Ten years of gracing ears and the stage with her distinct sound and bringing together souls with relatable lyrics, P NATION’s singer-songwriter Heize has returned with a new album brimming with her raw self. Though admitted that it sometimes feels like baring her deepest self, the singer perseveres to stay true to her artistic vision of sharing deeply honest thoughts for the people who find solace in her songs. Heize’s journey, from being the one who was consoled by other artist’s tunes to wanting to make that music for someone else, continues.

With her 8th mini-album ‘Last Winter,’ which came about one year and a half after the release of her 2nd full-length album ‘Undo,’ Heize perfectly captures the essence of winter as she sees and feels it. This latest offering builds upon her 2019 mini-album ‘Late Autumn,’ showcasing the ever-evolving narrative of her heart that changes with the seasons.

Consisting of soothing tracks “Perhaps, Happy Ending,” “Stranger (feat. 10CM),” “Last Winter,” “Forget Me Not (feat. Chan),” “Midnight,” “FM 89.1,” and “Love goes around and comes around,” Heize invites you to feel the chill and ponder alongside her. “I thought it would be good for the songs and seasons to flow together, so I thought this album should definitely come out in winter,” she said.

To commemorate Heize’s 10th anniversary and latest album, allkpop had the opportunity to sit down with the singer – conducted on the very day of her anniversary. Keep reading to learn more about Heize as we dive into her latest album, inspirations, and everything in between.

allkpop: Your song lyrics are mostly about your experiences, but you said, sometimes, you feel embarrassed about it. Why so? But I think that's exactly what makes personal music so powerful and relatable—its raw honesty and vulnerability, right? As long as there are certain boundaries you set.

Heize: Things like talking about myself verbally to someone or showing people my daily life through social media are still very unfamiliar and awkward to me. The only place I can fully express myself, say what I want to say and what I can't say, is through a song. So, I try to put a lot of things into my songs. But sometimes I have mixed feelings about sharing my secrets that I've never told anyone before, about very personal things that I've gone through with someone, and about my heart and feelings, which are a lot more messy than I thought it would be. However, people who listen to and like Heize's music now tell me that they find empathy and comfort through such honest lyrics. So, I will continue to be honest in the future.

allkpop: Since your songs tell a lot about your personal life experiences, is there ever a time when singing your deeply personal songs brings up memories and feelings that make singing difficult, or does that even make it easier since you're so immersed?

Heize: The first live performance after releasing an album can be quite emotionally challenging. I think it's only natural that it takes a while to come back out of it because you're constantly replaying certain situations and conversations throughout the process. When it's too much, I see the lyrics as if they were a piece of writing rather than my story. If I practice thinking of them as a drama about two men and women, I find that it can help to calm the tears.

allkpop: Since you were young, you always expressed your feelings through writing. Until now, I read in an interview that you’re just in the studio, sitting in front of the computer most of the time. Have you ever faced a musical burnout, a point where you needed to take a break from all things related to music? A situation where you put anything music-related aside for a while, then come back to it later?

Heize: Of course. I've had moments where I've been like, "I want to get away from music, I want to forget it's music for a while." And then when I force myself to take that time away from it, whether it's three days or a week or whatever it is, there's such an after-effect when I come back to it. That feeling of having lost track of time, of being out of touch, seems to make me suffer more. Now, I'm trying to practice relaxing and playing with music when I take a break.

allkpop: But you also said that it’s a waste of time to spend on anything other than music. Are there other things that occupy your space outside music?

Heize: Nowadays, I enjoy watching movies and dramas after work to get my mind off of the situation that I'm in and the problems I had during the day. I don't have to think about myself. I've only been into dramas and movies for less than a year, and I'm glad that it’s becoming a healthy form of pastime. For the record, I love makjang dramas. (Makjang drama is a subgenre of Korean drama with dramatic plot twists, and outrageous storylines that might be hard to comprehend through the moral standards of an average person.)

allkpop: You stated that your initial goal was not to become a singer. What first drew you to music, and how has your relationship with it changed over time?

Heize: Looking back, certain songs have comforted me at different ages — songs that have been the soundtrack or BGM to my life. I think part of it is inherent in growing up so emotionally affected by music, and part of it is my mom, who always had music playing in the living room. When I started to listen to music on my own initiative, I would seek out songs that comforted me, mainly focusing on understanding and relating to the lyrics. Now, I mainly think about wanting to make that music for someone else. I think that's the biggest change. 

allkpop: Let's talk about your recent mini-album ‘Last Winter.’ Winter can mean a lot of things. Which of them do you think resonates most with your album? Was there a specific reason you chose the season for this album?

Heize: Of all the four seasons, I especially love fall and winter. There have been many winters so far, and there will be many more to come. However, this is an album that I tried to fully capture my winter in 2023, thinking that it would be the “first and last” winter I faced at that time, with my emotions, feelings, and circumstances. It’s already been last winter and I find myself using the expression “then.” I thought it would be good for the songs and seasons to flow together, so I thought this album should definitely come out in winter. And I released it on December 7, when it started to get colder.

allkpop: You also have an album named ‘Late Autumn.’ How do the moods of these albums reflect their respective seasons, and how would you differentiate these two?

Heize: The album ‘Late Autumn’ was released before it got really cold. You know, when you wake up in the morning and you feel the cold air and you're like, "Oh, it's going to be winter any minute now." ‘Last Winter’ truly contains the perfect winter, a snowy winter.

allkpop: You featured 10CM, BIG Naughty, and Chan for three of the songs on the album. Why did you decide to include them, and what’s something unique about them or their voices that specifically caught your attention? And what was it like collaborating with them along with the other lyricists and composers?

