The Creation of Shin Hyesung
2009-03-07 06:02 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
petticoatvixen.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
omonatheydid
Shin Hyesung is an idol. But that doesn’t mean that he is just the main vocalist of longest running idol group Shinhwa. On the day his Vol.3 Side 2 album was released, a fan from Jeonju posted a message on his fansite saying, “Our oppa’s albums are being placed at corners that can’t be seen”. Another fan in Busan posted a similar message, and a fan from Ilsan went to a store and rearranged the albums herself to prevent a similar situation. To them, Shin Hyesung is “our oppa”, and on the day that oppa’s album is released, the albums have to be bought the moment the stores open. Here, we see once again the communication between Shin Hyesung, as an idol who made his debut in the late 90s, and his fans. Even if 11 years have passed, the communication method stays the same because the target of their communication is still present.
As the main vocalist of the longest-running idol group, and a solo singer, Shin Hyesung has always been an idol.
In the age of a declining music industry, Shin Hyesung’s reason for releasing a regular album with 10 songs is simple. Because he knows the happiness of “buying an album from my favourite singer on the day of the launch, no matter what the title track is, I’ll listen to all the 10+ songs that are on it”. But this isn’t the only reason for releasing his 3rd album in these poor economic conditions, and with two parts to it. To him, there are fans like himself who enjoy listening to albums, and who grew up enjoying the listening experience. Of course Shinhwa fans continue to like the other members as always. If anything has changed, at least Shin Hyesung and his fans haven’t. But it’s not just because things haven’t changed that makes it significant, it’s the fact that he has created music that commands such attention.
The interesting thing about Shin Hyesung’s new album ‘Keep Leaves’ is, after the period of being a manufactured idol, he has showed that he has found his musical direction as a ballad singer with substance and his experiments in music. Although in his title track, ‘Why Did You Call’, his voice leaves a deep impression when he hits the high notes, but what’s even more significant is how his voice blends in with the arrangement of the keyboard, the acoustic guitar and the strings, and at the same time conveying the emotions of the song clearly. He could achieve this by virtue of the experimentation he had done in Side 1. In that album, there was ‘Awaken’ with its memorable guitar intro, reminiscent of the Euro-metal style. It was a worthwhile attempt, but his voice was masked by the heavy metal guitar riffs and the melody was not able to come through. The process of overcoming these difficulties, together with the 8 final mixes he did for the title track ‘Because of You’ with different instruments and vocal styles, gave him the opportunity to focus on analysing his own voice, and paying more attention to his voice. That’s how he completed an album with lots of satisfaction, completely different from his first two solo albums, which were geared towards the gentle end of the vocal spectrum. Shin Hyesung wanted to know about what the fans thought about him veering off the path that his first two albums have set. “Because everyone is familiar with the path I’ve taken up until now, so what are their responses towards these changes?” Not leaving this out, the fans had this to say, “It’s great, because it seems like these kind of challenges will help him in making music in future.”
The leaves on Shin Hyesung’s most ambiguous pages
So, while Shin Hyesung is an idol, he is also a singer who goes beyond idol fandom and fully interacts with the general masses. With the support of the fans who have kept their spending power and their belief in oppa’s music, he has continued to release albums while keeping up with changes and developments in music. He reflects his growth in his subsequent projects, and at the same time increase the quality of his music. Although he remains active on the basis of idol fandom, but because of that he is able to appeal to general ballad fans too. Unlike Junjin and Eric who have moved on to variety and dramas, while maintaining his ‘oppa’ status, he has grown from an idol “who had music ambitions even during group activities” to singer and musician. But the future works of Shin Hyesung will be even more important. With a long-term goal of “being like Lee Seung Chul, Shin Seung Hun and Lee Seung Hwan who receives much trust from the public”, this album is the turning point where “the next album will be even better”. Where he is standing is just like the leaves sandwiched between ambiguous chapters. Riding on his expanding fanbase and music development, the leaves which are moving steadily towards the front page, where will they fall in future? What is definite though, is that it’s not just the fans who have come this far with oppa who want to know.
This album is Side 2 of last summer's 3rd album. Did you already decide to do this when you were preparing for Side 1?
HS: Yes. I'm going to continue holding concerts in future, and it's not easy to be performing ballads for two whole hours, so I felt that I needed songs that are more upbeat or songs that could heighten the atmosphere. So during the production meeting before we started preparing for Vol.3, as the first two solo albums were ballad albums, so we agreed on trying something different for the 3rd album. This I wanted to try, that I wanted to try too, and it was getting difficult to contain everything in one album, so we decided to just split the album into two, with one being a non-ballad album, which was what we released last summer. The remaining songs formed the ballad album which is the one we just released.
It's a different kind of double album. These says where it's getting difficult to even see full albums, what's the reason behind the decision to do so?
