Lee Mun-Sae holds `listening session` for new album

Singer Lee Mun-Sae held a unique concert on Mar. 16 to give a select group of fans the chance to hear the songs on his 13th album. The event, emceed by singer-songwriter Roh Young-Sim, was held at the Polymedia Theater in Taehangno.

``I wasn`t happy publicizing new songs on radio, TV or in newspapers and so worked out a new way to expose people to my music,`` he said. ``I was worried about how many fans would come out to hear songs they didn`t even know, but I was pleasantly surprised at the enthusiastic response.`` Some 10,000 people applied to attend the show through the Internet, from which Lee selected about 450, only a few of whom were members of his fan club.

The participants selected a ballad called ``Memory Rather Than Love,`` sung in Lee`s trademark baritone voice, as the title track for the new album. The music video for the song, which is set in San Francisco, was filmed using the ``one-take`` method, meaning that it appears to be one long, continuous shot. The video story shows a man and a woman wandering as if they have been separated for a long time.

The new album will be released on Thursday, after which Lee will launch a nationwide concert tour starting in Seoul on Apr. 5. Other cities on the tour include Taegu, Chonan, Chongju, Pusan and Ulsan.

Heo Yeub heo@donga.com