Sandeul is the main vocalist of the popular idol group B1A4. He is already known to be a talented vocalist amongst teenage fans, but it was recently through MBC’s King of Masked Singer where he gained huge interest and support that jumps beyond generations. By wearing a mask this program brings the focus on the singers’ singing only, and it was here where he received great applause for his chilling vocal talent and fresh stage manners. “There were prejudices against me as an idol, and there were keywords that surrounded me. But this mask helped me feel more free.” Recently on MBC’s King of Masked Singer, the words spoken by idol group B1A4′s main vocalist Sandeul (23·Lee Jung Hwan) touched even the hearts of many middle-age viewers who were not initially aware of him. King of Masked Singer is a program that excludes any factors that could bring about any preconceptions such as occupation, identity, and appearance. It is a show where the competition is solely dependent on singing talent. Wearing special masks, celebrities go on stage and are able to sing free from any prejudices or preconceptions that have been held against them up to this point. After each episode these individuals’ nicknames have appeared on top searches, along with netizens’ heated attempts to determine their identities. Towards the beginning of this program, the plot-twist card and the one helped boost viewership ratings was ‘Flowering Silky Fowl’ Sandeul. During the stage for the first masked king, he lost by just two votes to F(x)’s Luna who wore the ‘Gold Rocker’ mask. However, Sandeul’s vocals received admiration from not only the judges and audience members present, but from viewers as well, shining the spotlight towards the identity of ‘Flowering Silky Fowl’. However, his voice gave off an experienced feeling, he had a fresh stage manner and his vocals overflowed with charisma, and he changed his singing style willingly and with ease. Thus, it wasn’t easy to determine that he was an idol group member. This was because of the prejudice that idols excel in only dance or visuals, rather than through their singing. May the mask make me free Though it may be a sorry situation to say that he is the ‘hidden jewel’ of a four-year-old top idol group, truthfully if someone was not a big B1A4 fan, they likely would not have heard of his name or remembered his face. Actually, this is not the first time that Sandeul surprised people with his vocal talent. On KBS’ Immortal Song, he sang Im Jae Bum’s ‘I’m a Candle Before You’ and won against Hweesung, and received praise for singing many others including Shin Seung Hoon’s ‘My Way of Love’, Seo Yoo Seok’s ‘Be Blunt’, Lee Yong’s ‘Forgotten Season’, and 해바라기(Sunflower)’s ‘In Your Arms’. During the Immortal Song King of Kings special, Sandeul even appeared as the only idol singer, and became a hot issue once again through his cover of Kim Sang Hee’s ‘Cosmos Flower Song’ with his deep vocal tone. It’s not easy for an idol singer to take a song from their own album, go on stage, and receive praise like on Immortal Song or King of Masked Singer. No matter how well they sing, their vocal talent can be overshadowed by flashy dance performances or visuals. Or they may be misunderstood to be lip-synching or using audio technology to transform their voice. On top of that, because of the nature of an idol group, it’s uncommon for a single member to be able to sing a larger portion of the song, making it rare for their vocals to be properly evaluated. This is because it’s too common that the song ends after each member sings just one or two lines. Perhaps the label of ‘idol’ is a hindrance for handsome audio-type singers like Sandeul. “I don’t know. There are times when I hear that I must surpass an idol’s limit, but those words never really hit me that deeply. Perhaps I am receiving more attention because I am an idol. Because I’m an idol, I’ve had these opportunities to sing, and I was able to grow through the stages that were provided to me. Because of that, I like this position that I’m in. When I gain more experience, I think I’ll naturally be able to do even more things. Because there will be more programs like King of Masked Singer where idol singers can show their vocal talents.” Sandeul is a representing self-made idol. From winning the Korean Youth Festival award to the Chinchin Star Festival, Chunjangdae Music Festival, Hamyang Wild Ginseng Festival, Geumsan Ginseng Festival, Pohang Festival, Songjeong Beach Festival, Kyungsung University Music Festival and even the Daecheong Music Festival, his pre-debut record includes his participation in and winning of awards from almost every music festival in Korea. This man was born and raised in Busan, and even though he didn’t have a long practice period in Seoul like other idol trainees, he was able to demonstrate his incredible talent on any stage. To those who dream, become thick-skinned “I used