting debut in the animated musical film as Jinu, the leader of the Saja Boys, and he witnessed first-hand the powerful impact the film had across the globe.
“That’s the beauty of art, music and films – even if you don’t know the deeper side of the culture, you still have an image of what it’s like and you feel friendly towards it. It’s not just Korea – other countries have amazing culture and amazing food and their own specialities,” Ahn says.


He adds: “For people to share that through music and movies is so amazing. As a kid [in Canada], I wouldn’t be able to bring Korean food to lunch, but I’ve heard many stories about how people enjoy Korean food now and those little differences are very big to me. I’m glad it’s all shared globally.”
Read the full story at The Korea Times.


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K-drama actor Ahn Hyo-seop on ‘Something Special’, his new single with US R&B star Khalid

Ahn Hyo-Seop arrives for the 2026 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, on May 4, 2026. He recently released “Something Special”, a cross-cultural track that blends K-pop and US R&B, with US star Khalid.
Photo: AFP

In KPop Demon Hunters, Ahn made his voice-acting debut as Jinu (centre), the leader of the Saja Boys. Photo: Netflix

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Culture

Ahn Hyo-seop says he is ‘nervous’ and ‘thrilled’ at releasing ‘Something Special’, a cross-cultural track that blends K-pop and US R&B


Ahn Hyo-seop says he is ‘nervous’ and ‘thrilled’ at releasing ‘Something Special’, a cross-cultural track that blends K-pop and US R&B.


South Korean celebrities

Korea Times

Ahn Hyo-seop

K-drama actor Ahn Hyo-seop on ‘Something Special’, his new single with US R&B star Khalid

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Ahn Hyo-seop says he is ‘nervous’ and ‘thrilled’ at releasing ‘Something Special’, a cross-cultural track that blends K-pop and US R&B

Ahn Hyo-seop says he is ‘nervous’ and ‘thrilled’ at releasing ‘Something Special’, a cross-cultural track that blends K-pop and US R&B