appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Mabel Lui

Back in early 2024, Edward Park was having dinner when he received a text from a friend. It read: “Hey, have you ever thought about being a K-pop idol?”
“Here we go again,” he thought, letting out an audible groan.
That is because the budding actor had already chased his K-pop dream: he spent three months in Korea when he was 17, honing his singing and dancing skills around the clock at a Seoul training centre that acted as a funnel for K-pop agencies. There, Park would sing “until my voice would just collapse in on itself” and dance “until I would just collapse on the floor”, he says.
But after promises to join two big companies never materialised – as well as concerns over his mental and physical health – Park decided to walk away from the industry.

By the time a smaller label gave him an opportunity to debut as an idol shortly before he left Korea in 2021, reality had hit for Park. “Debut isn’t even the start. You have to last the test of time,” he says. “I would have to give up my education, my future.”
So receiving that text years later in the United States – where Park had just wrapped up a role as a blue-haired K-pop hopeful in Anderson .Paak’s 2024 directorial debut K-Pops! – brought up mixed emotions.
He was hesitant to dive in again, but a part of him still itched to perform, so he threw caution to the wind and sent an audition tape to the agency he was referred to, Allele Entertainment.
He made it through callbacks, and was chosen to join the line-up of what is now Re:wind, a new K-pop trio made up of Park – using the stage name Eddie – along with members Elaya and Lei.


The group made their official debut on March 28 this year with the song “Forever”, and before that, their pre-debut song “Re:set” set the tone for what Re:wind is all about – resetting and chasing second chances.
It’s a fitting concept for all three members, as, like Eddie, Elaya and Lei also previously trained in Korea as idols.
Elaya, who is of Japanese and European heritage and grew up in Mexico and New York, was introduced to K-pop through watching a K-drama in which Yoona of the group Girls’ Generation appeared. Having sung since he was eight, he decided to audition for several K-pop companies and eventually was invited by one of them to train in Korea, in 2018, when he was 16.
The door to debut was right there, and my hand was on the knob, [but] I decided to let that opportunity go, because I decided that I wanted more of a safety net in terms of my school
Elaya, Re:wind member
But after the summer was over, he decided to return to the United States. “That experience for me was very fulfilling, and it was a happy time, but also very hard,” Elaya says. He had to choose between his dream and education, and decided to finish school and attend college, giving in to his parents’ wishes.
But his K-pop dream continued to gnaw at him. “It became an obsession for me, where I was like, ‘I have to go back’,” he says.
So when he received an opportunity to train again with the same company in 2023, with more assurances that he would have a chance to debut, he jetted off to Korea again.

When he got there, however, it did not feel the same. “I was really confused, because it was everything that I dreamed of, but I was really unhappy,” Elaya says. “Being 16 and being 21 in the industry, I saw it from very different eyes. It didn’t feel secure, especially at my age.
“The door to debut was right there, and my hand was on the knob, [but] I decided to let that opportunity go, because I decided that I wanted more of a safety net in terms of my school.”
Similarly, Lei, who is Chinese-American and is from Boston, Massachusetts, also walked away from the industry after spending a year and nine months in Korea.
A singer with a low-pitched voice, he grew up listening to music from Queen, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits and The Jackson 5, and sang in choir and a cappella groups before deciding to try out K-pop while in college.
After a small company accepted him he took a gap year in 2021, flew to Korea and joined a music academy to improve his language skills. While he was there, he passed auditions for several other small companies, but did not sign a long-term contract.

“I was already 21 years old, which is kind of an ‘expiring’ [age] in the K pop industry,” he says. “Something that I was hearing a lot when I did these auditions was, ‘You’re talented, you’re good at singing, however, you’re too old, or you don’t fit the image that we’re looking for’.”
After receiving similar feedback from larger companies, he decided to return to the US and finish college.
Eddie, who is Korean-American and grew up in southern California, has a background in musical theatre and listened to groups like Girl’s Day and BTS growing up.
He wanted to become a K-pop idol after watching the boy group reality competition series I-Land – the show that debuted Enhypen – and decided when he was 17 to spend a summer in Korea at a training centre to practise his dancing.

All three Re:wind members tried the traditional K-pop path and decided it was not for them, but they never completely lost their passion for performing.
So when the opportunity to join Allele came, they each decided to give it one more shot. Elaya was connected to Allele’s chief executive officer, Audrey Lee, through a friend in December 2023; Lei passed a global audition in February 2024 and was ranked first out of 5,000 people; Eddie, after several callbacks, was the last to join the line-up in March 2024.
For Elaya, the decision to join Re:wind was a no-brainer. “I originally thought I only had one way to do it, and I had become obsessed with that one path only,” he says. “I realised [there] is a different way. I’m not giving up.”
With Re:wind, Elaya points out, the members have a lot more flexibility, both as part of the group – “all of us are able to really express ourselves and our artistry,” he says – and outside it.

