Isaac Hong’s “Lovers” Is The Sweeping Ballad We Needed
Competition is hard when it comes to emotional ballads on the Korean music scene, but with “Lovers” Isaac Hong (홍이삭) proved once more he can hold his own. Released on January 24, this sweeping tune anticipates the publication of his next EP, which is expected to drop in February.
It was almost a year ago when the singer released his previous single, “Because There Is Love “ (사랑은 하니까, Prod. 최유리), and shortly after also an OST for the drama Queen of Tears titled “Falling,” which boosts over 20 million streams on Spotify and 11 million views on YouTube. More recently, he was featured in the soundtrack of the Gyeongseong Creature S2 drama, with the song “GRADATION IN LIGHT.”
Isaac Hong joked on his Instagram profile that it took a long time to write “Lovers”, but also shared how satisfied he is with the result: “In the end, I think everything I’ve wanted is here, all of it, right around me. That’s why I wrote this song."
“Lovers” is a romantic and hopeful ballad that grows slowly and steadily until it showcases the full power of Hong’s voice, soaring on the minimalistic composition and delicate string arrangement. Starting and ending with a private conversation, the whole song aims to express the sincere feelings of the performer, opting for simplicity over any kind of flashy or rich instrumental composition.
Isaac Hong took care of the whole creative process, from the writing to the composition, to the arrangement of the single.
In a mix of English and Korean, the song takes us through the musings of a man who found his love and wishes for nothing else, because he now has everything he ever wanted. In an article published by imbc the singer shed light on the inspiration behind the song: “(Until now), I’ve written a lot about breakups or self-realization. This time, I wanted to write a love song instead of something so sad, and as I worked on it, the word ‘Lovers’ naturally found its way into the lyrics.”
Did You Know? Isaac Hong
Born in 1988, Hong is signed with Archive Achim, and beyond being a singer and musician, he boasts an impressive array of talents: in 2020 he starred in the movie Da Capo (다시 만난 날들), for which he also composed the whole soundtrack, studied journalism for a while and occasionally still works as a journalist interviewing Hollywood actors for their press junkets in Korea, and became a familiar figure to anyone following the shows on Arirang Radio on YouTube (note: Arirang Radio is an English-language South Korean television network that broadcasts content aimed at an overseas audience).
Growing up, he lived abroad with his family and eventually pursued his dream of becoming a musician by studying at the Berklee College of Music. Isaac Hong can play keyboard, acoustic guitar, saxophone, clarinet, bass, and drums, and during his performances, he often showed his prowess as a multi-instrumentalist. However, he is more familiar with making music on guitar and piano.
In 2013, he also won the bronze medal at the Yoo Jaeha Music Competition, 유재하 음악경연대회 with his self-written song "Bom-ah”, 봄아), and yet, despite such an array of talents, Isaac Hong’s career began to take off only recently, largely due to winning the talent show “Sing Again 3”. When he appeared as a guest on the SBS Radio Cultwo Show (두시탈출 컬투쇼), he confessed that he still hasn’t touched any of the 300 million KRW (around 207.000 USD) of the money prize, saying “I think I’ll keep it untouched until I feel certain about what to do with it.”
Have you listened to “Lovers” yet?
Edited by Rae Lovette