Interviewer: "Do you regard yourself as a star singer?”
Lee Hyo Ri: “Since I can see many vicious comments about me, I might rank among the top in terms of people’s interest.”
Interviewer: "There are opinions that you tried to emulate the style of pop singers such as Lady Gaga and Beyonce.”
Lee Hyo Ri: “I do not want to lag behind the international trend. More important point is that I have to make my own style while following the trend.”
There are no unnecessary words in the conversation with singer Lee Hyo Ri (31). She sometimes straightforwardly opens her heart and she is also very good at pushing and pulling during the talk. She can attract her fans both with her sensual eyes that are full of charisma onstage and her smiling eyes revealing her easygoing personality on reality shows.
I met Lee Hyo Ri, who recently released her fourth album entitled “H.LOGIC,” at her favorite café. She came out in comfortable clothes with a baseball cap on her head. She expressed her satisfaction by saying, “Releasing an album is like waiting for my homework to be checked. But, comparing to the past when I used to be very nervous, this time was different because I wanted to let people hear my songs as soon as possible.”
I expected that her feelings might have been hurt when her new songs were illegally distributed two days before the official release, but she said with an assertive attitude, “I was sorry because I knew that songwriters and my agency could be damaged. I was annoyed, but it was not something to cry about.”
Lee Hyo Ri: “Since I can see many vicious comments about me, I might rank among the top in terms of people’s interest.”
Interviewer: "There are opinions that you tried to emulate the style of pop singers such as Lady Gaga and Beyonce.”
Lee Hyo Ri: “I do not want to lag behind the international trend. More important point is that I have to make my own style while following the trend.”
There are no unnecessary words in the conversation with singer Lee Hyo Ri (31). She sometimes straightforwardly opens her heart and she is also very good at pushing and pulling during the talk. She can attract her fans both with her sensual eyes that are full of charisma onstage and her smiling eyes revealing her easygoing personality on reality shows.
I met Lee Hyo Ri, who recently released her fourth album entitled “H.LOGIC,” at her favorite café. She came out in comfortable clothes with a baseball cap on her head. She expressed her satisfaction by saying, “Releasing an album is like waiting for my homework to be checked. But, comparing to the past when I used to be very nervous, this time was different because I wanted to let people hear my songs as soon as possible.”
I expected that her feelings might have been hurt when her new songs were illegally distributed two days before the official release, but she said with an assertive attitude, “I was sorry because I knew that songwriters and my agency could be damaged. I was annoyed, but it was not something to cry about.”
◇”I want to be an ‘untouchable’ senior singer.”
Lee Hyo Ri had agonized, “What kind of attitude should a 'big brother' or 'big sister' have in a situation where many girl groups are coming out and gaining popularity in the music industry?” She thought that she needs to be differentiated from junior singers and, at the same time, needs to create new trends and be a model for other singers. In this way, she felt a kind of responsibility. That is why she entitled her album “H.LOGIC.” She focused her thoughts on many topics such as her music, fashion, and music videos.
She explained more, “I released my album with 14 songs in it because I wanted to make my album different from that of other girl groups which contains only one single or a few songs. I thought this might have a good effect on other junior singers. Also, I wanted to show that I can succeed even though I invested huge money on my music and music videos for good songs and good music videos like we--other senior singers--did before.”
Lee Hyo Ri has chosen Hip Hop to make changes to her music. She had received 1000 demo songs and picked about 100 songs from among them, and she finally chose ten songs. As she had suffered from a plagiarism sandal when she released her second album, she said, “To find out whether there are similar songs to my final choices, I checked thoroughly through an iPhone application (Sound Hound) that can search music.” She wanted to make new songs in terms of composition of musical instruments and sound, so she worked with unfamiliar American composers such as Bonnie Ryan and Bahnus Vacuum.
She said, "I liked hip hop since when I was young. I tried to expand the genre of music based on the hip hop sound into south hip hop and gangster hip hop, retro hip hop, and a ballad with hip hop rhythm. Many competent rappers and girl group rappers have participated in making my album and they were chosen based on their capability, not based on their popularity. I did rap this time and I am worried because I had shown funny rapping in a reality show.”
