(Continuing from interview ①) Singer Lee Ye-ji, as the inaugural winner of The Ballad of Us, shared her thoughts on appearing on 1deungs.
Recently, at the OSEN office in Mapo District, Seoul, an interview was held with SBS' The Ballad of Us TOP6 members Lee Ye-ji, Lee Ji-hoon and Song Ji-woo.
When asked about memorable moments while competing on SBS' survival program The Ballad of Us, which ended in December last year, Lee Ye-ji said, "What I keep remembering is when judge Cha Taehyun showed tears during the first round. He was the first person to cry when he heard my song, so it stuck with me, and Cha Taehyun, as a judge, felt like he was in the position of a father in relation to my song's story. I am still very grateful," and added, "Although he didn't contact me separately after my win, when we were filming 1deungs there is an opening video for each singer and he filmed that for me," expressing her gratitude.
However, although Lee Ye-ji received rave reviews as the first-place performer in round 1, she faced elimination in round 2 after being unable to sing because she cried on stage. In the end, she barely advanced to round 3 as an additional qualifier by receiving the most votes. Lee Ye-ji admitted honestly, "I actually don't like competing that much. I was eliminated in round 2 and then came back up, but I cried during the round 2 stage. I was so surprised at myself for crying, and I was so unhappy with the performance that I thought, 'Maybe it's for the best. Let's finish quickly and go home. Let's end it.' I even thought I should focus more on school, but I was lucky to advance."
As a result, Lee Ye-ji ultimately won the competition and, not long after finishing The Ballad of Us, appeared on MBC's survival program 1deungs, which determines the best among the top winners, continuing in fierce competition. Lee Ye-ji explained, "When I say I don't like competing, it's because my competitive streak is so strong that once I start I have to win. So while competing I get so stressed that I prefer not to compete," and added, "1deungs is full of seniors, and isn't it a place where you share the stage with famous singers? No matter how much stress I felt from my competitive spirit, I thought it's rare to see so many singers together on one stage. I agonized a lot over whether to appear, but being with the seniors was more important to me, so I decided to participate."
Given that she was to share the stage with prominent "survival seniors," he said, "I was very nervous," and added, "I trembled up until about round 3. I was so nervous, but later the seniors looked after me a lot, and since they are established artists and I still feel like a rookie, I focused on watching the seniors' stages with the mindset of making my own stage as good as possible."
When asked whether she received advice from senior artists, Lee Ye-ji said, "Once filming starts everyone is busy moving around and going into interviews, so there wasn't time for serious advice. Still, during the shoot we had little bits of small talk where they often said things like, 'Don't be nervous,' 'I hope you do well,' 'Your voice is really nice,' 'The stage is dry so drink water before you go on,'" conveying the seniors' warm concern.
Because 1deungs is a survival program that gathers first-place winners from various audition programs, Lee Ye-ji effectively participated in the competition as a representative of The Ballad of Us. When asked whether she received a lot of support from her The Ballad of Us colleagues, she expressed regret, saying, "They watched the live broadcasts and cheered a lot for me, but I also feel a bit apologetic."
In fact, Lee Ye-ji finished in sixth place and did not make the TOP4 finalists. She said, "Rather than wanting to be first, I came out as a representative of The Ballad of Us, and I feel regretful that I wasn't able to show a really great stage."
When asked whether the title of "winner," which will continue to follow her, feels burdensome, Lee Ye-ji said, "Honestly it's a burden but it's also great. I don't think I won because my singing was inherently superior to other contestants. I think I was really lucky to rise up. Thanks to that I got the opportunity to appear on 1deungs, and I'm very grateful for the many love calls. Still, being the winner makes me work harder so the title won't be forgotten or discarded," she said, reaffirming her determination.
Meanwhile, The Ballad of Us TOP6, including Lee Ye-ji, Lee Ji-hoon and Song Ji-woo, will hold concerts on May 9 and 10 at Olympic Hall in Olympic Park, Seoul, marking the finale of their national tour.
[Photo] OSEN reporter Park Joonhyung
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