What do you do when you are a world-renowned singer-songwriter and your big viral moment is for a portion of a song that doesn’t even feature your vocals?
Thankfully for Yves, her career has been defined by multiple highs, ranging from praise during her time with the K-pop girl group LOONA to her remarkable solo career, which has resulted in numerous hits, including the stunning dance track “Loop”, which topped PopMatters‘ survey of the Best K-Pop Songs of 2024. Yet 2024’s “DIM”, an emotional number where the backend features a deeply evocative chopped-vocal sample, soon became a sensation, soundtracking hundreds of thousands of shortform videos and being a part of a truly viral moment while helping break her name into even more global markets.
As someone who had been praised her whole career for beautiful singing, having an instrumental portion of her song be the soundtrack to over 20 billion global video views was undoubtedly a strange thing to process.
“To be honest, the part of ‘DIM’ that went viral wasn’t specifically my vocal section, but I was still incredibly grateful that the song as a whole received so much attention,” Yves notes when speaking to PopMatters. “I was really surprised by how many people used it on TikTok and other short-form platforms—and it was especially surreal to see it featured by the official accounts of ABBA and UEFA!”
While an EP of remixes was commissioned for “DIM”, Yves’ sonic story continues to grow and expand with Soft Error, her third proper studio EP in 15 months. Led by the slamming glitched-out dance-pop cut “White Cat”, this release finds Yves continuing to work with her go-to producer, IOAH, and craft a synthpop identity that is increasingly moving away from traditional K-pop tropes. She is slowly morphing into an electronic artist who just so happens to be working within the conventional K-pop system.
Prior to this record’s release, Yves had completed her “Apple Cinnamon Crunch Tour”, which took her from Europe to the United States to South America. During her US dates, she played several English-language covers, including Avril Lavigne‘s “My Happy Ending” and Vanessa Carlton‘s “A Thousand Miles”. To hear Yves tell it, she curated these live-only renditions for each country she performed in.
“I definitely considered the fans in each country when selecting the cover setlist,” she notes. “But more than anything, I chose songs that reflected the kind of music I loved at the time and the messages I wanted to share. That was my top priority.”
“I wasn’t particularly drawn to Avril Lavigne’s music when I first encountered it as a kid, but after starting my solo career, I found myself listening to and practicing her songs a lot more,” she notes when asked if she had more specific early 2000s influences. “Her powerful vocal tone and commanding stage presence have been a huge source of inspiration for me—they feel like something I can really learn from.”
Yet touring her solo songs with backup dancers soon led to her noticing the body rhythmic, specifically in how her fans would respond to the different themes and tempos of her work. “While the music itself is powerful on its own, I find it incredibly fun to express songs through performance,” she notes. “After performing ‘Loop’ and ‘Viola’ from my previous two EPs, I felt a stronger desire to create even cooler stage performances. That led to a lot of discussions with IOAH, the executive producer of this album, about what direction Soft Error should take.”
While her prior EPs (Loop and I Did, both from 2024) had a colorful diversity in textures, Soft Error has her taking even bigger, bolder risks. The brisk throwback house sound of “Soap” is a dance-pop melting pot, as PinkPantheress guests on vocals while it rides a sample of Rebecca Black’s “Sugar Water Cyanide”. While Yves and Pink find themselves working in increasingly shared spaces, Yves notes that the song came together in a beautifully unexpected fashion.
“Maybe it was the energy of the universe that brought us together,” Yves notes when recounting. “When I was working on LOOP, I was really influenced by PinkPantheress and often thought, ‘How amazing would it be to work with her someday?’ I think the way both her fans and mine continued to show love and hope for it really helped the collaboration come to life. Thankfully, PinkPantheress liked the track, and everything came together so naturally. It still feels a bit like a dream.
