In this duet the girl sings, the guy produces: ‘What You Waiting For’ is about romance and how the K-pop industry works

From left: Anda, R.Tee

World-famous D.J.s like David Guetta, Zedd, Avicii and Steve Aoki are accustomed to having their names attached to new releases as producers. In Korea, the idea of having a producer’s name along with that of the performers is an unfamiliar concept. That’s about to change with the latest track by D.J. and producer R.Tee and singer Anda, titled “What You Waiting For.”

The duo released their first collaboration on Wednesday, a powerful pop dance track urging her lover to stop just waiting and make a proper move. “I’m ready to give all my love to you,” sings Anda, pointing at a wrist-watch in the video. This is her first song after she recently joined YGX - a sub-label of YG Entertainment - and also her first release since “The Open Boat” last April, but her years of experience as a solo singer have definitely not failed her.

Anda made her debut in 2012 as a solo singer, and has released multiple tracks, such as “Waiting” (2012), “Hypnotize” (2012) and “TOUCH” (2015). Aside from her songs, she is best known for allegedly having been proposed to by the nephew of Emirati royal Sheik Mansour in 2017. Her agency at the time, Esteem, denied those rumors, saying she didn’t know the man. Although she’s grateful for the attention she received, Anda said in an interview Wednesday, she now hopes the attention will be on her work.

“I hope that people will call me by names [that refer to] Anda as an artist,” said Anda. “But I think it’s my job to show them different sides of myself and make a good name for myself.”

When she was asked to choose a name to describe herself, Anda answered, “Orange.”

R.Tee and Anda’s new collaboration, “What You Waiting For,” which was produced by R.Tee and sung by Anda, was released on March 6. Above are scenes from the video. [YG ENTERTAINMENT]

“I want myself to be different from others,” said Anda. “It’s something that you don’t know where it’s going to go, you can’t tell what’s going to happen, but it’s fun and it’s fresh. Oranges are full of vitamins that relieve your stress. I think I want to be like that [to people]. Those moments are what keep me going in music.”

The orangey freshness is visible in the music video, in which she appears first in white clothes with minimal makeup. Then as she enters a room surrounded by mirrors, she finds another part of herself and transforms into a strong and powerful woman, clad in darker suits that express her hidden side. The motif for the video was taken from the movie “Basic Instinct,” according to the singer.

“I think I have an instinctive side hidden inside of me, and I wanted to bring that out,” said Anda. “I have a lot of different sides within me - weak, strong and everything else. I wanted to get that mixture across.

“It’s been a long time since I was last on stage, and so this project had a lot of meaning. It did make me very nervous, but it was a chance to look back on what I was like when I first started [as a singer]. I put a lot of effort into this, and I’m willing to give more.”

As for her partner, R.Tee, “R.Tee is a little bit of a weirdo,” said Anda. “He looks really handsome and smart on the outside, even feminine because he’s so sensitive. But if he gets caught up with something, he doesn’t let it go. He likes experiments, and the novelty that comes from the unfamiliar and unique things. I can feel it even more through his songs.”

R.Tee agreed. “I do tend to think about weird things all day,” said the talented producer who was behind many K-pop hits like Blackpink’s “Fire” and “Ddu-du Ddu-du” and other songs for the YG family.

“This song clearly shows my identity, which I haven’t been able to do so much in the past,” said R.Tee. “Not many people know who I am, what I am like as a person by listening to the music I’ve made in the past. But I think that this song, ‘What You Waiting For,’ does that. Even if somebody who doesn’t know me listens to it, they will be able to imagine what I will be like.”

Marking one’s signature through musical notes is one thing, R.Tee said he would also like the Korean music scene to become more acquainted with having a D.J. or producer’s name credited on a release.

“It hasn’t really been the case in Korea, but I would like people to think more of me as R.Tee who produces music, and make people want more of my experimental sounds,” he said.

“It’s all about the timing,” said R.Tee.

“Both the song’s lyrics and the choreography have a lot to do with the timing, and I think that it comes as a good time for people to hear a good song. We did our best with the music, and I hope that it provides people with a good listen in all the good times and the bad times, the good weather or the bad. So what you waiting for?”

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]