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| ▲ This photo, provided by DG Entertainment, shows Yoon Ji-sung. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Apr. 27 (Yonhap) – “I remember what my fan told me at an autograph event. You are not a person like a heavy rainfall, but rather a sprinkle of rain that gets clothes wet a little bit. These words have helped me a lot when working in the entertainment industry.”
The life of S. Korean singer Yoon Ji-sung has been dynamic in recent years.
The singer succeeded in making a debut by ranking No. 8 in the audition program “Produce 101 Season 2,” drawing attention of the whole nation, and performed as a leader of K-pop boy group Wanna One in great popularity.
Yoon debuted as a solo artist after completing the group performances for a year and six months in 2019, and also served his mandatory military service in the same year. Then, the singer has returned with the third mini album “Maze(translated),” which contains his self-composed song, on Apr. 27.
Yoon honestly said during an interview with Yohap News Agency, “Even when performing as a group, I was aware that I would no longer receive this great amount of attention when it is over, and I prepared myself for it,” adding, “However, I always want to stand out from my own position.”
He also mentioned, “Even if it’s not a flower that many people look at, I want to become a person like a flower that always blooms on the same spot when people pass by,” adding, “I want to hear people saying ‘I thought that flower was so pretty, and it is always in bloom over there.’”
Although the singer seems strong, Yoon experienced a slump last year as he didn’t seem to have been recognized by the public as much as he put efforts. He mentioned that he got hurt by the comment from the Wanna One’s year end reunion performance, saying, “Did Yoon Ji-sung earn vacation while performing his military service?” In fact, it was a time when he already showed active performances as a solo artist after being discharged from the army a year ago.
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| ▲ This photo, provided by DG Entertainment, shows Yoon Ji-sung. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
He recalled, “I was in a slump with the thought that nobody appreciated my efforts even when I constantly headed for my dream,” adding, “Therefore, there was a time when I cried while walking on the street, recording for the song, and feeding my dog.”
However, he added, “I believed that I should just do my own work as my fans, family, and the company are well aware of my hard work.”
“So I want to perform for as long as possible. It’s because I want the public to slowly become familiar with me. Haha.”
Just like how he said he wants to become a flower that silently keeps its position, the meaning of the album’s title is also “Road of roses.”
The album contains a total of five songs, including the title song “BLOOM” and “SUMMER DRIVE,” which was presented by Lee Dae-hwi from Wanna One and featured by Kim Jong-hyun, who also starred in the audition program with him.
“BLOOM” is a song of contemporary pop genre that is mixed with cheerful band sounds and retro mood, and it contains the smell of spring when the petals are floating in the wind. When listening to the title song, it seemed that it portrays spring or flowers and couples in particular, and it was later known that his favorite season is spring.
Yoon said, “I don’t know if it’s because I was born in spring, but I like spring the most since I can’t stand hot or cold weather,” adding, “The spring season gives you the feeling that new life begins. I think there are special moments that only spring can provide.”
Come to think of it, Yoon has carried out every music performances, from his solo debut album “Aside” to the upcoming album, in spring.
He said, “Spring is a season that always makes your heart flutter,” adding, “With the release of this album, I will be dubbed “Spring idol.”
Yoon showed off his talents as a singer-song writer by participating in a total of 4 songs while writing lyrics and composing the title song as well.
The title song was made by writing lyrics in a notebook when he served his military service.
It is an irony that this “bright” song filled with spring mood has was made from the cold and dreary army.
“When returning back to the unit after finishing the musical performances in the army, the night view of Seoul was so beautiful. It was the opposite of my mind. The glittering lights felt like flowers bloomed at night, and I thought a nice song would come out when working on it with this sense of feelings.”
Yoon “roughly” recorded from the first verse to the end with his phone and sent it to his friend, and finally completed making the song by requesting an arrangement to the composer while adding the piano accompaniment. He didn’t professionally studied composition, but he believes that anyone can write the song.
He explained, "I made the melody I wanted to sing, but I feel sorry for the arranger," adding, "The draft was a song of city pop genre, but it came out as a dance song after it was devised several times to improve its completeness."
It tends to take more time to produce an album when it contains self-composed songs, rather than those received from other people. Nevertheless, when he was asked why he was motivated to compose and write lyrics, he replied, "Challenge."
"Yoon Ji-sung is an entertainer who loves challenges. In fact, Yoon is a coward but he has to keep developing as an entertainer. I wanted to tell you that I am trying my best on composition studies with my entire devotion to my job.
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Kim Sun Min.)
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