to have a very timid personality. I wasn’t good at presenting in school, and whenever my teacher asked me to read aloud in class I shook out of nervousness. I wanted to sing, but that timid personality grabbed me at the ankles. So I thought that this wouldn’t do, and decided to confront it. In 1st grade of high school (T/N: equivalent to grade 10) I went to my neighbourhood apartment music festival, a Cherry Blossom Festival, and even a beach festival. I searched for any stage where I could confirm my skills. My school was just a regular school, so there was never an incident where a student like me submitted an official letter to enter a singing festival. At first my teacher was uncomfortable with the situation and bickered, but because of my persistence he said, ‘alright, give it a try.’ But the problem was, that I didn’t pass all of them. And that was at the audition stage too. I was too nervous so I couldn’t even demonstrate 20% of my capabilities. I felt like going crazy. It was so frustrating, I felt like my heart was going to explode.” “But I couldn’t give up. Since my childhood it was my dream to become a singer, and I didn’t really think about anything else. So I clenched my teeth (endured through it). And I slowly saw the results. The following year, I won an award at every festival I went to. As my confidence rose, so did my skills.” “The last music festival I participated in was the Chunjangdae Music Festival. Luckily I made it through the audition stage, but when I took the letter back to my school office my homeroom teacher looked at me worriedly. He scolded me, asking what I was doing when I was in my final year of high school, and asking if I didn’t notice what the other students were doing. He didn’t sign the document for me. It wasn’t just my teacher, but my friends were also genuinely worried for me. It was an obvious reaction, since everyone hadn’t heard me sing before.” With every break, he went to the office and tried to persuade his homeroom teacher. Around lunchtime, all of the teachers in the office had their attention directed towards him. The head teacher couldn’t take it anymore and stated, 'If you really want to go to the festival, then sing in front of all of us right now.’ Meanwhile, students who were passing by stopped and crowded around the office. However, this was not the time to fuss. If he hesitated now, he might lose this rare opportunity. He closed his eyes shut. And without any background music he sang loudly, barely gaining permission from his homeroom teacher. Fortunately, he was able to win the award and redeem a sense of honour. The high-spirited idol Sandeul, who says he will work harder and sing in order to repay his mother who opened up his road to becoming a singer, and his older sister who gave up her art school admission to push her brother towards his dream. Teacher, parents… hidden facilitators “As soon as I won the award I ran to the office and placed it on my teacher’s desk. It was at that moment that my teacher was happy and gave me encouragement. Since then, I came up to Seoul and spent about a year as a trainee. This was also something that never happened with my school before. After I debuted I visited my homeroom teacher, and it was then that they told me their behind story. Because of me, my homeroom teacher had to have a meeting with the principal. My teacher said that he persuaded the principal, saying ‘Junghwan isn’t a kid who should just study. He sings really well, so we need to push him.’ I am really thankful for that.” At 19 years of age, it wasn’t easy to live separate from his family for the first time and pass his days with unfamiliar faces. But despite this, he never thought that it was impossible. Though he couldn’t know how long it would take, he was confident that he would become a singer, helping him rid of his anxiety or nervousness. “When I came up to Seoul, my father said this. ‘You’re going to be someone who sings anyway, so no matter how it ends up, think of this as a good experience. If things don’t work out, pack up and come back home. It doesn’t mean you lost anything.’ His words gave me great strength. Truthfully, even before I came up to Seoul, my father was against me becoming a singer. He worried that there were so many amazing singers, and asked me why I was singing instead of studying. But that actually became a good motivator for me. If he said, ‘Good, then don’t study and sing,’ I might not have practiced as hard as I did. I don’t know if I would have done as well if I was under pressure from their expectations.” The one who gave him assurance that he would become a singer was his mother. For her son who begged to be sent to a vocal academy since middle school, his mother promised him that she would send him when he entered high school, and stuck to that promise. With that she asked him what he learned at the academy every day, and even told him to sing in front