[Exclusive] Dia Frampton Covers Girls' Generation's "The Boys" (Interview Included)

Singer Dia Frampton has performed an exclusive acoustic cover of Girls’ Generation’s “The Boys” for Soompiers! Dia, who is half-Korean, has been singing since the age of nine and started her first band with her older sister, Meg, at the age of 14. The band Meg & Dia were signed to Warner Bros. Records, then dropped after three years. However, fame called once again when Dia won second place on NBC’s reality show “The Voice.” Currently she is touring with country superstar Blake Shelton!

Since a lot of Soompiers have been following Dia back from her days as half of Meg & Dia, she kindly agreed to an interview to update everyone! Read the interview, then check out her cover of “The Boys” at the end!

Why did you decide to do a Girls’ Generation acoustic cover?

“The Boys” is a fun dance track, and that’s what I like about it. The second you hear it you just want to get up and dance. (Girls’ Generation, unlike me, are all awesome dancers!) I always like to take songs with a lot of production and strip them down and play with the melody a little bit.

We hope you don’t mind the backstage room we recorded the video in! We were on tour, playing next to a hockey arena so we got the locker rooms as our green room. It was pretty awesome. 🙂 

What were you doing before you auditioned for The Voice?

I was working at a bakery/coffee shop in New York City. I was trying to save up money so that I could fund a new record; the record we released prior was funded out of my own pocket. We recorded a lot of it in my mother’s house because we couldn’t afford a studio… my mom wasn’t too happy about that! When I heard about “The Voice,” I thought, “Well, what do I have to lose? I’m 24 years old and I’m not getting any younger!”

Your mother is Korean, right? Do you visit Korea often and did your mother teach you any Korean?

Yes, my mother was born and raised in Seoul. I’ve visited a few times before; it’s a beautiful city. My mother didn’t teach me any Korean, since she had just moved to the US and was trying to learn English. Now I’m trying to learn Korean and I’m finding that I’m picking it up quite quickly just because I’m used to my dad and mom speaking Korean. When I was a child, I could tell when I was in trouble because all of a sudden my mom and dad would start speaking in Korean and my name would pop up. That’s when I would run to my room and hide. Haha! 

What are your favorite Korean dishes?

My mom cooks a lot of Korean food at home, and luckily, I was able to learn. I love to cook! I can make a pretty awesome bibimbap! I also love to make my own kimchi and cucumber kimchi. It took awhile to get that recipe just right, but my mom helped me and now I can make both in large batches. I also love sundubu jigae and any kind of seaweed dish. 

On The Voice, you chose Blake Shelton as your mentor. What was it like working with him and what advice has he given you for your music career?

It has been absolutely amazing to work with Blake. I am currently on tour with him now, opening his shows. Every night it has been a dream, playing to crowds of 5,000 to sometimes 9,000 people a night. Also, each night during his set, I get to go back onstage with him and sing a duet from my album called, “I Will,” featuring Blake. He has been nothing but supportive and I just feel so lucky to have this opportunity to work with him and learn from him. I’ve learned a lot from watching him onstage. He is a great performer and a great live singer, and I really respect that and look up to him. When he performs, he has the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. It’s pretty incredible. They all love him, and he gives that love right back to them! He truly cares for his fans. More than anything though, Blake has taught me to embrace the uniqueness which is me. That sounds kind of corny, but it’s true. He taught me to love my own voice.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I absolutely love to read. Usually when I’m home, I’ll read a book a week. I love discovering new authors. I also love to cook, walk my dog, hang out with my little sisters, play the piano, do yoga, and write short stories.

What’s one random thing about you most people don’t know?

I love to collect things that would go in a house! That sounds funny at first since I don’t have a house, but I feel like I’m almost collecting furniture and things for my future house! In a way, it’s a sort of goal I have. I’ve just been touring for so long and living out of a suitcase that having my own cozy little apartment sounds so nice. So far I have a few dishes, some coffee cups, paintings, two quilts, four pillows, some couch decorative pillows, and a lamp! I’m a girl on the road, but I definitely have a soft spot for “home sweet home.” 

What can we expect from you in the future? 

My album, “RED,” came out last December, so I’m just working hard to promote that out on the road. I love touring and I love playing music for people. I am hoping that I will be able to go overseas sometime this year.  Performing in Korea would be a dream come true! My grandma would probably be front row! Ha! In the meantime though, I’m going to just keep practicing Korean. My accent is bad, and my mom makes fun of me a lot! When I go over to Korea next though, whether it’s to visit or to perform, I want to be able to speak the language and speak it well!

And now, without further adieu, is Dia Frampton’s cover of Girls’ Generation’s “The Boys!” Yes, that’s her sister Meg playing guitar, as well as Carlo Gimenez on the left. Check it out!

If you have any questions for her, or any requests to cover more K-Pop songs, leave Dia a nice comment here or on YouTube! Of course, she’s very busy touring the country, but she may read what you have to say!

Get Dia’s new album “RED” on iTunes or in stores now!

Follow Dia Frampton:

http://www.diaframptonmusic.net
http://www.twitter.com/diaframps
http://www.facebook.com/diaframps