Eddy Kim tries to find own musical identity
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Eddy Kim
By Kwon Ji-youn
Eddy Kim looked nothing like Kim Jung-hwan when he stepped into The Korea Times newsroom on Thursday.
He looked slimmer and taller, with longish hair and an air of confidence that had escaped him while he was auditioning two years ago on Super Star K, an audition program.
Kim Jung-hwan made his debut as Eddy Kim on April 11, with a mini album that he co-produced containing music he had composed, and lyrics he had written and sung.
“When I decided to appear on Super Star K, I had been serving military duty,” he said. “The officers suggested I audition, and I thought I should take this chance to see how the public reacts to my songs.”
Kim’s peers on Super Star K have all made their debuts — Roy Kim in November 2012, and Jung Jun-young in October 2013. But Kim fought anxiety and replaced it with perfectionism. He wanted to make sure his album was truly unequaled before letting the public in.
Kim had always dreamed of being a singer. When he was in junior high, he told this to his parents for the first time, and they took him to see a producer to ask if their son was “good enough.” He passed their test.
“Since then, they’ve been very supportive, but I never went out of my way to scratch out an album,” Kim recalled. “I studied classical music and then popped into school, and took lessons afterwards.”
Kim studied for a year at the Berklee College of Music before taking a leave of absence to fulfill his military duties. As of now, he’s not sure when he will go back.
“I’m learning so much here, having been thrown into the market,” he said. “I’m breaking down walls and this, right now, is what I want to be doing.”
Agencies began scouting Kim as soon as he was discharged, and after several months of deliberation, he decided to seek shelter under singer and songwriter Yoon Jong-shin’s roof. Most agencies had taken a business approach, while Yoon questioned Kim on his music.
And once the contracts were signed, it didn’t take long for Kim’s album to be released, which Yoon strongly vouched for.
“Yes, I haven’t trained for seven or eight years like some idol group members, but I’ve been doing music for so long, it seems like it was all the training I really needed to get my career going,” he said. “I’ve been preparing for this since I was in junior high. I used to think I wasn’t good enough, but now I think I’m ready.”
Kim took on his English name Eddy for a clean slate. He didn’t want to be tagged as the kid from Super Star K, mostly because he hadn’t performed as well as he would have liked on air. He also didn’t want to be tagged, “the guy who didn’t place first.”
To Kim, it had all just been a show where he performed the way the public wanted him to perform, and while he realizes how important public opinion is, he wants to demonstrate to the world the kind of music he’s really good at. He realizes it may not be “popular music” like that of idol groups and bands — but it’s Eddy Kim, through and through.
“For some reason, I didn’t enjoy using the typical chords that most popular songs are based on,” Kim said. “I’ve always been a bit rebellious. But I made sure audiences would be able to identify with the lyrics.”
All through junior high and high school, Kim had taken vocal and guitar lessons after school, mimicking veteran singers and their styles and techniques. He may have been young, but Kim realized early that he didn’t want to be recording covers for the rest of his life.
“I really wanted to create songs, make something out of nothing,” he said.
Kim’s new album consists of six songs. But because he wrote them all, he claims he can’t really play favorites.
Now, he’s nervous and excited. Kim has no idea what’s in store for him, but he says he’s never been happier.
“People have been asking me about whether I’d be interested in appearing in variety shows,” Kim said. “But right now, I’m focusing on establishing my musical identity.”
In fact, he’s so tied down with ascertaining his musical identity that he doesn’t care about the negative things people may be saying about him in the online world. All he cares about is how they’re responding to Eddy Kim and his music.