Honey Lee’s acting debut
by javabeans
Former Miss Korea Lee Ha-nui, otherwise known as Honey Lee, has been busy acting as a television broadcast MC and as a model for various CFs and clothing brands ever since she placed in the finals for last year’s Miss Universe pageant. And now she’s branching out into acting, preparing for her debut — in a musical.
Her rep explained that she’d considered making her acting debut in a drama or film, “but chose a musical in order to showcase her particular skills.” As you may know, she’s a noted classical musician, having majored in traditional music (gayageum, pansori) at Seoul National University. Not only that, she reportedly was in training as a vocalist under YG Entertainment prior to her Miss Korea win. She’ll begin rehearsals for the musical next week, produced by PMC productions (of the musical Nanta, which is described as a “non-verbal performance” that incorporated traditional folk music elements).
Via Sports Seoul
No mp3 available, but for a look (and listen) at Honey Lee’s musical skills, here’s her much-buzzed-about performance at the recent Golden Disk Awards with Epik High, transforming their thoroughly modern “Fan” into something of a fusion artistic statement.
SONG OF THE DAY
For the uninitiated, here’s what the original “Fan” by Epik High sounds like. [ Download ]
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1 rocketfuel
February 25, 2008 at 8:48 PM
......but can she sing?
if she can't...then I'd rather she just act.
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2 Javabeans
February 25, 2008 at 8:50 PM
Singing was part of her major (albeit in a classical sense), so I assume she has a voice. Now, whether it's to people's liking, that's up in the air...
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3 all4movies
February 25, 2008 at 9:23 PM
Now that's cutting edge music. I've never liked rap before, but combining it with traditional music really enriches it with a very korean vibe. Cool. Hope to hear more.
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4 jolee
February 25, 2008 at 9:40 PM
Although I enjoyed hearing "fan" in its original form. I was totally blown away when I first heard the fusion version. I have to say that the audience seemed to really enjoy it too (lots of singing along) unlike the audience of another awards show where everyone gave blank stares throughout performances which I thought seemed to ruin the atmosphere. Perhaps it was just a very bad camera man, lol, but they are artists and they know they are on camera.
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5 merriwether
February 25, 2008 at 10:13 PM
That perf is pretty freaking awesome.
As for her acting, I really have no idea how it'll turn out (I ALWAYS get things wrong when it comes to this stuff). It'd be interesting if she made recorded an album though.
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6 Stawr
February 25, 2008 at 10:20 PM
I really like this song...the whole fusion aspect of it just makes me even love it even more, hahaha.
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7 Max
February 25, 2008 at 10:32 PM
This performance is AWESOME.
As to her acting and singing abilities, a surprisingly high number of Miss Universe and Miss World contestants have these kinds of talents. People tend to overlook the fact that these girls were chosen to represent their countries, and for that, they have to be a little bit special. Former Miss America Vanessa Williams turned out to be very talented also.
And hell, even if she can't act, it's nice to see her do something like this upcoming musical, which seems a little pansori-like-- I love it when people remember the tradition of Korea. I had this vision of her as Song Hwa from Seopyeonjye when I read the description of the musical. Yay! Pansori.
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8 Whitey
February 25, 2008 at 10:34 PM
I wish this performer all the best -- that's why I think it's a shame that she chose Nanta, one of the worst pieces of theater that I've seen. It's a smorgasbord of stage cliches whipped together to a fine crowd-pandering piece of fluff. Annoying.
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9 Skangrrl
February 25, 2008 at 10:56 PM
Wow, I was really impressed. Fab fusion! They should record that.
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10 janet
February 25, 2008 at 11:00 PM
her finger movement is amazing, especially during the chorus.
i love how serious everyone looks haha.
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11 thunderbolt
February 25, 2008 at 11:36 PM
Wow, that was wonderful. Thanks for the clip. Would love to see her doing pansori. I was introduced to pansori in Im Kwon Taek's 1993 movie, SOPYANJE. Awesome stuff!
