Five years after the release of her debut EP ‘Always Growing’, Paige Tapara’s music has taken her around the world.

She’s a big deal in Korea —‘Always Growing’ having gone Platinum there— and has just returned from performing her first headline show in Seoul, South Korea.

Her fame in Asia came as a little bit of a surprise, she confessed, as she, somewhat naively, thought music that wasn’t K-pop wasn’t popular.

“I’ve noticed that they like a bit of pop with a hint of soul/R&B, like neo-soul, and I guess because my music is that, it kind of works over there,” Tapara told Mike Hosking.

But there’s a big difference between streaming success and performing live concerts, she said.

“You can do streaming numbers, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to live, but it was cool that people came.”

“Being an artist is rewarding, but it’s also, there’s moments where it’s soul crushing as well,” Tapara told Hosking.

“I think going to Asia, ‘cause I went to Asia in 2023 as well, I think that felt really validating to me, kind of being like, oh, people really like the music.”

“It feels like it’s worth it.”

Stylistically, Tapara’s work hasn’t changed much in the last few years, still favouring a groovy R&B flavoured pop sound, but as she’s grown and aged, the content of her music has changed.

“My first EP ‘Always Growing’ was about kind of my early to late teen years, and now I’m near, like I’m heading towards 30,” she said.

“So I’m kind of experiencing more real-life stuff, so I think that’s really affected the songwriting.”

Her new EP, 'Paigesspace' was released last week.

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Paige Tapara: Kiwi singer-songwriter on her success, making music, and new EP 'paigesspace'

The Mike Hosking Breakfast