The Making Of A Solo Singer

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Photo Credit: SPN

Kim Hyun Joong’s planet of Dance Music of dancing and singing are as inseparable as identical twins. But where to start ? The route towards the solo stage sometimes takes one to be with a group first before striking it on one’s own. That was what Hyun Joong did when performance attracted him more than books for his`future. Being on a stage can be very seductive, soaking in the blinding stage lights and beams, thrilled by the adulation of the audience.It must have been a vastly different universe standing there, immerse in a dimension of temporary existence where worries have been hung somewhere. Performance they say is so liberating and empowering even if it exist so very briefly.We,the audience,the very appreciative audience can only clap our hands in unison, may be let out screams once in awhile, gush over how our artists interpret the songs now no longer just a collection of words but sweet pleas from the heart, or anguish cry of a forlorn lover or just simply melodies made more beautiful because we love the artist.For many of us living beyond the borders of South Korea we did not mind the lyrics being in another language we did not even understand. But we understand when a song have a musical resonance just the same.

But what we don’t know was what went on before Hyun Joong, the much loved artist ascended that stage. It wasn’t as magical as how the stage has turned out to be. The outstanding performance was born out of endless preparations and practices only a true devotee can endure.

There are many voice and performance coaches out there, but they will tell you the same thing, singing takes time, effort, diligence and oh yes, finding your strengths and weaknesses. It also mean failing sometime in the past, but never being afraid of it. For failure is also the twin sister of success. Hyun Joong , who must have been inured to failures as momentary distractions looked at them as challenge and opportunity to do better. But one cannot just go on dreaming and imagining what could have been. Hyun Joong made the strides towards his goals and passion and made them real,the here and now.

He has said it in interviews he trained hard for it referring to his more than five years being in the boy band SS501, collapsed it in a curt description what could mean the many,many hours spent singing his parts of the song, so that it only can be heard flawless. The training did not stop after the group went their separate ways,for Hyun Joong kept in his heart burning the desire to go on on singing and dancing although this time solo. It may have appeared to have been momentarily put aside when Hyun Joong acted as male lead in the kdrama Playful Kiss on its third interpretation. But actually no, his co-stars talked of seeing the fire in his eyes when he talked of his singing and dancing. The truth was,now revealed, he was already conceptualizing everything in his head, and pouring over hundreds of songs determining earnestly what will go into his solo album.

The Breakdown album was his first born, understandably he went through the agonizing birth pains. The birth of that solo album gave him untold stress he wanted to shave his head. Like someone undergoing the ritual in entering a life passage;it was after all a life passage in his musical career.But he was not contented in being a passive participant observer of the process, he was totally absorbed and involved hands on in the production and of course in its performance. The rest is now part of Hyun Joong History, or legend if you will, made and written by him, for him and us. We were the willing witnesses, we were there for him when it all happened. The thing was it can now be said, he was never afraid to be amazing. He knew he was the path blazer. It was only a matter of when.

And so the making of the solo singer was not a fairy tale, I did not hear of a princess kissing our prince breaking that ominous magic spell. Instead, what we have is a man with courage to be what he wants to be, to traverse the road many times taken by others. Yet his road is not without its ravines, wrong and dangerous curves,detours and upside down hanged signs ,but we know his perseverance, patience and talents he cultivated himself steeled him through.