If you choose to go there, this will be the greatest rabbit hole you ever find. You didn’t even see a smidgeon of her capabilities. She is simply the best singer out there. As far as your connection with her, we all experience it. I have been watching her for 6 years now, and I couldn’t count the number of people who have cried watching her. She is truly a gift from God.
Her voice is a musical instrument. She is the best female singer in this world. She is another level. [Sohyang List] - You raise me up (Immortal songs 2) - Bridge over troubled water (Immortal songs 2) - I have nothing (I am a singer legend) - Lean on me (Immortal songs 2) - I'll always love you (begin again Korea) - Oh holy night (I am a singer 2) - Everyone (Immortal songs 2) - Arirang alone (Immortal songs 2) - Power of love (2014 live) - Never enough (begin again Korea) - Misty (begin again Korea) - I'll be there (begin again Korea) - I won't give up (Open Concert) - Amazing Grace (Global Church Blessing 2020) - Mona lisa (King Of Masked Singer) - Fate (I am a singer 2) - Wild flower (Immortal songs 2) - Where are you (I am a singer 2) - Dear love (King Of Masked Singer) - Never Ending story (I am a singer 2) - If I ain't got you (begin again Korea) - The prayer (Jeong Ui Geun & So hyang) - As I live (I am a singer 2) - Breathe (King Of Masked Singer) - Upon this rock (Brooklyn Tabernacle church or 2022 concert) - I can only imagin - Hug me (DMC festival) - Home (King Of Masked Singer) - Dream (I am a singer legend) - US National Anthem for NBA game - For a thousand days (I am a singer 2) - Flashlight (begin again Korea) - You are the reason (begin again Korea) - Stuck with U (begin again Korea)
Sohyang's singing serves as the medium for us to reach our own soul. She is the best singer I've ever encountered even after witnessing countless amazing artists available on youtube nowadays. Old classics take on new life when Sohyang touches them. The arrangement of this song is such a masterful stroke.
We all wonder if Sohyang is human or from another planet. Current odds are that she’s from another planet, with an outside chance she’s actually an angel come down from Heaven. 😇 We have never heard anyone sing like her, or be able to hold an audience in the palm of her hand until she lets them go. Her voice is, as one person described it, like liquid gold. Perfection in clarity and pitch, and she doesn’t fade in the upper octaves, which is startling when you hear her hit those 5th and 6th octave notes with such _POWER_ it actually gives everyone goose bumps-and makes us bald guys’ hair stand on end! As she says, her voice “is from God.” She does all the musical arrangements herself, with the input of her in-law family and musical assistants, teaches vocal technique at a South Korean university and speaks five languages: Korean, English, French, Vietnamese and Chinese, as well as reading Greek! Let me catch my breath. OK. She is a cancer survivor from uterine cancer at the age of 20, just after getting married, and states very plainly that God saved her life due to the prayers of her church. But this left her without the ability to have children so she decided to dedicate her life to being a Contemporary Christian Gospel singer and has refused recording contracts from the biggest corporations in the world. She only wants to sing for charities, churches and while doing missionary work, to strengthen those suffering through difficult times. David Foster, Josh Groban, Michael Bolton and others have all eagerly worked with her when they were in Asia. She contracted hepatitis B from a blood transfusion during her cancer surgery and it clings to her to this day. Because of this she is prone to catching pneumonia but has sang perfectly while suffering from it in her live performance of “You Raise Me Up” before Shane Filan of Westlife on South Korean TV: th-cam.com/video/te_L9ofhUt8/w-d-xo.html She has asked those who love her singing to pray that God keep pneumonia away from her, she has suffered from it on so many occasions. Imagine how she must feel with this coronavirus floating around everywhere! She just turned 45 on April 5, 2023, though in Korean culture she would be 46 because you are deemed to be one year old when you are born. She was about 37 when she sang this version of “Arirang Alone”, their unofficial national anthem based on a 600 year old folk song expressing their desire to reunify north and south: vimeo.com/308253527 While being sick with pneumonia eight times from 2016 through to 2020, and considering giving up singing altogether, she decided to enter a televised singing contest called “King of the Masked Singers” in 2017 and won six consecutive times, which has catapulted her into international attention from the performances being posted on TH-cam. Whitney Houston’s former manager saw her on TH-cam and showed her to Oprah Winfrey, who brought her to David Foster’s attention. Foster then contacted Sohyang and