Kaamaakshi Bhat, Zirakpur, Punjab and Deena Jasmine, Chikmagalur, Karnataka

Step into the vibrant world of Val Del Prete, a multi-platinum songwriter and vocal producer who contributed to the creation of over 9 million records. From crafting double million sellers with ZEROBASEONE, achieving a triple platinum release with aespa and two double platinum hits with TWICE. One of her recent works was released as the pre-debut song YoYo by RESCENE. In this interview we explore the melodies and stories behind Val Del Prete’s numerous platinum releases, marking a remarkable chapter in the music industry.

Could you please give a brief introduction to our readers?

Hi everyone! My name is Val Del Prete. I am a topliner and vocal producer based in London, UK. I have been working specifically on the Asian market (Korea, China, and Japan) since 2017. The songs I co-wrote have accumulated over 9 million copies sold globally, including 2 million-selling albums with ZEROBASEONE, one triple platinum album with aespa and two double platinum releases with TWICE and THE BOYZ respectively, besides a few other platinum releases. 

As we came to know, you have done your PhD in Neuroscience. That’s quite impressive and we are intrigued to know what inspired you to start a songwriting career?

I have always been into music, from an early age, so despite the late start as a “professional”, I knew I had some “musical genes.” My parents found out by chance that I could play the piano by ear since age 3, and I studied classical piano as a child. In my teen years, I was in a few bands rehearsing covers and original material. But it all remained a hobby for many years – despite music stayed as comfort and major interest throughout my teen years and early 20s, at the point where my PhD supervisor mentioned it in a recommendation letter “She’s extremely committed and focused on science, except for a side interest in music”. This passion for music had always been inside me, but you have to realize that Italy, my native country, is a different world musically, compared to the UK or to the US. I was interested in the international music scene, but I did not have anyone showing me how to get into it.

So, I initially opted for a more conventional academic path, since I also had an interest/talent in science and math. A science fellowship led me to London, though, where my love for music emerged again. It still took me two years to decide to quit my science career, because, let’s face it, it seemed a very bold move, borderline crazy, right? But after my first two years in London, I knew I would become clinically depressed if I didn’t change path. Now I was really surrounded by the music I loved, breathing it on the daily, and I just could not ignore it. I found a part-time job in a school and started making music, building my skills little by little. And here I am, so in the end my choice paid off. I think you have to do what you truly love in life, because only strong passion and commitment lead to great work. Talent alone isn’t enough. 

Please give an insight into how your journey has been so far in the K-pop industry.

I started writing for K-pop in 2015, roughly. I met some producers and publishers who were working in the Asian market, and that’s when I started listening to K-pop songs. Back then, K-pop was not globally popular like it is today, but I loved the genre immediately, because it leaves a songwriter freer to experiment and switch genres, often even within the same song. And vocal arrangements are often more complicated than in conventional Western pop, which is something I also like. So, I gradually started building my network in that field. Initially, it was very difficult and took a lot of persistence for me to gain “recognition” as a writer, but by 2017 I had my first single placement in Japan, a single with J-pop star Koda Kumi, and by 2018 I had my first platinum placement in K-pop, with Twice.

I had to learn so much in those initial years. The industry is very cutthroat, and it really is an “industry”. The dream of record labels is to “automate” the writing process like in a factory; if they could “order” a smash hit like they order a takeaway, they’d be in heaven. But of course, this is not possible, all writers know this. The best songs in fact happen quite randomly. So, part of my daily struggle is to first listen to what record labels ask for because they will have some guidelines about what fits their artist at best; and then, try and keep my creative process spontaneous enough that it won’t lose that “spark” of a truly original idea.

I also spend part of my day learning new songs, both the melodies and the lyrics, so that my writing can stay up to date with the trends without becoming dated. Everything else is hard work, often 40+ hours per week, split between writing, vocal arranging, mixing, and negotiating terms for my upcoming releases. The “legal/business” side of the industry can feel boring and “dry” to a creative mind, but it is absolutely CRUCIAL if you want to make a living from writing songs. 

You have co-written 2 songs for ZEROBASEONE that are “And I” from their debut album and “Take My Hand” from their 2nd mini album. Their debut album turned out to be double million seller and their 2nd mini album is a million seller so far. Could you share the story behind the creative process of these songs? What were your thoughts and emotions when these songs were released?

