If you’re a Latine K-pop fan, I can guarantee you’ve heard of KARD. They are a South Korean four-member co-ed group — composed of Somin, Jiwoo, BM, and J.Seph — that debuted in 2017. Undeniably inspired by Latine music, KARD has built up a solid Latin American fanbase, specifically for its trap-like beats, catchy hooks, occasional Spanish lyrics, and incorporation of sounds that resonate with our communities. Whether it’s their debut single “Hola Hola” or fan-favorite B-side track “Dímelo,” Latin American fans don’t need to learn a whole new language to sing along. They’ve also covered Latine trap and reggaeton songs before, including Bad Bunny’s “Titi Me Pregunto,” Rosalia’s “Chicken Teriyaki,” and Karol G’s “Provenza.” Now, KARD has come out with a cover of “Bellakeo” by Peso Pluma and Anitta — and they’re talking exclusively to Remezcla about it.
While any international group can imitate a Latine beat, KARD brings a different flavor to it — sincerity. Many groups use Latine sounds without any intention of paying homage to its origins or visiting the places where they started. We’re seeing it trending now all over the K-pop scene. But KARD was different. They visited Mexico and Brazil during their first tour in 2017 before their official debut. Since then, the group has gone back to Latin America several times, even performing at the important Festival Cervantino in Mexico, which just goes to show how high the demand for KARD is from fans in the region. Through the tours, the quartet interacted with fans in their own countries, showing real appreciation for them and their music. As this fan put it, KARD is the blueprint for Latine-inspired tracks in K-pop. So much so that Super Junior (another K-pop group with a huge Latin American fanbase) invited Jiwoo and Somin to be part of the Korean version of “Lo Siento” (of which the Spanish version featured Leslie Grace). And it’s only a matter of time before they collaborate with a Latine artist themselves (a Bad Bunny or Rauw Alejandro with KARD? Yes, please!).
During a recent interview with Remezcla, KARD spoke about the “Bellakeo” cover and how it all came to be. BM, the California-native member, spoke in English while a translator helped the rest of the crew. However, it was mostly BM translating for them, too. The group also talked about how it feels to be so beloved by Latine fans, why they think they connect so much with Latin American fans, and, of course, dream Latine artist collaborations.
This interview has been lightly edited & condensed for clarity purposes.
How does it feel to be the most Latine K-pop group right now?
BM: We’re just very, very thankful. I feel like all of us are very honored. We started a lot of our tours in Latin America and South America, and when you’re that early in your career, and you’re fed that much love from those countries… It’s something that you don’t forget. So we’re really happy to be able to continue being called a K-pop group that’s loved so much by Latin America.
Why do you think Latine fans gravitated towards KARD so much? Especially in the beginning, as you said.
BM: No one else was doing moombahton, reggaeton, and the sounds that are culturally loved as much as it was in Latin America, in South America, like we were doing. There’s always something beautiful that sticks with being the first to do something. So we’re really proud to be endeared by our fans out there.
So, you’re covering “Bellakeo” by Peso Pluma and Anitta. How did this cover come to be?
Jiwoo: I was very surprised to see how well all of our voices meshed with “Bellakeo.” BM was the one to bring up the song idea.
BM: Our staff, obviously, are always coming up with ideas, saying we should do this and that. There were also a lot of other songs on the list, beautiful songs that, if we covered as well, I’m sure Latin American fans would have loved. I did the boxing TikTok with “Bellakeo,” where you pretend to teach how to box, then you start moving to the beat. That went pretty viral. So, I was like, “The song is going crazy right now. It’s a great song. Let’s put our own flavor too.”
J.Seph: I had a lot of fun doing the cover because of the connotation and the diction of Spanish and Korean; there are many similarities. When you speak English, everything’s very smooth and it connects very well. Whereas with Korean and Spanish, it’s a little bit more harsh. So, I wrote the lyrics in Spanish in Korean, and I read the Korean as I sang.
On that note, you’ve sung a lot of songs in Spanish, both your covers and your own songs with excellent pronunciation. How proficient do you consider yourself in Spanish now? Or at all?
J.Seph: Maybe that of a one-year-old! [laughs]
I don’t believe that!
J.Seph: Believe it, believe it.
BM: There are members that have very good pronunciation. I took three years, but I think I’m definitely not one of the members that do well in Spanish. I think Somin and J.Seph have good pronunciation, where me and Jiwoo kind of tend to speak a little bit more smooth and connected. So it’s a little bit more tough for us on the pronunciation side. But all together, I feel like when KARD does a Spanish song, it’s pretty not bad.
It sounds excellent. So I’ll tell you that. You guys have covered everyone from Bad Bunny to J Balvin. When is the most coveted Latine collaboration coming? When is the feature finally coming?
BM: We want to do it right now. We’re ready for the collab, it’s who’s ready for us!
Who is your dream collaborator?
Jiwoo: J Balvin. Anitta.
BM: Becky G. Bad Bunny. Rauw Alejandro.
Somin: Rosalia!
You guys are pretty global at this point. I’m wondering what cities, when you tour, do you feel most at home at this point?
J.Seph: Mexico and Chile.
Somin: Every time we go tour, there’s always cities that we don’t miss. There’s always a sense of home that comes to us when we come back [to them] because there’s a lot of familiar faces. People would think there’s no way we would remember fans, but we do remember fans a lot of the time — especially the ones that are most ecstatic and all.
In a world where the attention span of people is getting shorter, how are you, as a group, making sure that people in Latin America can connect with the message of your music?
BM: I think we try to stick to what we’re good at. I think a lot of our previous albums, we like to provoke thoughts a little bit. With Iggy, we went with the whole pushing boundaries when it comes to how it is in conservative K-pop. With Way With Words, we had a message [about how] words can sometimes cut really deep. We’d like to have our visuals and our lyrics and our sound also always cater to that message, whenever we put it out. So I feel like that’s one thing, I felt first-hand through looking at comments and hearing messages from fans, that we do well.
For the girls, you were part of the Korean version of Super Junior’s “Lo Siento,” which is one of the best Latine x K-pop songs, in my opinion. What was that experience like for you?
Jiwoo: At the time when we got the proposal from the Super Junior team, we were rookies. It was such a big honor for us. Because the song was also the title song for the group and it was just amazing, and we were very surprised by the invitation.
J.Seph: I was at home, and I turned on the TV. I just saw them come out on the TV with them, and it felt amazing for me to see them perform together. For a while, the girls felt like a celebrity to me [laughs].
Somin: It was very exciting. I have very precious memories of the experience with the [Super Junior] group. Before my debut, one of my close friends was a hard-core fan of Super Junior. We used to go to the Dream Concert together! So being together with Super Junior is something that I can’t really explain because it’s just too much. It’s really interesting how things turn out.
Is there anything else that you would like Remezcla readers to know?
BM: We have more covers coming! The “Bellakeo” cover, we went crazy with it, but we have more.
