Corbyn Besson // Tzuyu
Stone Taul
Corbyn Besson has been through a whirlwind of events over the past few years.
The 26-year-old singer has been steadily trying to figure out his sound and voice as a solo artist since the breakup of his group, Why Don’t We, last year.
During the group’s hiatus and eventual break-up, he released several solo tracks: “Love Me Better,” “Like That” (featuring Armani White), “Panic” with NOTD, and “Don’t Run.” Though he loved the songs, he didn’t believe it truly explained who he was as an artist.
It wasn’t until his recent singles “Summer” and “Tied Up” that he felt a breakthrough moment in his music artistry. It was the first he wrote and produced that he genuinely felt like himself. He continued this self-discovery of his sound with his latest single, “Blink,” which features K-pop superstar Tzuyu of TWICE.
“This project feels like an entirely evolved, new, and authentic version of myself that I had to go through making some safe decisions and some that were wrong to land at this point,” Besson says over Zoom from his home in Los Angeles. “Don’t get me wrong, I love all the music that I dropped in 2024, but this new stuff feels fresher and exciting, especially ‘Blink’ with Tzuyu. This record is very fresh, and there’s nothing out right now that sounds like this song.”
“Blink” is an electronic R&B funk-pop song characterized by distinct, pulsating dance beats that capture the alluring nature of its lyrics. The song itself is about a man falling for someone, engaging in a cat-and-mouse game between the male and female leads – in this case, Besson and Tzuyu – and it all happens in the blink of an eye.
The 26-year-old singer is all smiles when logging onto our Zoom meeting to talk about the collaboration. He shows off his black Chicago Cubs baseball cap that has “Blink” embroidered on it, revealing it’s an Easter egg for fans, as he’s been wearing it throughout his press coverage and music video.
Interestingly, he had initially purchased the hat because it featured a simple “C” on it, which he says stood for his name. Once he realized it was for the Chicago Cubs, he had an epiphany: the Cubs were from Chicago, which is where Lollapalooza took place – and Lollapalooza was where he first met Tzuyu. So, adding Blink to the hat was meant to be.
“I’ve been wearing it across the campaign [and the music video],” he smiles. “This is probably my favorite hat. I’m going to wear out this hat. My manager is going to tell me to stop wearing it at some point.”
When Tzuyu’s name comes up, his face beams with joy, excited and honored to have worked with the K-pop star, and he had fun traveling to Seoul for the music video. Although he had visited Seoul a few times with his band years ago, he was able to experience some of the culture and food there this time, documenting his experiences online. He did catch the ire of many, including myself, when the first place he ate at upon landing was McDonald’s, because who goes to South Korea to eat at McDonald’s?
He is quick to defend himself when that is brought up, revealing that he and his creative team were an hour outside of Seoul for their first night there. Everything was in Korean, so they were looking for something familiar to them. They were able to try proper Korean food when they settled into Seoul the next day.
“It was the first night we got there,” he explains. “We got to the Airbnb, [which was an hour from Seoul], and it was not how it was advertised to us. So, we were walking around the streets at 9:30 p.m., trying to find something to eat, looking for anything remotely familiar or in English, so that we could ease our way into this experience. Since it was in the suburbs, everything was in Korean. We finally saw the golden arches, and only ate there once. Then we left the Airbnb to stay at a hotel in Myeong-dong, which ended up being amazing.”
Below, Besson talks about “Blink”, his “Seoul Searching” experiences, working with Tzuyu, and how his new music defines who he is now as an artist.
Laura Sirikul: Congrats on going solo and your single, “Blink.” How are you feeling about this release?
Corbyn Besson: It feels crazy. The last couple of years have been a lot of self-discovery, experimenting, and trying new things. With “Blink,” a couple of my good friends, who are also very talented creatives, and I went to the other side of the world to shoot a music video with one of the biggest global megastars, Tzuyu. That experience, to sum it up in one word, was insane.
The single is with Tzuyu of TWICE. We saw you guys interact at Lollapalooza. How did this collaboration come about? Were you a TWICE fan beforehand?
