Releasing two ballads this month – a film OST track today and a comeback song to follow – Baek Ji Young is one feisty female singer that simply refuses to be quiet.
Debuting in the late ’90s, Ji Young quickly won public adulation for her unique latin beat pop, but her new career was severely threatened by her scheming manager/boyfriend. Without her consent, he’d filmed them having sex in a hotel room, and went public with it in 2000. She quite rightly sued the dude, but the damage was still done.
Controversy has followed Ji Young even after her successful comeback with the ballad I Won’t Love in 2006. A plastic surgery clinic used her images without permission (for which she has recently been awarded damages); in 2009 she had to abandon a concert due to illness, and underwent vocal cord surgery, and she had to close an online business with a friend due to legal problems. In 2012, a men’s rights group filed a complaint about the overtly sexist tones of her song Good Boy.
Despite these setbacks, she’s had a string of hits, and has become well-known for her emotive drama and movie OST tracks. In 2012 she became a judge and coach on The Voice of Korea, training the K-stars of the future, and last year she married actor Jung Suk-won.
Today her song Fervor was released from the OST of The King’s Wrath. On May 19th she’ll release her comeback single Still Hot.
Recommended playlist:
Fervor – her newest ballad released today from The King’s Wrath OST
Good Boy – the song that offended Men of Korea, and features BEAST’s Jung Hyun
That Woman – from the OST of award-winning K-drama Secret Garden
My Ear’s Candy – a very different vibe featuring 2PM’s Taecyeon
Pierrot in the City on Immortal Song – a stripped-down display of her powerfully emotional vocal skills