The process was very different from one song to the other. With “And I” we did not write the song for ZEROBASEONE. In fact, we wrote the song in April 2023, when the survival show had not finished yet, so we knew there would be a new boy band debuting from it, but we didn’t know anything about this new band or what the label wanted exactly. I was contacted by a producer who sent me an instrumental, and I loved their production. In the meantime, I had started collaborating with Moon Kim, who is a very experienced and utterly brilliant male topliner and vocal producer, and I thought we were perfect to write this song together, so I put down some ideas and sent a rough sketch to Moon. He liked the ideas and so we kept working on the song together until we were all happy with the song. Then, again, we did not know who could be interested, but we sent the song around to all our network of contacts. It just happened that by then Wake One had started collecting songs to potentially give them to the future winners of the survival show. One of my contacts, ARTiffect, a trusted publisher, pitched the song to them and they instantly loved it, so the placement was confirmed in less than a week.

This release was truly incredible for me because I knew that ZEROBASEONE had great potential, but honestly, nobody was expecting a debut album to break records like that. I think my head was spinning when the pre-orders and the first week sales came through – I had wanted to contribute to a certified million-selling album for a while, and I also honestly loved this song. Basically, with this placement, all the stars aligned, for once. The song went so well that it actually charted on the official digital charts, which is not so common for a B-side and even less common for a rookie band. Moon also vocal directed ZEROBASEONE while they were recording the song, so he could tell me even more about the recording process and what had been said about the song (which obviously I can’t report for confidentiality reasons) but it was just a really happy month for me.

With “Take my hand” the process was very different. The label by then had a very clear idea of what they were looking for, both sonically, concept-wise and visually. They essentially had already “short-listed” some producers and instrumentals for the project and they involved a pool of composers to write a song for them. The process was very label-driven, even up to the details of the writing. I was pleased with the final result and of course, I was happy when the song was included in the album, but, let’s say if I had to pick between the two songs, “And I” will always be my favourite, because it was a song written spontaneously, with us just wanting to write a great song; as a creative, I love that freedom to let my brain do its thing without any restrictions. Overall, though, I am very proud of both achievements.

You have worked with aespa and achieved a triple platinum which is an impressive accomplishment. Could you share your experience working with them? 

The process of writing “Iconic” for aespa was actually very similar to the process of writing “And I” for ZEROBASEONE, in the sense that we wrote the song many months before aespa debuted, so we didn’t really know much about this new artist, and we surely were not expecting the album to go triple platinum. So, that song was also very important to me. Actually, if I remember well, we probably wrote that song more thinking of ITZY as a possible candidate. There was this idea of writing something fresh, quirky, sassy and about girl power, all at the same time. But one of the publishers in my network, Joombas 153, has a very good relationship with SM Entertainment and pitched the song to them and they expressed interest almost immediately. Still… we did not know almost anything about this “new SM artist”. When aespa debuted with “Black Mamba” and “Next Level” I could see that they were incredible, so again we knew the EP would be successful, but triple platinum exceeded all expectations. aespa is definitely one of my favourite girl bands right now. They have their own clear artistic identity, which is something I like.

You co-wrote the Stuck by TWICE which is a B-side track of their 5th mini album. The album has been certified Double Platinum. This song was your first cut as a songwriter in the K-pop industry. The album was a huge hit as well as the song. How did you feel when the song was well accepted and doing so great?

“Stuck” was such an important song for me. I worked on it with a very experienced songwriter, Sean Alexander, who was a “senior” compared to me, as he already had placements in K-pop since 2008, and with Frants, who back then was a producer signed to JYP Entertainment (he is now under Big Hit Entertainment). Sean is based in LA and Frants is based in Seoul, and I am based in London squeezed between the two time zones, so I received the notification of the placement at 3 AM from Sean, and I remember not being able to fall back into sleep – I was super excited. It was also my first placement where I saw one of my songs performed in front of a crowd of 18,000 people, with the crowd chanting it a cappella. This is the dream of any writer on earth. These are the moments where you know that all the blood sweat and tears were worth it.

You have worked with artists such as ZEROBASEONE, aespa, TWICE, OH MY GIRL, THE BOYZ, Jeon Soyeon, ASTRO, CRAVITY, GFRIEND, LIGHTSUM, MIRAE and Kim Woojin. Do you have any memorable experiences with any of these K-pop artists that you would like to share? 

