LEE CHAEYEON : Her, and Charlie

Would you dare to call Charlie, the reflection of CHAEYEON?

The solo singer LEE CHAEYEON celebrates her comeback during a showcase, presenting her third mini album: «SHOWDOWN».

Carried by the title song «Don’t», it is already the second comeback for LEE CHAEYEON which debuted in October 2022 in the agency WM ENTERTAINMENT. The young woman makes us discover her talents in composition, having written the lyrics of «Don’t» and the song «Dreaming», which completes this mini-album alongside three other tracks; «Summer Heat», «Supernatural» and «Standing on my own».

The showcase begins with the broadcast of a video presenting the artist, before she goes on stage to greet and thank the journalists present at the event. She then lets herself be photographed, and performs directly «Don’t», the associated clip being subsequently broadcast. The performance is dynamic and catchy, the dancers accompanying CHAEYEON putting it forward with accuracy.

The so-called «performance queen» returns to the stage, and takes place with the MC to discuss this comeback in more detail. She starts by expressing her excitement at the idea of finally making her comeback, ten months after her last mini-album. She offers two versions of this album, one with a casual and sporty concept, the other more sophisticated. A medley is presented to make us discover the five songs of this comeback. It is with pride, but also timidity that she approaches the personal touch that she brought to «SHOWDOWN» expressing above all the joy of having the opportunity to try her hand at composition.

Regarding a future challenge on the SNS, she chooses to dance the chorus, highlighting steps she describes as «if you call me, I kill you. No, actually call me” the song revolves around a phone call. Moving to the song «Summer heat», she defines it as having oriental sounds, song that she will perform at the end of the showcase. This is the first song she had heard in this album, and thought given its «quality» she said, that it would be the title song, and was all the more delighted to discover thereafter «Don’t» which filled her hopes.

« My goal today and to make journalists laugh » – CHAEYEON

She also describes the emotion she felt while watching a drama, moved by her characters, and drawing on this emotion to infuse it into the title «Supernatural» which was a vocal challenge for her, having preferred to sing it in a cute, sparkling way. «Standing on my own» represents the calm and soft song of this album alongside «Dreaming», being an acoustic track. Regarding the music video of «Don’t», it was shot in Los Angeles, as well as the video medley and presentation.

LEE CHAEYEON

«Dreaming» is a song dedicated to fans, which she wrote one night thinking about them, stating that she visualized it as a ray of sunshine in a cloudy sky to light and warm the fans. For the composition of «Don’t», although she was not alone in doing so, many of her ideas were incorporated, and she received a lot of help and advice from other composers. For the medley too, she added some of her artistic ideas, like the accessories she wore for example. It is therefore a special album for her, because it is more personal to her than the previous ones.

During the questions with the journalists, we ask her how the LEE CHAEYEON of today and the one at the time of her debuts are different. It is without hesitation that the singer replies that her self-confidence has developed, being shy when given the title of «performance queen», but that now she is proud of it, and even more so when called «all rounder queen». It is an honor to be described in such glowing terms for her, and she will continue to do her best not to disappoint her audience.

We then ask her about the presence of the name «Charlie» in the lyrics of the song «Don’t», the artist declaring that it is an alias, a nickname that represents her which is a faster and familiar way to call her CHAEYEON. Loving her sonority, it is a nickname that she appropriated, and that she used to inspire herself to write the lyrics of the song. It also draws attention to people listening to “Don’t”, who may be able to ask themselve the same question.

« Charlie, that’s another side of me » — CHAEYEON

More precisely, Charlie can represent another personality of the artist, the luminous singer being CHAEYEON, and the dark singer being Charlie. Projecting herself as another person helps her in the composition, and to slip into the skin of the character she must interpret. Her sister, CHAERYEONG of the group ITZY, also helps her on a daily basis, supporting her in all her projects, and also having in turn started to call her Charlie. CHAEYEON repeatedly affirms her recognition for all the people supporting her in her solo career.

LEE CHAEYEON

Her goal today is to join the Top 100 charts, and to appear there for a long time, which will be proof of the success of this comeback. Above all, it is important that not only her, but also her fans take pleasure in this comeback period, but continues to want to present varied performances to not tire her audience, afraid that after a while she would be criticized for always offering the same performances. She therefore thinks carefully about each comeback, song, performance, etc., to renew and surpass herself on a daily basis.

For «Knock», her previous comeback with the album «OVER THE MOON», she made an SNS challenge by dancing the dance break of the song, which made a lot of noise on the internet because of its complexity. She hopes that this new title, «Don’t», will be easier to make for her fans. On these last words, she leaves the stage to prepare for her second performance on «Summer heat», thanking the journalists who have come, because their presence brings her strength for this comeback.