I’ve been writing for K-pop artists for a while on and off, here and there. I have had songs that BTS and NCT 127 cut a couple of years ago. I’ve been in the background in that sense. For a while, I’ve been talking to my team about wanting to do something in K-pop on the artist side. I wrote “Blink” with a couple of friends back in October or November last year. It’s been sitting in my hard drive for a while. It was the third song we wrote that day, and it was getting late, but we decided to crank out one more. The producer, Tenroc, is incredible. He started playing this sample chop on his keyboard, and it’s the sound in “Blink.”
When he played it, we didn’t have the word ‘blink’ yet, but it sounded like it. So, [we thought] we could write a song called “Blink.” We latched onto that, and the song wrote itself. We thought it would be so sick to have it between me and a female lead in the chorus. Because it was late at night, we had Tenroc record the original vocals for it and run it through an AI format into a random girl’s voice to see how it would sound with a woman’s voice on the song. It sounded really sick. So, fast forward, we have been living with the song for a while, and having conversations here and there about who we would want to [collaborate with] on the song. My A&R brought up Tzuyu. I was like, “Yeah, that would be the sickest thing ever.” Long story short, we reached out to her team, sent her the song, and she loved it, which I was not surprised by, because I knew the song was really good. But I was also surprised because she really wanted to do the song. I didn’t know her personally at the time, so it was just a bit of a surprise. But she loved the song and sent her vocals over. We plugged them into the session, and she sounded amazing. We were like, “This is perfect.” This is exactly what the song needed.
A month or so after, she and I were playing at Lollapalooza in Chicago. We met up briefly backstage before our performances. We did our handshake video. I didn’t get to see TWICE’s performance because I was performing with my friends at the same time. I was super sad not seeing their set. People online were raving about it – 20+ songs, back-to-back, full choreography, and no breaks. These girls are beasts.
What was your experience like in Korea and working with the Korean production team?
After meeting at [Lollapalooza, Tzuyu and my team] started planning the music video, and whether we would shoot it in LA or Seoul. I really wanted to do it in Seoul because I wanted to make a cool trip out of it. I just wanted to embed myself in the culture of the Korean music industry. It’s so inspiring and has a very unique structure. There’s something to be said about how cool and efficient and meticulous they are with their marketing. They really do things very precisely and deliberately. The American music industry is a little behind. It was cool going over there and being part of it for a second, and having physical boots on the ground in Korea.
I’ve seen the Vlogs. McDonalds?! Please tell me you went to an amazing 7-Eleven. Did you get to enjoy the nightlife in Hongdae?
I was looking for some 7-Elevens because they were supposed to be pretty crazy out there. I was looking for a cool one, but all I could find were little hole-in-the-wall ones. They all had [cool] Korean drinks. I tried a few of those, but I couldn’t find [a 7-Eleven] with the ramen machine. That’s one of the things I wanted to try. Maybe I wasn’t looking in the right place, but it’s on my bucket list for the next time I go. We went to Itaewon. We spent one night in Hongdae. It was one of the last nights, but we didn’t capture any vlog footage of it, though, because we were just beat.
How long did you stay in Korea?
We were there for 10 days. Every minute of every day was filled with something. It was the most insane trip ever. It was hectic and very stressful, but in the best way. Every day, we had something to look forward to. We had a task to accomplish. I went there with no manager. Nobody from the label. It was just me, my creative director, our director of photography for the music video, and my choreographer. It was just four dudes and a dream. We just took on the city. It was crazy.
You guys filmed a music video in Seoul. Could you tell me a bit about that moment?
I’ll start by saying that Tzuyu and her team are amazing to work with. They were very gracious and welcoming. Tzuyu is an angel. She is super sweet. When the camera turns on, she’s an absolute star. Getting to do this with her was really cool. It brought out a version of me I hadn’t seen in a while. Just to be able to be at her level was tight. The video is really fun. The guy sees this girl and, instantly, she takes over his whole world. This girl is all he thinks about. He needs to find out who she is because he’s never seen a girl like this before. So the video reflects that. It’s essentially this moment that’s happening in the blink of an eye. I see her, then wake up in this dream sequence, following her around Seoul. She’s playing with me a bit, playing hard to get. There’s a moment where our worlds collide for the first time, then to loop it all back around – I wake up.