Lei, for example, is also part of an a cappella group in Boston called Pitch Slapped, and has signed a songwriting contract with a Korean music publishing company. He provides input as a songwriter and producer.
“Lei is a musical genius. He can hear one line for the first time, and he could come up with four different harmonies for that, and be able to repeat or make something entirely new,” Eddie says.
Eddie, with his acting background, offers performance-related advice, and Elaya acts as the “group mom”.
The trio have spent the past year preparing for their debut, during which time they have shaped Re:wind into a reflection of themselves: a K-pop group with Western pop influences. They are all Asian-Americans who grew up listening to 2000s stars like Britney Spears, NSync and Backstreet Boys.

In December 2024 they met up in Los Angeles, where they recorded “Re:set” and “Forever”, took part in photoshoots, learned dance choreography and shot the music videos, all in one week.
“At the core of [Re:wind] is, what would you do if you went back in time? We’re talking about this limbo of wanting to go back, but you can’t, so what can you do now? I think that’s a very universal topic,” Eddie says.
“Re:set”, for example, touches on the struggles the members faced, and their desire to try again. The verses are in a minor key while the chorus is in a major key, reflecting the ebb and flow of their respective music journeys.
There is one lyric in “Re:set” in Korean, which roughly translates to: “Whatever you do, if you want it, don’t stop.”
It’s an apt reflection of the group and their hopes for the future, Lei says. “Objectively speaking, we’re still young, and we can make our own opportunities by continuing to work hard. That’s exactly what happened with Re:wind.”


South Korean police seek tycoon behind K-pop supergroup BTS to be indicted

Can Southeast Asian artists replicate K-pop’s global success with SEA-pop?

Christian metal band Demon Hunter sues Netflix over KPop Demon Hunters

Does K-pop need the Grammys? BTS’ boycott reignites debate

K-pop, Mandopop and other Asian pop

New K-pop boy band trio Re:wind talk about second chances and resetting their careers

Re:wind members Elaya, Eddie and Lei each spent time in Korea chasing their K-pop dreams before returning to the US. Now they have returned to the music industry. Photo: Re:wind

Eddie, who is Korean-American and grew up in southern California, has a background in musical theatre and listened to groups like Girl’s Day and BTS growing up. Photo: Re:wind

Elaya, who is Japanese-Spaish and grew up in New York, started singing seriously when he was eight. Photo: Re:wind

Lei, who is Chinese-American, grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. Photo: Re:wind

Eddie has been singing and acting from a young age. Photo: Re:wind

Lei spent a year and nine months in Korea training to be a K-pop idol before returning to the US to finish college. Photo: Re:wind

Before debuting, Eddie, Elaya and Lei spent a week in Los Angeles together on photoshoots, learning dance choreography, recording Re:set and Forever and shooting music videos. Photo: Instagram/presstherewind

As famous as BTS? Meet Plave, virtual K-pop boy band whose real identities are kept secret

An image of K-pop virtual boy band Plave posted to Instagram in March to mark their second anniversary. Plave are aiming for global fame like BTS. Photo: Instagram/plave_official

Fans of virtual K-pop boy band Plave take a look around a pop-up store in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: Reuters

A fan takes a photo of Plave at a pop-up store in Seoul, South Korea. Plave were the first virtual idol group to enter Billboard’s Global 200 chart. Photo: Reuters

Is IU dropping new music? Star of When Life Gives You Tangerines teases possible comeback

One of a series of selfies shared by Korean singer and actress IU on Instagram. Photo: Instagram/dlwlrma

Fans are buzzing over IU’s potential music comeback after she posted a series of selfies online – one in what may be a recording studio. Photo: Instagram/dlwlrma

In one image, IU is wearing a headset in what appears to be a recording studio. Photo: Instagram/dlwlrma

Is NewJeans gone? What K-pop group’s saga reveals about power play in artist-label relations

NewJeans at the Billboard Women in Music Awards in Inglewood, California, in March 2024. Photo: Reuters

Min Hee-jin, the creative force behind K-pop group NewJeans, during a press conference in May 2024. Photo: AFP

Members of K-pop girl group NewJeans meet the press at the Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, in March. Photo: EPA-EFE/Yonhap

NewJeans rebranded as NJZ amid the dispute with Ador and Hybe. Photo: Facebook/NewJeans

7 of the best new K-dramas to watch in April 2025, including Netflix thriller series Karma

Shin Min-a as Lee Ju-yeon in a still from Karma. Photo: Jihyeong Seo/Netflix

Shin Min-a as Lee Ju-yeon in a still from Karma, a limited series debuting on Netflix in April 2025. Photo: Jihyeong Seo/Netflix

Lifestyle

Entertainment

K-drama

Bands

Culture

Music

K-Pop

News

Eddie, Elaya and Lei had all auditioned and trained in Korea to be idols before leaving the industry, only to return to it and join Re:wind


Eddie, Elaya and Lei had all auditioned and trained in Korea to be idols before leaving the industry, only to return to it and join Re:wind.


United States

Gen Z

New K-pop boy band trio Re:wind talk about second chances and resetting their careers

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Eddie, Elaya and Lei had all auditioned and trained in Korea to be idols before leaving the industry, only to return to it and join Re:wind

Eddie, Elaya and Lei had all auditioned and trained in Korea to be idols before leaving the industry, only to return to it and join Re:wind