[HA for DROKU] Megan Lee: Beyond The Camera

Korean American artist Megan Lee is a 15-year-old singer/songwriter, actress and dancer from Southern California. But even though you might see her performing on a popular YouTube or in a TV commercial, she’s just a normal teenage girl (she’s got a huge crush on Justin Bieber) chasing after her dreams.

DROKU: How did you get your start as an artist?
MEGAN: Actually in the beginning, I was mainly focused on my acting career.  I was then a part of Kollaboration Acoustic 3 and started posting videos on YouTube.I’ve started to grow a passion for music in a whole other way. Music and singing has always been a love of mine, but I didn’t think of pursuing it until last year. Now it’s a big part of me!

DROKU: What was it like participating in Kollaboration Acoustic 3 with so many artists?
MEGAN: It was such a blessing to be able to share a stage with amazing and talented artists. Being a part of the Kollaboration family has helped me grow more as an artist; it really changed my life.

DROKU: What has been your favorite performance so far and why?
MEGAN: My favorite performance is probably when I covered “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley at the “Creative Juice Night 2,” because I felt so much connection with the audience in that performance. I really gave it my all!

DROKU:Who has been your inspiration as a singer and songwriter?
MEGAN: Watching television and YouTube made me always think, “I want to do that too.” So instead of waiting for an opportunity to share my passion, I made an opportunity for myself. I got a camcorder and just started singing songs and writing music to share with others. A few of my inspirations are Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Michael Buble, Christina Aguilera, and many more.

DROKU:How old were you when you started posting videos on YouTube for the world to see?
MEGAN: I was 13, almost 14.

DROKU: Who inspired you to actually make the YouTube videos?
MEGAN: The first YouTubers I watched were David Choi and Nigahiga (Ryan Higa). They basically pulled me out of the closet and inspired me to share my passion with the whole world.

DROKU: You’ve collaborated with Shock-1, Jason Chen, Gerald Ko, Paul Kim, Sun Ho Lim…What has it been like collaborating with different singers through YouTube?
MEGAN: It is such a blessing to be able to know and meet all these great and inspiring artists. I feel incredibly lucky to have such amazing people who have become like my older brothers and sisters – not only as musicians, but even as mentors.
YouTube is a small world and almost everyone knows each other. To be able to connect and combine forces to make music, make people laugh, or even for people to get inspired is just amazing.

DROKU: Do you like collaborating with others or do you prefer working on covers alone?
MEGAN: I always look for great collaborations to work on and I think it’s awesome to collaborate with others as an artist because you are just combining forces like Power Rangers!

DROKU: Who would you like to work with that you haven’t already?
MEGAN: Someone I would REALLY love to work with is Justin Bieber. He has been a huge inspiration to me. Being only one year older than I am, he’s just a regular teenager following his dreams. And that is what I’m doing.

Seeing him also inspiring others and creating such a big impact in a positive way is just amazing and that is what I want to do for others too.I realized, after all of these terrible disasters that have been happening, I have a job to do as an artist. I want to use music to change and to make people feel more positive.

DROKU: You have a video on YouTube of yourself dancing. Have you danced professionally or just for fun? Do you dance as often as you sing?
MEGAN: Dancing is something I’ve been doing since I was two, along with singing and acting. I’ve danced in body worship groups at church and at school. It was always just a hobby and for fun. Nowadays unfortunately, I don’t dance as often because of time.

DROKU: You’ve participated in the “MBC Star Audition.” What was the experience like, from LA auditions to your experience in Korea? How far did you get in the competition?
MEGAN: I made it right before the top 20. Going to Korea for the first time and getting a little taste of the Korean industry was a great experience. I learned so much. It was tough because my Korean is not that great (I’m still working hard on it). But I have to be honest, I did get a little better after a few months in Korea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zc6b8V9vpw

DROKU: How was it different then other auditions you’ve done?
MEGAN: It’s different probably because of the fact I can’t really understand what the judges are saying – and the culture difference. I realized that even though I am Korean, I was raised in America. I felt a little awkward always being labeled as “the American girl who cant speak Korean well” because of the language and culture difference. It was tough to survive in Korea, but I’m still happy and surprised that I have made it this far.

DROKU: What do you want to accomplish in your music career?
MEGAN: I want to be able to use my name to have a voice in the community and industry. I want to be able to inspire all generations and make people smile!

DROKU: How old were you when you started your acting career?
MEGAN: I started pursuing acting since I was 10. Trust me, to get my mom to start supporting me took a lot of asking. [laughs] I loved to act just as much as singing. When I read, I try to read it like I’m reading a script, or when I watch a movie or a television show, I always learn the technical things and I learn from the actors. I naturally had passion without even realizing it.

DROKU: You are a commercial actress as well. What is it like acting in a commercial and which was your favorite?
MEGAN: The set is like my second home. I love being on set, and I really enjoy my work. Commercials are really fun to work on. I’m not sure which commercial was my favorite, but I remember when I did a McDonalds commercial, I got to eat a lot of chicken nuggets and french fries. That was yummy; I was so happy that day!(commercial HERE and HERE)

DROKU: What type of movies would you like to be in?
MEGAN: I’ve always wanted to work on either a film with magic, like Harry Potter, or suspense, Steven Spielberg kind of films. I really would love to work on a Disney series one day. That would be so cool!

DROKU: What type of personality would your character be?
MEGAN: I’m not sure what kind of character I would be; I guess it depends on the film or series.

DROKU: If you weren’t a singer, songwriter, actress or dancer, what would you choose your career to be?
MEGAN: My passion is only in the arts. I don’t think that I could ever be a lawyer or a doctor, or a dentist, like a lot of Asian parents would want you to be. So besides singing, songwriting, acting, or dancing, maybe I would be a director or maybe even a writer. I’ve always been interested in those areas because I’ve been around that a lot being on set. I was inspired to learn film when I go to college one day.

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FUN QUESTIONS:

DROKU: What’s your favorite food?
MEGAN: Miso Ramen.
Do you have a celebrity crush?
MEGAN: Justin Bieber [smiles] DROKU: Do you have a favorite K-POP singer.
MEGAN: Lee SeungGi (male) and Lim JeongHee – J.Lim (female)