Your Favorite Sly Fox Gracing Both Covers Of Marie Claire and GQ Magazine

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

GQ KOREA MAGAZINE


Due to the ‘Zeze’ controversy, there’s been a lot of talk right? How do you feel seeing the many awful things they say and sometimes the deep and lengthy things they write?
Lots of thoughts came to mind. I saw a lot and thought a lot as well. There’s always been criticism and swear words that are unrelated to the issue, so I’ll leave that part aside, but I saw some posts that were amazingly logical. Within that, there were both criticisms and replies in defence. Seeing the discussions arising from this song, the many opinions about it and the topic of the discussion gradually widening in scope, honestly, I felt grateful. Amidst the noise judging me as a ‘person’, to the people who were calmly focusing on the ‘issue’ at hand and politely voicing their thoughts about it, whether they were criticisms or replies in defence, no matter what, I’m thankful for that. Thankful and startled and thought it was really cool. Being at the centre of it all, I was starting to feel a bit awkward/embarrassed. When interpreting a song, you don’t want to come to a conclusion that ‘that is correct and this is wrong’. To me, my freedom is important, so to maintain that, I think I should allow others to have their freedom to interpret. Just like before I released the album, I still like this song. If someone doesn’t like me as a person just because of the lyrics in ‘Zeze’, I’ll wholly accept that. Since that person’s interpretation and that person’s feelings clearly exist. But it’s not good to draw conclusions about me being paedophilic. I think there’s a need to separate one’s interpretation of a song and their criticism towards a person.

Aren’t you just like ‘Zeze’ (in the story)? Based on what you said just now, as you’re shrewd and clever, you’re loved and hated, as you’re insensitive and act before you think, you’re loved and hated; the talk about 23-year-old IU seems to go back and forth.
Some people feel that way, but some people feel, ‘I don’t know’ as well. No one has the right to tell someone else that their way of thinking is wrong, since you can’t force anyone to interpret things in just one way. I can’t impose or block my thoughts from others either. That’s what I think.

When did we argue over the lyrics? We have fun dissecting the lyrics, what’s supposed to mean what.
I didn’t expect myself to touch on this topic during today’s interview. That’s something I keep struggling with. I keep talking to people too. Those whom I feel have always been right in their judgement, saying things like, “Here’s what I think, but if I’m wrong, please tell me so”.

No matter what you say, you’ll have antis. Since there’ll always be misunderstandings.
Leaving behind the talk about liking me, disliking me, liking the song, disliking the song, this is the right way to think, that’s the wrong way to think... there have been people who were hurt by the topic itself this time. To those people, rather than explaining my intentions and the parts they misunderstood, I would just like to apologise.








Shall we announce it? From the drama ‘The Producers’, to ‘Leon’ on ‘Infinity Challenge’, to the album ‘CHAT-SHIRE’. 2015′s Woman of the Year is IU.
Wah, it’s an honour! This year has been a really hectic year.

How was it? Although it’s still a bit too early to look back at 2015.
“Those were the days ...” That’s what someone told me recently. I agree with that. Later on in life, when I look back at all this, I’ll think to myself, “Those were the days…” The age of 23 can be seen as the early or mid-twenties, but anyway, you could still insist that it’s the end of the early-twenties. It really seems like the end of the early-twenties. As a 23-year-old, I think this year was more special than usual. I get the feeling a lot that I’m really alive. The things I did turned out well too.

To be specific, when did you feel like you’re alive?
When I’m imagining, coming up with ideas, drawing up plans, I feel the most excited. This year, since the start of the year I had ideas and plans about doing a drama and acting. At a good timing, I was casted for ‘The Producers’, which was well-received. Also, whenever I finish a project, I feel a sense of emptiness. Just when I was feeling that way, ‘Infinity Challenge’ came along. It was a really hectic and busy period and I had a good time. Then I thought, ‘Ah, at this rate, this year is going to just pass by, let’s do a spurt at the last minute.’ So I released my ‘CHAT-SHIRE’ album. Just like that, I had a fulfilling year. I’ve never done anything I didn’t want to. I feel much better now that I’ve done the things I wanted to do.

