Charlotte Wilson is a multi-platinum singer-songwriter currently based in South Korea, who's behind some of your favorite K-Pop tracks. Her list of catchy songs keeps getting longer following the success of ITZY's "Not Shy" that "opened the doors" for her.
Fast forward to 2024, Charlotte now has built a great, diverse discography, including the hits aespa's "Drama," NMIXX's "O.O," "DICE," and "My Gosh," ENHYPEN's "Blessed-Cursed," ASTRO's "Knock," Weeekly's "Ven para," TRI.BE's "KISS," THE BOYZ's "Butterfly," Kep1er's "Giddy," TWICE MISAMO's "Rewind you," VERIVERY's "Undercover," ATEEZ's "Let's Get Together," and a lot more with EPEX's "Dominate" being the latest addition to her impressive résumé.
In this exclusive interview, Charlotte talked to allkpop about her journey of writing songs for such big K-Pop acts, her typical creative process, and more.
allkpop: To start, tell us about yourself and your favorite work.
Charlotte: I originally grew up in Trinidad and Tobago, but I was born in the UK. I started writing songs when I was 7 years old and loved coming up with melodies and toplines for different genres. There wasn’t much to do in the Caribbean, so I mostly focused on music to pass the time.
My personal favorite song I’ve written is “Drama” by aespa. It’s the perfect balance in a song. It’s swaggy but also enables the girls to display their vocal ability.
allkpop: Tell us the origin and backstory of how you got where you are right now. You've said in interviews that it was Rain who first caught your eye, but it would be great if you could giv.e a brief background for allkpop readers! Where and how did it all happen?
Charlotte: I stumbled across Rain by mistake! I think I was watching an Usher concert on YouTube and he opened for Usher, and I was so shocked that I didn’t understand what he was saying but loved what I could hear. Plus, I thought he was handsome, so to me, it was the perfect match! (laughs) Once I looked at Rain, I then fell in love with groups like Infinite, Boyfriend, B2ST, and B.A.P to name a few. This all happened around 2008, so I went on a deep dive into K-Pop for about 2 years before I actually felt like I had the formula in terms of sound and structure when writing.
Once I figured that out, I started practicing writing whenever I was free for about 3 years until I was confident enough to record my own demos. I worked on getting my demos to what I thought was a strong place and sent them out to publishers that I knew of at the time.
allkpop: I read in an interview where you said that ITZY's "Not Shy" opened more doors for you. Can you recall the moment you heard back from JYP after 2 years? What was it like getting to start big? I mean JYPE is part of the Big 3 and ITZY is one of the most popular 4th gen groups!
Charlotte: I found out via the producer about "Not Shy." He notified me that it was going to be ITZY’s next title track, and I remember I was out with friends, and I started crying. ITZY were the group I wanted to give my sound to the most, and I couldn’t believe that I had achieved it! I wrote "Not Shy" on my own and I wasn’t sure if people would like it, especially because ITZY were the hottest on the scene at the time. Getting to start big like that gave me a lot of pressure. I wasn’t sure if I could write another title or another title that people liked.
allkpop: You also wrote NMIXX's "O.O" and "DICE"! At first, the songs received mixed reactions. How do you deal with such?
Charlotte: I think everyone has different tastes in music, so when I saw they got mixed reactions, I dealt with it easily. Some people like the songs songwriters make and some people don’t, but it’s our job and we love what we do. We know we won’t make everyone happy, but just being able to display it to the world is a great accomplishment.
allkpop: I honestly love those songs of NMIXX. Yes, it might be confusing at first but they grew on me! And I'm still listening to them on repeat sometimes these days. Do you believe you already have established a signature sound of yours? Or are you leaning more toward exploring a lot of sounds as much as you can?
Charlotte: Thank you! I’m glad you like them. I personally believe I have a signature sound. Sometimes, I hear other songs and say, "This sounds like me!" It’s sometimes down to the flows I use or the melody choices where I can identify my sound. With that being said, I’m always exploring new sounds and always trying to reinvent myself to stay ahead of trends.
allkpop: Could you walk us through how you usually work on K-pop tracks? What comes first, the melody or the idea/lyrics?
Charlotte: For me, the melody comes first with certain words. If during the process a word jumps out, then I usually go with that for my concept. Sometimes, I’ll come up with the hook first melodically, or if it’s a rap, the lyrics will flow. I’m more focused on the melodies because as a listener, it’s what I listen to first. I know some writers are lyrically driven, but I’m more focused on getting the best melodies for each section and then finding the lyrics that best tell the story I’m trying to portray.
allkpop: Describe to us what your day looks like working in a studio. For you, what's the most crucial thing you consider when working on songs for different artists?
Charlotte: I usually get up and reply to any emails that I need to respond to and make sure all the paperwork is up to date. Once that’s done, I’ll go through what songs I either need to edit, start or finish. Sometimes, I’m working to tight deadlines, so it depends on if I have one coming up, and if I do, I prioritize that first. When writing for specific artists or groups, the most crucial thing for me is to give them something they haven’t done before. I try to push the boundaries of K-Pop and take them outside of their comfort zone. I never want to give a group something they’ve heard before because it won’t sound fresh. Another thing to consider is the vocal range of the group, how many vocalists and rappers they have etc.
allkpop: When you receive an instrumental, does it already have to be for "this" group, or is it on you to decide for which K-pop act this will suit best? Do you write songs with a specific K-pop group in mind?
Charlotte: It always depends. Sometimes, producers have a group in mind in terms of who they’ve made the song for, and sometimes, it’s my choice. If the instrumental is intended for a certain group, I then try to match that group's energy, and if not, I just do my own thing and hope a group or artist will like it.
allkpop: You've met with a lot of K-pop artists, but I was wondering if you have encountered K-pop idols with whom you literally worked in writing or producing a song? What is it like working with them?
Charlotte: I’ve had the pleasure of writing with some K-Pop artists and those songs are yet to be released, so I’m not at liberty to say who just yet! But what I will say is a lot, if not all idols are very talented when it comes to songwriting. They know what they want and the message they want to put across, which I think is amazing. My job is to facilitate that and get the best song possible.
allkpop: Any piece of advice you would like to give to those who want to write for K-pop groups and get their name out there on the credits/tracklist, especially since the industry is now so competitive and tough?
Charlotte: This could sound cliché, but for songwriters, just starting out and want to pursue K-Pop. I’d say practice makes perfect. Perfect your craft and sound. You’re competing with thousands of people, so making sure your sound is as clean and tight as can be is a plus. Remember there is only one you, so nobody sounds like you. Don’t worry about rejection. I was rejected by so many companies and groups before I got a chance.
Collaborating is also a great way to increase your chance of getting a cut. Collaborating allows you to find someone who may have what you’re lacking. Whether it’s vocals or production, or even vocal production. It can help improve your sound and chances.
allkpop: Now that you've come this far, living the life of the 16-year-old Charlotte had been dreaming, what's your next goal music profession-wise? Maybe a K-pop act you want to collaborate with, a musical style you want to experiment with, or anything goes!
Charlotte: Afrobeats is something I want to explore with K-Pop. I love the genre and would love to see more K-Pop acts dive into it. Sixteen-year-old me would probably not believe I made my dream come true. It took a lot of work and patience, but the key was that I never gave up. I just told myself someone would appreciate the music I write. I’m very thankful to all the companies I’ve gotten to work with, all the groups, and all the fans that support the music I write.
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