I remember when I couldn’t stop watching the Wonder Girls’ music videos, especially for the song, “Nobody”. It was one of my favorite songs and I loved their hair style in the music video. So when I found out that I was going to be interviewing Ayumi, the hair stylist to the Wonder Girls, I was extremely excited.
We met Ayumi at her work, downstairs at Patricia Field’s (who’s hair she also styles) boutique in Noho. She showed us the CD from the Wonder Girls with their autographs and told us about her career and all about the Wonder girls. She was just like a cute little doll telling us episodes with the Wonder Girls. Ayumi traveled in an all-packed bus, with only a few hours of sleep and hung out with the Wonder Girls backstage. It all sounded tough to get through however, we could see that she enjoyed her work with the Wonder Girls as if she had a great trip.
ASIANCE: Tell us about your background. How did you come to the States?
Ayumi: I was 23. I’m 38, almost 39. I was a tourist. The first time was when I was in high school. I was doing a homestay and taking an English class.
ASIANCE: How did you learn hair?
Ayumi: I went to Japanese beauty school. I took Vidal Sassoon classes. I took special hair classes. I took a Geisha class for special hairdos because a Japanese hairdo is kind of an updo.
ASIANCE: Who’s your favorite Wonder Girl?
Ayumi: Sohee. She’s so cute! They speak English, you know? She is the bad one. (laughs) I love her English. She always tries. She’s very quiet. She’s a very quiet girl. She always cares about me. When I was on the tour, everyone was speaking Korean, so I didn’t know what was going on. Sohee came to me and explained to me. She’s very cute. I understand simple words because English is my second language. I like her very much. She is very sweet.
ASIANCE: When you do their hair. Which part is the most difficult?
Ayumi: You have to take their own character and own style but at the same time, they need to go together. Those girls are a very good group. They have good communication. For example, one will say, I’m wearing my hair up today and the other will say, “Ok, I’ll wear my hair down then.” On the tour, it was everyday. I didn’t go to the show on the Fourth of July weekend. I went to 47 different shows, which means 47 different hair styles.
When I met the Wonder Girls, they didn’t know who I was. Mimi and Yenny knew me because they come in to get their hair cut.
The girls usually show me a picture of what they want. I’m a girl, so I understand. So I just do everything I want first.
ASIANCE: Does JYP (Park Jin-young) have to approve everything?
Ayumi: Yeah. After they are done, the girls stand in front of him. The first hairdo he loved. Yenny came to the salon before, so that’s how she knows who I am. She told me, “Do whatever you want!” So that is why I do the concept of the 60s. A 60s French twist. Very classic but big.. He loved it!
The other girls, I listen to their ideas. I need a good 3 days before I do their hair.
ASIANCE: How did you link up with the Wonder Girls?
Ayumi: I do JYP’s hair. JYP comes in a goes shopping in the male section. I did his hair. Then I started doing the Wonder Girls.
ASIANCE: Tell us about each Wonder Girl!
Ayumi: Sun – She’s the big sister because she is the leader but she’s more. She watches everything. She watches the girls. She watches the staff. She’s not loud. She’s a very quiet one. She reads the Bible. She likes Beyonce. She watches Beyonce’s music video and reads the Bible. But she really cares about everybody. Like if I’m tired, she’ll ask, “Ayumi are you tired? Do you want a candy? Do you want a massage?”
She has a nice massage machine. She gets so many gifts from fans. She gets so much candy.
Yenny – Yenny is so smart. She speaks English perfectly. I think she is very smart. She’s the first girl to come into this hair salon and get hair color from me. I think that is a challenge. She just came from Korea. She’s going to a new hair salon. She doesn’t know who I am. I think that is very cool!
When I was on the tour in Los Angeles, The Jonas Brothers, have like a little sister. It’s not their real sister but to them she is like a real sister. Maya is her name. She’s half Japanese and half American. Her father and The Jonas Brothers’ father were best friends. Her father died when she was a baby so they lived together. She came to the shows by herself. She knew me so we talked. She liked a Japanese group called Odyssey. It’s like a Japanese Jonas Brothers, like 5 or 6 boys dancing and singing. I introduced her to the Wonder Girls. Yenny sat with her a lot because the two girls speak English very well. We had 4 days in LA. So they hung out.