Do you feel that your acting is starting to change as well?
That’s not something I felt while watching my recent dramas, but rather, when I look back at those I acted in previously, I think to myself, ‘Wah, I was really inexperienced then.’ For ‘The Producers’, it was a drama crafted based on my own life story, so it turned out to be quite natural. They weren’t emotions that were totally foreign to me and there were parts that I went, ‘Oh, I felt that way too. So it was interesting and there were many parts I could identify with. I felt great that I received a lot of compliments. I was really happy.

During your promotions, you’re filled with schedules then they empty out again, so I think you’ll keep having this feeling of emptiness. How do you deal with these ups and downs? Do you just let go entirely and leave it, or do you get out there and do something?
When I feel empty, I quickly think of my next step. I don’t think that’s a good method, but it’s the easiest way to get out from that state.

Why don’t you think it’s a good method?
There’s a reason for all kinds of emotions, right? I think we need to give ourselves some time to focus more and embrace those emotions. Being like ‘I can’t take this, I want to do another crazy schedule’ right away, in the end it won’t be good for my health.

You need enough time to digest those emotions too. Anyway, if you keep it all in, at some point in time, they’ll come gushing to you all at once.
That was the case for me last year. I released many online tracks, but didn’t have any promotions. So I had a lot of alone time and a lot of time to reflect. All my feelings from promoting for the past 7 years came to me at once. I felt really empty and tired.

How did you get over it then?
I just spent it like that. I felt lost and since I didn’t have schedules, I didn’t have the chance to hint at the fact that ‘IU is feeling really empty and gloomy right now’. Fans who don’t follow me very closely wouldn’t have noticed. Compared to that, this year my blood was flowing really quickly and I was really excited. That’s why I felt ‘this is the feeling of being alive’.

Through this album, I think we finally get to meet (the real) IU. Many people say that, ‘IU is singer with emotions more matured than her age’ right? If the ‘Flower Bookmark’ allowed that side of you to be exposed, I think in the ‘CHAT-SHIRE’ album, you were just being IU.
It’s probably since I wrote the lyrics right? ‘Flower Bookmark’ was an album that I tried hard to understand the lyrics of classic songs and recorded them in my own voice. In this album, the words I wrote precede my voice, so I think it was much more realistic in giving people the feeling, ‘So the girl called IU is this sort of girl.’

Does it feel different when you sing the songs you wrote the lyrics to?
I don’t think there’s a big difference. When I write lyrics, I just write, but this is totally different from singing the song. Just because they are lyrics I wrote, it doesn’t make the song easier to sing. Sometimes it makes the song harder instead. There are times when I wrote a line of something I really wanted to say, but the pronunciation makes it more difficult. During those moments, it’s difficult for me to come to a consensus with myself. ‘If I change it to another sentence, it’s different from what I’m thinking, so let’s go ahead with this.’ That’s from the perspective of lyricist IU. But the singer IU feels this way. ‘But the pronunciation here is awkward and it doesn’t sound nice when you sing it out.’ That’s when I feel ambivalent.

There are some lyrics I like. In ‘Twenty-three’, ‘I never wrote even a single line of lies’, as well as ‘Can I be on the top of your head?’ The lyrics in ‘Knees’ as well. ‘Even if I lightly fall asleep from the touch of your hands / let me stay in that position for a moment / I’ll sleep really deeply’. The part ‘joheun songil (touch of your hands)’ sounds really pleasant to the years. It seems like a song about forever not being able to return to the days that one felt harmless and secure.
It’s true that we can’t return to those days. Even if you bring the person to you and lie on her lap now, it’s no longer like before. Those knees are not what is important, but those days, as you start to miss everything about it.

Which period of time comes to your mind?
It’s about the days when I was really young. As ‘Knees’ is a song about insomnia. A time when I didn’t have to worry about not being able to fall asleep. Isn’t falling asleep something natural? Just like the sun setting and moon appearing, a time when I didn’t have to worry at all. Isn’t that a time we want to return to? Being able to fall asleep the moment we close our eyes. I thought of my grandma’s lap when I wrote this song. My grandma was beautiful and healthy and I could lie on her lap anytime, but I can’t turn back time.

Do you have sleepless nights?
I do. But I’ve gotten through them.