went to Japan in order to have her perform eight concerts with him at Tokyo’s famous Blue Note Club in late-2018. For those who don't know, David Foster was Whitney Houston's producer for some of her songs, wrote "I Have Nothing," her most iconic song, and is the most famous and influential music producer in the world. He places Sohyang right beside Whitney and the rest of the top tier divas. Here is the interview where Sohyang related the events: th-cam.com/video/EqeE_1nP-Kk/w-d-xo.html (Be sure to turn on English subtitles.) Here is the version of “I Have Nothing” Oprah, David Foster, Whitney's former manager and the rest watched on TH-cam: th-cam.com/video/T4UyIMkdy4M/w-d-xo.html She preceded it with this blockbuster: vimeo.com/312061203 She could be an international Super Star if she wanted to be but has decided that it would ruin her spiritually, quoting Proverbs 16:25 “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” In a South Korean television interview Sohyang conceded that she struggled with her desire for fame for a number of years, going into the basement in her home numerous times and closing the door so she could complain vehemently to God that He was holding her back from becoming famous due to her health problems and other unforeseeable events. Then she later saw a Korean TV drama where the talented daughter of a very successful businessman was positive she would take over when her father retired. But he left the management of the company to a woman she hated, so she had a fit and lay kicking and screaming on the floor. Sohyang says she saw herself in that young woman and then understood that God was keeping her from developing self-destructive character by withholding international celebrity status from her. th-cam.com/video/rl-jX9kBsEs/w-d-xo.html (Again, turn on English subtitles.) So as a consequence she does not pursue fame or fortune and actually has no social media presence whatsoever. What can one say about such a person? She is a literal Wonder Woman! And we need about a billion more just like her! And whether Sohyang likes it or not, fame has found her, run her over and then backed up and run over her again! On Oct. 5, 2020, it was revealed that Sohyang turned down _yet another_ contract offer, this time from Sony Music US. www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200921000995 “Debuting in [the] US was my utmost goal for the past 20 years. But when I got a call from the US agency, I politely rejected, as I realized that what I wanted most was not becoming famous,” she said. “I think singers are very susceptible to arrogance, especially when they hear the screaming from crowds on stage. It can make you feel like as if you’ve become God.” “And I’m perfectly okay with sharing my music via TH-cam, which can reach tens of millions of people all over the world without making me feel stuck up. Maybe that’s why I was born in this era.” Sohyang is just the most amazing singer, Christian and human being. She is beautiful both inside and out, and so humble and genuine, with a stage charisma, facial expressions and smile that is off the charts. In Korean dictionaries 소향--Sohyang--has several meanings. • First is a type of Korean traditional music. • Second is to burn incense on a burner. • Third is to go toward. But these meanings are rarely used today. Sohyang is also the name of a heroine in a Korean traditional novel. Yet for the definitive answer Sohyang has stated in an interview that her name means "enjoy the light." Her grandmother named her. Please analyze her performance of “Bridge Over Troubled Water”: th-cam.com/video/C6iHh4yBxCo/w-d-xo.html Also, please react to her version of “The Power of Love”: th-cam.com/video/LrNkVRrK7_I/w-d-xo.html Plus this beautiful duet with her friend Lee Hi where they do Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’ “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You”: vimeo.com/439148918 And this version of her singing “Oh Holy Night”: vimeo.com/322716334 Here she performs “Lean On Me” before Michael Bolton, who called her a vocal “virtuoso” after her performance: th-cam.com/video/GvsgCllcNPE/w-d-xo.html Wait until you see her duet of David Foster's “The Prayer” with Jeong Ui Geu: th-cam.com/video/rte-q3kunp8/w-d-xo.html Her performance of "Fate" in Korean requires no translation: vimeo.com/198161448 And finally “Will You Be There”: th-cam.com/video/nBdSpexUxik/w-d-xo.html Here’s an English language interview with her that I’m sure you will enjoy: th-cam.com/video/N2u_pmoWxj8/w-d-xo.html Her English is perfect when she sings and almost perfect when she is doing interviews. OK, I’ll stop gushing now. Well, one more gush. In an interview with a Turkish music producer Sohyang's assistants revealed (a bit to her chagrin, as she is a self-effacing person) that she can hit Eb7 and D7 in practise. However, she never goes above the 6th octave in performances. Since she starts at D3 that is more than a 4 octave