K-POP Duo, Gabby Onme released their newest project, titled ‘3.0,’ earlier this year. This mini-project consists of three tracks: “CRYSTAL,” “WHEN YOU LIE,” and “BEST WITHOUT ME.” We spoke to the two members, Adrian and KINDA, to get a glimpse of their project on a deeper level. We discovered what it means to them, their outside influences, and what they hope to try out in the future.
POP TOKKI: Can you introduce Gabby Onme to those who may not be familiar with you yet? Who are you as artists, and what do you represent?
GABBY ONME: We are a multi-genre musician duo based in Seoul, Korea. Adrian was raised in Texas with R&B and pop influences with a musical background in band (drums) and singing/songwriting. KINDA was raised in Korea and was a K-pop idol and producer from an early age. We eventually met after Adrian came back to Korea, and we formed the duo. With our different backgrounds combined with our passion for music, we sought to create our own sound and mood with the mixtures of R&B, pop, hip hop, K-pop, and other genres. For Gabby Onme, music is about originality and expression through the merging of past experiences and inspirations.
EXPLORING THEMES OF HEARTBREAK
“When you lie” explores the difficulty of being in a dishonest relationship. Themes of betrayal, love, and heartbreak are all evident within this project and remain deeply explored. We took some time to highlight those emotions with Gabby Onme and discover what has inspired them throughout their writing journey.
PT: You’ve tackled the theme of love, with a focus on the heartbreak aspect. What was the songwriting process like for you both? What inspired you most?
GABBY ONME: With this project, we wanted to depict love in its every aspect from the start to finish. From the butterfly’s beginning stages, the rocky struggles, to the ending moments. We wanted to bring up all the emotions that come with falling in love, then falling out of love. For this project, our past experiences gave us the inspiration to write and create each one to represent certain stages of a relationship. We hoped to capture those feelings in the past and deliver them through the music so that the listeners could resonate with those same emotions.
POP TOKKI: What would you say to fans who may be experiencing the same heartbreak mentioned in your music? How do you hope they react to this project?
GABBY ONME: The project starts with “CRYSTAL,” which lays the introduction of the beginning stages of love. It deals with having a crush, infatuation, risking your heart, and diving all in. The second track, “WHEN YOU LIE,” deals with the latter stages when you go through a test of loyalty and faith. The last track, “BEST WITHOUT ME,” deals with the breakup as you go through stages of closure and letting someone go. We wanted to capture every stage to show that love is hard and sometimes painful. However, the ups and downs create memories that evolve us as humans with souls. It is a bittersweet cycle that we as humans yearn for and need. For someone going through a heartbreak, we want to deliver the raw emotions that can resonate, and after time, hopefully those emotions can be turned into original inspiration.
PERSONAL LIVES & INSPIRATIONS
POP TOKKI: Have you received any valuable advice from someone that you carry with you throughout your career?
GABBY ONME: This might sound cliche, but it is advice that I believe is true to my core. A mentor in the past would always say, “There are no shortcuts.” We believe that the process defines the result. Everything in this world takes time to mature and blossom. Taking shortcuts for an immediate result is just cheating yourself for the long run. We take this approach when we create our music. We want to keep consistent with our goals of making the best, original projects possible without taking shortcuts.
POP TOKKI: If you could explore another concept that is out of your comfort zone, what would that concept include?
GABBY ONME: We would love to dive into the concepts of self-reflection and mental health. With all of the crazy events going on around the world, it is so difficult these days to keep one’s sanity. In our future projects, we are planning to dive deeper into those topics to share our story on those topics.
POP TOKKI: Adrian, you’re inspired by R&B/soul, pop, hip-hop and gospel genres. Do you see yourself exploring any of these genres further with Gabby Onme? If so, which would you like to do first?
GABBY ONME: R&B/soul and hip-hop are the genres that I am familiar and comfortable with. I would love to incorporate gospel in some of our future projects to tap into a new past emotion.
POP TOKKI: KINDA, we’ve heard that you are advanced at sound engineering! What would you say is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from it, and how have you implemented it into Gabby Onme?
GABBY ONME: Sound engineering and mixing have always been a passion for me from an early age. It helped me create and appreciate music at a deeper level. For Gabby Onme, my specialty in this field is used to keep searching for and perfecting our original sound. When we make our projects, the many hours in the studio perfecting each sound can truly shape the mood of the entire theme of the project.
WHAT’S TO COME
POP TOKKI: What do you see next for Gabby Onme? Any plans for 2026?
GABBY ONME: 2026 is an exciting year for us! The ‘3.0’ EP was an important project for us because it was the first project that we produced in which we did all the music and visual production in-house. Now with our experience, we are heading towards more original projects in which we can incorporate more of our live performances. We are getting ready to perform live soon and are dying to meet our fans and supporters. 2026 will be full of new songs, videos, and other content!
POP TOKKI: Is there anything you’d like to share with POP TOKKI readers?
GABBY ONME: Thank you so much to POP TOKKI and all the readers for taking the time to take interest in us. For everyone new, we have many songs from many genres, so hopefully there is a song that you can vibe to! We hope to keep creating music that can relate and inspire, so please stay tuned! Love
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Featured Image Credit: Courtesy of Gabby Onme