‘We ended up sampling part of a Rebecca Black track. IOAH and I had talked about how her energy—especially in the intro and outro—could really elevate the song. Thankfully, Rebecca’s team was so open and kind in allowing us to use it. I think that made the track feel complete. Huge thanks to PinkPantheress and Rebecca, and everyone who worked so hard behind the scenes to make this happen. My team kept telling me, ‘Don’t forget to thank Phoebe and Kenney!’—so here it is, with all my heart. Thank you for helping bring this song to life!”
While the throwback blog-rock sound of Aibo features rising Mexican artist Bratty, the rest of Soft Error is Yves’s solo and at her most unguarded. The sparsely adored and emotionally potent “Do you feel it like I touch” is evocative of the sparse synth-throb soundscapes of Western artists like Björk and Imogen Heap, and a logical next step for Yves. Pushing her voice through a variety of icy filters, she shows a great hesitance about speaking to someone, insisting she has to leave, but then asking, “Can you make me stay?” as if challenging them to be the party that makes the emotional investment. It’s one of the most affecting songs she’s ever made, even if her focal point was the performance aspect.
“I wasn’t directly involved in the writing or composition of that particular song, but speaking about my creative process—when I write lyrics, I tend to be honest and draw from real emotions,” she notes. “Rather than writing from the perspective of fictional characters, I try to tell my own stories, based on things I’ve experienced either directly or indirectly. I believe that’s what allows me to convey genuine emotion when I sing, and helps that sincerity reach the listener.”
On Soft Error‘s acoustic closer “Mom”, themes of longing and missing those around you are present, yet the melodies they sing still ring in your head. Between more open-mic sing-alongs and re-working her voice through elaborate production effects, she truly embodies the “voice as instrument” philosophy, which at times is almost in defiance of K-pop norms, which sometimes prize crystal clear vocal “killing parts” above other elements. “Sometimes I do feel the urge to show my natural vocal tone as it is, but to maintain Yves’ distinct character and musical identity, I think using my voice more like an instrument—whether by boldly applying filters or pushing the tone higher—is an interesting and creative approach.”
Yves’s ability to craft increasingly daring music on such a short time frame speaks to her incredible work ethic and her ability to challenge her team. “I’m really grateful to my producer IOAH, who’s been working so hard alongside me,” she beams when asked about her rapid release schedule. “I’m the type who can’t stay still for long—I’m always working on something. Even if a song doesn’t make it onto an album, that ongoing creative process helps me find direction and inspiration for what comes next.”
While her former LOONA sisters remain in good contact and supportive spirits, there’s one friendship she particularly treasures: “Chuu! She’s the member I stay in touch with the most, and her bright, cheerful voice always lifts your mood just by listening to it. I think that’s one of her greatest strengths.”
Yves may have been the last of the LOONA members to launch her solo venture, but her strong, remarkably consistent discography is nothing short of a wonder. K-pop is a fascinating genre that continually pushes for new, groundbreaking sounds while staying in a fairly rigid framework with release packages and preserving the sacred idol-fan relationship. Yves isn’t just carving her own path: she’s bordering on something new and unique, intimately daring and yet so clear in its vision, it’s no wonder she’s found great success, especially with Western audiences. When I mention that even in my friend group, we find great joy in her artistry specifically, she pauses for a bit of reflection.
“There are times when I’m just stuck in the practice room or lying alone at home, lost in my thoughts, and I start to feel small and insignificant. But when someone says something like this to me, it reminds me of my worth. I want to become an even better artist—someone my fans can be proud of. “
As the dawn of Yves’ Soft Error emerges and she continues touring the world, we ask her to reflect on her solo journey and what she considers her proudest accomplishments. “More than any specific outcome or achievement, I’m proud that I’ve been able to release three solo albums consistently,” she notes. “Before my solo debut, I saw a lot of comments on YouTube saying things like, ‘She’s not meant to go solo, she should return to the group.’ So in a way, being here now feels like I’m telling those people, ‘I’m doing just fine on my own.'”
After hearing Soft Error, it’s clear that Yves is more than just fine: she’s breaking down sonic barriers. No number of viral moments can ever usurp an achievement like that.