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Singer Tim grateful for ‘New Beginnings’

It’s been quite a while since Korean fans last heard from K-pop singer Tim.

After a hiatus of three years, Tim recently got back to the K-pop scene with his fifth album “New Beginnings.” It is his first album with Sony Music Entertainment Korea.

The biggest change occurred inside his heart. He said he became more mature and serious in the search for “his” music, after realizing that he was born to sing.

“For the past three years, I’ve been thinking deeply about my ‘self’ and musical career. I had to face many challenges but I feel grateful that I can work hard again,” said Tim, whose real name is Hwang Young-min, in an interview with The Korea Herald.
K-pop singer Tim. (Sony Music Entertainment Korea)
K-pop singer Tim. (Sony Music Entertainment Korea)


“There were times when I tried to find something else to do, other than to sing. But later, I realized that I was born to sing. Now I work happily day by day,” he said.

Born as the fourth son out of five brothers in Philadelphia in 1981, Tim was offered an audition in Korea in 2000. The Korean-American singer was first known through an MTV Korea documentary, “Tim’s World,” where singer aspirants, including Tim, were introduced in 2002. He debuted in Korea in 2003 with the album “First TIM” and his soft K-pop ballad “I Love You” from that album is still popular.

However, his following albums, including his fourth released in October 2007, were not as successful as the first.

After that, Tim couldn’t find the right label for his music. And last year, he became seriously ill with Hepatitis A, which he contracted while volunteering in Africa.

“I was told at the hospital that there was no cure for Hepatitis A and had to wait to recover by myself. Since then, I’ve come to realize that my life wasn’t in my hands,” the 30-year-old recalled.

The hardships eventually made him stronger and helped him deal with uncertainty in the music and entertainment business, the singer said.

During the three-year break, he learned to play the acoustic guitar. Tim plays the guitar when he appears on TV to sing his latest song “Unnecessary Words.”

He said that although he is far away from becoming someone like John Mayer or Jack Johnson in terms of performance skills, he will keep trying.

“Since coming to Korea, I seemed to have forgotten to advance myself as a musician. I could’ve tried harder but I will try harder now,” he said.

Tim produced the latest album “New Beginnings” and participated in the composition, lyric-writing and arrangements of several songs.

The title song “Unnecessary Words” was composed by pianist Yiruma and the lyrics were written by Lyn, a K-pop female vocalist who is a long-time friend of Tim. The song became popular after SBS TV drama hit “Secret Garden” used it once as background music.

The album has two songs ― “Liquid” and “He Said, She Said” ― sung in English and Korean, as people around him have encouraged him to sing in English for the larger K-pop market.

From the early stages of making the album, Tim had planned for a debut in the overseas market, he said.

“I’m getting many offers from Asian countries to release an album. But now is not the time. I have to make a strong presence in Korea first,” Tim said.

“I’ve been biding my time. I may do some touring or promotions in Asia.”

In Korea, Tim plans to be on TV variety shows and hold a concert later this year.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)

<한글 기사> 

팀, 3년 만에 5집 '뉴 비기닝스' 발표


(서울=연합뉴스) 이은정 기자 = 가수 팀(본명 황영민.29)이 3년만의 정규 음반인 5집 '뉴 비기닝스(New Beginnings)'를 발표했다.

2003년 1집 '사랑합니다'로 데뷔한 그는 2007년 4집 이후 몇몇 디지털 싱글을 냈지만 정규 음반은 발표하지 않았다.

팀은 최근 소니뮤직엔터테인먼트 코리아와 계약, 5집 제목에서 드러나듯이 오랜 공백기를 보낸 뒤 초심으로 돌아가 작업했다고 전했다.

이번 음반은 팀이 전체 프로듀싱을 맡았고 작곡가 김태성이 공동 프로듀서로 참여했다.

타이틀곡 '남자답지 못한 말'은 피아니스트 이루마가 작곡하고 피아노 연주를 했다. 또 절친한 가수인 린이 헤어진 연인을 향한 그리움을 담은 노랫말을 선물했다.

이밖에도 음반에는 팀이 작곡에 참여한 '그대여' '다음 역에선'을 비롯해 겨울에 어울리는 린과의 듀엣곡 '러브 송(Love Song)', 이루마가 선물한 또 다른 곡 '리버 플로스 인 유(River Flows In You)', 드라마 '역전의 여왕' OST 곡 '이별을 배우다' 등 총 11곡이 담겼다.

(연합뉴스)
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