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Eric Benet will serenade fans with R&B songs at a concert Dec. 19 at Yonsei University Auditorium, Seoul. / Courtesy of Private Curve |
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
R&B singer Eric Benet is thrilled to be heading to Seoul for his first solo show next weekend.
``I can tell that the Koreans are very anxious to see me perform, so you guys must be feeling my music. It makes me even more excited to come and reciprocate that excitement. What you can expect is a whole lot of positive emotion, a whole lot of feeling good and experiencing Eric Benet at his very best,'' he said, in an e-mail interview with The Korea Times.
Fans quickly snapped up tickets for the concert, which will take place at Yonsei University Auditorium, Dec. 19. Benet is one of most popular R&B musicians among Korean fans because of his soulful vocals and romantic songs: ``You're The Only One," ``Chocolate Legs" and ``Spend My Life with You."
His latest effort, ``Love & Life,'' which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B album, showed Benet's more optimistic side.
``With `Love & Life,' I guess I want to say that life is worthy to be celebrated, to be enjoyed and whenever there is a challenge in your life, keep love and light in your heart and mind, and you will make it through your challenges,'' he said.
It was also the first time in his career that Benet had full creative control over making an album. ``There was no real involvement with the record label at all, just made it and turned it into them. I feel like this album is the purest representation of me because of that,'' he said.
As a singer and songwriter, Benet says he tries to be very honest in conveying real emotions.
``When you hear great artists' music, you can hear the music and feel the pain and the beauty in their life, and when you read the lyrics, you can feel that it all came from a very honest place. And that's how I try to write music too,'' he added.
The album also featured Benet singing with his young daughter India for the first time. Like any proud father, he says India has a beautiful voice and wanted to give her a chance to show it off.
``I thought, `Why not get her to sing a little bit of back up for me?' and that's how it started. Also, India loves to sing and that's what she wants to do with her life in the future, but she understands that she needs to get her education done first,'' he said.
Benet made his debut in the music business with ``True to Myself" in 1996. Before getting a record deal, he worked for years as a singer, earning $50 a week.
``I did it for passion and love of music. I'm from the school of you know … keep practicing what you do and keep working and try to improve your game. Now that I've been in this for about 20 years, working hard and appreciating all my life experiences, I feel that when I perform on stage, my music really comes to life and takes on a whole other dimension,'' he said.
Despite his success, he still has more to accomplish. His to-do list includes: spending more time with his daughter; writing a screenplay and having a chance to work with legendary singer Chaka Khan.
Benet is very enthusiastic about his career right now, saying, ``I'm at the top of my game and I couldn't be happier.''
Tickets are 88,000 and 99,000 won. Visit ticket.interpark.com. For reservations in English, email info@privatecurve.com or call (02)563-0595.
cathy@koreatimes.co.kr |
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'600만명 학살 지휘' 잔인한 인물의 뒷얘기 공개
