Actress Lee Yu-ri's Song Picks

Lee Yu-ri [KBS]

We thought her eyes were those that were likely to be seen on herbivores and that too on meek animals such as rabbits or lambs which are timid. We thought they would never come to contain the emotions of fierceness or obsession. However such a perception on Lee Yu-ri are in the past. In "Twinkle Twinkle," her character Geum-ran has turned her life around by finding her wealthy biological parents but because of her excessive sense of rivalry or complex against Jung-won (Kim Hyun-joo), she continues to torment her. In other words, she plays the evil character.

Of course, it's not difficult to spot at least one evil character in every ongoing drama, whether they be daily or weekend shows. And you may she isn't as bad as the others since she ruined the printing for the books Jung-won had planned but she left people's lives and the company's fate alone. But in how she reaches her hand out to everything that Jung-won has because of the hold in her heart that the wealth and status she wanted will not satisfy, one can feel a self-deceptive vibe. Lee Yu-ri's acting is without doubt impressive in that she does not stop at showing how strong her desires are but the emptiness such desires bring within her character. Even more so given that she had built on the obedient image by playing the daughter-in-law character eight times till now. However, such acting also burdens her heart quite a bit since she soon becomes happy when chatting with people so she said that she purposely stays in the dressing room alone not saying anything. We asked her to recommend songs that help calm her after playing an evil character which could affect her mentality even outside of her acting.

1. Itzhak Perlman "Itzhak Perlman: A La Carte"
"It's a song people call 'Gypsy Airs' and I too just recently heard it by recommendation of someone but I felt that it would be nice for others to listen to it too as well so I'm sharing it right now. That's how beautiful the song's melody is." "Zigeunerweisen," a song you will probably recognize after hearing its powerful beginning, rejected the notion that popular classical songs are easy songs. To the extent that it was once said that the song, made by Sarasate who is the best violinist after Paganini, was the only one who could play the song during his times. That is how technical the song is. The version introduced here is by Itzhak Perlman, also a true virtuoso.

2. Brothers Four "Try To Remember: Greatest Hits"
“One time, I was listening to a Christmas carol album I had bought and the melody to this song was included in it. I don't even remember which album it was in except for that melody and just like its title, it reminded me of a green fields." Many of the songs that Lee Yu-ri recommended were ones that have many variations, in other words, long-lived old songs and "Greenfields" was such a song as well. Many people think Brothers Four's version is the original because it failed to gain attention when folk group Easy Riders first sang it and saw huge success when Brothers Four re-sang it. The song was re-made by more singers thereafter, including Susan Jacks and Eliza Gilkyson.

3. July Project "Bridge"
July Project's "Love is" is the song that Lee selected because "the lyrics remind you of the meaning of love which we may forget at times." The song, which used the phrase "Love is patient, love is kind," a Bible passage from the Corinthians, is a phrase even non-Christians are familiar with. And the song also comes with a familiar melody but of all the versions of songs on love, Lee recommended July Project's "Love is" from their album "Bridge." The duo, formed of Yurisangja member Lee Se-joon and best session guitarist Ham Joon-ho, do not hide their religion yet present listeners with melodies and sounds that are in no way direct, making each song easy enough to be heard by everybody. The same goes for "Love is" in which CCM singer Song Jung-mi, also likened by Lee, does a featuring for.

4. Various Artists "Hommage To Beatles"
Lee's fourth recommendation was "Michelle" by The Beatles which Lee said is "a song my husband likes and one that I also have others listen to." It is one of The Beatles' best love songs, even amongst the numerous masterpieces they left behind. The song, unique in how it mixes English and French to rhyme lines such as "Michelle, ma belle," took off from a demo that Paul McCartney sang for fun while imitating French. Paul McCartney's technique-removed voice which flows from amidst the sound of the acoustic guitar and the background singing of the members of his group rather adds to the song's lyricism. The song was originally included in album "Rubber Soul" which contained many masterpieces including "Girl" and "Norwegian Wood" but The Beatles sound source from that album cannot be used so it has been replaced with their tribute album.

5. Danielle Vidal "The Best Of Lovely Theme"
The last song that Lee recommended, explaining that "it's a song that you'll all probably recognize when you hear it... A chanson with the lyrics 'petit, petit,'" is "Pinocchio," like Lee said probably the most popular chanson in Korea. It is a song that is extremely cute and cheerful, enough for it to be used often in television commercials for bakeries and ice cream. The speaker of the song, telling autumn of her wavering heart, delivers her emotions by comparing them to Pinocchio's broken body. Danielle Vidal's songs, also including "Les Champs Elysees," are popular not only in Europe but in Japan and Korea as well for how cute and elaborate they are. Hence, they are loveable songs. "It's the song I listen to often when I need to change my mood because I'm stressed."

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10 아시아 Reporter : Wee Geun-woo eight@
10 아시아 Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@