HS: These days we see mostly digital singles or mini albums. Although I don't think that's a bad thing, but I do feel it's a pity. In the past if my favourite singers released new albums, I would wait until that day, and buy it regardless of the title track, then listen to all the 10+ songs that are on it. I'm from that era, so I'm familiar with doing things that way. Nowadays although there are many releases, most are single albums with a few tracks. If it's not an album, then all the songs other than the title track will all be unused, and perhaps because of that, people think that only working on the title track is necessary. That's why there is an increasingly prevalent trend of people who choose to listen to singles rather than albums. It's a little worrying. So when I make an album, I'll try my best to make people listen all the way until the last song. Actually if I want to make an album, and I need to consider costs, I'd rather cut back on the CD jacket or another elements so that I can make an even better album.
Looks like you're very insistent on albums?
HS: It's not that. I can release digital singles too. But to a singer who has released only 3 albums, there is always a desire to release full albums.
Although the title track "Why Did You Call" is a good song, but it seems like an album where one needs to listen to in full. If there aren't the short interludes like "Keep Leaves Part 1Πand "Keep Leaves Part 2", it seems that the emotional distance between "Love Disease" and "Love Letter" would be even further.
HS: We spent a lot of thought on the song order, to allow the few people who can listen through the whole album to not feel tired. So we decided to include interludes like "Keep Leaves Part 1" and "Keep Leaves Part 2" to maintain the atmosphere.
It's not a few people, apparently there are more than 40,000 pre-orders. Just like what you told us, the fans who wait to buy the albums at the stores, they have stuck to doing this.
HS: I'm really grateful. I have a feeling of the fans growing old with us and taking care of us with even more thoughtfulness. Although I make albums firstly for the things I want to achieve and protect, on the other hand it's also a gift for the people who have been waiting all this time. In fact, other than singing I don't really involve myself in other activities, and fans don't get to see much of me in between albums. For that I feel very bad, so I want to use my albums to express my gratitude.
It's a interaction method unique to singers.
HS: Actually I'm envious of people who multi-task in different fields, I think they're amazing. It's just that I want to stick to the things I like to do and do them well. Although it's not like I'd rather die than to try new things, it's just that I feel that I have too much room for improvement, and I still need to be more prepared. I just don't have those kind of ambitions yet.
It seems that you would do very well if you do it, that's why everyone hopes that you will, isn't it?
HS: Me? Actually compared to Junjin, my humor cells are even more (laughs) I would try it once someday. But I can stick to only singing like Lee Seung Chul sonbae or Shin Seung Hun-hyung like now. For now, there's a higher possibility of just sticking to singing.
Do you look forward to becoming like those sonbaes?
HS: I really respect them, and to be like them would be my goal. Of course, like their experiences of getting mobbed wherever they go, I've had similar experiences too, so I'm not coveting this kind of popularity. Compared to that, my goal is for people to think, you can't go wrong with a Shin Hyesung album whenever I release an album. I hope that they will have this level of trust in me.
For a singer who already has 11 years of experience, there are people who expand their areas of activities and there are people who go deeper in their own area of expertise, you seem to belong to the latter category.
HS: It's true that I go deeper into music. I can't say that the 11 years have all belonged to myself, I have to exclude the first few years with Shinhwa. We were really doing things without knowing what was going on. But with more experience, I started to understand music better, and slowly learned to provide our opinions on programes or music, and developing our own unique characteristics. It hasn't been long since we learned how to do that. So although I've been here for 11 years, I still have lots to learn.
Then during the time with Shinhwa, when did you start having your own ideas of music?
HS: It's hard to say, but probably around the 4th or 5th album? We didn't know anything during the first album at all. We were just told, this is your title track, this is how you do it, and we didn't think about changing anything whether we liked it or not. By the time we reached the 6th album Wedding, we wanted a different title track, because we wanted to try something with a different style. It was the first time we made such a request. Of course it's not that (Yoo) Young Jin hyung (who wrote Wedding) had a bad song, it's just that we wanted to try something new, in the end Young Jin hyung said that we did well. From that time onwards, we started to have that kind of courage.
Then, when did you start to have the desire to go solo?
HS: Actually among the Shinhwa members I had the longest training period, but I got scolded the most because I couldn’t dance. So I thought, since I couldn’t dance as well as the others, I had to practise hard at singing everyday, and sing the songs well. During our 2nd album, I sang a solo titled ‘Forever With You’, and I felt, ‘it would be great if I could sing solo like this’. Though it’s natural for idol group members to have their own solo activities now, back then we didn’t even dare to think of it. It’s true, Shinhwa was the first group to do that. If the members were only to function with group activities, that would be too much of a restriction, but of course that would require mutual understanding among the members. Sometimes when a member went on a TV or radio show the other members would get jealous, even when Jinnie took part in Dream Team and shot the Lecaf CF, we were all very troubled. It was the first time something like this happened and the money wasn’t a lot either, so what were we to do? ‘Does Jinnie get to take it all? Do we split it between us?’ In the end we really split it all (laughs). Of course such situations don’t happen anymore. If they must, there would probably be trouble in the case of SNSD with 9 members (laughs). No matter what, we considered our friendship before we started our solo activities. I started off as a DJ and then formed S with Kangta and Lee Jihoon. The idols these days should really thank us for paving the way for solo activities (laughs).
Like what you said, there are many idol group members who have solo activities, and their average age has become younger too. What do you have to say to them?
