Hook’s hoobae Lees (Seung Gi and Seo Jin) show support for senior sunbae Lee Sun Hee, Carnegie Hall wrap-up

Carnegie Hall concert (informative) wrap up.  Unfortunately, this will probably not be anywhere near as exciting as I’m sure Tryp’s concert summary is going to be, considering I was totally on the edge of my seat reading her airport encounter(!)…

Lee Seo Jin, who recently joined Hook Entertainment last year, appeared on stage first to introduce Teacher Lee Sun Hee.  He said it was an honor to introduce Lee Sun Hee sunbaenim and gushed about her for a while.  He also mentioned that it felt good to be back in New York again.

A little backstory on Lee Seo Jin~ He graduated from New York University business school a while back and his English is quite good.  He made headlines in the Korean news earlier this week when it was announced that he was taking on a director position with a finance company.  It was a big deal since it’s somewhat of a departure for an actor, but also because he comes from a wealthy, business legacy family.  Supposedly his parents were not supportive early on when he wanted to become an actor.  However, against their wishes, he pursued acting and later became successful.  Despite not being that active in Korea recently, his pedigree family background still makes him a hot commodity, along with his notable acting.

I’m still sort of fascinated by what made him choose to sign with Hook (currently, known mainly for Seunggi and Teacher Sunhee), instead of going with some other typical big named entertainment agency.

Anyway, people say Lee Seo Jin knew how to party during his B-school days at NYU!  And I really hope he takes Seunggi out to some fun happening places in NYC before they leave!  Would it be SO terrible if Seunggi was seen (with a Hook sunbaenim, in this case, uhm-chin-ah Lee Seojin) kicking back in some corner booth at a club or lounge (ala Hwan style)?!  There are some nice, classy, upscale spots in Korea-town on 32nd Street; this way they could also feel at home.  Ok, this is sounding more and more far-fetched!  I think I really miss Seunggi as Hwan!!!!

Ok, back to the concert. I was surprised that all Lee Seojin did was a short intro of Teacher Sunhee.  No singing.  And nothing else after that.  He got a nice response from the crowd, but it was surprisingly pretty tepid for a guy of his caliber.  Sort of paled in comparison to the screams and cheers when Seunggi came out later on!

Teacher Sunhee came out after Lee SeoJin introduced her and started singing and she has a freaking AMAZING voice!  Omg, I was TOTALLY blown away!  And perfect pitch at that!  Despite not being into her style of music but her amazing passionate and amazing singing moved me to tears.  And I can definitely see that Seunggi’s dancing style seems to run in the Hook family!! LOL.

Teacher Sunhee did a ment/talk after almost every one of her songs during Part 1 of the concert.  Also, LOVE seemed to be a big theme.  She said I’m sure you came with your loved one and even told us to hold hands at some point. Um, awkward!  Ha.  I quickly folded my arms across my chest!  She then teased people in the audience who wouldn’t hold hands!

She also joked about people (her included) obsessively watching Korean dramas.  Indicating there was a drama she was totally addicted to, people started ooh-ahh-ing.  I think we all thought she was setting up for “My Girlfriend is a Gumiho” songs.  However, surprisingly, she was talking about 2003 drama “Damo” with Lee Seo Jin.  Then, she segued into talking about the hit film “The King and the Clown” (similar genre) and sang her OST song.  I didn’t know she sang on that OST.  Wasn’t a huge fan of the movie, but to hear her sing live while the video played was really moving.

Official MV for Teacher Sunhee’s song from The King and the Clown:

(video: mizpanda)

Seunggi’s stage~ We were at the end of Part 1 and for many people there (whether they wanted to admit it or not!), the main event was about to happen!  Teacher Sunhee said she wanted to introduce a special guest.  Some screams and clapping from the audience.  Teacher gushed about how proud she was of this person and said that he is probably the most loved young adult guy in Korea right now.  And Seunggi came out with a huge bouquet of flowers for Teacher Sunhee and gave her a hug!  Aw it was so sweet and heartfelt!  And of course lots of screams and clapping followed!  Ha.

