This summer, all the girls will be singing, “Boing!”
Rising Los Angeles pop artist KO AKA Koala just released her single of the same name, which fits the onomatopoeia inside a flirty, tongue-in-cheek hook: “Boing, make my dick go boing,” she sings with a wink. “That shit’s so annoying/ But I can’t complain/ Keep it going.”
Following her recent cover of Ashlee Simpson’s early-aughts classic, “Pieces of Me,” KO’s latest continues with her signature twist on ultra-sweet, soft sounds. The bop flutters ever-so-lightly, featuring lyrics about her wanting to call a lover “baby on the daily” and fantasies about them “sharing some bolognese.”
“This is a cute song about those warm feelings you get in your stomach from the beginning stages of developing a crush on someone,” KO says of the track, which was co-produced with Taydex and Connor McElwain. She captures that innocence perfectly, both in songwriting and sound, as she delivers the words like text messages you draft and never send.
For the music video, premiering today on PAPER, KO wanted to capture “a new youthquake” to show “the innocence of love and acceptance.” She co-directed it alongside Jerrod La Rue with movement direction from Emily Jordan and looped in “a bunch of friends” as her colorful co-stars.
“It was all really last-minute and improvised,” she says, explaining how they filmed in locations where she frequents all over LA. “I skate at that skatepark, shop at California Market in Koreatown and get boba at Boba Avenue 8070 in Alhambra.”
There’s an ease to the visual, anchored by power-pop choreography in schoolgirl uniforms a la Britney Spears “...Baby One More Time.” The dance routine was developed “only two days before the video at dance practice,” KO says of the “spontaneous” decision, “so Emily came up with choreo on the spot.”
This independence has always been at the core of KO's music career, with seven singles now in her discography all created hands-on. Much like how she plays with genres, KO isn't defined by one medium. She's a DJ, vocalist, dancer and visual artist, born to scientists in Florida with a background navigating New York's fashion industry to boot.
Watch the PAPER premiere of "Boing!" and stream KO AKA Koala's new single, below.
Photos courtesy of KO AKA Koala
Related Articles Around the Web