Maps of Music

I Believe (1999)

Where the lyrics of I Believe take you, and where it was really made.

Apart from the title track, most songs on this debut were recorded before the singer's vocal technique was fully set, and the final mastering was done in Japan.

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Album story

Overview

• I Believe is the debut album of singer Lee Soo-young
• The album shares its name with its title track, a ballad with an oriental atmosphere
• Released in 1999 as the singer's first record
• At release, it was promoted heavily with electronic billboards on large buildings and newspaper advertising
• Later re-released with an orchestra version of the follow-up single 'Goodbye My Love' and a music video for 'I Believe' added

Background

• Apart from the title track, the album is made up of songs sung in a high-register chest voice
• This style contrasts with the soft, breathy tone the singer is known for
• Most songs were recorded before the singer's vocal technique was fully set
• Producer MGR said it was hard to present the singer's direction on a first album, so he filled the record with popular songs

Recording

• The final mastering was done in Japan, which was unusual for Korean pop records of that period
• The choice shows how much the producer cared about the album's overall quality

Sources: ko.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Lee Soo-young (Korean: 이수영; born Lee Ji-yeon, 이지연 on April 12, 1979) is a South Korean ballad singer.
• She debuted in 1999 with the hit album I Believe and quickly gained popularity due to her strong singing skills.
• During the mid-2000s, she was one of South Korea's best-selling singers, selling more than 700,000 albums in 2004 alone despite a recession in the music industry at the time.
• In 2001, she sang the official Korean version of the Final Fantasy X song "Suteki Da Ne", titled "얼마나 좋을까" ("Eolmana Joheulkka").
• She released her seventh album, Grace, on January 21, 2006; it performed very well and shot straight to the top of the charts.
• The album's popularity led to a limited edition repackage of Grace, of which only 30,000 copies were produced.

Personal life

• She married her boyfriend of one year in October 2010 and has one son, born in July 2011.

Acting

• Appeared in the KBS2 TV series The Accidental Couple (2009) as Jo Seung-eun.
• Appeared in the film The Quiz Show Scandal (2010) as the radio singer.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Heavily promoted at release with electronic billboards on large buildings and newspaper advertising
• Producer MGR said it was hard to show the singer's direction on a first album, so popular songs were used to fill the record
• Apart from the title track 'I Believe', the songs are built around high-register chest voice singing
• Most songs were recorded before the singer's vocal technique was fully set

Reappraisal

• Re-released after an orchestra version of the follow-up single 'Goodbye My Love' came out
• The re-release added the orchestra version and the music video for 'I Believe'

Records

• The track 'Namu' was used as the OST for the film 《흑수선》
• The final mastering was done in Japan, which was unusual for Korean pop records at the time

Sources: ko.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The track 'Namu' was used as the OST for the film 《흑수선》
• The final mastering was done in Japan, which was unusual for Korean pop records of that period
• The re-release added a music video for the title track 'I Believe'
• The debut was promoted with electronic billboards on large buildings as well as newspaper advertising

Sources: ko.wikipedia.org

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