'K-Pop Star' prodigy releases debut album
Singer Lee Jin-ah, right, speaks during a showcase introducing her debut album “Appetizer” at M Concert Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Antenna Music
By Kim Jae-heun
Singer-songwriter Lee Jin-ah released her debut single “Appetizer” Thursday. Lee became known after finishing second runner-up in season four of television audition series “K-Pop Star”. “Appetizer” is the first of a three-part series to be released this year.
“After I finished the ‘K-Pop Star’ audition series, I joined Antenna Music and spent time practicing piano and writing songs,” said Lee during a press meeting at M Concert Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Thursday.
“I studied jazz piano more deeply and produced commercial tunes as well as soundtracks for a soap operas before releasing my new single. I wanted to do ‘toy-like’ music and it is meaningful to me that I am presenting it for the first time to an audience.” While meaning small and cute like children's playthings, Toy is the name of the solo project of You Hee-yeol, founder and producer of Lee’s agency and indie record label Antenna Music.
Lee’s debut single has two tracks, “I Am Full” and “Like & Love.” The first track is a pop-jazz tune produced by Lee and arranged by You, who was on one of the judging panels for the TV audition show that brought Lee into the limelight. The lyrics portray a girl’s feelings for her crush.
Lee also wrote the second track and electronic and house duo Peppertones’ Shin Jae-pyung arranged the rhythm and melody. She said the story is of her own experience when she felt uncertain about her love.
Her three-part project is called “Jin-ah’s Restaurant” and Lee plans to include songs from three or four genres in her next releases. She hinted that the themes will be “Main Course” and “Dessert.”
Lee, 25, described her music as somewhere between idol bands and indie musicians. She neither calls herself a fully immersed jazz artist, nor a K-pop musician. Lee says she wants to infuse artistic elements in her music and appeal to the public at the same time.
“I like Disney movies,” she said. “They are fun and give happiness to the audience, but they require complex skills and techniques when making them. I get impressed while watching them and learned that I wanted to put the same kind of effort into my music.
“I want to produce quality music with the best techniques.”
Lee broke onto the K-pop industry in 2014 and astonished the three judges of the talent show with her song “Time Slow Down.” Park Jin-young, the representative of JYP Entertainment and one of the judges, made a controversial remark that he should quit music after listening to Lee’s song. You and Yang Hyun-suk of YG Entertainment also praised Lee as a prodigy producer.
The singer’s song “Yum Yum Yum” on the 13th episode of the audition series, that aired last February, recorded 1 million views only 12 hours after the video was posted online. After the audition series, Lee contracted with You’s record label.
“As a musician myself, I can assure that Lee’s hands (playing the piano) and musical expression are incredible,” said You, who visited the showcase to support Lee. “Her music has its pluses and minuses, but it creates debate like with the recent hit movie ‘The Wailing.’ She sings effortlessly like she is singing a children’s song, but in her brain she has a black sheet of music notes.
You admitted that Lee doesn’t dance with perfect choreography, but she can hold her own on stage with only one instrument and her voice.
“When we think about K-pop, we think of idol groups,” he said. “Now that we have so many channels like YouTube, the solo artists are entering the spotlight as the next K-pop stars.”