K-pop star Sunmi loves Notion and ear cleaning videos

# K-pop star Sunmi loves Notion and ear cleaning videos Source: [https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1008654/k-pop-sunmi-wonder-girls-interview](https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1008654/k-pop-sunmi-wonder-girls-interview) Sunmi is an undeniable force in K\-pop\. She first made her debut as a member of the Wonder Girls back in 2007, one of the first K\-pop acts to really break through in the West\. The English version of their single “[Nobody](https://youtu.be/BA7fdSkp8ds)” was the first K\-pop song to hit the Billboard Hot 100 in October 2009\. In 2010 Sunmi left the group to go back to school, but the siren call of a music career pulled her back in\. She released her debut solo EP*Full Moon*in 2014\. That began a run of award\-winning releases for the pop star, including Song of the Year for “Gashina” at the Gaon Chart Music Awards\. Despite her near\-constant presence in the K\-pop world as a solo artist and as a member of the Wonder Girls, whom she rejoined in 2015, Sumni only just released her first solo LP,*Heart Maid*, in 2025\. This year she released the single “[Forever July](https://youtu.be/M6EyUZ3ANuM),” which blends ’90s R&B synths with rubbery bass and UK garage\-inspired drums\. Sunmi has called it one of her most personal songs\. And she wasn’t afraid to get personal in our Q&A either, revealing details about her writing process, her greatest disappointment as an artist, and her love of ear cleaning videos\. **What is your most indispensable tool?** My phone\. I use the Notes app and Voice Memos a lot when I’m writing lyrics or making music\. Whenever I have a good idea, I can immediately pull it out and write it down, so I really can’t live without it\. **Which is the most underappreciated?** The Samsung Galaxy series\. It has made my work environment so much easier\. Team Galaxyyyyyy\! **What is the first app you install on a new phone or computer?** These days, you can transfer all the apps and data from your previous device, so I don’t really have to install anything separately\. But if that process didn’t exist, I’d probably install KakaoTalk, a messaging app, first\. **What is one thing you wish you could change about your phone?** I have so many unnecessary photos and screenshots in my gallery\. I wish there were a feature that could recognize similar or duplicate photos and group them together, so I could delete them all at once\. **What sites do you have pinned to your tab bar?** Notion\. I use it a lot because I work on many group projects\. It’s convenient, but it takes quite a long time to get used to\. I think the UI could use some improvement\. **How many tabs do you have open right now?** Four: Notion, Google Drive, YouTube, and Claude\. **Which social media platform do you use the most?** I don’t really use social media that much, but I think I use Instagram and X the most\. **What is your happy place online?** Videos of people getting their ears cleaned on YouTube\. **What is your favorite gadget you’ve ever owned?** I’m not really good with technology, but I think the Samsung Z Fold 8 that I’m using right now is probably my favorite device\. I often need to work on documents or edit videos while I’m on the go, and it’s incredibly convenient\. I can work with both hands on a wide screen, and it’s surprisingly light\. It’s exactly the kind of device I’ve always needed\. **What game do you have the fondest memories of?** *MapleStory*by Nexon\. I played it when I was in elementary school, and even after becoming an adult, I would sometimes play the mobile version\. The graphics really bring back memories of my childhood\. **Which tech trend do you wish would go away?** Deepfakes\. Ew\. **What is one thing you wish you had created?** *Stranger Things 5*and*Game of Thrones 8*\. **What creation are you most proud of?** “Tail\.” It’s a song that still gets me excited every time I perform it live\. When I hold my breath, the audience holds their breath too, and when I explode, they explode with me\. It creates this really unique experience\. **Which are you least proud of?** “You Can’t Sit with Us\.” It was the first song where I ever tried rapping\. But the lyrics and even my voice were terrible\. **What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?** Always stay humble\. You should never let yourself become arrogant\. **What is your current obsession?** I really love ice cream\. Korean summers are shockingly hot, so it’s hard to survive without ice cream\. I absolutely love Salt & Straw’s Salted Caramel Waffle Cone, but there’s nothing quite like it in Korea\. **What do you do when you need to focus?** I find a small space to organize my thoughts\. **What do you do when you’re feeling stuck?** I say “No?” out loud\. For example, if I start thinking to myself, “I can’t do this,” I immediately say “No?” out loud\. **When was the last time you went somewhere without your phone?** When I’m shooting, I leave my phone with my manager\. Even during short breaks, I barely look at my phone\. But I’ve never actually gone somewhere without my phone\. **What’s the last piece of physical media you bought?** *The Senses of an Everydayist*, a new essay collection by lyricist Kim Eana\. She sent me a copy as a gift when it was published, but I believe there’s something meaningful about personally buying and reading someone’s creative work, so I bought a copy online\. **What do you think is worth splurging on?** A meal with the people I love\. **What would the tagline for your biopic be?** *Dancing on the Borderline\.* **What’s the last GIF or meme you used?** **Follow topics and authors**from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates\. - Terrence O'Brien