f(x)'s Amber On The LGBTQ+ Community And Acceptance: "Love Is Love"

f(x)’s Amber recently sat down with Jeff Benjamin of Billboard to share some thoughts about “Rogue Rouge,” a project she called a long-awaited opportunity to showcase her true self.

Amber’s multi-faceted musicality can be found sprinkled throughout the mixtape, but the real effort was a genuine expression of the person behind the melodies. “I wanted to be like, ‘Guys, I’m not who you think I am,’” Amber said in the interview about the inspiration behind the mixtape, “I wanted the ability to be me.”

Each track from “Rogue Rouge” is a statement – one of which is particularly important. “LIFELINE,” whose music video features two male dancers, sends a much needed message about the importance of inclusion and acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community. “It’s just love. Love is eternal. Love takes on many shapes and forms and this song is for whoever you want to sing it. Gay, straight, bi, whatever, it doesn’t matter. Love is love,” Amber told Billboard.

“Amber personally reached out to me on SNS since it was her completely independent project. We set up some time to speak and ended up talking for more than an hour and a half. It was probably one of the most honest interviews I’ve done with a K-pop artist, to which I’m so thankful,” Jeff Benjamin commented, “There was so much discussed, but I was moved by her courage and confidence in aligning herself as an ally with the LGBTQ community. There was no hesitation when I asked her about being an ally and that was so powerful—I’m not sure if any established K-pop idol has spoken so openly and confidently about such a topic. I really want to thank Amber and hope this sets a new standard in the industry in acceptance and love.”

Read the full interview on Billboard here.