range ... so how about them apples???! Here it is: th-cam.com/video/VnPAkryrygQ/w-d-xo.html I know, bananas isn’t it? Oh, I just remembered, she is also a published fantasy novelist and has a theological treatise on the Book of Revelation in print. In addition, she is a very good stage actress, which she proved by playing Julie Andrews’ part in the South Korean stage production of “The Sound of Music.” Moreover, she sang the “Moana” part in the Korean version of the Disney film, does the musical vocals for many South Korean television dramas, and is a talented artist and cartoonist. She taught herself English by watching Disney's "The Little Mermaid" "about one hundred times" when she was just a kid, speaks English with a _perfect_ North American accent and has an outgoing and bubbly personality. She can also play the piano and guitar. Is there anything this genius level woman can’t do? Ironically, Sohyang stated in another interview that both she and her in-law family were surprised to discover that she could sing so excellently! Though she is maybe 5' 4" and only about 100 pounds, Sohyang simply transcends the thresholds of music and takes you there with her. She becomes the song when she sings it, and then re-emerges when she is done. An experience like no other. I don’t know what else to say. I’ve spent _entire days_ listening to her, and shed more than a few tears of joy along the way. I really must also compliment the choir, orchestra and audio/video production people Sohyang works with. They are all top notch from what I can see and hear, and that is important to note as these are _essential_ elements of any great musical production. The Korean people are easily as talented as anyone else. As you can see, I am a shameless fan. 😉
I am in tears. This story is unbelievable. You’re such a good writer. Thank you for filling me in- and I want you to know this is the kind of artistry that matters the most to me. So grateful for what you just shared with me.
@@reneurbanovich Oh, you are very welcome Rene! Sohyang's story is very inspirational to me, so I just had to sit down and research her life to make sure I got it right. I wrote this in the hope it would enlighten people about her. Glad it helped you and thank you for the compliment! 😉
@@reneurbanovich Rene, here is a little more about Sohyang you might enjoy. I wrote it for another reviewer who had reacted to Sohyang singing "Monalisa" from 2017. ************************* Sohyang has started to now have a small social media presence. She has an official TH-cam page where she posts Bible studies and new songs, three songs since about 2021. www.youtube.com/@sohyang.official And she has an Instagram page now, as well. instagram.com/sohyang_kleis/ But no bantering back and forth with her fans that I know of. We can all understand why, what with all the uncivilized morons and paparazzi types on the internet. I was listening to an English language radio interview with Sohyang last night from back in 2009. th-cam.com/video/5QjOzVLgqUw/w-d-xo.html I had heard it before but it refreshed a few things in my mind. She says she loves rock, which is what "Monalisa" is. th-cam.com/video/vqTfn74OCWk/w-d-xo.html&pp=ygURc29oeWFuZyBtb25hIGxpc2E%3D She also said that she likes John Mayer, who is a blues guitarist and singer. I don't know why that surprised me. After all, Gospel and the Blues are two sides of the same coin. I truly wish Sohyang would do a straight album of the great blues songs, nothing lewd or anything like that, but there are a huge number of blues and blues-rock songs and she could sing them like no one else! She apparently, while on vacation in California back in the 2000s, got up on stage with BB King's band while they were in a practise session and sang a blues version of Amazing Grace! The music director of his band was astonished and asked her if she would be interested in doing a demo album so they could shop it around the music labels. But she was dedicated to Gospel and turned down the offer. After Sohyang sang "Lean On Me" before Michael Bolton in 2014 he was so astounded he told her she is a "vocal virtuoso." He then invited her to join him for the rest of his South Korean tour. She took him up on the offer but could only do a few of the shows because of prior commitments. Michael Bolton then wanted to put together an entirely new world tour with Sohyang, but they could never make their schedules sync together. Sohyang spoke of it in a magazine interview. I think it was terribly depressing to her because she really wanted to go Big Time in the music industry at that point in her career. Now she looks back on it and believes that God kept it from working out because He did not want her getting involved in the American music industry. Anyone who knows a bit about "the industry" will know immediately why. "Sex and drugs and rock and roll" isn't merely a cliché! By 2016 she was down with pneumonia a great deal, until 2020 in