Lee Seung-gi and his 5th album

Lee Seung-gi [Hook Entertainment]

Lee Seung-gi is back for the first time in two years as a singer and with his 5th album "Tonight." Yet his singing career has been covered as much as he has solidified his position in entertainment shows and TV series. At a press conference held at a studio in Seoul on Wednesday, ahead of the recording of a special show for his new album, Lee Seung-gi presented his thoughts on his long-waited comeback.

5th album: My music used to be based on traditional ballad and attempts were made at the rock or dance genres on the outside. But there won't be any typical Lee Seung-gi type ballads this time. There'll be band-like and unique sounds and the songs will be faster than the ballads so they'll be fun tunes to sing along to. I'm not good at dancing nor good at playing instruments. So instead, I tried to show refreshing sides to myself as a vocalist. You'll be able to tell if you listen to the entire album but I tried to change my style of singing for each song.

"Love Time" (translated title): There was no narration and rap to the first draft of "Love Time" but I started thinking that we could tell about the story in the song by having a man and a woman's story told like they do in the radio. And for the man, I figured that we'd save money and would be a treat for my fans if I did it. For the woman, I'd been dining with the team of "Shining Inheritance" including Han Hyo-joo when I suddenly thought of asking her and when I did, she willingly said yes. So that's when we went into full-scale modification of the song and Ra.D said that if someone like Han Hyo-joo is going to be in the song, we might as well increase her part and make it noticed that she was in it. I wrote both the narration and lyrics to the song.

Dance: I think you all probably know how I dance by now from seeing me on entertainment shows. Me dancing could be detrimental to the Korean music industry [laughs] so I'll just stick to singing.

Concept: I think the concept I took on was more important when I was 18 and 19. Back then, planning and strategizing was important but now at 24, and being into the eighth year since my debut, I think I need to go on the path of proving my capability as an artist. Lee Sun-hee doesn't go with a concept. She's just 'singer Lee Sun-hee.' And that's how I want to be seen as well. For me, at age 24 and releasing my fifth album, my capability as a singer has become more important than the impact people will get from me from the concept I take on, and I think that the more this shows, the more people will see me as a better singer and a better man.

Lee Seung-gi [Hook Entertainment]

Singer-MC: I think I lack in many ways as a singer. And I do feel frustrated over having little physical time to invest in being a singer from having to juggle singing, acting and show hosting. I don't have enough time to hone my skills as a singer. And what's the largest blow to being the main host to an entertainment show is that I lose my voice after recording for an hour's worth of showtime. I can't do anything about it but it's a shame for me as a singer. That's why for this album, I went back to learning the basics on vocalization with Lee Sun-hee.

Kang Ho-dong: I think both I and the viewers think the same thing but I don't think I'll be able to replace Kang Ho-dong. And I'm not going to try to either. Set aside everything that has happened, he is a good senior to me that I met in the entertainment industry. He never instructed me on everything single thing but I learned a lot from just watching what he does. That's why rather than thinking that I want to replace him, I'll do my best in my own way because it's something I've been handed and I can't run away from it.

Solo MC: Entertainment shows are all about teamwork. It's impossible for them to do well by an individual working at them alone. The same goes for "Two Days and One Night" and "Strong Heart." The regulars are important and for "Strong Heart," so are the guests like Lee Kyung-shil because it's not easy for people at her level to come onto a show that's hosted by a 25-year-old but she said yes willingly and said some great things which I'm very grateful about. I still lack in many ways but gain courage from such things.

TV series: I don't think I'll be appearing in any TV series this year although I've been trying to since early in the year because the timing wouldn't work out and the projects I wanted to take on didn't happen. I can't just do any project, I need for a good one, so I can't say for sure when my next project will be. But to just tell you when I hope it'll be, I'd say during the first half of next year.

Lee Seung-gi [Hook Entertainment]

Model student image: I actually don't really feel the need to shed or break away from the image people have of me right now. I'm sort of past the point where I used to feel frustrated over that image. I used to want to hang out with my friends more when I was young but I feel less frustrated now over not being able to do that. It's just that the trend now seems to be that the so-called bad boys are popular and you need to act more cold so I once wondered whether I need to become colder too to be popular. But if there had to be a lot of people with different characteristics, I think I wouldn't mind being the one with my image. And it's not like I try to seem like the model student. I just act the way I usually do. It's just that the nice side to me has been brought out more.

Male fans: I think it's true that I have more female than male fans. A few days ago I heard that when the person next to them likes a person on TV a lot, they turn the channel from jealousy. And I think there are people who don't like it when someone is too popular or too good-looking. I have a lot of older fans. Mothers who have children like me and because they want their children to turn out well, it seems that they compare them to me and are hard on them. Then there's no way they'll like me. [laughs] I heard that that's why teenage guys tend to not like me. I just hope they won't be my seniors in the military. [laughs]

Military: I think the military is a place that I naturally will go to. And it's a duty for all Korean men. It won't be too far away for me. I have sort of made up my mind on when I'll go but I can't tell anyone because nobody knows how the circumstances will change. I don't want to go too late though. I think it may be better to go while I'm healthy and seem more youthful.

Dating: When "Love Time" got revealed, a lot of people asked whether I had written it with a certain person in mind. But I think I've had a lot of people in mind since my debut. I've met a lot of people and there are a lot of beautiful people in this industry so I've had a lot of people in mind, in my heart. [laughs] As for the lyrics for "Love Time," I just somehow came to write them when I went to Japan to meet baseball player Park Chan-ho for "Two Days and One Night." I was sharing a room with my manager and laying in bed when I realized I was in a very depressing situation. And the song took off from me thinking, 'Do I really have to be laying in this room with another guy?' I wrote "Shall we date? I may not be good at it because I've been single for a long time" is the first part that I came up with. I wrote the song when my desire to date someone reached its peak.

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