[#2] Lee Haeri - "Can You Hear Me?"

From: "Tears of Heaven Soundtrack" (OST)
Released: March 2011, South Korea
Rating: 4.95

In this world, there are emotionless ballads, there are ballads that give you goosebumps, there are also ballads that make you cry, and then there is "Can You Hear Me?".

"Can You Hear Me?" is beyond crying, it's beyond goosebumps, it's a million light years above emotionless -- it literally makes you want to crawl under a rock, curl up into a ball and curse everything for making something beyond stunning. It's as if you want to cry because it's so gorgeous, but your body says otherwise, because it's above gorgeous.

The song was for "Tears Of Heaven", and basically the reason why I even know of this song is because I wanted to hear a Junsu-Haeri duet recording but ended up with a Haeri song. Not that I'm complaining.

It's a very simple song, if you listen carefully. There's nothing out of the ordinary, nothing outside the standard piano, drums, bass, electric guitar here and there, and some strings later. However the song's beauty lies in the way everything was put together and executed. How Haeri's vocals were literally made to float above the very simple and light instrumental, and how the arrangement was made in such a way that the song builds up in an excruciatingly slow place, then dies down right away, leaving you stunned and wanting more.

And Haeri's voice is of no help to the situation, as usual (for those who didn't get it and might lash out on me because of that, I mean that it's just as stunning as the rest of the song). It's gorgeous, smooth and very feminine, but at the same time it's also mature, and her technique is really something else. The maturity, the stability, the control she has over herself to keep from just screaming her way through the entire song, now THAT is singing.

Like I said, the song itself is actually really simple. And if you notice, she doesn't really have any extremely high notes either, just a few at the tail end which she executes flawlessly, but apart from that the melody is very basic. What Haeri has is one, obviously a stunning AND learned voice, and two, emotion. I know I probably sound like a broken record already, but really, music is half heard and half *felt*. And this song, Haeri's vocals in particular, is the epitome of that.

4 comments:

  1. I don't usually comment but I couldn't help myself this time.
    Can I say that I absolutely love you for mentioning this song and even putting it on #2?
    I adore this song so much and I've listened to it far too many times that I am surprised I haven't grown tired of it, it's one of the most beautiful songs I've heard to this day.
    I am happy that you mentioned it because this song didn't get the recognition it deserved, which appalled me. I guess K-Pop today is for numerous talent less rookies, who don't know how to sing, while the musically gifted get thrown in the back.
    Anyway, I'm going to stop rambling and fangirling over this song~ :)
    Can't wait to see what's on #1!!

    ~Nikki K

    ReplyDelete
  2. your number 1 is shinee

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am so glad that you chose Haeri to be so high up. Her vocals are amazing and can hold their own next to anyone. Have you seen her performances on Immortal Song 2? They are on par with this song, especially "you are just in a higher place than me" and "Forgotten Flower". Thank you for writing these awesome blog posts!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh WOW. Thanks so much for listing this song...I never would have discovered it otherwise. It's so heartbreakingly beautiful. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!

    ReplyDelete

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