The whole thing happened in the blink of an eye. It’s a cool concept. There are cute little choreography moments. Nothing too crazy because we didn’t have a lot of time to rehearse, but I have some in there that’s pretty cool. The chemistry between us on-camera reads really well. She really killed it on the day of this set. We shot from 2 pm to 3 am straight through. The coolest thing for me was the fact that we went into the streets of Seoul to shoot the music video. There was a little bit of thrill in that experience. How often do you get to [be with one of] Korea’s megastars on the streets and alleyways of Seoul to shoot a music video? That was my favorite part of all – just being able to explore the city and be amongst the people. It was [a bit] dangerous [because] we didn’t have permits to block off the streets. A lot of the shoot, we thought, “When are [the fans] going to find us?” There was one point during the shoot where 100-200 people showed up. We had to quickly divert the situation and proceed to the next location. One person saw us, and it spread like wildfire. Before we knew it, we were shooting our third take at this location, and a huge crowd was forming. We were like, “Okay, it’s probably time to go.” Really cool experience.
The last time you were in Seoul was in 2019, while on tour with your former group. How was the feeling between then and now? What is one thing you were surprised about being there? What did you enjoy the most about being there?
I love this question. It’s been six years since I was last there in 2019. The biggest difference for me being in Korea then versus now is that I actually got to spend time there. When we were playing shows as a group, we would fly in for one night and then leave the next morning. All we really have time for is maybe grabbing some lunch somewhere or exploring the city for an hour or two before the show. But even then, it could get a little sketchy, so we usually stayed at the venues. This time, we had time to see the city and enjoy the culture and food. We did some shopping and really experienced what Seoul has to offer. I love the city so much. I want to move there. After the 10th day had come around, we were not ready to leave. We felt like we just got started there. That was probably the biggest difference this time compared to six years ago. I actually had an amazing experience this time. It’s such a cool city.
Now that you’ve worked with a K-pop artist. Are there other collaborations you’d be interested in with other K-pop artists?
Stray Kids are super dope. They have [amazing] energy and fire. Jackson Wang is really cool. [I’d love to work with] any of the girl groups. I’m a big fan of XG, aespa, and BLACKPINK. I saw them at Coachella for the first time a couple of years ago. I had known about them, but hadn’t gotten into their music yet. After seeing their Coachella performance, I get it. I definitely get it. That was my real intro into listening to K-pop and understanding why it works and why it’s so dope. I’m super down to do more collaborations. I would love to. K-pop is expanding globally. I’ve been trapped in the U.S. for a while. Doing stuff that’s more international and hits pockets on the other side of the world is something I loved doing [and working] with Tzuyu. I would love to do a lot more, so we’ll see.
Did you do any dance challenges there?
I wish I had time to link up with some [artists] while I was out there. There’s going to be a dance challenge for “Blink.” Hopefully, some people will hop on the train and want to do it. I love that it’s a thing out there. For every song, there’s a dance challenge. I love that. That’s cool. We need to be doing that in the U.S.; Korea is just doing it right.
Now you need to have photocards in your album. It’s a thing in K-pop. K-pop companies often include collectible photocards in albums. Have you heard of those?
No. Put me onto the sauce right now! All right, noted. I’m locking that in.
You’ve released a few singles before and during your time with Why Don’t We. Your first releases in 2014 were “The Only One” and “Marathon.” Then, in 2024, during Why Don’t We’s hiatus, you released: “Love Me Better,” “Like That” (featuring Armani White), Panic (with Swedish duo NOTD), and Don’t Run. How has your sound, voice, and style changed between then and now?
It’s changed. Personally, I feel like an entirely different person than I was even two years ago. When I came out of Why Don’t We, it was a time in my life that was overall very weird. There was a lot of strange stuff going on with my career. The pandemic had just ended, and the world was shifting in a weird way. There was just so much stuff going on. Coming out of the group, I felt a bit lost – artistically, musically, and even personally. My first solo single coming out of the group, “Love Me Better,” was supposed to be the band’s next single before we split up. I just loved the song. With that record too, this is something I wouldn’t do today, but I thought that should be my first single because people are going to want to hear something that is reminiscent of Why Don’t We from me. It was the safe call I made for myself because I wasn’t thinking about myself. I was thinking about everybody else first. I felt that way for a while. The song is great. It’s a banger, and the fans love that song as well. I’m not talking down on the song at all. The intention behind it and what I do has not changed, but it has flipped 180 degrees. A lot of the music I’m dropping now, starting with “Tied Up” earlier this year, was written with some of my favorite collaborators. [Writing and producing on these songs] pushed me out of my comfort zone.