She used real musical instruments instead of electric sound on her titles songs such as “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” “Bring It Back,” ”Swing,” and “Memory” because she wanted to show her intention that she does not want to join the recent flood of electric sound. She does not even use Auto Tune, which many singers use to correct vocal pitch.
Does her obsession about “being different from others,” and “creating and leading a trend” come from the competition with girl groups who are in their teens and 20s?
She said, "People say the popularity of girl groups is a crisis, but I think it is rather an opportunity. If there are many girl groups out there, a singer like me can be differentiated and viewers might be able to relieve their tedium caused by overly similar girl groups. I did not focus on cute and girlish style in fashion, hair and makeup like other girl groups; instead, I focused on charismatic and androgynous appeal and hip hop music."
She has become a standard that other female singers with a sexy concept, such as Sohn Dam Bi and Ivy, have to overcome for success. Some music management agencies even advertise this phenomenon as a “showdown with Lee Hyo Ri.”
She said, "I might feel sad if I found out that my name is not in any 'showdown' (laugh). One day, I was drinking beer and read a news article saying 'Sohn Dam Bi is addicted to exercise' and I was actually stimulated by seeing the article. After that, for two month before my scheduled album release, I have done pilates workouts. But, I want to be an 'untouchable' singer that no one can compare to. I have to be ‘untouchable.’”
She added a comment about her close senior singer Uhm Jung Hwa, “She is an ‘untouchable’ and wonderful singer. We have a kind of understanding for each other both as entertainers and as women.”
◇Lee Hyo Ri on TV: "It's not 100 percent me.”
People try to divide Lee Hyo Ri as a star singer and as a normal person. People ask her which one is the real “Lee Hyo Ri” -- the one who shows “bling-bling” fashion and the other one who can wear casual clothes naturally.
Also, many people think that the easygoing Lee Hyo Ri that was revealed on SBS TV's “Family Outing” might be he real Lee Hyo Ri.
She said, "'Family Outing’ is a reality show, so I showed a part of me to play a role on the program. But, it is not true that the character showed on the program is 100 percent Lee Hyo Ri. I do not bully guys and do not feel jealous about junior singers. If I had showed 100 percent Lee Hyo Ri on the program, that would bring out no division in myself on the stage. I think that other junior singers also should not show 100 percent of their real image because even actors have to play another role and different character in different works.”
She has shown an image as a strong woman on TV and it is actually apparently a misunderstanding. She said, “Whenever I enter my home with no lights, I feel afraid, and I also want to get married. I have lived alone for five years, but it was not my intention. I had to live alone.”
She used to say that she would not have any feelings left about being a star once she became married, but her thoughts have changed.
"I completely changed my mind. I think I have to pursue both love and work, so I would not marry a man who wants me to give up my work. With this reason, I like men who are working in the same industry as me such as a producer, director, or photographer. Uhm Jung Hwa once said that men might be afraid of her, but she is waiting for a man who can succeed.”
She calls herself a “domestic” singer and she frankly admits that she is not interested in advancing overseas because she is not an adventurous person and also wants to see someone regularly, have more time with family and does not want to have a hard time. Since she debuted as a member of “Fin.K.L.” 12 years ago, she is now financially stable.
She said, “I earned a lot of money, but I think I failed to invest money. I once invested in the stock market, but I completely lost my money. My parents bought real estate and a house in Chen An long time ago. Also, I did not start any other business to be more faithful to my own job as a singer. These days, I invest money in my clothes for better performances. People are more sensitive about their preferences, so if I don't prepare my clothes properly, they will notice it.”
I asked about her secret of remaining a star singer for such a long time, and she showed her confidence again. She said, "When a director Park Chan Wook makes a new movie, people watches the trailer regardless of their preferences. Like this, I think that I built up a kind of trust in people. People might be curious about my new album. Sometimes, I suffer from the pressure that I have to establish trust, but I also enjoy solving problems while I study.”
She continued, “Honestly, dancing in high heels is physically challenging, but whenever I see people’s interest shown in my new album, I become more positive even enough to think that a married woman can also be a dance singer. I also want to try acting and want to be successful as an MC, too.”
She finished the interview by saying that she would like to go somewhere and eat and drink a great deal when she finishes her activities for her new album, because she has "starved for a month" for the album.
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