I think I already mentioned some of my most memorable moments, which involved Twice, aespa and ZEROBASEONE, but the placement with ASTRO also meant a lot to me. “ONE” was a song I really believed in, it came in a very organic way – I loved the writing process. We knew we had something special in our hands, but we had written this song for another artist who turned the song down, so there was a moment of disappointment where I had lost faith that this song would be released. Luckily Fantagio Music absolutely LOVED the song. They went as far as requesting some changes on Christmas day… that was the level of commitment we all put into it; we worked SO HARD on this song to make it absolutely perfect for the band. And so, when the album “ALL YOURS” became ASTRO’s top seller and the song charted really well, we were super happy.

Where and how do you find the inspiration to write? Who are some of the artists who inspire you to write?

I know some writers will find lots of inspiration for songs in their personal lives, but personal inspiration almost always comes from the music itself. I listen to lots of music and suddenly something will strike a chord – I will start getting some ideas in my head. Or producers send me an instrumental and I will be inspired. I have always been very melody-driven, although recently I have been listening to so much hip hop that sometimes lyrics and rhythm will come to me before the melodies. Some of the artists that I find very inspiring right now are Ashnikko, Melanie Martinez, Doja Cat, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, and of course lots and lots of K-pop artists.

How do you stay updated with current music trends and incorporate them into your work? Is there any music style/genre that you haven’t tried yet but would like to try in the future? 

Being up to date with the trends is an absolute priority. I listen to new releases on the daily, and I also listen to lots of independent artists… sometimes new trends will start from the underground. I just make it a point to devote some time every day to learning new songs, and new styles, because I know how the brain works, and I know that what I learn now will influence my writing later, maybe in months or even years, in a subconscious way. So, I try to keep learning new songs continuously, otherwise, my creative output will stagnate, and I will just start repeating my own ideas over and over again. Obviously, as I age it takes a bit longer to learn (and as a brain scientist I really know this better than others), so I devote even more time to learning new songs and practicing new vocal and writing styles.           

I write in many different styles already, but personally, I’d love to write a song that blends classical influences and hip-hop influences, without sampling some classical piece, just blending hip-hop beats and rap flow with classical scales and orchestration. I don’t have a specific idea about it at the moment, but I think at some stage I’ll sit down and try something, and we’ll see what I come up with.                     

Is there any artist you would like to work with, whether it be a K-pop artist or any other western artist?

I would love to work with Park Ji-min from BTS. I am absolutely in love with his vocal tone. It’s almost genderless, I have never heard a vocal tone like this, it’s absolutely unique. It’s super soft and yet powerful, and his soft falsetto on top of the male vocal range is to die for. And Serendipity is one of my favourite K-pop songs. But many people want to work with Park Ji-min, of course, so I have to face some hard competition. Maybe if all the stars in the universe align, one day I will fulfil my dream.

How do you usually spend your day when working on any song? What challenges do you face, and how do you overcome them?

Generally, I wake up and first thing I check my emails to see if there are any news. There could be news of placements, or new label requests, or new tracks sent by producers etc – sometimes it can be that there is a very urgent label request and my initial plans for the day will go out of the window, because of something more urgent and important I need to finish first. But if there is nothing urgent, generally after replying to emails I listen to new releases and warm up my vocals with some covers. This process “awakens” my musical and creative brain. Then I will start working on the songs. I normally work simultaneously on a few songs at the same time, because with jumping from one song to another I avoid losing perspective on the song. If I work on just one song, say for 2-3 days, 10 hours a day, I will quickly lose perspective and maybe I will settle for an idea that sounds amazing at the end of day one, but that will sound mediocre with fresh ears the day after. So, I try to keep my “ears fresh”.

I think the main challenge is understanding how good my ideas are. After a given number of years, you learn how to write a “decent song” because you can spot when an idea is quite simply “not good enough” – so you’ll keep trying until you know that the idea is “acceptable”. It is far more difficult to write a “proper smash”, because it is more difficult to understand whether your idea is simply “good” or truly “amazing”. So, even when I think I have a good idea, I will keep asking myself “Is this the best I can do?” – this is my eternal question. Sometimes I will have 3 or 4 different chorus ideas and they all sound “OK”, but none sounds “incredible”. So, I keep questioning myself for hours. This is the most frustrating part of writing, because right now the competition is so high that only truly “great” songs make the cut. There’s no room for “OK” ideas. In conclusion, writing is frustrating and exciting all at the same time, and it takes a huge amount of emotional commitment to be honest with yourself and admit when your ideas are simply not good enough. But that’s the only way to really keep growing creatively. 

