'1set' music goes viral on SNS
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Ye-jin, left, and Da-young of acoustic duo 1set pose at a cafe in Apgujeong-dong, southern Seoul. The duo has gained popularity in recent months by uploading covers onto their YouTube channel and Facebook. Their digital album will be released on Thursday. / Korea Times
By Kwon Ji-youn
At the mention of Jayesslee, a YouTube sensation, Da-young and Ye-jin of the acoustic duo 1set let out a small shriek and said, “We love Jayesslee.”
“One time, a fan commented on one of our videos that we remind them of a Korean version of Jayesslee,” Ye-jin said during an interview with The Korea Times. “It was Jayesslee who inspired us to post our videos online.”
Jayesslee, a duo of Korean-Australian twins named Janice and Sonia Lee, rose to fame by recording covers and posting them on their YouTube channel.
Da-young and Ye-jin were surprised _ to say the least _ at the reaction to their own covers that had been posted on Facebook and YouTube. At first, they just wanted an outlet through which to perform their music. Now, they have a contract with a label and a digital album to be released on April 10.
The two met at college, where they instantly took a liking to each other. As vocal majors, they were required to perform in front of an audience once a week. Ye-jin, who had suffered from stage fright, had asked Da-young to team up with her.
“We had heard each other sing before, and I personally thought our voices went well together,” Ye-jin said. “But it wasn’t until 2012 that we decided to officially form a vocal duo.”
At 26 and 24 respectively, Ye-jin and Da-young are about the age of any well-known girl group or boy band. And while the two are both interested in gaining fame, they’ve never contemplated joining a large entertainment agency, home to idols like Girls’ Generation and 2NE1.
“We’ve had offers, but we weren’t sure we would be able to survive such stringent rules and regulations,” Da-young said. “For instance, one agency said that it couldn’t guarantee that we be teamed together.”
1set epitomizes a part of the 21st century music industry in that it has used online channels to publicize its work. The two taped their practice videos and covers, posted them on Facebook or YouTube and waited for a response. This method is well-utilized in the United States as well as Korea, and it is through YouTube that singers like Kim Yeo-hee, Ailee and Avery first got noticed.
It is the music for which 1set wants to be recognized.
When asked whether they realize that their appearance may be part of the reason they have received such an enthusiastic response, Da-young replied, “I definitely don’t think that our appearances have affected our viewers. We’re not drop-dead gorgeous, but we do our best to look decent.”
1set recently signed with Shim Hyoun-seo of Koaradio, and have been performing at every open-microphone opportunity they can find.
“We want to take it one step at a time,” said Ye-jin.
“While we do dream of big stages and televised appearances, we want to make sure we’re ready when that opportunity comes,” Da-young added.