In addition to Ryu Su Jeong establishing her independent label and releasing her debut full-length album, the singer-songwriter and former Lovelyz girl-group member is revealing her first-ever English song to reach even more listeners with her music.
Billboard premieres Ryu Su Jeong’s new song and music video for “How Can I Get Your Love,” a cut off her soon-to-be-released LP, Archive of Emotions.
In a similar soundscape to previously revealed singles “Love or Hate” and “Daydreaming,” which will both appear on the album, “How Can I Get Your Love” offers a lo-fi, bedroom-pop atmosphere elevated by the honeyed melodies Ryu was famous for as a lead vocalist in Lovelyz’s string of hits from 2014-2021.
Over refreshingly unfiltered drums and guitars, Su Jeong expresses mixed emotions that are equally relatable and heartbreaking. In a sweet, melancholy delivery, she sings, “You say, ‘I love you’/ I could not answer anything…/ I’m afraid to imagine that you’re not there/ What if that happens? There’s no such thing that lasts forever.”
The accompanying music video sees the K-pop star in a tangle of situations to represent the spectrum of sentiments expressed in the song. At one moment, Su Jeong is hiding under a couch from the people walking around her, and the next moment she’s lying on the sofa with her hair stroked by a gentle hand. There’s also the juxtaposing image of Su Jeong surrounded by a pile of fuzzy teddy bears that seem adorable until she finds a pair of scissors and rips them all into stuffing.
But the most striking image in the video comes when a pull cord like those of a wind-up doll snakes out of Ryu Su Jeong’s back. Is it a metaphor for a toxic friendship? Infatuation? The K-pop industry? Expect several fan theories to arise from this visual.
In preparation for Archive of Emotions, the 25-year-old tells Billboard she wants songs like “How Can I Get Your Love” to have a universal appeal to soothe and comfort listeners through any difficulties they may be facing.
“I hope the people that listen to my music will heal and be able to confront all sorts of things that are just inevitable and tend to just come in life,” she says. “I also hope it becomes a long-lasting and remembered album for everyone that listens to it.”
Archive of Emotions drops on April 20 at 5 a.m. ET (6 p.m. local time in South Korea). For now, listen to and watch “How Can I Get Your Love” exclusively on Billboard:
