Despite the language barrier, most Thai pop stars dream of being recognised on the international stage. Some have made inroads. Pop rock outfit Slot Machine released an album of English-language songs, which helped get them on the international music festival circuit. Thai-German pop idol Jannine "Ploychompoo" Weigel has built up a significant fan base online with the help of a number of songs in English; she currently has more than 3.3 million followers on YouTube. Thanwa "The Toys" Boonsoongnern caught the eye of Korean fans with his performance at the 2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards in South Korea. Last month, the 23-year-old was back in Seoul for a fan meeting.
Now it's Sattaphong "Tao" Phiangphor's turn to try. Recognising K-pop's enormous reach and influence worldwide, especially in Asia, Sattaphong teamed up with Korean producers at 0316 Entertainment led by Choi Jong Hwan. Choi is best-known for producing the theme tune to hit Korean TV drama My Girl back in 2005.
The result is the electro-pop tune One More Time, a song that Sattaphong describes as future bass, a genre featuring modulated synthesiser bass sounds. In order to help boost the song's appeal, Sattaphong has recorded both Thai and English versions. And he has undergone a significant image change.
One More Time looks and sounds like a proper K-pop song, right down to Sattaphong's look. The singer has transformed himself almost completely, sporting red hair and full make-up like a modern K-pop star. The electro-pop sounds with additional rap parts and synchronised dance moves are K-pop signatures. In order to meet the high quality of performance demanded by Choi for the video, Sattaphong spent two months preparing.
"The choreography required a lot of physical strength," said the 28-year-old. "I practised for at least two hours every day for two months before filming. I worked hard until my dance moves were in sync with the other dancers. I enjoyed it, though the choreographer was very strict. When I performed One More Time in public for the first time, [Choi] told me to not make any mistakes. I knew he meant it. Thankfully, I was able to pull it off."
Sattaphong first entered the spotlight in 2011 after he finished fourth in Academy Fantasia Season 8. He has released several singles every year since then, gaining a loyal fan base. Despite this, his songs never brought him much public recognition and he has become better known for his acting work. But music has remained his first love, so when the opportunity came for him to work with 0316 Entertainment, he jumped at the chance.
"You can't predict which song will be a hit," Sattaphong said. "Many popular bands take long time to become famous. I chose to do this kind of music [future bass] because I like the style. I have no idea if it will be a hit or not. But it allows me to show my potential. I take singing seriously.
"It's also the first time that I've rapped in a song. I'm not really good at it, but it was a fun thing to do."
Image is everything in K-pop. The make-up and outfits are as important as the music itself. In the video for One More Time, Sattaphong -- also known as Tao STP -- wears six different costumes. In addition to his red hair, he wears coloured contact lenses, eye shadow, eye liner, powder and red lipstick. Prior to the video, he was also under a lot of pressure to control his weight.
"The crew asked me if I could change my look," he explained. "I told them that was fine, but I didn't want to change it completely, otherwise my fans wouldn't recognise me. It felt weird to have red hair, but it was only for a few days. After we finished shooting, I dyed my hair back to its normal colour because I'm currently working on a TV drama.
"The most difficult thing was losing weight. It was harder than singing in English and even harder than rapping. The crew told me to go on a diet because if I was too chubby, the outfits wouldn't fit and my dance moves wouldn't look good."
Although the look and sound of One More Time is very K-pop, the team calls it "T-pop", in reference to Sattaphong being Thai. The hope is that the song can attract both local and international audiences, with it being in Thai and English and with Sattaphong's relatively high acting profile. He played the lead in the 2017 Thai remake of the popular Korean TV drama Princess Hours. The Thai edition was screened throughout Asean, including in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia, helping to expand his fan base.
Apart from Sattaphong, 0316 Entertainment is also behind the five member girl group Rose Quartz, who have enjoyed huge success in Myanmar. The entertainment company has connections throughout Asean and currently has plans to promote One More Time in Vietnam. Sattaphong will start learning Vietnamese soon, so he can communicate with fans there.
"I will start learning Vietnamese in May," he said. "If I can learn enough of the language, we will release a song in Vietnamese. Later this year, I will visit Vietnam for several months."
Sattaphong, a fan of Korean acts like TVXQ and Big Bang, thinks K-pop has had such international success because its performers and crews have absolute dedication to their work.
Can T-pop do likewise?
"If [Thai singers] have the support of fans, and if we have opportunities, we can gain international recognition too," Sattaphong said. "I hope my songs connect me to international fans. I want to have more viewers on YouTube and more listeners hearing my songs, whatever language they're in."
