ALL’N On Staying Tuned As A Violin-Driven K-pop Solo Artist

Sam Sungmin Kang is a name to watch out for in today’s K-pop landscape.

The K-pop soloist and singer-songwriter takes the name ALL’N, which comes from the word “all in” and the final two syllables of the Korean word for violin.

But before all this, he was a competitive violinist. Dedicating years to classical training and competitions, he has shifted that discipline into his own as an artist in K-pop, with the violin becoming more than just an instrument but part of his identity and creative DNA.

More than just an artist and performer, ALL’N has also taken the creative reins as the founder and CEO of his own music label and K-pop entertainment company — SKS Entertainment. With a more hands-on approach to his career, involving himself in music, choreography, styling, visuals, and production, his vision and direction are unmistakably his own.

With his debut single “We Up” and latest “Dream Higher,” all signs point towards a journey in music that only reaches greater heights. Billboard Philippines chats with ALL’N to talk about his creative process, embracing competition from the world of violin to K-pop, and balancing both the craft and business of his music.

Billboard Philippines: Your stage name, ALL’N, comes from “all in” and also from the Korean word for violin. After years of training as a competitive violinist before becoming a singer-songwriter, how has the violin become part of your identity as an artist?

ALL’N: The violin was my voice long before I ever started singing or dancing. I began playing when I was nine, and years of classical training taught me some of the most important things I still use today: discipline, repetition, patience, and the idea that something difficult can eventually become natural if you practice it enough.

I have carried that mentality into almost everything else in my life. Whether I am training in the gym, learning choreography, practicing vocals, producing a song, or building SKS Entertainment, a lot of that discipline comes from what violin taught me as a kid. That is also why the violin is built into my artist name. In English, ALL’N represents my mentality of going “all in” and giving everything I have to whatever I choose to pursue. In Korean, my name is written 올린, which are also the final two syllables of 바이올린, the Korean word for violin.

I owe a lot of who I am today to that instrument. No matter how my music changes in the future, the violin will always be part of ALL’N.

You released your debut single “We Up” in April. During the creative process of the song, you were involved in everything from the music and choreography to the styling and visual direction. How important was it for you to be hands-on and fully “all in” when it came to the creative process with your music?

I think one of the only ways I can live without regret is knowing I genuinely gave something my best.

Of course, building a company also means learning how to delegate. You cannot personally do everything forever. But especially at this early stage, I wanted to understand every part of what I was creating and make sure the final result actually represented me, not just somebody else’s idea of what I should be. Through working in different countries and businesses before debuting, I learned that being hands-on also means accepting responsibility. If something works, I want to understand why. If it fails, I cannot just blame someone else. I have to understand what went wrong and improve it.

At the same time, I have a lot of respect for the choreographers, directors, stylists, producers, photographers, and everyone else I work with. Being hands-on does not mean rejecting other people’s ideas. It means knowing who I am as an artist strongly enough to collaborate without losing that identity.

Each release takes a lot out of me because I am constantly switching between being creative, practicing as an artist, managing people, reviewing budgets, and making business decisions. So I guess the name is pretty accurate. I really am all in.

Coming from the world of competitive violin performance into K-pop, did you feel more pressure with your first release to introduce yourself to the world or to prove something to yourself?

For my debut, it was definitely more about proving something to myself.

I needed to know whether I could take this idea in my head, build my own entertainment company, put together the right teams, fund the project, and actually make an official K-pop debut happen. I was starting without an established fanbase or a major K-pop company behind me, so there was a tremendous amount of pressure around one basic question: is this even possible?

When I finally stood on stages like Music Bank and M Countdown, that answered something for me personally. Now the pressure feels different. N’CORE exists. Some people genuinely believe in me and believe in the music, so now I also feel a responsibility to prove that their belief was not misplaced.

I want the people who discovered me early to be able to look back years from now and say, “I was there when this was just beginning.” I want us to rise together and see how far we can take it.

How has that transition shaped the way you approach your music and performance?

It made me very conscious of the balance between personal expression and communication.

As an artist, I need to make something I personally connect with. But music is also communication, and I do care about whether the people hearing it can feel something too. I do not want to make something only for myself and then ignore how it lands with everyone else.

So I study K-pop constantly. What kind of rhythm makes someone move without thinking? What tempo creates excitement? What melody makes something feel romantic? What kind of harmony makes a song feel nostalgic or inspiring?

And K-pop is bigger than just the audio. There is choreography, styling, cinematography, storytelling, personality, and performance. All of those pieces have to work together almost like an orchestra. I am still experimenting and figuring out the full color of ALL’N, and that process is one of the parts I enjoy most.

You’re not only an artist but also the CEO of SKS Entertainment, which you founded. How do you balance making music and running the business side of things?

