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In the span of 15 years,Sunmihas lived dozens of lifetimes.
Sunmi/Instagram
Sunmi sits across from me in a tan sequined spaghetti-strapped mini dress.
(Here aresome similar ones if you want to recreate her makeup.)
Her lips are topped with a matte dusty rose hue that doesn’t budge as she sips hot tea.
Sunmi performing “24 Hours” on Mnet Countdown in 2013 with Cha Hyun Seung (left).
And Sunmi no longer has ultra-long, mermaid-like bright tangerine hair.
For tour, she’s dyed it dark chocolate.
Tonight it blends into subtle ways that flow down her arms.
“So I tried to express that in my hair and makeup.”
However, as soon as Sunmi starts performing, I get more of aChicagoon Broadway vibe.
Someone needs to get her a gig as Velma Kelly asap, if you ask me.
Sunmi performing “24 Hours” on Mnet Countdown in 2013 with Cha Hyun Seung (left).
After all, Sunmi easily flows between Korean and English throughout our interview.
But Sunmi’s New York City-inspired look is only for now.
Through my eyes, beauty seems ephemeral to Sunmi; something with endless possibilities to explore and even invent.
Sunmi in the 2015 music video for “I Feel You."
All of this is but a reflection of what she’s experiencing at this very moment.
As her emotions shift, her relationship with beauty finds new tessellations.
Earlier this summer, Sunmi captivated fans across the world with her summer hit"Heart Burn.
“Her look had a more whimsical vibe than tonight’s aesthetic.
“In the music video, I come across as almost a vampire,” she shares.
In theory, Sunmi does.
Throughout it, she falls in love and kills lovers throughout space and time.
The thing is Sunmi doesn’t present herself in a typical Elvira-like manner.
Nothing about her interpretation of a vampire says Mistress of the Dark.
“I thought it would be quite a fun look if a vampire had freckles,” Sunmi reveals.
The same sunny warmth was displayed in her orange hair, too, she adds.
In the context of Sunmi’s career, this twist on the vampire trope makes sense.
Sunmi has an essence of immortality.
She’s K-pop’s lovable ray of sunshine that cannot be dimmed for anything.
She lived out and encapsulated the ultimateY2K beautyfantasy.
Sunmi performing “24 Hours” on Mnet Countdown in 2013 with Cha Hyun Seung (left).
They replaced choreography with instruments for their performances of"I Feel You.
“Sunmi strummed the bass guitar withcopper hairin ’80s updos and mod winged liner.
Sunmi in the 2015 music video for “I Feel You.”
It takes her 2019 single “Noir” to impressive Y2K era pop-rock proportions.
Playing bass is a challenge I wanted to attempt, Sunmi tells me backstage.
It’s really hard, though.”
She’ll repeat this sentiment on stage for all to hear.
Sunmi even tries to prove it by singing and playing without any other instrumentals backing her up.
Instead of seeming arduous, it all comes off effortlessly.
All her apprehensions clearly melt away the second her songs start to play.
Her quietness backstage switches into the sassy charisma of a trulyTaurean performer.
She even tells a male fan constantly yelling between songs toshut up.
When she gets back to her hotel room tonight, Sunmi will head right to bed.
“You don’t do any face masks or anything?”
I ask, wondering if she has any self-care rituals on tour.
“I’d rather spend my time sleeping instead,” she returns.
Even vampires need their beauty sleep after all.