HS: These days there are many of such solo activities, and it’s quite worrying. Even if they started out together, and no matter how close they become, solo activities will affect the relationship. There will be some who get ahead, and some who lag behind. In such situations, they must be prepared. The ones ahead must look out for the ones behind, and the ones behind cannot get too jealous either. We went through that ourselves too, when Eric became successful as an actor, when Jinnie was very active with Dream Team, when Andy had his sitcom, and they were all doing well. When that happened, it was really good that we showed care and understanding among ourselves.
Actually, living the life of an idol, because you have to abandon regular human relationships, the friendship among the members has become even more important
HS: Yes, especially in my case where the two fellows from S are my only friends beside the Shinhwa members (laughs), I really treasure the members a lot. Whenever I’m free, when I feel like having a drink, the members are people I can call out.
Are you the type who likes drinking?
HS: I don’t particularly like alcohol. Even if it’s expensive, I won’t take strong stuff. But if I don’t go drinking, there isn’t much I can do (laughs). If I’m at home, I only surf the Internet and watch movies, and if I go out, I would go crazy if I spent more than 15 minutes at a coffee shop. So when I go out, I would go drinking, but now that Kangta is serving his military duty, and Jihoon doesn’t really drink, it hasn’t been easy lately.
“I only have one text message today, from Eric”
On ‘Star Golden Bell’, you talked about loneliness
HS: Today I only got one text message. Eric said, “Where are you and what are you doing”. I received it after finishing a live broadcast today, usually in such situations, close friends would say something like “I enjoyed watching your performance”, isn’t it? But that’s the only message I got today. Besides, I don’t even know if he mass-texted everyone the same message (laughs).
When you’re bored, do you initiate text messages to people?
HS: Recently there’s been a lot work, so once I get busy the moment I reach home. When I get bored with nothing to do, I would look through my phone contact list, but I won’t call anyone immediately. And I won’t ask them out of the blue, ‘how are you’. The other party might find it a little too much. I always think that other people would have the same mentality as me.
That’s cautious of you. But compared to that, abandoning your studies overseas for a singing career in Korea, that’s really a surprising move from you.
HS: In fact, I did give up a lot back then. Initially my dream wasn’t to be a singer, but to get into a good college in the US and then get a good job, get married and then fetch my parents over for a comfortable life. But the results are good. When I was studying overseas, I was going through adolescence and feeling homesick, so it was very difficult, and there were bad temptations too. Thinking back now, it was giddying. Of course, there were insecurities as Shinhwa started getting active, because I gave up everything to come back and yet we didn’t get popular immediately. At that time it was either you get as big as H.O.T or Sechskies, or you simply disappear off the radar. Fortunately we moved upwards steadily, and we’re still together now.
In the end you became a member of the longest-running idol group, and also a solo singer who can carry on making the music that you want. Even though your dream wasn’t to be a singer, you don’t seem to have any regrets about it.
HS: Of course, thinking about it now, it’s a lucky and happy thing that I could become a singer, because I’m doing something I like and receiving everyone’s love for it.
[ok so it's pretty long, but a really interesting interview!]
Source
Source: 10asia
Chi trans: jojoyu7@shinhwachina
Eng trans: midnightgirl13@absolutshinhwa.wordpress.com
Dedicated to
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novemberdelight and her love for Shinhwa
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Date: 2009-03-07 11:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 12:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 03:34 am (UTC)the interview is fabulous :'( i love you :'(
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Date: 2009-03-08 03:55 am (UTC)My heart overfills with the love for anyone loves oldschool kpop and Shinhwa like you.
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Date: 2009-03-08 06:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-09 03:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-09 04:41 am (UTC)still appreciate it <33
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Date: 2009-03-07 11:59 pm (UTC)lol korean fans are so devoted to their idols.
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Date: 2009-03-08 12:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 12:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 12:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 12:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 01:06 am (UTC)우리는 다시 사랑해야 해~ Yes, bb we do. We do.
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Date: 2009-03-08 03:02 am (UTC)Boy is looking sexy in that blue blazer
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Date: 2009-03-08 03:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 03:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 03:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 03:43 am (UTC)BE THANKFUL THEY WENT THROUGH ALL THIS FOR YOU!
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Date: 2009-03-08 04:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 04:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 07:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-09 12:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 03:26 am (UTC)OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
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Date: 2009-03-08 03:29 am (UTC)can i pls marry them both ;_;
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Date: 2009-03-08 03:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 06:59 pm (UTC)OMG SCANDAL? i bought the cd, just because it was kangta.
but tbh, he looked so GAY in the pictures. HALP. and the video. OHBOY ID
i want POLARIS kangta back ;_______;
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Date: 2009-03-09 03:58 am (UTC)My poster was hot though, no lie. It was awkward changing in front of it when I got out of the shower.
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Date: 2009-03-09 04:39 am (UTC)oicuthere my legs. haha. hoho.
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Date: 2009-03-09 04:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-09 04:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 06:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 07:02 pm (UTC)your existence omg lol.
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Date: 2009-03-08 03:32 am (UTC)...
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Date: 2009-03-08 03:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 07:01 pm (UTC)...
;_;
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Date: 2009-03-08 06:46 am (UTC)