This is probably still the hardest part of everything I do. Running the company alone creates a list of tasks that never really ends. There is always another contract, budget, meeting, marketing decision, production issue, schedule, partnership, or administrative problem waiting. When too many things are hanging over your head, it is easy to get overwhelmed or become paralyzed just thinking about all of them.

Then on the other side, being an idol requires constant practice. Singing, dancing, violin, fitness, recording, performance preparation. Those things do not disappear because I had a busy day as CEO.

So efficiency has almost become a survival skill for me. Every time I sit down to do something, I have to really lock in. I need to get better at learning faster, practicing smarter, delegating the right things, and understanding what actually deserves my attention. It can be intense, and I definitely have not perfected the balance. But it has also been one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done. Every month I feel like I get a little better at handling both sides.

Your new single, “Dream Higher,” features your signature violin sound and is about hope and chasing your dreams even when things get difficult. What dreams or goals are you chasing right now?

One of my biggest dreams is to eventually perform a world tour where I can stand in a stadium with my violin, dancers, music, and thousands of N’CORE singing these songs together. When I was writing “Dream Higher,” I actually imagined the chorus being sung that way one day.

Whether I ever reach that exact dream is not completely in my control. What I can control is whether I gave myself the best possible chance. That comes down to how I spend my time, how hard I work, who I hire, what I sacrifice, what I delegate, and whether I can keep my priorities straight without burning myself out.

There are definitely days when the mental and physical workload feels extremely heavy. I am human too. Sometimes even getting started feels difficult.

But I want to see how far I can take this. As an artist, I want ALL’N to become globally recognized for violin-driven K-pop. As a CEO, I want to build SKS Entertainment into something meaningful and sustainable. One day, I would love to become someone people can point to as an example that it is possible to build both sides, the artist and the company, from the ground up.

I also know I am still very early in that journey. That is why “Dream Higher” is not me saying, “I made it.” It is me saying, “I’m still going.”

You’ve been involved in performing, producing, choreographing, styling, and directing your projects. What part of the creative process in making music do you still want to explore?

The core will always be the music. Because the violin is such an important part of my identity, creating the sound I hear in my head can sometimes be difficult. There are not many producers who naturally think about modern K-pop production and violin at the same time, so I want to keep developing as a producer and exploring how violin can exist inside completely different genres.

There are still a lot of sounds I have not touched yet. Sometimes I start by studying a genre: the drums, tempo, instrumentation, structure, and what emotional feeling makes that style special. Then I look back at my own experiences and ask how I can bring something personal into that world while still making it feel like ALL’N.

From there, the music expands into everything else: fashion, choreography, music video, performance, and the visual world around the song.

Right now I am also trying to stay in what I jokingly call “sponge mode.” I want to remain humble enough to absorb as much information as possible from talented people around me, because the moment I think I already know everything is probably the moment I stop improving. There are still a lot of songs and visual worlds in my head that I have not been able to bring to life yet. I am excited to eventually show them.

Looking ahead, what can fans and new listeners expect to see and discover from ALL’N as an artist?

A lot of different ways that violin can exist within K-pop. I look at K-pop almost like a larger category where many different genres can live together. You can hear K-pop songs influenced by rock, R&B, hip-hop, electronic music, funk, Latin sounds, and so many other styles, but there is still something about the performance, production, visuals, and overall presentation that makes them feel like K-pop.

That is the spirit I want for ALL’N. The violin will always exist somewhere in my music, but it will not always have the same role. Sometimes it might lead the whole song. Sometimes it might have a solo. Sometimes it might sit behind the vocals and quietly add emotion or texture.

Emotionally, I want that same freedom. One release might be powerful and inspiring. Another could be romantic, sweet, aggressive, emotional, or just something that makes you want to move. I do not want people to know exactly what the next ALL’N song will sound like. I want them to be surprised by the song, but still know immediately that it is ALL’N.

I am still discovering all of those different sides of myself, and I hope N’CORE can discover them with me.

Ralph Regis

Lifestyle and Culture Writer

Ralph Regis is a Lifestyle and Culture Writer at Billboard Philippines, where he bridges the worlds of film, television, fashion, art, food, and cultural trends with both the local and international music scene.

He has written extensively about artist collaborations, brand partnerships, and pop culture moments that connect back to music. He also brings stories to life through in-depth interviews with musicians and personalities, drawing on their diverse perspectives, opinions, and reflections on the human condition.

In addition, Ralph also writes about music releases across a wide range of genres, including pop, hip-hop, P-pop, and rock, highlighting both rising and established artists. With a passion for storytelling that goes beyond trends, he explores how music is part of our daily lives in one form or another, connecting culture, experiences, and everything in between.

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