fact, and she was so despondent that she was seriously considering giving up on singing! So she plundered a portion of her bank account and took a trip to New York. While on a side trip to Philadelphia she saw a quote from President Franklin Roosevelt where he said during the Great Depression of the 1930s that "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." Sohyang found comfort and inspiration in that and in 2017 she decided to enter the "King of the Masked Singers" contest, from which "Monalisa" is taken. She won six consecutive rounds! Just think about that for a minute! She had performed a ton of songs for the high production value television shows, songs like "Lean On Me," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "The Prayer," "Everyone," "Arirang Alone" and "I Have Nothing," all of them _prior_ to 2016 (and which any of the all time great vocalists would have killed to be able to perform), and she was thinking about quitting singing! I still shake my head when I consider it! But that is what chronic sickness and pain can do to even the greatest female vocalist of our times. By 2017 or 2018 Whitney Houston's former manager found Sohyang's 2015 performance of "I Have Nothing" on TH-cam and showed it to Oprah Winfrey, who showed it to David Foster, who actually wrote the song. Foster was simply gob smacked, as the British say, and quickly arranged for a concert with her in Vancouver, BC, but Sohyang said in an interview that she had to cancel out of it. She didn't give the reason why, but it was likely her health problems related to getting incurable hepatitis B from that bad blood transfusion during her cancer surgery in 1998, and the numerous bouts of pneumonia that have ensued. So Foster had her join him in Tokyo in late November and early December of 2018 for eight concerts at the Blue Note Club. Apparently Foster offered to take her under his wing, so to speak, but Sohyang had been seriously meditating on what God's purpose for her singing life was, and once again declined an offer of Super Stardom. Sohyang has stated in a TV interview from 2019 that she believes God has stood in her way repeatedly such that she cannot have a life in the big time music industry--and she is very thankful He did! She now believes God's purpose for her is to simply be a Gospel singer and use her talents to lift the spirits of the needy, which is why she started out in the music business back in 1998 when she was about 20 with her husband's Gospel band POS. If a door opens and she is convinced that God approves, I think Sohyang will step out on the world stage and show everyone what they have been missing! But that is 100% conjecture on my part. 🤔💖👽🛸
It’s very disappointing not to see your reaction as you are watching. I also miss So Hyang’s actual performance. If you’re having problems with copyright strikes there’s many methods of getting around that…hope you return to reacting and not recapping. Blessings!
This Master Class performance from the Phenomenal So Hyang is even more impressive , given the fact she IS NOT well here. Some time prior to this event, she had been released from the hospital, still recovering from one of her numerous bouts with pneumonia (eight times between 2016 - 2020). Her physicians advised her to cancel, to not talk, and to just rest. So Hyang did not want to disappoint the audience. Furthermore, she already believed her singing career was over and decided to sing one last time. After this event, So Hyang was readmitted to the hospital. She disappeared from public singing for nearly two years. When she returned , she proved her technique is ROCK SOLID. Fast forward to 2023, So Hyang's vocal range is still RIDICULOUS and her breath control remains INSANE. BTW.......So Hyang is singing to God.
Welcome to Sohyang's world, pronounced "So" "Hyoung" No "W" sound, the H and Y blend together. This one can be tough to keep up, we know. You can use a filter over the video or even a picture covering it is fine, but please don't cut the sound. Sohyang did have pneumonia, she is a cancer survivor and a gospel singer and the best female vocalist in Korea. Feeling overwhelmed kind of goes hand in hand with many of her performances.
Is the full video on Patreon? I heard your analysis, but this video doesn't include a reaction. Was it blocked? I know it's hard to pause when she's singing, but that's the best way to get it on TH-cam.
My dear Rene, of course you're going to be overwhelmed. I and others have introduced you to maybe the five best singers on the planet in the last month or so. Believe me that all of us have felt this way whenever we have encountered these special people. It makes me extremely happy to see you and others react as I have over the last six years. I think there is one more Filipina you may want tune into, and that is Katrina Velarde. Her cover of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" rivals your heroes; Judy and Liza. I kid you not.