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12 yelibean
February 25, 2008 at 11:54 PM
i love this fusion version of Fan...i really like the original version, but here they took it to another level...who ever idea this was is a freaking genius..even if you do not like rap, there is no way you cannot be blown away by that performance...simply wonderful
they should record this! i wouldn't mind listening to it on my ipod XD
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13 Finkl-boy
February 25, 2008 at 11:55 PM
Finally, after trolling for so long, I can contribute. :)
Uploaded the mp3 version of the Epik High and Honey Lee performance at
http://www.zshare.net/audio/811832937a2863/
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14 Snajper
February 26, 2008 at 12:22 AM
Awesome performance and collaboration!
And hey, thanks Finkl-boy for posting the mp3 file.
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15 Di
February 26, 2008 at 4:06 AM
OMG Honey Lee's version is a such a HUGE improvement to the original. The song sounds a lot easier on the ears without all those artificial beats. It makes me actually...ENJOY...rap. That's...amazing. o_o I mean, Epik High was always good in my books but I couldn't really listen to them for more than one or two songs. But if they incorporated traditional music, or if anybody in the kpop industry were willing to fully fuse like this...I would worship them. o.o
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16 julier
February 26, 2008 at 6:09 AM
I've seen Nanta twice, once in Hawaii and once in Seoul, and it is lots of fun. It is mostly non-verbal with no singing, but for sure a comedy with lots of dancing and drumming, all done in the "kitchen" using dishes, pots and pans, knives, etc for instruments. It is a very acrobatic performance with lots of audience involvement. Thanks for the youtube clip and #13, thanks for the mp3. I love it!
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17 invisibelle
February 26, 2008 at 8:25 AM
Whoa, this performance completely wins. Thanks for sharing, I'm totally going to repost this in my LJ.
I don't know what's making me squee more (and I don't use "squee" lightly) - Epik High's awesomeness, or the shots of Hyukjae singing along. hehe.
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18 Skangrrl
February 26, 2008 at 8:32 AM
Thanks so much, Finkl-Boy. Fan first contribution! Goes off to download.
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19 tooizzy
February 26, 2008 at 8:49 AM
THIS VIDEO WAS AWESOME!!! LOVED IT LOVED IT LOVED IT!
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20 lenrasoon
February 26, 2008 at 9:09 AM
I really enjoyed this performance, i love Epik High and this "fan" version with Honey lee was awesome, and i agree with who wrote that they should record this.
Thanks for the mp3 Finkl-boy!!!!
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21 all4movies
February 26, 2008 at 9:41 AM
Finkl-boy,
You're an angel for posting the mp3 link. It helps because javabeans can't do all the work, even though she is amazing at recommending interesting music. Kumsamsumida. :)
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22 Jo
February 26, 2008 at 9:53 AM
She's amazing
you dont know how hard it is to even play a simple song on the gayageum
It takes years and years of practice. AMAZING AMAZING!!!
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23 cherryxpnai
February 26, 2008 at 10:27 AM
OH MAN. she definitely killed that performance. it was amazing! i like the fusion a lot better than the original. haha.
i definitely wish her luck in her acting debut. she's so talented.
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24 Eve
February 26, 2008 at 10:34 AM
hmm can she sing? I wouldn't say it matters because Nanta doesn't really require singing - it's a really fun "musical" though. I can imagine how many people will go see it now that she's going to be in it lol....
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25 canyayasis
February 26, 2008 at 12:52 PM
I might be the only one -
but for the first minute of this video I was giggling BECAUSE -
it reminded me so much of that one episode for BAD COUPLE when the new fiancee' is playing this instrument and BLASTS everyone backwards, which rips off a toupee'. If you didn't see it, it was a funny scene not easily forgotten.
Again, that was only the beginning - the rest of this is unbelievable
all i can say is, WOW this is amazing - great dancing and integration of instruments.
ON A SIDE NOTE:
It seems to me (at times) that there are many, many Awards Shows happening all the time in South Korea. Does the largess and frequency of these awards shows diminish their significance?
Each network has their own awards show - and even each network breaks those awards up into Drama et al....