Are you able to enjoy those nights?
It would be a lie to go so far as to say I enjoy those sleepless nights.

How many hours do you sleep a day?
It differs a lot from day to day. On days that I’m really tired, I just sleep. But usually, to fall asleep, I have to try hard to do so. It feels unfair that I have to try hard to go to sleep. Sleeping is something we’re born to be able to do. When we’re hungry, we eat, when we’re full we put down our spoon. I was born with this sort of basic human abilities. These are ‘basic items’ I was born with. But as I grew up, like a fool, I seem to have lost these, my ‘basic items’. Usually you develop these ‘basic items’ into ‘real items’ in life, yet I even lose my ‘basic items’. Seeing myself trying hard to find those ‘basic items’ for myself again, I seem like a fool and I feel frustrated. That’s a song I wrote on a day I felt really frustrated.

Looking back, at the age of 23, I was struggling with and trying to find my own identity. How about I ask you ‘What kind of person is 23-year-old IU?’ with a straight face?
Everytime I get this question, I seem to answer it differently. To me, I’m no different from any other person. There’s nothing special about me. I’m not someone who holds steadfast to my values or beliefs in life. Depending on the situation, in the turn of a hand, I’m the kind of person to turn everything inside out. It’s hard to describe myself in a word. Since I might change in the next minute. Yes, I’m this sort of person.

Why do you think people keep saying that you’re mature? To be rich with emotions and to be mature are two different things, but people tend to mix them up. If you’re rich with emotions, your range of understanding is wider and it’s common to be described as mature. Have you ever felt curious about that?
I just go, ‘Ah, I see’. I don’t see myself as a mature person. Some parts of me are more developed than others, but some parts of me haven’t developed fully yet. Each of us are different in some ways, but when people go, ‘oh, she’s rather mature’, that’s because that part of me they have in mind is more developed. That’s what I think.

Don’t you get annoyed when people describe you as something you’re not?
It would be a lie if I say I don’t feel that way at all, but graudally, I don’t feel that way so much anymore. My way of thinking has changed. Could it be considered a misunderstanding? I mean, ‘If the person sees me that way, then let it be.’ I listen to what people say at both extreme ends. I guess that’s the same for other celebrities. Since there’s only one of me and so many people perceiving me in different ways.

Have you ever heard someone say such things to you directly (describing you as something you’re not)?
Someone told me that he/she likes me. Reason being I’m clever in the way I behave. Because I’m clever and shrewd. The person likes me because I’m shrewd. Then someone else would say they like me. Reason being I don’t think too deeply and just say what I think. Then someone would say they don’t like me. Because I’m shrewd and manipulative. Then someone else would say they don’t like me because I’m dumb. So actually there’s no way for good and bad points to be in sync. I have no choice but to simply acknowledge that all of that seems to be me. If I want everyone to like me, how should I behave? That’s impossible, isn’t it?

Have you perhaps read your past interviews before?
If I happen to come across past interviews, sometimes they feel really strange and unfamiliar to me. ‘Oh, I thought that way?’ So I’m always careful about what I say in interviews. That’s the way it was when it was recorded then, but a few days later, I might think completely differently. Leaving a record can be a scary thing.

In 2010, you did an interview with GQ magazine at the age of 18. We asked you then, ‘When do you feel at ease?’
Haha... I don’t remember.

You replied then, ‘Well, maybe if I go past the age of 20?’
That’s right! Haha. That’s really, ah, that’s funny. Gosh, I said I would feel more at ease when I go past the age of 20? Gosh, I was such a kid.. That’s how I felt then. Wah.

The last question was, ‘Are you going to stick only to stage (performances)?’ and you replied then, ‘Ah, I thought of something else. The dark blue sky when the sun sets and just before it turns completely dark. The night sky at around 8:30pm these days. When I see that, my heart opens widely. That’s how acoustic music feels to me too.’
That’s really similar. I’m still like that.

We’d like to ask you a bit more. What do you do to be able to have time for that? Because to be able to watch the sky at a time we like best, there’s usually some effort required.
These days, time flies without me knowing… I think that’s for the best. I have a stronger feeling of boredom than others. I’m the kind that’s desensitised to stimulation. Be it something dangerous, something physically dangerous too, I’m not very sensitive to it. Even circumstances whereby it’s obvious I’m going to get into an accident, or when I’m going to get injured, the people around me would be really shocked, but I would be less shocked. So I’ve never felt ‘That’s super fun!’ I don’t have any hobby either.