Sohyang is responsible for her own arrangements. I’m not sure why we didn’t get to see you watching Sohyang perform, I assume copyright, in which case use a filter or put txt across it, I’m sure you’ve seen other reactors do this. As a long time Sohyang fan, the best part of these reactions, as well as the technical stuff, is watching someone going what looks like the very same emotions as you did when you were first discovering her, so please please please let us see you watching the whole performance. She was ill indeed during this performance but she didn’t actively have pneumonia , she was recovering from her latest bout of pneumonia but had been advised not to perform. Like I said, I am a Sohyang fan of many years & I feel that although still a brilliant performance, this wasn’t her best performance as I feel that a couple of notes weren’t hit as smoothly as usual & it just lacked a little bit of that Sohyang magic, which for me is understandable given the state of her health & she looks very pale & extremely tired but I realise this is a personal opinion from someone who has been lucky enough to see everything possible from Sohyang on multiple occasions. Like I said, it is a fantastic performance by anybody else’s standards but I’m judging this on sohyang’s ‘out of this world’ standards & for me it doesn’t get in my top 10 & that is probably more like top 20 now that I have heard even more breathtaking vocals from her. The fact is that it doesn’t matter which performance you choose, it will always be fantastic because that’s all she does 😊. This amazing woman can literally sing any genre & hopefully, if you stay on your sohyang journey you will discover this for yourself. Rock,pop,blues/jazz, the power ballads obviously & eventually, at some point in your journey, you will see her rapping, but her heart is very much with gospel music & elements of gospel can often be found in her arrangements of songs that in their original form aren’t usually associated with the genre. I am excited for you as you discover for yourself the eighth wonder of the world but having seen your brief reaction to this performance I’m not sure just how you are going to be able to contain yourself when you see the performances that I know are waiting for you 😂😂😂 Welcome to the wonderful world if Sohyang from a new subscriber & enjoy her because she is very much on a lane of her own, a very special lane, a lane directly to & from the heavens.
If you care to know, the "Hyang" is pronounced as if you were taking the German "ja" and then adding an "h" at the front and "ng" at the end. So, like "Hjang" or "Hyaang."
Contrary to what some other commenters may be saying, it is distinctly NOT pronounced as a "young" with an "h" at the front. It is a "yaang" with an "h" at the front (where "yaa" sounds the same as the German "ja"). "Hyang" (pronounced, again, "Hyaang") is one syllable. So, NOT Huh-yaang, as many people err, but simply the one syllable of "Hyaang."
Hi Rene. I think there was something wrong with this video. When you started the reaction, it went directly to the end. We didn't see you react to any of the video except the end. I hope you redo it.
Sorry you had to cut out 90% of your reaction. I think the reaction would have been great. Next time, please get her name right!! It’s like calling you Ronnie. After all she is rated as one of the best singer of all time and at the very least deserves the respect of being called by her rightful name. Thank you!
You might have heared this a thousand times but you will only remember this one, she really is a little bit SPECIAL, the guy they kept focusing on is a member of IRISH BOYBAND called WESTLIFE who actually covered this yrs ago 🇬🇧🔥👌❤️.
If you choose to go there, this will be the greatest rabbit hole you ever find. You didn’t even see a smidgeon of her capabilities. She is simply the best singer out there. As far as your connection with her, we all experience it. I have been watching her for 6 years now, and I couldn’t count the number of people who have cried watching her. She is truly a gift from God.
Her voice is a musical instrument. She is the best female singer in this world. She is another level.
[Sohyang List]
- You raise me up (Immortal songs 2)
- Bridge over troubled water (Immortal songs 2)
- I have nothing (I am a singer legend)
- Lean on me (Immortal songs 2)
- I'll always love you (begin again Korea)
- Oh holy night (I am a singer 2)
- Everyone (Immortal songs 2)
- Arirang alone (Immortal songs 2)
- Power of love (2014 live)
- Never enough (begin again Korea)
- Misty (begin again Korea)
- I'll be there (begin again Korea)
- I won't give up (Open Concert)
- Amazing Grace (Global Church Blessing 2020)
- Mona lisa (King Of Masked Singer)
- Fate (I am a singer 2)
- Wild flower (Immortal songs 2)
- Where are you (I am a singer 2)
- Dear love (King Of Masked Singer)
- Never Ending story (I am a singer 2)
- If I ain't got you (begin again Korea)
- The prayer (Jeong Ui Geun & So hyang)
- As I live (I am a singer 2)
- Breathe (King Of Masked Singer)
- Upon this rock (Brooklyn Tabernacle church or 2022 concert)
- I can only imagin
- Hug me (DMC festival)
- Home (King Of Masked Singer)
- Dream (I am a singer legend)
- US National Anthem for NBA game
- For a thousand days (I am a singer 2)
- Flashlight (begin again Korea)
- You are the reason (begin again Korea)
- Stuck with U (begin again Korea)
Sohyang's singing serves as the medium for us to reach our own soul. She is the best singer I've ever encountered even after witnessing countless amazing artists available on youtube nowadays. Old classics take on new life when Sohyang touches them. The arrangement of this song is such a masterful stroke.
