His beautiful voice still charmingly sings of love, and his looks hasn’t changed from 10 years ago. 10 years have passed just like this, and it’s a blessing for him and his fans to have each other by their side.
When Shinhwa made their debut in 1998, it wouldn’t have been easy to have expected them to become the longest-running idol group in Korea. But from then until now, Shinhwa has kept a firm hold on their place, and continue to be loved by their fans. The members have all been active in dramas, movies, musicals and variety shows, and they have their own paths outside of Shinhwa. But only this one member keeps to his path of being a singer. But his stubborness has also led him to shine even brighter. Singer Shin Hyesung (30) continues to walk on his own path, step by step.
# Unable to forget the past, his obstinate love…
Last August, Shin Hyesung released his Vol.3 Side 1 ‘Live And Let Live’, which featured genres like Brit rock, swing and alternative rock, and 6 months later, he’s back with a ballad album, Vol.3 Side 2 ‘Keep Leaves’. This album contains many songs that one would like to listen to, in the setting of a quaint and cozy little cafe, reminiscing about a past love while staring out the window. Even he himself has thought through the concept of the album very carefully. He says that with a story about farewell being told, a duet would seem somewhat out of line with the concept of separation.
On a street where even fallen leaves can’t be found, facing the chilly wind in the lonely winter, that’s the feeling that the album tries to convey, and it starts doing that with the grey color tones of the album cover. In the photobook of these tones, we see his face. Holding a pencil while immersed in his thoughts, his face tells of the sadness of separation that flows through the 10 tracks on the album. #02… Do you know? I want to let her hear the words from the bottom of my heart, #09… If you can see my heart.. the familiar feeling just like now… I can be by your side… Even thought I don’t know if we can be together… We’re just people in love… These are the traces and memories left behind by his feelings towards the love that has gone.
After a long production process, we finally get to see Vol.3 Side 2. Although the original plan was to release it in December last year, but the production of an album is not something that can be completed as and when you want it, and as a result the album is 2 months late. Of course he is also involved in the design of the album, and though the release is later than expected, he doesn’t have any regrets about the issue of time. Unlike the ballads which are usually released in summer, for an album which has been produced with heart and soul, the release date isn’t a major issue at all. No matter what, it seems that this album is even better heard during the tail end of winter.
We believe, just like how the release date of an album doesn’t really matter, no matter who he is having promotional activities together with, that doesn’t bother him either. Judging by the recent flurry of activities coming from idol groups and the amount of love showered upon them by fans, it’s not a good thing to focus only on competition. Instead it’s more important for these groups to create a good atmosphere. All of them should have their own direction.
# The value created by challenges, Side 1…
When Shinhwa made their debut in 1998, it wouldn’t have been easy to have expected them to become the longest-running idol group in Korea. But from then until now, Shinhwa has kept a firm hold on their place, and continue to be loved by their fans. The members have all been active in dramas, movies, musicals and variety shows, and they have their own paths outside of Shinhwa. But only this one member keeps to his path of being a singer. But his stubborness has also led him to shine even brighter. Singer Shin Hyesung (30) continues to walk on his own path, step by step.
# Unable to forget the past, his obstinate love…
Last August, Shin Hyesung released his Vol.3 Side 1 ‘Live And Let Live’, which featured genres like Brit rock, swing and alternative rock, and 6 months later, he’s back with a ballad album, Vol.3 Side 2 ‘Keep Leaves’. This album contains many songs that one would like to listen to, in the setting of a quaint and cozy little cafe, reminiscing about a past love while staring out the window. Even he himself has thought through the concept of the album very carefully. He says that with a story about farewell being told, a duet would seem somewhat out of line with the concept of separation.
On a street where even fallen leaves can’t be found, facing the chilly wind in the lonely winter, that’s the feeling that the album tries to convey, and it starts doing that with the grey color tones of the album cover. In the photobook of these tones, we see his face. Holding a pencil while immersed in his thoughts, his face tells of the sadness of separation that flows through the 10 tracks on the album. #02… Do you know? I want to let her hear the words from the bottom of my heart, #09… If you can see my heart.. the familiar feeling just like now… I can be by your side… Even thought I don’t know if we can be together… We’re just people in love… These are the traces and memories left behind by his feelings towards the love that has gone.
After a long production process, we finally get to see Vol.3 Side 2. Although the original plan was to release it in December last year, but the production of an album is not something that can be completed as and when you want it, and as a result the album is 2 months late. Of course he is also involved in the design of the album, and though the release is later than expected, he doesn’t have any regrets about the issue of time. Unlike the ballads which are usually released in summer, for an album which has been produced with heart and soul, the release date isn’t a major issue at all. No matter what, it seems that this album is even better heard during the tail end of winter.
