South Korean vocalist and industry veteran IU has opened up about how it feels like to be reaching her thirties.
The South Korean singer-songwriter recently spoke to Marie Claire Korea, where she discussed entering her thirties and how her age has and continues to influence her musical direction. In Korea, newborns are considered a year old at birth. IU was born in 1993, thus making her 30 by Korean reckoning in 2022.
IU shared that she had felt quite differently about ringing in the new year, in comparison to the recent few years. “In the second half of my 20s, I felt a bit of lethargy and malaise,” she admitted, as translated by Soompi.
“So [when she was counting down to 2022], it was the first time in a while that I’d felt excited,” IU added. “I wasn’t thinking of anything in particular, but when they started the countdown, I suddenly felt excitement blossoming in my chest.”
The singer noted that it “felt so good” that it gave her a sudden sense of “confidence” that she could achieve anything in that moment. “Maybe it’s because it’s still early in the year, but I still have that feeling,” IU said.
Elsewhere in the interview, IU spoke about her growth as a musician in relation to her age, noting that “it’s a good concept to consider how you think and feel different things as your age changes”. The singer is known for having written several songs about her age throughout her 14 year career, such as last year’s ‘Lilac’, and tracks like ‘Twenty-three’, ‘Palette’ and ‘Eight’.
In late December, IU unveiled a special mini-album titled ‘Pieces’, which comprised five unreleased tracks from her previous albums. It had marked the singer’s first release since her digital single ‘Strawberry Moon’, which dropped in October.
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