By Adam Davidson
2026.05.21
Voice actor in 'Kpop Demon Hunters' collaborates with R&B singer Khalid
From an early age, Ahn Hyo-seop always had a burning passion for music. After school, he would always talk about music and would 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 and became a household name with performances in "Dr. Romantic" (2016) and "Business Proposal" (2022).
After starring in movies and shows for over ten years, Ahn recently surprised fans as he announced his solo music debut in a collaboration with U.S. R&B star Khalid.
The unexpected duo will release "Something Special" on May 22, a cross-cultural track which blends K-pop and U.S. R&B seamlessly with a summer-infused sound.
“Music has been a hidden passion for me for a long time. 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 was a great honor,” said Ahn.
Ahn has previously performed soundtracks for the film "Kpop Demon Hunters" (2025) and K-dramas "A Time Called You" (2023) and "Top Management" (2018).
However, he admitted that he feels both “nervous” and “thrilled” about releasing solo music and sharing this with fans because he is baring 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,” said Ahn. “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.”
He added: “It’s pretty nerve-wracking 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.”
'I just want to make good music day by day'
Having made his official debut as a solo music artist with “Something Special,” 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,” said Ahn.
"Something Special" will be featured on the upcoming Fandom album, a project which brings together Korean and Western artists to showcase 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 anymore. 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,” said Ahn.
He added: “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 recognized globally in this way.”
The rise in 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 movie had across the globe.
“That’s the beauty of art, music and movies, 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 to it. It’s not just Korea, other countries have amazing culture and amazing food and their own specialties,” said Ahn.
He added: “For people to share that through music and movies is so amazing. As a kid, 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.”
