Hearts2Hearts’ presence in the K-pop scene is much needed.
The eight-member outfit, hailing from one of Korea’s best-known music labels, SM Entertainment, fills a void in the industry. The teenaged girl group — consisting of members Jiwoo, Carmen, Yuha, Stella, Juun, A-na, Ian and Ye-on — has released fun, energetic and downright catchy music over the last year since their February 2025 debut.
“Rude,” a confident and sassy pop anthem released today (Feb. 20), is no exception. Full of energy and pop goodness, the single feels reminiscent of one of SM Entertainment’s most popular girl groups, Girls Generation. Hearts2Hearts, who has covered the legendary girl group in the past, proudly declares the group as their inspiration. “We look up to Girls Generation and want to be like their team too,” Hearts2Hearts member Yuha, 18, tells The Hollywood Reporter during the group’s first American print interview.
The girls of Hearts2Hearts are preparing for their first set of shows in North America with their showcase Hearts 2 House. The show will allow the group members a chance to introduce themselves to a global audience and perform for their already sizable U.S. fanbase. Stella, 18, teases that the group will perform “special stages” during the shows.
Below, the girl group breaks down their new single “Rude,” shares what they’ve learned from each other over the last year and teases what’s to come at Hearts 2 House.
You’re about to release your latest single, “Rude.” Can you tell me a bit about the song, and why it’s such a good fit for you?
JIWOO “Rude” is a single that we are introducing after announcing Focus four months ago. It’s about choosing to be yourself, even if it looks a little bold from the outside. It’s a playful warning to anyone who tries to put you into a box saying, “This is who I am.” [It’s] confident, cheeky and honest. The song really shows our energy. That’s why we think that the song fits us very well.
Over this last debut year, have you learned more about what kind of music you want to make
JIWOO We have been delivering different songs [with] different vibes since our debut. Each time, each member have had different feelings about what we like, so I think it’s been an amazing journey of finding what kind of songs we prefer.
Does anyone have anything they feel they learned about themselves as a performer over this last year?
STELLA I definitely learned how to be more confident and how to enjoy the stage. I was very nervous before our debut, but now that we’ve had a lot more experience and now that we get to meet all our fans, I feel like I can really enjoy what we’re doing and enjoy the stage a lot more.
Do you feel you’ve been able to find a teamwork with one another that works well? Obviously, you trained with each other but I imagine it’s different once you’re doing the job.
JUUN In terms of performance, we really tried hard to focus on performing and dancing on the stage as a one. Jiwoo and I have been the ones leading the practice, but now all the members are trying to give input [or share] their thoughts while preparing for the stage.
With your showcases, you’ll finally be able to meet more fans globally this year. What are you most looking forward to? Do you have any big goals?
STELLA We’re really, really hyped to go to North America because it’ll be our first time going just for Hearts2Hearts. We have gone for SMTOWN but we’re really, really excited to meet more of our fans from the U.S. and Canada. I think a big goal for us for now is just to let more people know about who Hearts2Hearts is as a group and definitely to meet more S2U [name for the group’s fans] from that part of the world.
That’s really exciting. I imagine it’s a little bit different when you’re coming here just for you guys, like you said, versus with the entirety of SM. What do you think fans can most look forward to with this showcase?
JIWOO Of course our new single performance but also we’ll be doing a cover performance that we haven’t shown before, so it’ll be very different. We’ll be able to show a side of Hearts2Hearts that we haven’t shown before. We are very excited to show that to our fans.
What have preparations looked like? How have you been practicing and preparing for this showcase?
YUHA Since this is our solo stage, we’ve put in extra time and extra efforts to really deliver the best performance to our fans,
What have your learned from your fellow group members? Do you feel any of your skills have improved thanks to working together? Or do you feel you have a strength you try to share with your teammates?
A-NA I really love to dance. When I’m with my teammates, I’m the one that’s very energetic and fueling the team with energy.
CARMEN For me, Juun helped me a lot with my dancing. I didn’t confident about my dance [skills] but all the members and Juun have always helped me. And all the members have helped me a lot with Korean because I am a foreign member (Carmen grew up in Indonesia and moved to Korea to train under SM Entertainment(. They’ve helped me a lot and teach me so many things.
STELLA Similar to Carmen-unnie [Korean honorific meaning older sister], I definitely learned a lot about dance from Juun and Jiwoo-unnie. They’ll always help me if I don’t know how to move my body. I’ve also learned a lot of Korean. Although I am Korean, I’m still a bit new to it (Stella was born in Korea but grew up in Vancouver).
IAN I love performing onstage. I try be very confident whenever I go onstage and try to share that happy vibe and energy with my friends while performing.
Awesome. Does anyone else have something they want to share?
YE-ON I love to sing. Within the team, I get the most energy from Ian and A-na.
JIWOO I think all of us have been supporting each other and helping each other grow. Especially Juun and Yuha have helped me when I do dance practice. Others have helped me when I try to find the right notes during singing practice. I also get energy from Ian and A-na, as Ye-on said. So, really, all of the members have helped each other group as a team.
JUUN I’m really keen on trying to prepare well for dance and stage performance and not be too nervous. The older members, Carmen and Jiwoo, have been very supportive, and I rely on them to [help me] not be nervous and be confidence.
YUHA I like recording our songs and the process of production. I talk to Ian a lot about the songs. We have a very similar musical taste, so we share playlists as well.
I like that you’ve all taken different things from each other. Going off of what Yuha said about recording, what was recording “Rude” like? Do you feel like the recording process is bit easier now than in the beginning?
YUHA When we first heard the “Rude” demo, we really, really liked it, so we looked forward to recording the actual song. After we recorded it, we got together, listened to it and then we just couldn’t wait to show it to the world and to our fans to see what their reactions are going to be like. Compared to our first time recording, it seems like our confidence has been boosted as we get more experience.
In terms of Hearts2Hearts as a group, what do you feel like sets you apart or makes you unique? Do you think there’s something only Hearts2Hearts can do? You might still be figuring that out, and that’s OK too.
YE-ON One thing that’s very unique about our team is that we have many members in the group, which means that we can deliver very diverse and dynamic performance. I think that’s what makes us different and very unique.
Sonically, as we’ve talked about, you’ve been able to try many different vibes. Is there a specific genre or a specific type of song you’re hoping to do in the future?
YUHA If you are familiar with our label, you might have heard of SMP (the term coined to describe a signature SM Entertainment song). An SMP song is [a genre] we haven’t tried out yet, so that’s something that we definitely want to try in the future. A ballad is also something that we haven’t tried and want to at one point.
This is something I ask most artists I speak with. How do you hope to be perceived as a group?
IAN I think we’re aiming to be girls who have a lot of shiny energy. When people think of us, we want them to think about happiness, brightness, youth. That’s the image that we are pursuing.
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