A warm welcome to the amazing world of Sohyang.
We all wonder if Sohyang is human or from another planet. Current odds are that she’s from another planet, with an outside chance she’s actually an angel come down from Heaven. 😇 We have never heard anyone sing like her, or be able to hold an audience in the palm of her hand until she lets them go. Her voice is, as one person described it, like liquid gold. Perfection in clarity and pitch, and she doesn’t fade in the upper octaves, which is startling when you hear her hit those 5th and 6th octave notes with such _POWER_ it actually gives everyone goose bumps-and makes us bald guys’ hair stand on end! As she says, her voice “is from God.” She does all the musical arrangements herself, with the input of her in-law family and musical assistants, teaches vocal technique at a South Korean university and speaks five languages: Korean, English, French, Vietnamese and Chinese, as well as reading Greek!
Let me catch my breath. OK.
She is a cancer survivor from uterine cancer at the age of 20, just after getting married, and states very plainly that God saved her life due to the prayers of her church. But this left her without the ability to have children so she decided to dedicate her life to being a Contemporary Christian Gospel singer and has refused recording contracts from the biggest corporations in the world. She only wants to sing for charities, churches and while doing missionary work, to strengthen those suffering through difficult times. David Foster, Josh Groban, Michael Bolton and others have all eagerly worked with her when they were in Asia.
She contracted hepatitis B from a blood transfusion during her cancer surgery and it clings to her to this day. Because of this she is prone to catching pneumonia but has sang perfectly while suffering from it in her live performance of “You Raise Me Up” before Shane Filan of Westlife on South Korean TV: th-cam.com/video/te_L9ofhUt8/w-d-xo.html She has asked those who love her singing to pray that God keep pneumonia away from her, she has suffered from it on so many occasions. Imagine how she must feel with this coronavirus floating around everywhere!
She just turned 45 on April 5, 2023, though in Korean culture she would be 46 because you are deemed to be one year old when you are born. She was about 37 when she sang this version of “Arirang Alone”, their unofficial national anthem based on a 600 year old folk song expressing their desire to reunify north and south: vimeo.com/308253527
While being sick with pneumonia eight times from 2016 through to 2020, and considering giving up singing altogether, she decided to enter a televised singing contest called “King of the Masked Singers” in 2017 and won six consecutive times, which has catapulted her into international attention from the performances being posted on TH-cam.
Whitney Houston’s former manager saw her on TH-cam and showed her to Oprah Winfrey, who brought her to David Foster’s attention. Foster then contacted Sohyang and went to Japan in order to have her perform eight concerts with him at Tokyo’s famous Blue Note Club in late-2018. For those who don't know, David Foster was Whitney Houston's producer for some of her songs, wrote "I Have Nothing," her most iconic song, and is the most famous and influential music producer in the world. He places Sohyang right beside Whitney and the rest of the top tier divas.
Here is the interview where Sohyang related the events: th-cam.com/video/EqeE_1nP-Kk/w-d-xo.html (Be sure to turn on English subtitles.)
Here is the version of “I Have Nothing” Oprah, David Foster, Whitney's former manager and the rest watched on TH-cam: th-cam.com/video/T4UyIMkdy4M/w-d-xo.html
She preceded it with this blockbuster: vimeo.com/312061203
She could be an international Super Star if she wanted to be but has decided that it would ruin her spiritually, quoting Proverbs 16:25 “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”
In a South Korean television interview Sohyang conceded that she struggled with her desire for fame for a number of years, going into the basement in her home numerous times and closing the door so she could complain vehemently to God that He was holding her back from becoming famous due to her health problems and other unforeseeable events. Then she later saw a Korean TV drama where the talented daughter of a very successful businessman was positive she would take over when her father retired. But he left the management of the company to a woman she hated, so she had a fit and lay kicking and screaming on the floor. Sohyang says she saw herself in that young woman and then understood that God was keeping her from developing self-destructive character by withholding international celebrity status from her. th-cam.com/video/rl-jX9kBsEs/w-d-xo.html (Again, turn on English subtitles.)
