Almost 11 years since setting foot into the music scene, singer Lee Su-jeong, previously of Lovelyz, says she is lastly debuting solo with her first EP, “My Name.”
Ahead of releasing the album Tuesday, the artiste performed a joint interview with native press in Seoul to share a better look into the album by which she hopes to inform her true story for the first time.
“The album in one word is my ‘first start,’” Su-jeong stated in the course of the interview performed Wednesday at her company, Woolim Entertainment.
While the 29-year-old artiste dropped her first-ever digital single “Stranger,” that includes veteran vocalist Wheesung, in 2011, she stated she would commemorate the upcoming album’s launch as her official solo debut.
“Although I debuted a long time ago, this is my first time doing everything alone and my first album that tells my true story, so it marks a significant new start in my life,” the artiste stated.
The new EP marks Su-jeong’s first actions in six months, following the disbandment of Okay-pop woman group Lovelyz in November final 12 months. And she says she has been busy writing lyrics for her personal music in the course of the day off.
“I’ve been writing a lot of lyrics, pondering about what kind of stories I want to tell through music, and I jot them down every time they pop up in my mind,” she stated.
While being attentive to her inspirations, Su-jeong got here to pen all 5 tracks with lyrics on her new album herself, together with lead single Into the Moon.
The moombahton-infused rating of wealthy and highly effective synth sounds wrap across the ears, as Sujeong sings melodically of sending away the darkish night time and greeting a brand new shiny day to find one’s true self.
“I think the most meaningful among all the tracks would be the title song, as its lyrics are a reflection of myself amid the period when I moved on from being part of a group to starting a solo journey,” she defined.
The EP – a six-track set that features the introductory rating My Name with no lyrics – contains Into the Moon and 4 aspect tracks: Say Goodbye, Warmth of Love, Mirror and Cosmos. Each observe represents a special a part of her story that she has saved over the previous years, ready to launch her personal music.
Concept picture of Lee Su-jeong’s first solo EP ‘My Name’.“As part of a group, and also the leader of the team, the conflict of whether I should put the team before myself or vice versa lingered inside, and in most cases, I had to give in and it wasn’t an easy time to endure,” Su-jeong stated. “Because I didn’t want to do any damage to Lovelyz, I couldn’t fulfill my desires and kept on suppressing myself, trying to fit into the group, and I kept losing myself in that process.”
The extended time of self-repression was what led her to drop her extensively and long-loved alias, Baby Soul, the moment she separated herself from Lovelyz to restart a profession with her given title: Lee Su-jeong.
While “Lee Su-jeong” is a mixture of a reasonably frequent surname and given title, the singer stated she didn’t give a lot thought of whether or not she might stand out.
“There are many people with the same name, but that wasn’t a problem. What was important to me was being aware of my own ego, because throughout the time I had used the pseudonym, I’d lived my life trapped in it.”
Her solo sound deviates largely from that of Lovelyz, which had acquired nice help from followers for its signature mix of dancy but balladic, candy and breezy sounds that hit the ears with refreshing heat.
“I did try to differentiate the sound from before, but it wasn’t much trouble. To be candid, I had a lot of concerns while I’d been doing music as Lovelyz, because it wasn’t the style of music I’d wanted to pursue nor the direction I had intended to take. The solo songs will show the musical colors I’d longed for,” she stated, explaining what she pursued personally was a sound extra highly effective and heavy on beat.
Su-jeong stated she was general happy with the ends in hand, as the album and songs share her tales by varied genres.
“As I’ve written all the lyrics myself and embodied my own emotions in the songs, I hope that I could be an artiste who shares her true self with her music and offer a piece of consolation and empathy to people.”
The first feminine idol trainee of Woolim, Su-jeong debuted as a part of the company’s first woman group.
Su-jeong formally debuted as a musician as a part of the eight-piece woman group Lovelyz in November 2014 with the band’s first LP, Girls Invasion.”
In November final 12 months, Woolim Entertainment introduced that, apart from Baby Soul, the opposite seven members – Yoo Ji-ae, Seo Ji-soo, Lee Mi-joo, Kei, Jin, Ryu Su-jeong and Jung Ye-in – had determined to not renew their contracts with the company after the expiration on Nov. 16.
“We had a long time of discussions. The members had been talking about it with each other for around six months, so the decision comes from the conversations we had,” Su-jeong stated concerning the group’s disbandment.
“At first, we tried to find a way to stay together, but as the discussion continued between the company and us, we consequently arrived at such an end.”
The first feminine idol trainee of Woolim, Su-jeong debuted as a part of the company’s first woman group following 5 years of coaching — the longest interval amongst all of the band members.
Referring to her longtime partnership with Woolim, she stated “that was one of the main reasons, I suppose. I had that much trust for the company, and they had given me ideas on the choices I had if I decided to stay, which included releasing solo albums.”
Su-jeong stated she suffered nice stress whereas a part of the group, even enduring durations of despair. But whereas her seven years as Lovelyz weren’t all rosy, Su-jeong famous that it was by that point that she might be doing what she wished now.
“I’ve always been proud of Lovelyz music. Always. I’d been grateful that I could be doing such great music and also be a part of the group that could perform it to the public.”
She continued, “spending a long time as a trainee and also being a part of Lovelyz, I know that those years couldn’t all have been futile. That time has led me to who I am now,” she stated. “I’m grateful to be able to realize that even now, and I’ve now changed to just stay focused on doing best with what I can do now and just enjoy everything.”
Releasing her first solo EP, My Name, Su-jeong will likely be devoting her time totally on exhibiting her music to her followers, reasonably than happening TV packages or exhibits as she had finished so as a Okay-pop idol.
She will maintain her first solo live performance in Seoul subsequent month, conducting 16 small live shows. She supplied a peek into the live shows, saying she will likely be protecting Lovelyz songs alone and in addition inviting particular company.
“It’s been so long that I’ve met my fans. I’m looking forward to performing in front of them as I’ll be able to actually feel the excitement.”
Su-jeong stated chart performances and trophy wins weren’t her fundamental targets with her comeback.
“I’m not saying those aren’t important, but I hope to have more valuable time making my music and communicating with people who appreciate it,” including, “I hope that the album stays with people long as they live lives and go through different emotions, empathizing with them and offering healing at each moment.”
About her long-term targets as a solo musician, Su-jeong stated, “I want to create music which only I could create, something that can be instantly recognised as mine when heard by people. I hope to become an artiste whose music could deepen along with the experiences I gain in life.” – Choi Ji-won/The Korea Herald/Asia News Network