of her. It took him an hour to walk home from the academy, sometimes causing him to come home past 1am, but even then his mother would stay awake. His mother’s criticism was very harsh to the point of causing tears. She would say ‘you have a long way to go’ or ‘you shouldn’t sing that part like that’, not passing what even seemed like the smallest thing. To her there was no such thing as overlooking. “My mother enjoys music, and knows a lot about it. There’s even a rumour that she specialized in opera singing, but that’s not true. She was a part of her school choir. She played a huge role in my liking for music. And because of my mother, I realized the importance of the lyrics of a song. We used to have discussions regarding song lyrics. When I was young I thought that a song was good if the melody was good. One day I was practicing and I suddenly faced a huge wall. I felt like I was missing something very important. Just then I thought of something I discussed with my mother. Lyrics. I got goosebumps.” Currently those who are by his side and act as his facilitators, friends, and even teachers are his fellow B1A4 members. “It was like that since our trainee days. Back then countless male idol groups were created, but we would succeed, we believed that we definitely would. When we monitor each other, we don’t have a filter. We don’t try to sugar-coat or twist our words. However I think that’s possible because of the strong trust we have towards each other. Whether it’s praise or criticism, we say these things because we want to help each other, and so we accept it wholeheartedly, and think of alternative methods together. And when we see each other improve we never forget to offer praise and encouragement. This applies even now with our individual activities. When Shinwoo Hyung prepared for his musical, I liked that there were lots of words I could offer. I shared things I felt when I did my musical, and told him what he could do to prepare in advance. If it was a case where I was to act in a drama, I would be able to go to Jinyoung Hyung or Baro for help. As for Gongchan, his language skills are amazing. When I study languages, I go to him to ask questions.” Boy Sandeul, now an adult In his childhood he dreamed of becoming a singer because he liked singing. He thought, if he became a singer, he would be able to sing his favourite songs as much as he wanted, and he’d be happy. However, four years after his debut as a singer, his thoughts regarding singing have changed a lot. Fans who were middle-schoolers four years ago have now become seniors, and there are quite a number of fans who have even graduated and gotten employed. No matter what they (his fans) are doing, he knows well that his music gives them hope and comfort. As the word ‘idol’ symbolizes, he is able to give someone hope and energy to move forward, and through that energy someone is able to gain strength. That could be seen as his destiny. To reach closer to fulfilling that destiny, now can be seen as just the beginning. As the thought of ‘idols can’t sing’ is a prejudice, he must also overcome the notion that ‘singers just need to sing well’. Moving forward, there are many more things that he must do. This is because, on top of vocal talent, there are countless singers who can dance, act, and even speak well. In order to continue singing, and in order to become a true artist, there are still many things that he must learn. As a singer there will be endless things to learn; this is something that he is gradually realizing now. There is another reason for him to continue working very hard. That reason is that finally he has the opportunity to repay his older sister, who gave up her dream of pursuing a career in the arts because of their family’s financial situation. During her high school career, she dreamed of entering art school. But when she found out that her younger brother Sandeul enrolled in a vocal academy to achieve his dreams, she gave up her admission preparations. “My sister thought about it for a long time by herself and told our parents that she wanted to draw. But I begged my parents to send me to a vocal academy because my childhood dream was to become a singer. Because of that, I think our mother persuaded my sister. Our family did not have the means to let us both pursue these activities, so she asked my sister if she could step down for her brother. After that my sister didn’t speak of drawing again, and I only found out the truth recently. That my sister still holds her dream of becoming an artist.” Now is time for him to repay those who have watched over and supported him during his journey of achieving his dream. This is the reason for him to work harder than he does now, and sing his best. Source: Daum News / Trans: roz @ bethe1all4one / Please remove all translations with full credits to source and translator.
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