The Japanese-born singer-songwriter Rayko is the frontwoman of the Southern California rock band Lolita Dark.

Best known for their energetic performances at J-pop and Anime festivals, Lolita Dark are a disciplined unit of hard-rocking progressive musicians who mix Tokyo-style glam with European symphonic-rock and American metal.

The band was formed as a side project for Dig Jelly, when guitarist and singer Rayko, bassist Rain Balen and drummer Joey teamed up with keyboardist K-Lu and guitarist Patrick Cabrera from the prog-metal band False Empire. The first Lolita Dark album, "Tokyo Status," was released in 2012. The grinding track "Wounded Angel" was the official theme song for Anime California 2014. The upcoming Steampunk web series "Tinker" will feature the Lolita Dark song "Mad Times."

The band is currently is working on their third album.

Rayko took over as vocalist for Nylon Pink for a summer mini-tour in 2014, after former lead vocalist Kaila Yu left to manage the band.

Fresh off speaking at a panel at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), Rayko talked to KpopStarz about how she got interested in Korean pop, in an exclusive interview.

"My best friends are Korean and second-generation Japanese who are married to each other," Rayko said. "My sister from another mother is half-Korean, half-German. I love Korean culture and so naturally I follow their music."

When asked to name her favorite K-pop artists, Rayko's list was long.

"TVXQ!, Super-Junior M, VIXX, INFINITE, and 2NE1," she said.

And which K-pop music videos caught the Rayko's attention.

"I have to say 'Something' by TVXQ," Rayko said. "The song has to be interesting first. ['Something'] is refreshing, very burlesque. It makes the video looks even better and innovative."

She didn't stop there.

"The 2NE1 girls are edgy, talented, and passionate," Rayko said.  "I like quite a lot of their stuff...I think it is the mixture of diversity in their sound and culture."

So what do all of the Lolita Dark vocalist's favorite K-pop acts have in common?

"The K-pop bands I like grab every good ingredient without casting any judgments and blend them together," Rayko said.

"Their production values are amazing and they work so hard on their images, too, to make the whole package perfect. And it shows."

Rayko got to try her own hand at Hallyu, on a brief US tour with Nylon Pink, releasing a music video of the group covering the EXO song "Overdose" on YouTube, but the vocalist didn't get a vote on the song choice.

"I believe it was decided by the management," Rayko said with a laugh. "I took no part in that."

So what song would she have chosen?

"It would be fun to be edgy and cover 'Back' by INFINITE," Rayko said.

But whatever material her band is performing, the vocalist-guitarist hopes to find a place in the hearts of Hallyu audiences.

"I'll be grateful if any of my songs can connect us with K-pop fans," she said.

Listen to the Lolita Dark song "Wounded Angel" RIGHT HERE

And you can hear the Lolita Dark song "Queen's Decade" RIGHT HERE