After Teacher exited the stage to change and Seunggi started talking, cameras started flashing from everywhere with fans yelling out to him!  Omg, the poor Carnegie Hall ushers.  They were busy scolding and trying to stop the fans, but it was to no avail!  Seunggi joked that he really felt like a star with all the flashes going off!  (Dude seems to regularly forget that he is a star!)

Seunggi said he was honored to be at Carnegie Hall.  He said that he was feeling pretty good backstage early on before the concert but as he continued to hear Teacher Sunhee sing each song so perfectly, he started to feel more and more nervous while sitting in the waiting room.

He said he heard it was really cold in NYC and so he was worried to which fans yelled out something like it’s okay and warm since he was here!  But Seunggi couldn’t hear above all the yell outs so he went back and forth with the fans a bit.  Very cute.  He also said he’d only been to the United States twice, both times for concerts.  And that being in New York City felt great and that it was like a totally new world feeling.  Aw, I knew Seunggi would be smitten with NYC!  I really hope he gets to stay for a few days!

He then sang his debut song Because You’re My Woman and everyone went crazy with their cameras.  There were flashes from every direction the whole time!

For his second song, he sang I love You from Now On with Hook’s official music video playing.  Loved that!  Definitely set the mood.

Then he talked a bit more.  He mentioned he was on a program called 1 Night 2 Days and asked if we knew the show.  Cheers from the crowd.  He said he was so thankful to receive letters and support and love from fans outside of Korea, from Koreans and International fans.  Per earlier Carnegie Hall post-performance entry, Seunggi assured everyone that he will work hard in Korea always, never wavering on that.  Something along those lines.  Obviously in reference to recent Japan debut rumors.

For his third and last song, he sang I’ll Give you Everything. Before the final song, he joked this was not his concert, so an encore would seem inappropriate.  I think he was trying to pre-warn fans not to yell “encore” so as to not outshine Teacher Sunhee (which of course he did to some degree, totally not by his doing!)

When Teacher came back on stage for Part 2, she teased, asking if we missed Seunggi!  Honestly, really~ you could definitely sense a slight feeling of sadness when Seunggi left the stage.  But fans got to see more of Seunggi via video when Teacher Sunhee sang her OST song Fox Rain.

I was hoping Seunggi and Lee Seojin would come out at the finale of the concert to share the stage with Teacher Sunhee and they would all sing together!  But it didn’t happen and probably for good reason.  Teacher Sunhee deserved the spotlight!  Again, I wasn’t into her type of music, but any music lover would be an idiot if you can’t appreciate amazing, perfect-pitched, passionate singing from a veteran singer like Lee Sun Hee.  And she saved the best (To J) towards the end.

Really loved hearing Seunggi sing live versus via youtube videos(!)~ He was out of tune a few times and there were times I wished he would carry his notes a bit longer than he did.  But honestly, I don’t think I would’ve even noticed, if he were performing along with all the other Kpop stars out there right now.  But having to follow up veteran power singer Lee Sun Hee, it seemed more noticeable to me.  But not any less awesome of course.  Seunggi singing live = Awesome!

And of course, as expected, the fan photos of Seunggi are WAY better than the press ones any day!  Nice preliminary shots from IgoSeung and Tryp…

Yay, Seunggi got to spend some time with Lee Seo Jin! Kind of ironic that both guys are well known for their dimple!  Hahaha.  Leaving Carnegie Hall…

Seunggi singing and talking with Teacher Sunhee…

(Images: KRB Radio New York; As labeled/Tryp96)

See related posts:

• Admiration over adoration for Seunggi at Carnegie Hall
• Top-secret plans (rumors) on Seunggi’s Japan advancement
• NYC hotel and shopping recommendations for Seunggi during his “Diva of the East” Teacher SunHee’s concert
• Hook’s Lee SeoJin & SeungGi to guest at Carnegie Hall
• Seunggi in the City [Feb 3, 2011, New York City]?
  
• NYC snow blessings for Seunggi’s 25th Birthday
  
• Seunggi sings and talks on Chocolate [videos]
  
• Perfectly themed My Girlfriend is a Gumiho OST songs
  
• Seunggi & Teacher SunHee on Hodong’s Knee Cap Guru