After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.
February 4, 2012 was the second of two nights honoring legend Song Chang Sik. That night, G.O took to the Immortal Song 2 stage and sang the deeply moving 당신은 [You]. Never one to ever hold back, G.O was at his heart-wrenching best. A perfect storm of marrying majestic vocals with the absolute agony of love.
The more I listen to this song, the more I hear the complexity in it and the range necessary for a vocalist to possess in order to sing and interpret it successfully. If G.O chose this particular Chang Sik song to sing, I bow in absolute reverence to him because not only was he able to navigate the song’s demanding vocal structure, he did it without losing an ounce of feeling or emotion in the interpretation. Moreover, G.O once again proved his versatility when making a legend’s song his own. He masterfully recycled Chang Sik’s song by slowing the tempo from a syncopated bolero into an achingly tender ballad. The result was indeed powerful.
So very, very powerful.
꿈이었나요, 꿈이었나요
[Was it a dream, was it a dream]
그날 밤은 꿈이었나요 . . .
[At that moment, was it a dream . . .]
I admit that there a few songs that G.O sings where I almost feel angry at the song. My protective maternal instincts (didn’t know I even had them…lol) surface and I feel as if the song is being unduly cruel by abducting and imprisoning him, coaxing and cajoling him to sing stories full of heartache and pain. The song knows he is so very adept as an artist who will consistently produce the best and most honest interpretation of any given song. I believe that it is simply just his way.
Still, G.O’s art calls upon so much of his strength and energy that often at the end of songs, as seen in this February 2012 Immortal Song 2 performance, there is ultimate surrender as he closes his eyes, lets his head fall forward, and gently takes a sigh after the last note is sung.
As demanding as it may become attempting to temper the emotion, hurt and/or pain rushing through him, I fear the only reprieve G.O has is to simply let the storm of the song pass and dissipate slowly.
Watching this beautiful man sing will always be as moving as listening to him.
~♥~
[Video cr. KBSKpop]
Thus why I think Eric Benet’s song “Hurricane” is particularly appropriate for him… it is like a storm passing through him. And in most cases the best way out is usually through.
That being said, I also feel that sometimes G.O.’s heart… IS the safest place to be. (Eye of the Storm.)