It’s unexpected that you don’t have a hobby.
Most of the time, the day feels really long to me. ‘Gosh, I slept in and woke up at 1pm, I’ve done this and that now, but it’s not even 3pm yet…’ I’ve often spent my days like that. But sometimes, without me knowing, a whole 6 hours can just pass by. I feel really good then. I really love times like that.

What were you doing that time passed by so quickly?
Usually when I’m composing songs, time passes by so quickly. When I’m focused, it seems time just passes by quickly. But there’s not many things that I love doing as much as the level of focus I give them. I really don’t havea hobby, haha. I thought I would have one as I grew older. I thought I would have one once I passed the age of 20, but I don’t seem to have one.

Isn’t a hobby something you do to get rid of stress? Even things like going for walks.
It doesn’t really accumulate much though. I see it as both a positive and negative thing about me. It just vanishes right away. The bad, the good and my memories too.

Do you still write in your diary? Daily?
I started writing since my 2nd year in middle school, so it’s my 9th year I think? If I don’t write in my diary, I feel really uncomfortable. Even if it’s one thing, I feel that I need to leave proof of my existence each day so that I can sleep peacefully. While writing my diary, I think without my knowing, I get rid of some of that stress too. I write about all sorts of stuff. I write about my dreams, I swear, and even doodle meaninglessly.

Do you remember what you wrote about yesterday?
Yesterday? I remember the one the day before yesterday, hold on. What did I write about? Um… Hold on.

Due to the ‘Zeze’ controversy, there’s been a lot of talk right? How do you feel seeing the many awful things they say and sometimes the deep and lengthy things they write?
Lots of thoughts came to mind. I saw a lot and thought a lot as well. There’s always been criticism and swear words that are unrelated to the issue, so I’ll leave that part aside, but I saw some posts that were amazingly logical. Within that, there were both criticisms and replies in defence. Seeing the discussions arising from this song, the many opinions about it and the topic of the discussion gradually widening in scope, honestly, I felt grateful. Amidst the noise judging me as a ‘person’, to the people who were calmly focusing on the ‘issue’ at hand and politely voicing their thoughts about it, whether they were criticisms or replies in defence, no matter what, I’m thankful for that. Thankful and startled and thought it was really cool. Being at the centre of it all, I was starting to feel a bit awkward/embarrassed. When interpreting a song, you don’t want to come to a conclusion that ‘that is correct and this is wrong’. To me, my freedom is important, so to maintain that, I think I should allow others to have their freedom to interpret. Just like before I released the album, I still like this song. If someone doesn’t like me as a person just because of the lyrics in ‘Zeze’, I’ll wholly accept that. Since that person’s interpretation and that person’s feelings clearly exist. But it’s not good to draw conclusions about me being paedophilic. I think there’s a need to separate one’s interpretation of a song and their criticism towards a person.

Aren’t you just like ‘Zeze’ (in the story)? Based on what you said just now, as you’re shrewd and clever, you’re loved and hated, as you’re insensitive and act before you think, you’re loved and hated; the talk about 23-year-old IU seems to go back and forth.
Some people feel that way, but some people feel, ‘I don’t know’ as well. No one has the right to tell someone else that their way of thinking is wrong, since you can’t force anyone to interpret things in just one way. I can’t impose or block my thoughts from others either. That’s what I think.

When did we argue over the lyrics? We have fun dissecting the lyrics, what’s supposed to mean what.
I didn’t expect myself to touch on this topic during today’s interview. That’s something I keep struggling with. I keep talking to people too. Those whom I feel have always been right in their judgement, saying things like, “Here’s what I think, but if I’m wrong, please tell me so”.

What kind of advice do they give you then?
Like what I said, there are some people who would tell me what they think, while some would feel that anyway I’m dealing with dangerous stuff. I keep thinking this way. If I do get the chance to talk about this, I’ll entrust it to the freedom for interpretation. Since the freedom for interpretation is important to the person and to me as well.