Heize: The song "Lips (Stranger)" was written with 10CM Sunbaenim in mind from the very beginning. I couldn't think of any other male voice that could sing it. Every time I listen to it, I'm so glad I did it with 10CM Sunbaenim. BIG Naughty, who sang "Forget Me Not," and Chan, who sang "Picnic of Night”... I'm such a fan of both of them! They really filled in the gaps that weren't filled in when I sang these songs by myself. I thought of them when I thought, "I wish [the songs] were a little bit hipper, I wish the songs feel more young.” Now that I've made that choice, I think, "I'm so glad I did," because their voices are so good. They write really good lyrics, and they know how to sing and play well in these songs. So, I left it to them and I didn't have to worry about it. I didn't have to edit it and I didn't have to give them any feedback.

This was the first time I worked with two producers, Cloud and PATEKO. The music that Cloud wrote was something I really liked and was a fan of, so it was an honor to work with him. I think we can make more good music together in the future, so I'm really looking forward to it. We're going to meet again this Saturday, so I hope we can come up with something good. When I listen to the music made by PATEKO, it makes me think that if the vibe I had in 2016 or 7 years ago came to 2024, wouldn't it be like this? I was happy when I sang it because it sophisticatedly contained emotions that I feel are difficult for me to create now.

allkpop: It’s been a decade since your debut! If you were to compare Heize from 10 years ago to now, in what ways are you the same, and what do you believe have been the main differences over the years?

Heize: I think 10 years ago, I had a lot more reckless courage than I do now. But when you're so soft and you're faced with a big mountain in front of you, you think, "Oh, what am I going to do?" and sometimes that turns into fear and you're quick to avoid or give up. I think now, I’m more like, "Oh, I can do this, and even if I'm not good at it, I can practice and I can get better at it. Even if you're scared and you don't think you can do it and you don't feel confident, just try your hardest and go for it, because when you do, you're going to get to the next level." I think I've developed a lot more faith in myself. I feel like it's a good time for me to make a change, because I know there are still a lot of things I want to try. And I'm going to try them.

allkpop: You’ve been writing songs for other artists as well; you recently wrote a song for tripleS. How does it feel to be able to share your piece of masterpiece with and through other artists? And what kind of development in terms of your musical range and artistry do you see from yourself?

Heize: When I'm writing my own songs, it's sometimes difficult to stretch the story to places I haven't experienced because the narrator of the lyrics is mostly “me.” At times like that, I feel a small but annoying limitation. But when I start writing for someone else, I feel like I can imagine a little more because the narrator becomes that person. It's interesting to come up with expressions that I wouldn't normally think of and to write in the image of the speaker that I see. As a side note, tripleS agency’s CEO Jung Byung Ki is someone I met and worked with when I was at my previous agency. He was and still is a CEO I respect and like a lot. I'm grateful for a lot of things and for so many people. I was really happy to be able to work with him again like this after all these years.

allkpop: In your interview released 5 years ago in 2019. You said that every song you've composed is based on your personal experiences and that you've never drawn inspiration from books or movies. That you avoid listening to your favorite singers when making music because it might affect the way you work. Does it still function that way for you after all these years?

Heize: I still feel like the most natural and comfortable thing for me to do when I'm writing stories is to draw from my own experiences. But I do consciously watch shows, movies, and books more than I used to and think, "Oh, that person could think like that, or express themselves in this way in this situation." I'm a little worried about it becoming a compulsion, so I have to keep it in check. There's a song I wrote after watching ‘The Walking Dead’ series, and it's called "I'm Sorry, I Love You (The Walking Dead)" from the ‘HAPPEN’ album. I still vividly remember writing that song as if I had killed thousands of zombies and sat down on the tattered road crying. I would love to see movies or shows like that again in the future.

allkpop: In light of that, in your opinion, do you think you have to go through something in order to make a good song about it?

Heize: It's important to see and feel, but it would be nice to be able to experience a lot of things in person. In the end, both beneficial and slightly harmful experiences are transformed into lyrics and songs, which are reborn as music that people listen to. So in the end, they may provide some kind of nourishment to me. But I think for me personally, I have now had a lot of comfortable, bright, and beneficial experiences. I feel like I want to do it. And love, the feeling of loving something. I think that is always a basic necessity.

allkpop: You have a lot of songs about breakups. What are some of the things you’ve come to learn about love? What has love taught you about?

Heize: Every time I hear this question, I still can't quite explain it. I think it's just love. I don't know, and I want to know so badly. But as you know, it's always there around us, like air. And if I say something with love in it, it travels through the air and gets into somebody's ear. And the person who hears it then utters soft words filled with some kind of love, and then it just keeps spreading and spreading… and isn’t that the power of love, that anything can be made better with the power of love in it? I think that's what I've often thought about. When the power of love is added, everything can go in a better direction. Love… I know it’s so important.

allkpop: Last December, you successfully held your solo shows. I was wondering how you prepare for a live performance. What kind of rituals or warmups do you do before you take the stage?

Heize: Oh... I get very nervous. I shake and I keep saying to myself, “Oh, I'm so nervous, I'm so nervous. But it's gonna go somehow after the first song.” I just try to stay in the moment. There's nothing much. I just try to get my mind together and focus very much on that moment. The thing that I always try to do, like a ritual, is to get to the point where I come out a little bit faster than the call, so I can get used to the air and wait for my turn to sing. So everyone always asks, “Are you leaving already? There’s still a lot left…” I was asked that question a few times on the way to the stage at the latest concert. Every time that happens, my answer is “Oh… I’m trying to adjust…”

allkpop: Lastly, do you have any final messages to allkpop readers and your fans?

Heize: Thank you to allkpop readers and fans who love Heize! I hope this year will be a year where you always take care of your health, drink lots of water, sleep well, and think about what makes you happy. I'll do my best to do my part, too. Thank you!

Follow Heize on Instagram here.