Luke McQueen
Seoul
Luke McQueen is a Korean-American singer-songwriter, composer, and producer based in Seoul, Korea. McQueen focuses his creative energy to craft meaningful songs that are imbued with depth and insight. He has performed with Dave Grusin, Oscar Castro-Neves and Nathan East among others. in 2020, Luke released his first 5 song Longing (Someday) EP on IONE ENT and will release his full-length album in 2021.
McQueen’s music was featured in a documentary feature My Umma at the Jecheon International Music & Film Festival (JIMFF) which is a sequel to a KBS Human Theater television documentary 30,000 Leagues to Find Mother (엄마찾아 3만리) based on his search for birth family.
Among McQueen’s influences are Stevie Wonder, Coldplay, Jason Mraz, Sting, Billy Joel, Michael Bublé and Nat King Cole.
McQueen was adopted from South Korea at the age of five to Longmont, Colorado. At the age of eleven, he won a local talent competition with an original composition. Throughout grade school and college, music remained a hobby as his real passion for music had not been ignited. At the University of Colorado, McQueen studied the safe path of engineering. However, it was also at the university where he accepted the opportunity to be a vocalist in a production of Westside Story by Dave Grusin, flawlessly singing covers of the Grusin's arrangements of “Maria” (sung by Jonathan Butler) and “Somewhere” (sung by Jon Secada). Nevertheless, after graduation, the safety of a corporate gig—ultimately fear, won out.
But in late 2013, the realization of being unfulfilled in his job and life, combined with the decision to visit Korea, was the impetus for McQueen to move to Korea, search for his birth family and change his career to pursue music. There he has been training, songwriting, producing and performing ever since. He is currently involved in the Korean music industry and performs as a solo artist.