No matter what you say, you’ll have antis. Since there’ll always be misunderstandings.
Leaving behind the talk about liking me, disliking me, liking the song, disliking the song, this is the right way to think, that’s the wrong way to think... there have been people who were hurt by the topic itself this time. To those people, rather than explaining my intentions and the parts they misunderstood, I would just like to apologise.

It’s tiring right?
Strength is something like this to me. When you want it, you don’t have it and when you don’t want it, you have it again. We just need to live on no matter what. So I don’t worry too much about lacking strength. When I have strength, anyway the state of being strong is more tiring. But when you lack strength, there’s nothing you’re able to do. Some people say “it can’t be helped if you lack the strength”, but if you have a lot of strength and it’s not the kind of strength you want, you’ll be in even more agony.

If someone were to give you a gift of 5 days?
No matter how I spend it, 5 days won’t mean much.

Then how would you spend it?
I want to fall into a deep sleep.

Throughout the 5 days?
A really deep sleep. When I wake up, I’ll go, ‘Uwah, my mind is clear and I feel so energetic like I’m reborn!’ I think it would be great to go into a deep sleep for 5 days.

I’ll ask you again then, how was 2015 for you?
Good times when I reflect back. They really were.

Translated by squishy with love






BONUS TRACK:Anime Meddley for Chatshire concert

(c)
Source: Marie Claire Korea, Yes24 Gallery, iu-jjang Blog 1/2, Starlette tyler, Yoonkb_iu Twitter

Comments

[kjc48.livejournal.com]

this era could have been perfect. I was close to stanning her as hard as I stan f(x), but I can't at her zero fucks attitude to the lyrics #mess.

I know what she was trying to do, it's what I've wanted her to do for years, but she fucked up. And she's not willing to learn from it at all.

If she was going to be this lazy with her PR game, she should have just not aopogizeed and instead giveen 10k to a child abuse charity while uploading a pic of her flipping off netizens tbh

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

omg bless you so much i literally came in here to see if that crap interview was posted.

i saw a comment about how she has that kind of prideful personality and while i totally get what she intended to do, this is NOT the situation to be flexing that. empty apologies are bullshit like she refuses AT ALL to analyze where she went wrong, it had nothing to do with "open interpretation".

after this i'll go back to ignoring her your comment just inspired me so much lol

[yanozuyanoki.livejournal.com]

she's so Taurus. we're hard to crack.

[kyrli.livejournal.com]

imagine for someone who has been stanning her music for YEARS, and what she did this time hits too close to home for me. and I was ready to give her the second chance and had this positive mind in how she would handle this, and she did this. distasteful and major disappointment.

[simplyseasalt.livejournal.com]

She looks pretty.

[mad-nux.livejournal.com]

she look cute

....... @the interview

[kyrli.livejournal.com]

"To me, my freedom is important, so to maintain that, I think I should allow others to have their freedom to interpret. Just like before I released the album, I still like this song. If someone doesn’t like me as a person just because of the lyrics in ‘Zeze’, I’ll wholly accept that."

No, you still do not get what you did wrong and what you did wrong goes beyond the value of your own 'freedom of interpretation'. And no, I don't, not like you because Zeze's lyric because it could have been an honest mistake of you not knowing the issue, BUT your blatant ignorance and brazen attitude of this particular issue and why does this issue actually bother people, is the reason why I can't like you.

"there have been people who were hurt by the topic itself this time. To those people, rather than explaining my intentions and the parts they misunderstood, I would just like to apologise."

If she thinks apology is a just a mere sugarcoated words, she is mistaken. She should own up to what she did wrong and I doubt that she even cares to see nor realize what she did wrong and prevent herself to repeatedly offend people by singing the song that actually bothers people.

At this point IU only cares for her fan who supports and defend her no matter how flawed her logic is about this issue. Good for her, she will do well because of her fans. I don't know how long she will last by the power of fandom, though, maybe a looooong way since she has a huge fandom, 2nd after Soshi, currently. I don't care, honestly. I have been out of this fandom since her fans continuously put her on pedestal and blindly defend her, not to add shitting on her other fans who has opinions that are different from usual Uaenas.