Everything I had done before felt safe. I found comfort in feeling safe. That was the right thing for me to do when my world was changing in weird ways because I could find safety in music. I discovered pretty quickly that growth only happens when you’re uncomfortable. So “Tied Up” was the first record I wrote with Tenroc and a couple of other amazing [writers] that pushed me out of my comfort zone and showed me a side of myself artistically that I didn’t know that I had or could pull off. So when I did that song, it really felt like me. I just unlocked something that I didn’t know I had inside of me. We wrote a bunch of songs, and most will be included on my EP, which is set to be released in the new year.
Even with this collaboration [with Tzuyu] felt like a cultural element – bringing Western pop and K-pop together in a way that’s new and exciting. It’s the first solo that she’s dropped in over a year, and my first collaboration with a K-pop artist. There are a bunch of cool elements about this record in particular that just feel dope. I’m excited for it, and to have her on the record is super crazy to me. She didn’t have to do this record. So, for her to love the song and want to be a part of it has been awesome.
You have your debut EP coming out sometime next year. We worked with Jeremih, Hit-Boy, Tenroc, Latin GRAMMY winner Trevor Muzzy, electronic dance pop duo Two Friends, and Tzuyu. What can we expect from this new chapter for you? What era would you say Corbyn Besson is in now?
With this era, you can expect more uniqueness in the music. [My team and I] spent a lot of time curating all the sound selection, the drums, the instrumentation, the storytelling, the narratives, and the lyrics. We’re actually working diligently on the final VFX and color grade for the music video as we speak. A lot is going on behind the scenes here because the video is coming out in a few days. But this new era is just fresh and authentic. It’s all very meticulous. The quality level of these songs is higher than some of the work I’ve done in the past, because I spent a lot of time on these records ensuring they were great and in a place where I truly loved them. The story is coming from me, but not everything is necessarily based on a real-life experience. I spent time making sure that I could relate to these things. There are a couple of records on there that are super directly from my life as well. But, in terms of [sound], these records are very fresh and sound unique and new. There’s nobody, at least that I’ve heard, making music like this stuff on the EP. That’s one thing I’m really excited for because I think I finally locked into what my sound is and who I am as an artist, what I want to say, how I want to sound, and how I want to perform. I’ve been doing choreography, which has been super fun. Integrating into the dance community has been super tight. The dance community is amazing. Everybody’s so nice, talented, and wants to have fun. I’ve been surrounding myself with people who want to have fun, enjoy life, and be creative. It’s been really good. I’m looking forward to touring next year. I’ll definitely be on the road. I haven’t toured in six years. It’s been a minute. A couple of my bandmates have gone out on tour, and I’ve been jealous of them because I’m over here cooking in the kitchen before I serve the meal.
Well, none of them can say they worked with Tzuyu of TWICE.
[laughs] I’m the only one that can say that, which is so dope. I still wake up some mornings, and I’m like, “Wow, we really did that. That really happened.” She sounds so good on the record. There’s nobody better for this song than her, which is so cool, because that rarely happens. With collaborations, people [think] maybe this person could have been good on this song, but I ran the list through my head, and I don’t think there’s anybody that could have done it better. I’m honored to be on a song with her. I’m glad she loved it. I hope the fans love my parts.
I’m definitely singing on it in a way that I haven’t really sung before. I definitely sound different. I have a little rap verse at the end, too, which is something no one’s heard from me before. I love that there’s an element of R&B [to it] because I’m a huge R&B fan. I’ve been trying to incorporate the aspects of it where I can, while still keeping it pop, because that’s where my roots are. I just want to make fun music. I want to get people back out on the dance floor. Not enough people are going out and dancing these days. So, I’m hoping my music will do that for people. My tour is going to be fun.
Corbyn Besson’s new single, “Blink,” featuring Tzuyu of TWICE, is out now and available on all streaming platforms.
This interview has been edited for length, brevity, and clarity.