Ballad singer Shin Jae talks about ‘Love’

As a high school student, singer Shin Jae was interested in becoming a taekwondo athlete. However, in his senior year he decided that he would participate in his high school festival by getting up on stage in front of his classmates and singing. Yoon Do-hyun’s “I’ll Get Over You” is the rock ballad song that Shin Jae decided to perform on stage. That was the moment that changed his life.

“I will never forget how I felt being up on stage and singing,” said Shin Jae. “I knew at that moment that I wanted to pursue a career as a singer.”

After graduating, he decided to set aside his pursuit of taekwondo as his future endeavor and attended Chung-Ang University as a music major and jumped at every opportunity to be on the stage again.

In 2009, when he was 22, he released his first single titled “The Edge of Heartbeat,” which later became one of the theme songs of the 2010 SBS drama “Smile, Mom.” The ballad vocalist soon became the voice behind numerous other soundtracks for Korean dramas including “49 Days” and “I Need Romance 2012.”

“When it comes to soundtracks, one of the key factors is being able to express the emotions of the people in the drama,” he said. “My songs are mostly about love and heartbreak. When I am reading the lyrics to a song, I really try to put myself in a similar position, remembering what I was feeling through some of my saddest moments.”

This year, Shin Jae released his first full-length solo album on Jan. 22 titled “Love.” The 13-track album is a compilation of his past soundtrack releases and new ballads.

“What makes me different from other singers is that my music is about healing and comfort,” he said. “I think that people can be touched by my songs. I leave out a lot of vibrato and I think this allows people to be able to listen to my songs over a long period of time without getting bored.”

Shin Jae held his first showcase in Korea at V-Hall in Hongdae on Wednesday night, where he serenaded the audience with his passionate vocals. The singer will soon be heading off to Osaka, Japan, in March to continue promotion of his latest album.

“I want to share my voice with people,” he said. “In the future I hope to continue to do ballad-style music because I think it is the best way that I can express myself to my listeners.”

“Some of the most memorable moments of my life are being in the studio sound booth, making music. I hope that when people listen to my songs, they not only get a sense of comfort, but a sense that they can cope with and overcome their struggles through my music.”

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)