I used to be a huge fan of her and her way of handling this is just, an utter disappointment and distasteful. I NEVER thought that she will disappoint me quicker than any of my other faves or fucked up with a topic that hits me too close to home. It's a distasteful surprise, lol.

[haxoru.livejournal.com]

say it girl!

[yuzuruhanyu.livejournal.com]

mte

[friedchickeneu.livejournal.com]

preach!!!

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

i will send you a huge virtual hug

just by reading your whole rant i feel a little heartbreak.... i'm not in your shoes and i probably would never understand what happened in your life that this whole situation trigger those powerful (maybe bitter) feelings, you have all the right to feel desappointed

we had fun i guess (?)

[kyrli.livejournal.com]

correction: rather than bitter (saying that it's mere 'bitter' feeling is negating the actual feeling), it's traumatic and triggering, and it's obviously not only me who feels that way. i wish she handled it the way jonghyun handled the criticism towards him before, but i had hoped for too much.

maybe i'll still like her new song, maybe i won't. i just won't follow her career like i did since 2009 lmao.

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

like he did on instagram?
THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!!

iu could learn from jjong, actually everyone on kpop should learn his way of address scandal and speak their minds without messing up ... the way she wrote on her fancafe for kiha scandal, that was a really nice (and super fast) reaction ... and felt personal just like jjong post on instagram

jjong sets the bar too high for other idols, even for his friends

[kyrli.livejournal.com]

more like what he did in this: http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/16174433.html

omg, that is exactly how i feel lol. is it my fault that i set the bar for iu too much and hoped she could address the criticism the 'jjong' way rather doing this 'in your face, netz' moment lol.

i actually waited for her concert, because i really had hoped she at least won't sing the song, but she did so that's kinda seal the moment why i was this disappointed in her. i can't imagine myself going to her concert and she surprisingly sing it when it bothers me so much lol.

the way jonghyun listened to other's opinion and admits that was not his intention and he should have been careful and actually reflected on it is really mature and i still hope iu does it lmao. idk, as a long time fan, i really wish she would do it instead, even now.

lmao this rant is long, bcs maybe i finally find an iu fan who isnt so defensive and understands why some actual ppl r discomforted and disappointed lol. rather than labeling my criticism as another 'hater' or 'witchhunt'.

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

how can i not try to understand??
.... omona doesnt have many uaenas so i can tell who just came here for the witchhunt and who was giving an actual reading to that full interview (i know my people)

also as much as i love iu and her music , she's just a person i know as a fan that doesn't mean i have to blindly defend her .... au contraire! i like her and i want her to be a better person that means learning from her mistakes , maybe she will never know how she hurt certain people until someone else point it out for her (maybe her boyfriend maybe her mom or some friend like yoo ina) and i hope she keeps thinking in what happened until she figured out what went wrong this time

i know this is easier for my to say because i never felt offended or afected by netizens twisted interpretations but that doesn't mean i won't try to understand people who feels diferent

i can't just tell you to feel her song the way i do ......you just feel whatever you're feeling now and please don't feel like me or anyone is judging you
i will send you good vibes and my best wishes ❤
hopefully those traumatic memories won't comeback 👍

[frankoceans.livejournal.com]

i can relate to this comment so much. thank you for writing this up.

[lolylen.livejournal.com]

it seems like the way i understood this interview is different from ppl here judging from the comments but oh well
she looks suepr pretty here

[khimia.livejournal.com]

Let them hate, she apologies and explain herself already but tbey don't want to hear it.

[audreyfrill.livejournal.com]

you're not alone, seeing the comments it seems i read a different interview

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

ikr?
it felt like last time i made a henry post (lol poor mochi).... everybody so negative

[japataz.livejournal.com]

She is damned if she does and damned if she doesnt so her answer to the Zeze questions were fine to me.