We believe, just like how the release date of an album doesn’t really matter, no matter who he is having promotional activities together with, that doesn’t bother him either. Judging by the recent flurry of activities coming from idol groups and the amount of love showered upon them by fans, it’s not a good thing to focus only on competition. Instead it’s more important for these groups to create a good atmosphere. All of them should have their own direction.
# The value created by challenges, Side 1…
While looking at Shin Hyesung performing a rock song, fans are also looking forward to the ballad-crooning Shin Hyesung. So there are many people who say, “This album is more suitable for him.” Shin Hyesung says, “That’s natural, everyone would feel that something that I’ve been doing all this while is more suitable for me, but Side 1 isn’t unsuitable for me either. During the production of Side 1, I often worried about how everyone would look at it, but surprisingly I had comments like, ‘very suitable’, and I got a lot more courage after this album.”
But he was also often asked, “Did you lose anything because of Side 1?”. To this, he says, “I don’t think I’ve lost anything, producing this album has been of great help to me, my taste in music seems to have improved, my falsettos have improved and sounds richer too. I didn’t want to lose this experience with this album.”
Having started out more than 10 years ago, in this long period of time, he seems to have a clearer goal for himself in this field. But he says that he still has lots of room for improvement, and much more to learn. Looking at the idol groups that are doing very well now, he’d think of the past, of the times he spent together with the Shinhwa members, being in the waiting room. Moreover, because it’s been quite some time since he had promotional activities, he still finds it a little unfamiliar and still feels nervous. Even now he still loses sleep over his comeback performances. People around him would ask, “You’ve been doing this for so long, why are you still nervous?” Although people can’t tell, but the nerves are still there.
He still feels nervous on stage, and he smiles as he says, “I’m still nervous on music programs, and it’s worse when there are cameras around. I’ll take part in variety shows too, but there’s still a difference between trying to play well and having fun.”
# If I’m born again…
If Shin Hyesung wasn’t a singer, you’d imagine that he’d do well in other things too. But he says, “Doing business seems to be very difficult, I don’t think I’m cut out for that. In terms of personality, I can’t deal with taking a monthly pay and turning up for work every day. So I like what I’m doing now. It’s something I like to do, not that it pays well.”
He also says that with all things remaining the same, if he was born again, he’ll still want to be a singer.
Of course being a well-loved singer has its drawbacks too. It didn’t use to be that way, but increasingly he’s spending more and more time alone at home, and he avoids going to crowded places. That’s why the feeling of loneliness seems to be getting stronger. “My character is such that I don’t take well to strangers, so most of the time I just stay at home. It’s even worse than the time when we first started out.”
He doesn’t have a girlfriend now. The last time he was seeing someone was 4 years ago, and because he finds sogaeting (group blind dates) situations very awkward, he doesn’t go for those. But even so, if one day should a girl he likes appear in front of him, he will pluck up his courage and take a proactive step. His ideal type? “The destined woman.”
# An album that you would buy just based on the name of Shin Hyesung…
It’s the dream of every singer, but Shin Hyesung hopes that he’ll be able to continue releasing albums. “If I want to last long (as a singer), the best way to do that is to release albums with many good songs.” To realise the goal of making people buy a Shin Hyesung album even without listening to it, he puts in his best effort every time he releases a new album. While many people are multi-tasking, he has the determination of “because I’m doing only one thing, so I have to do even better. Working harder on my music and on my albums, and on all other things to repay everyone.”
And on the road of “all other things”, if you ask him how far has he gone, he’d say calmly, “Even with Shinhwa’s albums, and my 4th album out, I’m still at the level of a fledgeling. I have to steadily continue treading on this path.” Although he’s satisfied with this album too, but he’d still give himself 80 out of 100 marks, with the 20 marks being the part where he has to continue working hard and developing himself, and grab any opportunity that comes his way. Other than releasing his own albums, he hopes that he can produce albums for others too. Other than that, he’s happy for youngest member Andy who has just groomed his own duo, but at the same time he’s worried too.
No matter what he does, Shin Hyesung -who doesn’t do anything haphazardly when he’s not ready - will continue to see his fans through his concerts in Korea and the rest of Asia. Having come this far, he will work even harder to show off what else he can do, while we smile and look forward to new surprises, new concepts and new themes in his next album.
“I hate sloppiness. I will carefully select the path and then do my best in moving forward.”
Source: Osen
Chi trans: 宝宝爱王子@S.C.I.C
Eng trans: midnightgirl13@absolutshinhwa.wordpress.com
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