“Looking back, there was no crisis that completely brought me down.”

Singer Baek Ji-young, who debuted in July 1999 and is celebrating her 25th anniversary this year, is known as the ‘one and only’ singer in K-pop to have covered both the dance and ballad genres. From exciting dance songs like ‘Choice’, ‘Dash’, ‘Candy in My Ears’, to emotional ballads like ‘I Don‘t Love You’, ‘Like Being Shot’, ‘Don’t Forget’, she has had a string of mega hit songs regardless of genre.

However, the past 25 years have not been smooth sailing. There have been several severe storms that forced her to halt her activities for a while. In a recent interview to commemorate the release of her new mini-album ‘Ordinary Grace’, held at a cafe in Gangnam-gu, Baek Ji-young said, “People think all of my songs are good, but in fact, there are many that have failed and songs I haven‘t been able to sing,” and smiled, “Even so, I didn’t get too discouraged because I thought of them all as ‘part of my life’.”

“After being active for 25 years and living for over 50 years, and raising children, I now know that the rock bottom I‘ve hit wasn’t ‘the end’. No matter what crisis I‘ve been through, it didn’t change my life completely. Sometimes, when juniors who have experienced unexpected difficulties ask me, ‘How did you overcome it?’I always tell them, ‘The sooner you feel sorry for yourself and accept your situation, the shorter the time you have to endure it will be.’ “I personally felt that way.”

After going through many twists and turns and becoming a mother of a child, she said that now is the time when “the curve of life draws the gentlest graph.” Baek Ji-young wanted to include that “current me” in “Ordinary Grace,” so she focused on “life and the feelings I have rather than love.” The title song “That‘s Right” was composed by singer Kangta, and “Goblin” producer Lee Eung-bok participated in the music video direction, adding to the 25th anniversary significance.

She said with a hearty laugh, “I didn’t give it much effort because it was the 25th anniversary, everything just fell into place. That flow really fits my style.”

“Director Lee became close with my husband (actor Jung Suk-won) while filming ‘Sweet Home 2’, and he willingly took on the role of director, saying, ‘I want to work with (Baek) Ji-young‘s song for my first music video.’ It was also Director Lee who changed the title from the working title ‘Pencil’ to ‘That’s Right’. More than anything, it‘s really dramatic that Kangta, whom I’ve known for a long time, chose the song without knowing that he was the composer of ‘That‘s Right’. I was so surprised when I found out later. I cried so much that I could hear myself crying while recording. The lyrics ‘Eventually’ make me think of us finally coming together after going through all sorts of things for 25 years.”

While working on the new album, I also felt a renewed determination to “sing for longer.”

“I originally planned to stop when my hair turned gray. Now, that’s not the case. I also want to stand on stage for a long time like my seniors Im Ja, Patty Kim, and Na Hoon-a. Singing for a long time is not something that is allowed to just anyone. I‘ll go anywhere I can stand.”


Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com