‘I thought it was AI’: Hwasa reacts to Jensen Huang’s unexpected fan confession

SEOUL, June 20 — Singer Hwasa is still wrapping her head around having one of the world’s biggest tech leaders in her fan club.

The Mamamoo star admitted she initially thought it was artificial intelligence — not reality — after learning that Jensen Huang had publicly named her as one of his favourite K-pop artists.

“At first, I thought it was AI,” Hwasa said during Thursday’s episode of KBS music talk show The Seasons: Sung Si-kyung’s Ear Candy, where Mamamoo made its first full-group television appearance almost four years.

“When I first heard the news, I felt honoured, but it didn’t feel real.”

Host Sung Si-kyung couldn’t resist teasing the singer over her very famous admirer.

“Isn’t it just being liked by a businessman,” he joked. “But just that he’s incredibly rich.”

For Hwasa, however, the moment has only become more meaningful with time.

“As time goes by, I realise he has been giving me a sincere shoutout, and I feel grateful every time I go to sleep,” she said.

Huang’s unexpected K-pop confession quickly became one of the hottest entertainment moments to come out of his recent visit to Seoul.

During an appearance on tvN variety show You Quiz on the Block, the Nvidia chief executive surprised host Yoo Jae-suk when asked about the music on his playlist. 

Rather than offering a vague answer, Huang singled out Hwasa by name, calling her a “good dancer and good singer.”

He even proved he wasn’t just a casual listener, naming not only her 2025 hit Good Goodbye but also her April single So Cute — a detail that visibly impressed Yoo.

The shoutout sparked buzz among both K-pop and tech fans, with many delighted to discover that one of the most influential figures in artificial intelligence is also an enthusiastic Hwasa fan.

For Hwasa, though, the biggest surprise wasn’t that Jensen Huang knew who she was — it was believing the praise was genuine in the first place.

“I thought it was AI.”