K-Content News

By Kwak Yeon-soo

For Maria Elizabeth Leise, appearing on TV Chosun's trot music competition show, "Miss Trot 2," was a life-changing event.

The 20-year-old from Connecticut surprised many with her fluent Korean, expert command of the Korean musical genre, known for its cyclic rhythm and vocal inflections, as well as the emotional intensity of her singing. Backed by a growing fan base, Leise finished 12th out of 112 contestants who took part in "Miss Trot 2," which started airing on Dec. 17 and ended on March 4.

"I went a lot further than I thought" Leise said during an interview with The Korea Times. She added that the show gave her a chance to be "doing what I want to do and make a living as a singer." Leise said, "I'm officially reaching my goal in Korea and making my parents proud."

Trot is a genre of music that came to prominence in Korea during the 1960s and 70s. It is known for its unique vocal technique called "kkeok-kki" or breaking voice. Trot crooners sing lower notes using pulsating, vibrato techniques and push their vocal range to its limits when they reach high notes.

However, the unexpected success was the result of her own hard work. The ambitious American contestant had prepared for almost a year to take part in the audition.

"When I was a huge K-pop fan in the U.S., I saw a K-pop idol audition program called 'Produce 101' (2016) and thought 'Wow, I'd really like to go on that show.' 'Miss Trot' (2019) was very similar to it so while 'Mr. Trot' (2020) was going out, I took singing and songwriting lessons, thinking hopefully there will be a season 2," she said. "As soon as the audition notice was out, I immediately sent my video."

However, it was K-pop that initially lured her to Korea.

"When I was younger, I liked singers like Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande. In high school, I discovered K-pop and moved to that. I really liked how upbeat it was that makes you want to dance. After I listened to K-pop for a month, I thought about learning the language and took online lessons," she said.

Leise flew to Korea in 2018 to try to become a K-pop star after winning a round trip ticket at a Korean singing contest that was held in New Jersey to celebrate the Chuseok thanksgiving holidays. Because she was only 17, her mother was not supportive of her going to Korea.

"My mom is very protective and so she was worried all the time. But she saw that it's what I wanted to do and then respected my decision. I really appreciate her for that," she said.

Leise kept traveling back and forth because she had a visitor's visa. After a year or so, she finally earned an employment visa after joining an entertainment company temporarily.

Although she was a huge fan of K-pop idols, including BTS, Red Velvet and The Boyz, she didn't buy tickets to their concerts because part of her had a pride that one day she will be a singer too.

"I really liked them but I didn't go to their concerts. I thought to myself, 'I will work hard and meet them in real life by my hard work, not by paying for tickets. One day, I'll be that big, but it's just not right now.' That was kind of the mindset I had," she said.

Despite her auspicious plans, Leise said her life in Korea wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. She has appeared on a couple of TV shows like Mnet's "I Can See Your Voice" and JTBC's "Hidden Singer 6," but nothing really happened afterward.

"It was really hard. I missed my parents and my home. In the first two years in Korea, I asked myself, 'Do I have to go back? Do I have to give up on this?'" she said.

Then one day, she asked her friends to recommend some movies so she can learn about Korea's history.

"I watched 'Spirits' Homecoming,' which was a really sad movie. The background music consisted of gugak and pansori, and wondered 'what kind of music is this?'" she said.

"I really connected to it. Then I looked up more music like that, which naturally led me to traditional trot, that had more 'han' (a Korean word that expresses feelings of deep sorrow, resentment and regret) and came across Ju Hyun-mi's YouTube channel. That's how I got into trot."

Performing on stage and competing with other contestants in "Miss Trot 2" was a nerve-wracking, but rewarding experience for her. "I had stage fright and team missions were tough, but I have to say that I gained more confidence through the show," Leise said.

She also mentioned that former U.S. ambassador to Korea Harry Harris's tweet about her grandfather, an American veteran of the Korean War, helped her gain more spotlight during the show.

"My grandfather didn't talk about it that much. What I know is that he was based in Busan. He liked Koreans and he was glad that he's a war veteran. I'm glad that they appreciate my grandfather. The timing was really good," she said.

When asked what she misses the most about life before "Ms. Trot 2," the singer said she misses the feeling of taking a brief break in the U.S. "I miss the feeling of 'If it's too much, I can always go home to take a break.' Because of work and quarantine, I can't do that," she said.

Leise also talked about her debut album plan, saying that she is still waiting for the perfect song.

"My strategy for picking a song is: listen to it once and I have to like it immediately. If I can't remember the melody, I let it go. If it automatically comes back into my head, I listen to it the next day. If it's still good, I listen to it a week later. There are a lot of songs that are tricky," she said.

On her future goals, Leise said, "I'd like to release a lot of hit songs, be well known in Korea and to have my own concert. I also want to upload trot videos on my YouTube channel to spread trot globally. I want to show the world that there is not just K-pop, but other genres as well."

Leise remained optimistic about trot reaching the global success of K-pop. "A trot song that is catchy and easy to pronounce by anyone can reach global listeners, it does need to make an impact," she said.