If you could recommend one of your songs to a new listener which one it would be and why?

I think I would recommend “Ready Now” by Kim Woojin. In terms of pure “pop writing technique” I think it’s a well-crafted song, in that I used some of the chorus melody also in the pre-chorus, just twisting the melody to bring it from a very low part of the male vocal range to a higher part. This is a trick I used because I felt the opening of the chorus was memorable enough that I could actually re-use it in the pre-chorus to create a sort of “deja vu” effect in the listener. I feel this is a good trick for a writer: if you have a melody that is a 10/10, just use it again and again… you don’t need much more to “hook the listener”. Also, Kim Woojin performed the song beautifully, and I was very pleased with the outcome.

What advice do you have for aspiring songwriters and producers looking to make a mark in the music industry?

I can only answer out of my own experience because there is no recipe and no rule. If there was one, everyone could become a hitmaker. So, this is the path I followed (and I’m still following) – I’m not a track producer, I’m a topliner and vocal producer, but it’s essentially the same. Study the craft with a self-critical eye, be a perfectionist. Study the producers that inspire you in detail, until what you produce is close to that level. Even when you’re fully happy with what you’ve done, think how to improve it. Never settle. This hunger for excellence is essential, if you don’t have it, you will never make it in this game as it’s really cutthroat and if you don’t go the extra mile, someone else surely will. Talent is 20% of the game, hard work and sense of business is the rest.

Network, day and night. Find: 1) the other writers/producers who work in the field. With Wikipedia you can access credits and with social media you can find them quite easily. Work with them. Try to work with people who are better than you or who have skills you want to learn 2) the publishers and A&Rs at the companies you are targeting. Surprisingly, most are on social media, so do your own research. “I don’t know what an A&R or a publisher is”. OK but you surely know Google.

Do not necessarily believe whatever you hear “word of mouth” or in the media about this company or that producer unless you know them personally. One company may be good for someone and bad for someone else, and so are producers. Trust your gut feeling and be driven by your own goals, not by someone else’s goals. People will tell you a million different things, so, at the end of the day, you need to learn first-hand what method and which people you work best with. Sometimes it is far better to work with a young hungry talented co-writer than with a top multi-platinum writer who isn’t so keen on the collaboration.

Beware of “fast publishing/management deals”. Signing exclusively with a manager or publisher is not the solution to becoming a household name, it is just the start of one of the possible paths, and not necessarily a path leading to success. If you sign exclusively, be sure you know what you’re signing for and what rights you’re giving away. Be ready for a marathon and not a sprint. It takes years to become a professional and build a network and the first months are months of pure hard work with no rewards. Don’t burn out, be consistent, don’t give up despite the setbacks, and take breaks here and there to recharge.

Don’t ignore the business side of the industry. Pretty much anything is negotiable in the music industry. With the same artist, you can get a ridiculously good deal or a horrific deal depending on your skills to negotiate your terms. Be ready for rejection, daily. I think I’ll write it again. Be ready for rejection, daily. And don’t forget: be ready for rejection, daily 🙂

If not in the music industry, what would you be doing right now? What dreams do you want to achieve soon?

To be frank, I cannot imagine myself doing anything else. And there is still so much that I want to learn and explore musically, that I am just hoping this journey continues until I’m just too old to be creative on the daily. Then I’ll probably retire and get 4 or 5 cats and become the crazy cat lady! (I absolutely ADORE cats). 

Could you please elaborate a bit on your upcoming projects in 2024? What can the fans expect? 

Sadly, this is really something I cannot reveal, for confidentiality reasons, but I have been working on both boy band and girl band projects – at the moment I am writing a super cool boy band song with lots of rebel/punk attitude 🙂

The Korean wave is growing rapidly in India and many fans love listening to K-pop; so, would you like to share a message with our Indian K-pop fans?

It is incredible for me to see how K-pop has become global to the point where there are fans literally everywhere, even in India. I thank each and every fan who supports and loves this music genre as much as I do, and I will keep doing my best to write songs that you will all enjoy! Stay tuned! 

Our entire team wishes you all the best in your future endeavors. Thank you once again for your time.