Park Sunyoung, better known by her stage name Luna, is regarded as one of the most talented vocalists in the Korean Pop industry. She began her music career as a member of the Asian Pop group f(x), a quintet based in South Korea under SM Entertainment. In f(x), Luna served as the main vocalist; she performed the most difficult parts and belted spectacular high notes in the group’s songs.
Her powerful singing voice brought Luna tons of fan support, as well as a considerable amount of recognition from the South Korean public. She’s released numerous OSTs (original soundtracks) for K-Dramas and films, and has also established a career for herself in musical theatre over the past decade – her latest role being in the Korean musical “The Days” (2020). That’s not all, though; Luna has also released music under her own name.
In May 2016, Luna made her solo debut with the extended play “Free Somebody.” Consisting of six tracks (including the title track of the same name), the album showcased Luna’s versatility and potential as a soloist. The EP was a modest commercial success in South Korea, but received extreme critical acclaim for its polished production and Luna’s beautiful and powerful voice. In fact, Tonplein’s Yang Soha ranked “Free Somebody” (song) at number 25 in their “Top 50 K-Pop Songs from 2016-2019” article last year.
Over the next couple of years, Luna released a steady stream of solo music. In April 2018, she released digital singles “Night Reminiscin’” (feat. Yang Da-il) and “원하기 전에 Falling Out” to modest success. In January 2019, she released the digital EP “Even So,” which consisted of three tracks: “Even So,” “Do You Love Me” (feat. george) and “BYE BYE.” Each song had their own accompanying music video and received modest success.
In September 2019, Luna decided to not renew her contract with SM Entertainment and signed with the agency Humap Contents a month later. Under Humap, Luna continued her career as a musical actress and made the occasional variety appearance here and there. On occasion, she would tease new solo music, but it appeared as though fans would be waiting for some time.
Then, in a February 2021 CATCHUP video interview with KBS reporter Jung Ji-Eun, Luna revealed she’d established her own agency “Grida Entertainment.” She revealed to Jung she serves as the company’s Representative Director; as Humap no longer follows Luna’s social media, it is safe to say she has left the company and is now taking control of her own career.
Since then, Luna has been working diligently to provide fans with new music. On her official Instagram “hermosavidaluna,” she has steadily updated followers on the process with sneak peeks of the music video filming and the like. The biggest surprise, however, came on September 23, when Luna announced via Instagram that she would be hosting an in-person concert – “LUNA: A Moment in Time.” A week later, it was also announced that international fans would be able to enjoy the concert through “hellolive,” a platform which allows fans to watch concerts and the like through virtual means.
Then, on September 29, the inevitable happened. With a spectacular photo uploaded to her official Twitter and Instagram profiles, in which she dons a glittering headpiece with accompanying facial jewelry, Luna announced a new single would be coming soon. On October 1, she revealed the single was named “Madonna.”
After four more days of gorgeous teaser images and an exciting sneak peek of the song’s accompanying music video, Luna finally made her grand return on October 6. The song starts out as a power ballad, Luna’s velvety voice booming the lyrics: “When I grow up, I wanna be like Madonna/When I grow up, I wanna vogue how I wanna.” Yes, that’s right, “Madonna” is indeed an homage to the iconic 1980s singer.
After a melodic introduction, the song suddenly switches to a more dance-pop vibe with flashes of choreography throughout the music video. Throughout the song, Luna’s voice never wavers. Whether it be a ballad or pop track, the highlight of any song Luna releases will always be her voice. While the song is only two minutes and thirty-one seconds (where’s the bridge?!), “Madonna” is a strong comeback single which reaffirms why Luna is regarded as one of the best vocalists in K-Pop.
During the past few months, Luna has hinted she will be releasing an album sometime in the future. It is uncertain as to whether “Madonna” is the album’s lead single, but regardless, fans are eagerly awaiting what else Luna has in store.