Singer Lee Soo-Young continues `long journey`

Singer Lee Soo-Young, 21, opened the interview with an anecdote about longtime star Yim Jae-Beum. She quoted Yim as telling her, "Thirty years have passed since I began to sing and only now can I control my voice."

"Upon hearing his confession, I could not but bow my head (in awe). I knew then that I still have a long way to go," she said.

Lee debuted with the ballad "I Believe" in November 1999 and was soon recognized for her superb singing talents. But Lee says she has just got started on her career journey. "I am just singing with a distant goal in mind," she said.

Her recently released second album is another step in her long march. The title song is "Never Again.’’

Countering the trend toward muscular rhythm and blues tunes, the title track is a straight ballad. The song displays Lee`s vocal range and her singing style combine with the sad melody to create a truly original sound.

Lee’s voice is unique, combining the best of the husky-voiced singers with the cleaner sound of more traditional vocalists. On "Never Again," her voice has a richness and lyricism to match the strings that are heard in the background. It seems to contain the agony of a singer who has just begun to explore her full potential.

The music video for the song was shot in Otaru, Japan, where the movie "Love Letter" was filmed. Beautiful images of snow-covered fields in the background and the performances of top film stars like Shin Hyun-Joon and Han Go-Eun only add to the viewer`s enjoyment.

The record`s distributor originally shipped just 120,000 copies of her new album. A company official said, "We have not yet received additional orders, but the response seems to be more enthusiastic than it was for the first album, which sold about 240,000 copies."

Heo Yeub heo@donga.com