So as a consequence she does not pursue fame or fortune and actually has no social media presence whatsoever.
What can one say about such a person? She is a literal Wonder Woman! And we need about a billion more just like her! And whether Sohyang likes it or not, fame has found her, run her over and then backed up and run over her again!
On Oct. 5, 2020, it was revealed that Sohyang turned down _yet another_ contract offer, this time from Sony Music US. www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200921000995
“Debuting in [the] US was my utmost goal for the past 20 years. But when I got a call from the US agency, I politely rejected, as I realized that what I wanted most was not becoming famous,” she said.
“I think singers are very susceptible to arrogance, especially when they hear the screaming from crowds on stage. It can make you feel like as if you’ve become God.”
“And I’m perfectly okay with sharing my music via TH-cam, which can reach tens of millions of people all over the world without making me feel stuck up. Maybe that’s why I was born in this era.”
Sohyang is just the most amazing singer, Christian and human being. She is beautiful both inside and out, and so humble and genuine, with a stage charisma, facial expressions and smile that is off the charts.
In Korean dictionaries 소향--Sohyang--has several meanings.
• First is a type of Korean traditional music.
• Second is to burn incense on a burner.
• Third is to go toward.
But these meanings are rarely used today. Sohyang is also the name of a heroine in a Korean traditional novel. Yet for the definitive answer Sohyang has stated in an interview that her name means "enjoy the light." Her grandmother named her.
Please analyze her performance of “Bridge Over Troubled Water”: th-cam.com/video/C6iHh4yBxCo/w-d-xo.html
Also, please react to her version of “The Power of Love”: th-cam.com/video/LrNkVRrK7_I/w-d-xo.html
Plus this beautiful duet with her friend Lee Hi where they do Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’ “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You”: vimeo.com/439148918
And this version of her singing “Oh Holy Night”: vimeo.com/322716334
Here she performs “Lean On Me” before Michael Bolton, who called her a vocal “virtuoso” after her performance: th-cam.com/video/GvsgCllcNPE/w-d-xo.html
Wait until you see her duet of David Foster's “The Prayer” with Jeong Ui Geu: th-cam.com/video/rte-q3kunp8/w-d-xo.html
Her performance of "Fate" in Korean requires no translation: vimeo.com/198161448
And finally “Will You Be There”: th-cam.com/video/nBdSpexUxik/w-d-xo.html
Here’s an English language interview with her that I’m sure you will enjoy: th-cam.com/video/N2u_pmoWxj8/w-d-xo.html Her English is perfect when she sings and almost perfect when she is doing interviews.
OK, I’ll stop gushing now.
Well, one more gush. In an interview with a Turkish music producer Sohyang's assistants revealed (a bit to her chagrin, as she is a self-effacing person) that she can hit Eb7 and D7 in practise. However, she never goes above the 6th octave in performances. Since she starts at D3 that is more than a 4 octave range ... so how about them apples???! Here it is: th-cam.com/video/VnPAkryrygQ/w-d-xo.html I know, bananas isn’t it?
Oh, I just remembered, she is also a published fantasy novelist and has a theological treatise on the Book of Revelation in print. In addition, she is a very good stage actress, which she proved by playing Julie Andrews’ part in the South Korean stage production of “The Sound of Music.” Moreover, she sang the “Moana” part in the Korean version of the Disney film, does the musical vocals for many South Korean television dramas, and is a talented artist and cartoonist. She taught herself English by watching Disney's "The Little Mermaid" "about one hundred times" when she was just a kid, speaks English with a _perfect_ North American accent and has an outgoing and bubbly personality.
She can also play the piano and guitar. Is there anything this genius level woman can’t do? Ironically, Sohyang stated in another interview that both she and her in-law family were surprised to discover that she could sing so excellently!
Though she is maybe 5' 4" and only about 100 pounds, Sohyang simply transcends the thresholds of music and takes you there with her. She becomes the song when she sings it, and then re-emerges when she is done. An experience like no other. I don’t know what else to say. I’ve spent _entire days_ listening to her, and shed more than a few tears of joy along the way.
I really must also compliment the choir, orchestra and audio/video production people Sohyang works with. They are all top notch from what I can see and hear, and that is important to note as these are _essential_ elements of any great musical production. The Korean people are easily as talented as anyone else.
