Artist Spotlight: Potatoi’s “SHE WANNA BLUE” Marks a Brighter and Bigger Beginning
With his eyes set on creative freedom and the woman of his dreams, Potatoi started writing his new single “SHE WANNA BLUE.” Released on August 29, “SHE WANNA BLUE” is a song of love, appreciation, and amazement that the person you admire really chose you back. As the bassist of the Korean indie band wave to earth, Potatoi, commonly known as John Cha, knows a lot about production and composing. But with his solo endeavors, he’s ready to explore lyric writing further and freely say what he wants to. With a quirky tempo, a bit of psychedelic flare, and a whole lot of blue, Potatoi is spreading positivity and happiness for all to listen to.
Because of his sunny disposition, speaking with Potatoi feels like talking to an old friend that you can’t wait to catch up with. So ten minutes after the song’s release, that’s exactly what we did. Sitting in a blank room with a contagiously bright aura, Potatoi joined us on Zoom with a beaming smile, boyishly messy hair, and a button-up that couldn’t possibly be more him.
Slipping into the Cool Blue
In early 2025, Potatoi was faced with a life-changing moment: marrying his then-girlfriend. Thinking of how he could make the moment perfectly theirs, he began imagining his dream wedding. To show his love to her as well as their closest friends and family, he started writing. That song eventually became “SHE WANNA BLUE.” When April peaked around the corner, the track was ready and became their official wedding song.
“So, it actually means like fresh, cool blue,” Cha said, chin in his hands, thinking of the one he loves. He continued, “At the time I had this feeling meeting my wife, you know, she was different with others. So, what if I put in some kind of story like, ‘Well, I’m not that cool and I don’t get why you love me,’ and in Korean there’s like ‘Jinta,’ what could I say?” He looked up, smiling at his manager for help.
“Loser,” he replied with a smile in his voice.
Looking back at the screen, Cha laughed out, “Yeah, the loser.”
And so their love story was set in stone with the “loser” and the lover, and fans have been excitedly supporting them since the news came out. Based on a very true Potatoi sound, “SHE WANNA BLUE” is exactly what listeners needed to enjoy the last bits of summer that are left – but not every part of the creation was sunshine and rainbows.
Actually, exactly when he needed some sun, it went away. Cha knew his music video for the song had to be at a beach with the bright blue sea and never-ending clear sky. But when it came time to record, suddenly, there was nonstop rain.
With a mischievous grin, he began his story with, “We had no other options; we had to fly to Japan.” Taking a break to laugh, he continued, “We booked the flight and went to Fukuoka and started just filming randomly.” As they wandered around Japan, more scenes added up with clips in the car, walking through streets, and on the beach. But there was still the need for alternative takes.
Once back in South Korea, he got in his car and took the two-minute drive from his house to get to the beautiful waterfall seen in the video. “To be honest, we are so used to the waterfall because it is just a park in front of my house. So I was a little bit worried, but also thinking, “Oh, but the waterfall scene would be quite intriguing from the fans’ perspective.”
Surrounded by the beauty of Japan and the scenery that sits in his front yard, Potatoi perfectly curated his music video for “SHE WANNA BLUE.”
The Passions of Potatoi
While not every song of Potatoi’s sounds the same, they all come from the same desire to improve and grow. When looking for inspiration, rather than looking toward his career alongside his band, he looks to those he admires as an artist.
With a crease between his brows and his hands moving to his words, he dove into his explanation. “Sonic-wise, I don’t think very intentionally. So you know, for each era of my life, I have different musical inspirations. So maybe it’s really embarrassing to say about myself, but I think I have quite a diverse spectrum in music listening. So that kind of blends very nicely and naturally lately in my music. Maybe what I like to say is during the creativity process, I let the song be itself.”
When creating “SHE WANNA BLUE,” Cha went back to his basics and strongest points, reflecting on his inspirations like Prince and Tame Impala. He even went as far as to label himself as a “Tame Impala geek.” Originally thinking of the melody in the shower, he recorded voice notes to refer to later and quickly got to work. Growing from these roots came the instrumental and then the psychedelic bridge that is now a key point of the song, leading to the Korean finale.
Even though Potatoi said he isn’t “a thinker,” his goals of improving and refining his craft evidently sprout from consideration of who he wants to be as an artist. From his solo debut in February 2024 to now, he’s gained lyrical experience, and his production sounds more aligned with his persona.
“I have this urge to do more producing stuff. With wave to earth, I truly feel honored as a bass player, but to be honest, it’s more like having an aspiration of arrangements and production,” said Cha. “So, doing my solo project individually, I feel like developing my own musical skills in a sense.”
And through developing his skills, he has come to learn where he thrives and where he needs refinement. Comparing creating a song to making a sauce or dish, he explained that he’s able to tweak everything exactly to his liking. If he wants to add something, he can, and in the same vein, he can take away what he doesn’t like without anyone else interfering. To him, this is creative freedom as well as a new, exciting way to truly learn what he does and doesn’t resonate with.
“It fulfills my musical ego, and I totally enjoy that process. I think it has a different perspective doing a team project, you have to maybe negotiate or maybe blend each element in some way. That kind of pushes you,” Cha explained. “You can’t reach that limit by yourself, so you can push yourself more in a good way, but in doing a solo project, you can’t push your music in a good way, but it fulfills you.”
Following His Light
It’s undeniably been a great year for Potatoi, and all of his success has come from his nonstop determination as well as the support from his loyal fans. That said, he’s ready for more. In between tour stops and festival performances, Potatoi has been taking time to record, write, and re-record as he works toward building his first full-length album.
“I know the process is very disciplined, and you know, emotionally, physically, almost like torture. But, you know, after having that thing, it’s the best feeling to have it as a musician, having a great full-length album. Yeah, so right now, my main goal is to make a good album and then the concert things come after that.”
The “concert things” Cha refers to are his goal to step into the spotlight and play his first solo concert. “At that concert, I will do whatever I want. Yeah. No more hiding it. But at the same time, it’s my first time doing it as a front man, and that is really scary in some kind of way.” After taking a second to giggle about his honesty, he added, “But you know the fans are always so nice, and I know that.”
With fans at the forefront of his focus, before leaving, he left a message for everyone who has supported him as both John Cha of wave to earth and Potatoi. “I’m about to release a good album, and I’m always trying to share those moments from now… So, I wanted to say thank you for all the support and love, and yeah, see you on many platforms and see you offline everywhere. I love you guys. I want to say that.”
And believe us when we say we love Potatoi as well.
If you’re trying to prepare your vocals for Potatoi’s future solo concert, his music can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. To keep up with Potatoi and his future debut album, you can follow him on Instagram and TikTok.
Want more EnVi artist spotlights? Read our interview with Milena, where she talks about her debut album, love, and inspiration here!