I feel for her and understand why she has to come off this way - sometimes thats the only way to survive

[contralilium.livejournal.com]

it's confusing to me because I've read a couple of different statements in which she apologizes for being greedy for praise/greedy to be seen as super deep and thoughtful, in which she apologizes for not taking varying potential intent/interpretations into account when writing the lyrics, in which she apologizes to the people who were personally triggered by this whole cluster but I guess it's just not going to be enough. In some ways I can understand why some people are not here for it because when you hurt someone you don't get to hide behind your actual intent but at the same time, I feel like it's kinda unfair to expect IU to accept/embrace the fact that some people consider her a pedophile and then take the steps necessary to prove to them that that's not true. Especially when you look at the fact that the misunderstandings between her intent with the lyrics and the public's interpretation stemmed from purposeful misleadings from journalists. Like, if she were to take down the song, stop performing the song that would mean that she agrees that her song sexualizes a child. It's like an admission of guilt. After that point, she's going to be labelled as a pedo for the rest of her career. I feel like her doubling down on the song is her way of saying that the song is not what people have said it to be. I feel like the reason why this never going to be resolved in a way that everyone is ok with is because of the IU witch hunt. It's obviously not the main/only reason that this was happening but there are people who are extremely vocal and present within this who will never be okay with the level of responsibility that IU takes over this song because they don't actually care about the song and the people it hurt. They're just using it to take IU down a peg. This whole thing could have been a really good discussion for IU and everyone in the music industry about the responsibility of music, lyrics, music videos, etc but it's just so clouded in mess that IU is in defense mode.

[winegums.livejournal.com]

This is how I feel too. The controversy has been exacerbated by journalists and everyone and their uncle coming out and acting like they're the last word on child abuse, which on a personal level makes me twitch because where are these people when it's time to speak out against celebs who've done worse?

And I also agree that a lot of the people who've blown up the issue do not give a hoot about child abuse victims, because the irony of using the name of a 12-year-old sexually abused child (Lolita) as an insult against IU in this particular situation, knowing what IU's accused of, has gone right over their heads. I've said this before, but it bears repeating - using that name, in this context, it couldn't be clearer what the intention is and it's not from any place of empathy for abused children.

[mamamoos.livejournal.com]

+ 1000

[mamamoos.livejournal.com]

v good comment. she's standing by her work and taking responsibility for the hurt it has caused. she could disown the song and grovel and give the public the power to ~ graciously welcome her back with open arms ~ or she can face up to the fact that she fucked up, even if she never dreamed of hurting anyone, and deal with it. i'm honestly not sure if she fully understands the issue here and that upsets me, but i believe she is genuinely sorry, and has the integrity as an artist and a person to accept what has happened and try to work through it and think about it, whereas i think disowning the song and all that would be more like running away/taking the easy route out. might be the right thing to do job-wise, but here she's doing the right thing as a person. for what it's worth, i truly don't believe she ever wanted to hurt anyone and is still doing all she can to remedy and learn from the hurt she has caused. she could donate to a charity or whatever and look good, or she can actually grow as a person from this.

[sundaetea.livejournal.com]

mte

[mercury-sound.livejournal.com]

The Marie Claire photoshoot is so nice! *_*

And the Anime medley was life, thanks for posting it here, OP! If I understood her correctly (and if I remember it right, lol), I think she actually said that Twenty-Three somehow made her think of Sailor Moon? I think it was the music? Also, she prefaced the medley by saying how surprised she was by how many female fans are coming to her concerts lately, and that this was a special gift to them. She also talked about her surprise about the female fans again in the last encore, so I felt like it was something that made her really happy. :3

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

yes ... so beautiful!
every now and then iu keeps mentioning how amazed she's by the amount of fangirls on every show

IU: I see a lot of female fans today.. How did something like that happen to me? This kind of gender ratio is really great.

— 스퀴시 (@squishy_blob) November 22, 2015 (https://twitter.com/squishy_blob/status/668252397542600704)

now you mention it, this tweet makes sense

IU sang Sailormoon, Cardcaptor Sakura and Yumeiro Patisseiere theme songs for the star candies!!

— 스퀴시 (@squishy_blob) November 21, 2015 (https://twitter.com/squishy_blob/status/668024492359225344)

i never knew she likes to call 'star candies' to female uaenas lol >_<

[mercury-sound.livejournal.com]

Lol yes, for a second I was confused as well. But then I thought 'wait, I've read 별사탕/star candy somewhere before'.^^ I really think the audience was about 50/50 though, which makes me so happy for her. :3

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

she always talks about female fans like a bleesing , she feels loved ... i'm happy for her too :D