One of the things which always amazes me is the versatility of IU’s voice. Someone who is new to IU and listens to a random sampling of songs from her discography for the first time might be forgiven for thinking that they were sung by different people. For IU has the ability to vary her voice to pull off a variety of styles – it can be cutesy and girlish, light and sweet, deep and soulful, or sultry and playful, depending on the mood and genre of the song. To make my point, I’ve chosen four very different songs to highlight each of these qualities of her voice.
IU’s cutesy and girlish voice can be heard in songs from the early days of her career, when her company was trying to promote a cute image after the failure of her debut album Lost Child was blamed on its overly dark and mature concept. I’m not a fan of IU’s songs from these era – Boo and Marshmallow are a travesty in my opinion, and even IU herself seems quite embarrassed whenever she performs them these days – but you can’t deny that she managed to pull off admirably the aegyo she was expected to deliver, through her voice. To highlight this I’ve chosen to feature Nagging, IU’s 2010 duet with 2 AM’s Seulong that I find reasonably catchy and not overly cringe-worthy, even if it isn’t exactly my kind of song. It’s a light-hearted pop ballad where the lyrics are like the banter between a couple, and IU’s voice exudes a cute, girlish charm that is well-suited to the song and harmonizes well with Seulong’s voice.
This is probably what IU is best known for – her light, sweet and mellow vocals, exemplified through popular sentimental ballads like Through the Night and The Shower, where her voice lends a delicate touch that complements the lyrical nature of these acoustic songs. I love so many of IU’s ballads that I had a hard time choosing one song feature, but I finally decided on IU’s Autumn Morning from her last album, Flower Bookmark 2. Here, IU’s voice demonstrates a pure, sweet clarity that does indeed seem like a breath of fresh morning air. I love how there is an element of gentle cheeriness to her voice as well - listen carefully, and at 1:12 when IU sings “ah-chi-meh”, you can almost hear the smile in her voice. Even though I do not understand Korean, listening to her sing this does evoke the image of a beautiful morning with clean, fresh air, bright sunlight and chirping birds!
While IU applies a light touch for many of her songs, she has the capability to exercise strength and depth with her voice where needed. One of the best-known examples of the power of her voice would probably be her three-octave note in her hit song Good Day, where she belts out three consecutive high notes in the chorus. I prefer, however, songs where IU demonstrates the strength of her voice in more subtle ways by going deeper - such as in the chorus of When a Love Passes By, or in this song I’ve chosen to feature: a cover of the oldie Forgotten Seasons, which IU sang in her drama You’re the Best Lee Soon Shin. Here, IU’s voice is much lower and deeper than usual, producing a lovely, rich resonance that sounds suitably soulful for this poignant song.
This is my favourite – the sultry and playful side of IU’s voice. I love this aspect of her voice because it showcases the unique huskiness of her vocals which goes particularly well with jazzy songs, such as those in her Modern Times album that I really enjoy (check out Modern Times, Love of B, Red Shoes, Between the Lips, all of which are great songs). One of my greatest loves amongst songs of this category, however, would be Zeze from IU’s 2015 album Chatshire. I know it was a controversial song (and probably one with painful memories for IU fans due to the unfair accusations levelled at IU for its lyrics), but that doesn’t detract from the fact that it is an excellent piece of music. I particularly love IU’s live performance in the acoustic version of the song in the video below. Notice how her voice has a special, lilting charm which conveys a sense of mischief and playfulness, with subtle details like the soft, suppressed chuckle at the beginning of the song (0:26 of the video).
The four songs I’ve chosen are just a tiny sample from IU’s vast discography - there are many other songs where IU’s vocal quality demonstrates all of these abovementioned qualities or even defies categorisation. They do, however, provide a quick snapshot of how versatile IU’s voice can be, and prove how IU is not afraid to experiment with a variety of musical styles. I know there are critics who say that IU’s singing skills are overrated, and that IU doesn’t have the best vocal techniques. But for a layperson like myself who isn’t vocally trained, listening to IU sing is a great joy, for she has the ability to tell a different story and convey a variety of emotions with her beautiful voice. And that to me, is what matters most at the end of the day – to listen to music that has the ability to touch the heart.