Do they ever compete (outside of the ratings) head to head - show to show - from all the networks together - and if so, what is the name of that Awards show?
I'm just curious.
Dramabeans?
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26 Miki
February 26, 2008 at 1:56 PM
@canyayasis: Didn't Javabeans say it was the Golden Disk Award on top?
She majored in music, and singing, plus Epik High worked with her (and I personally think they have high standards in music, even if rap isn't my thing) so I don't think she'll be bad. Her face to me is traditionally pretty. I like pretty that has something wrong with it, more sharp edges, but she's beautiful nonetheless. And according to your post, it seems like she actually deserve the Miss Korea award, being multi-talented.
Really nice music! I love the first section (by herself), but it fuses perfectly with the rap. Amazing, neh? (Yeah, I'm a fan of fusion stuff...)
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27 sf
February 26, 2008 at 2:11 PM
I'm pretty impressed....I really like the fusion version. I feel like I'm one of the few that didn't get caught up with the whole Epik High/Tablo thing -- but I was really feeling this song -- it even got me to see the music video which was appropriately creepy and heartreaking.
thanks to finkl for posting the fusion mp3.
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28 emma C
February 26, 2008 at 2:31 PM
I just finished listening to both versions and I like them both. I like the original one because it combines both traditional and modern instruments (strings and synthetizers) - I like the rhythmic-ness of the percussion (the beats) especially. I like the Honey Lee's version too because (again) it combines Korean traditional instrument with the modern ones (like drums, synthestizers and electric guitars). I probably would listen to the original version more because it sounds "cleaner" (it was a studio recording!) then the live performance. They are both pretty good and original anyway!
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29 peachie
February 26, 2008 at 3:24 PM
omg, epik high's performance with honey lee was the absolute best performance of that night!!! i was just stunned throughout the whole performance! it was a such a great fusion, i could watch over and over again! best of luck to honey lee in whatever she chooses to do! love love love epik high!!!!
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30 akon
February 26, 2008 at 6:04 PM
Thank you so much for the mp3 link Finkl-boy! I was looking for one everywhere!
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31 Cee
February 27, 2008 at 4:47 PM
That. was. an. AMAZING. performance.
Bravo.
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32 marcel
February 29, 2008 at 1:49 AM
ditto on the awesomeness of this performance.. love the mix of hip-hop w/traditional.. it sounds universal & distinctly korean at the same time.. epik high is craziness.. honey lee is definitely talented.. i learned how to play gayageum for my korean music course at ucla.. it's hard on the fingers & difficult to master..
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33 dae
March 2, 2008 at 4:36 PM
i think if she really has acting talent why not. it's just becoming rampant in all industries that most beauty queens tend to branch into acting soon as they get the local crown or even win in the international competition. i thinks that's boring. i would rather she pursue cultural art since she had majored in it and be actively promoting korean tradition. so more and more of the younger generation will be inspired to take on the same responsibility and inclination.
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34 mihyun294
March 3, 2008 at 12:06 PM
I honestly wish her the best of luck. If she is capable of performing, then so be it.
Anyways, that was a fantastic collaboration. I personally already loved the original song itself, but hearing the fusion version with the gayageum makes me love this version more. I never knew hip-hop mixed with traditional could sound so wonderful. Thank you, finklboy, for the MP3 version.
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35 Nancy
March 7, 2008 at 5:24 PM
Wow, that was an awesome performance! I haven't been into a live performance for so long because artist(s) usually screw up the song during live shows ,but wow what a great comibination of traditional of korean music and hip hop. Dang, she can really play that instrument (sorry don't know the name). Did anyone notice how fast her fingers were playing? That was awesome!
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36 ami
March 8, 2008 at 6:51 PM
I love love that song. >.> Sad that the z upload link isn't working for me.
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37 Javabeans
March 8, 2008 at 6:53 PM
What's the zshare problem? It works for me.
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38 greenteacrepes
October 31, 2008 at 3:58 PM
song link
epik high - fan
http://www.mediafire.com/?byk22nujyjw
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