Lee Soo-young Ballad

Ballad singer Lee Soo-young (25) is releasing her sixth album, “The Colors of My Life,” on September 10. She has been on an ever-changing path of success since her first album “I Believe,” released in 1999, up to her latest, fifth album “This Time,” released last year.

About her new album, Lee Soo-young says, “This is an easy listening kind of album with a more narrow tonal range and simpler instrumentation.”

She had worked with Producer Park Yong-chan ever since her first album, and he was the one who created what is now known as the “Lee Soo-young Ballad.” However, she worked for this album with Lee Young-gi, who worked with the newcomer “Simply Sunday”. The new album does not include orchestration, which has been her frequent feature so far. Her new album is accentuated by songs like: “If you feel the same” and “Flower” that are rearranged simply, with one or two instruments such as a guitar or piano. Her production company, Lee Ga Production, says that orders of about 200,000 albums are already in, which signifies a hit in the industry.

The title song “Hwilili” is a song with grandeur, a fast beat, and orchestration, balanced by Lee Soo-young’s calm voice. “Hwilili” is an onomatopoeic word for sounds of a flute or wind and means a medium to deliver one’s heart in song. The album is bundled with variety, including songs like “You Want Me” with a disco beat and “Smile to Myself” with bossa nova rhythms.

“I took in the feelings, digested, and mellowed the song. I used every bit of skill and energy I had, but I still think it falls short sometimes. In order to make someone else cry, you first have to cry thousands of tears by yourself. As you listen to the songs, you’ll hear my voice saying, ‘How do you like it now that you hear it?’ in the songs.”

Lee Soo-young released a single album in Japan in June this year as a result of her trial for Japanese market since January. It met with no noticeable success, but she earned credit in that things are promising for her. When her sixth album launch wraps up in Korea, she plans to start back in the Japanese market.

“What I hate the most is people saying that I am a singer who only performs one kind of music that sells,” she says, adding, “I did all that I could and tried so hard to produce music that makes people want to hear more and more every time they listen to it again and again.”

Sun-Woo Kim sublime@donga.com