The Ballad of William Wenaus: How a Regina musician wrote a K-pop 'global anthem'
'Wrote a ballad for one of the world's biggest K-pop artists' is a line Regina musician William Wenaus can add to his resume.
Wenaus, 27, penned and produced the song Dear Me — recorded by South Korean artist Taeyeon for the re-release of her album Purpose — and the ballad climbed to the number one spot in 24 countries on iTunes as more ears tuned in.
Taeyeon was a member of South Korean group, Girls' Generation, for eight years before going solo. Wenaus said he thought Taeyeon would be the ideal artist while writing the song.
"[Dear Me] gave me a bit of a platform to express feelings and ideas that I couldn't get through rock music," said Wenaus.
It was a Girls' Generation song, Mister Mister, that first introduced the composer to K-pop in 2014. Wenaus soon found himself writing more ballads and K-pop seemed like a good fit due to the sensitivity of the lyrics, he said.
"There's just really, really beautiful emotive stuff," he said about K-pop. "I had things that I wanted to say and that was the medium through which I had to say those things."
Wenaus wrote and recorded the song in Regina with local musicians hired for instrumentation and vocals while he played piano. He shopped the composition around before it eventually found its way to the K-pop star.
Taeyeon liked it.
Her album, Purpose, was originally released in October and re-released last week with the addition of new songs, including Dear Me.
That idea of really trusting yourself and the direction that you're on ... that's how I did this. -William Wenaus, speaking about the song
Wenaus calls the song's success "surreal," although he had a feeling the song would succeed because of Taeyeon.
Most of the song was translated from English to Korean, but Wenaus said Taeyeon's version captures the essence of the original — and a key part of the song was recorded in English.
"The hook in the chorus where it says 'I love myself. I trust myself,' that's from the original," Wenaus said.
"It's pretty cool because that's kind of become a global anthem.
"That's pretty special and it seems to mean a lot to a lot of people which is also really, really fantastic."
Wenaus said his belief in himself, the inspiration for the song, is what got him to the point of pitching the song itself.
"That idea of really trusting yourself and the direction that you're on ... that's how I did this."
"That message is what got me there and that's pretty special."
The video currently has more than 11,500 comments on YouTube, which has more than 2.5 million views since it was released Jan. 15.
"I see pop music as at its best a form of care," said Wenaus.
"You're reaching out to millions of people, and even if it's three-and-a-half minutes out of a person's day, to pull them out of the hustle and bustle and craziness that we live in ... and to bring them joy is a special thing."
Since the song's release, Wenaus has received lots of support from family, friends and people in Saskatchewan who don't even know him but are proud of his success.
Wenaus hopes to write from more K-pop acts and one day compose for films.