I think Yenny is very smart and friendly, especially with the hair, she lets me do whatever I want. I’ve done so many hairstyles on her.
Mimi – I think she’s a genius girl. I never see her practice. Sometimes she has to remember her lines for English. She’s always sleeping or tired and then boom, she’s perfect. She’s likes the computer. She’s always watching her website. She watches Korean comedy shows. They call her daydreamer. We always play “cat”. Like meow. She likes entertainer blogs.
Sohee – She’s the youngest one. She’s very sweet. She loves Korean dramas. It’s funny, backstage she is very little. She always wants to stay in the corner. She always takes a nice spot. She’s very quiet. For me, she’s like a Tinkerbell because she always wants a ponytail. I do Barbie pony tails for her. She told me that some Korean idol copied her hair. She wasn’t too happy but I told her that she’s a leader! “People want to look like you”. She then said, “Ahhhh ok.”
Sohee is nervous to speak English. So I introduced her to one of my English speaking friends. After, she’ll always say “Hi” and talk a little bit. Very cute girl.
Yubin – She’s a diva. They have all different characters. They say she’s the diva. She’s a really nice girl.
In the beginning when I started doing their hair, the girls were kind of nervous. Do you know the movie “Hairspray”? I watched the movie for their hair. I liked the 60s. She can speak English and Japanese.
ASIANCE: Do you sleep on the bus with them?
Ayumi: Yes. Every day is a different city. After the concert, we have to move to the next city. We always stay close to the concert. We sleep and then we go. We don’t have enough beds. There are only 12 but with the staff, there are like 15, 16 people on one bus. So Yubin will sleep on the couch. I’ll hang out with her. We’re on the tour bus every day. The back of the bus is the girls’ room.
Two months is very hard. I received so many great compliments. When I was little, I went camping a lot. I enjoyed traveling on the road. Usually after concert, it’s like 12am. I always hang out when the Wonder Girls go to a meeting. Sometimes we have 4-5 hour drive. Sometimes I have to start the girls’ hair at 5 or 6 in the am. It is usually 2-3 hours for 5 girls. I have an assistant. The girls know what they want.
ASIANCE: How often do you do Patricia’s hair?
Ayumi: Every three to four weeks. Patricia sponsored me for my greencard. She is so great! Patricia’s mother, her name is Anabezi. She’s like Madonna in Greece. She’s a diva. Anabezi and Patricia are like best friends. She teaches me so much too. I’ve been with her for 15 or 16 years.
ASIANCE: Where do you shop?
Ayumi: Of course this store. This is my closet. About 80% of my clothes are from here. I love St. Mark’s Place.
ASIANCE: Anything interesting that happen on the tour?
Ayumi: The Jonas Brothers are cute. The fans are cute. Sometimes the fans thought I was part of the Wonder Girls. I always say, “Oh I’m not Wonder Girls, I do the hair for the Wonder Girls”. Sometimes they don’t understand me, so the parents will say “Oh she does hair for the Wonder Girls”. I think that was cute.
I got compliments from the Jonas Brothers’ mother. She comes to the concerts every day, so she told me, “What a great job, everyday is different”. Every day she was excited to see the Wonder Girls. I was nervous because they are very big stars. “You’re the hairstylist to the Wonder Girls? I’m always excited to see the hair.”
The Jonas Brothers have one violinist and one piano player. They always tell me they love the Wonder Girls’ hair. So one day I said, “Come to my room and I’ll do your hair!” So I do their hair too. Everyone is very friendly.
ASIANCE: Who’s hair would you love to do?
Ayumi: I want to do some Disney movie or maybe a big concert tour. I love Disney people. I love Disney. It’s very dreamy. I can do dreamy hair.
ASIANCE: Like Broadway?
Ayumi: The older Patricia Field’s hairstylist does Broadway and then her other one is on the Madonna tour. Patricia is very proud of me. Originally, the Wonder Girls only had 16 shows, only on the weekends. But then they expanded every day so I panicked before I asked Patricia. She gave me off. And when I came back she said, “I’m so proud of you.” Patricia does a TV commercial with Japanese pop idol Namie Amuro.
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