As you can see, I am a shameless fan. 😉
I am in tears.
This story is unbelievable.
You’re such a good writer.
Thank you for filling me in- and I want you to know this is the kind of artistry that matters the most to me. So grateful for what you just shared with me.
@@reneurbanovich Oh, you are very welcome Rene! Sohyang's story is very inspirational to me, so I just had to sit down and research her life to make sure I got it right. I wrote this in the hope it would enlighten people about her. Glad it helped you and thank you for the compliment! 😉
@@reneurbanovich Rene, here is a little more about Sohyang you might enjoy. I wrote it for another reviewer who had reacted to Sohyang singing "Monalisa" from 2017.
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Sohyang has started to now have a small social media presence. She has an official TH-cam page where she posts Bible studies and new songs, three songs since about 2021. www.youtube.com/@sohyang.official And she has an Instagram page now, as well. instagram.com/sohyang_kleis/ But no bantering back and forth with her fans that I know of. We can all understand why, what with all the uncivilized morons and paparazzi types on the internet.
I was listening to an English language radio interview with Sohyang last night from back in 2009. th-cam.com/video/5QjOzVLgqUw/w-d-xo.html I had heard it before but it refreshed a few things in my mind. She says she loves rock, which is what "Monalisa" is. th-cam.com/video/vqTfn74OCWk/w-d-xo.html&pp=ygURc29oeWFuZyBtb25hIGxpc2E%3D She also said that she likes John Mayer, who is a blues guitarist and singer. I don't know why that surprised me. After all, Gospel and the Blues are two sides of the same coin. I truly wish Sohyang would do a straight album of the great blues songs, nothing lewd or anything like that, but there are a huge number of blues and blues-rock songs and she could sing them like no one else! She apparently, while on vacation in California back in the 2000s, got up on stage with BB King's band while they were in a practise session and sang a blues version of Amazing Grace! The music director of his band was astonished and asked her if she would be interested in doing a demo album so they could shop it around the music labels. But she was dedicated to Gospel and turned down the offer.
After Sohyang sang "Lean On Me" before Michael Bolton in 2014 he was so astounded he told her she is a "vocal virtuoso." He then invited her to join him for the rest of his South Korean tour. She took him up on the offer but could only do a few of the shows because of prior commitments. Michael Bolton then wanted to put together an entirely new world tour with Sohyang, but they could never make their schedules sync together. Sohyang spoke of it in a magazine interview. I think it was terribly depressing to her because she really wanted to go Big Time in the music industry at that point in her career. Now she looks back on it and believes that God kept it from working out because He did not want her getting involved in the American music industry. Anyone who knows a bit about "the industry" will know immediately why. "Sex and drugs and rock and roll" isn't merely a cliché! By 2016 she was down with pneumonia a great deal, until 2020 in fact, and she was so despondent that she was seriously considering giving up on singing! So she plundered a portion of her bank account and took a trip to New York. While on a side trip to Philadelphia she saw a quote from President Franklin Roosevelt where he said during the Great Depression of the 1930s that "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." Sohyang found comfort and inspiration in that and in 2017 she decided to enter the "King of the Masked Singers" contest, from which "Monalisa" is taken. She won six consecutive rounds!
Just think about that for a minute! She had performed a ton of songs for the high production value television shows, songs like "Lean On Me," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "The Prayer," "Everyone," "Arirang Alone" and "I Have Nothing," all of them _prior_ to 2016 (and which any of the all time great vocalists would have killed to be able to perform), and she was thinking about quitting singing! I still shake my head when I consider it! But that is what chronic sickness and pain can do to even the greatest female vocalist of our times.
By 2017 or 2018 Whitney Houston's former manager found Sohyang's 2015 performance of "I Have Nothing" on TH-cam and showed it to Oprah Winfrey, who showed it to David Foster, who actually wrote the song. Foster was simply gob smacked, as the British say, and quickly arranged for a concert with her in Vancouver, BC, but Sohyang said in an interview that she had to cancel out of it. She didn't give the reason why, but it was likely her health problems related to getting incurable hepatitis B from that bad blood transfusion during her cancer surgery in 1998, and the numerous bouts of pneumonia that have ensued. So Foster had her join him in Tokyo in late November and early December of 2018 for eight concerts at the Blue Note Club. Apparently Foster offered to take her under his wing, so to speak, but Sohyang had been seriously meditating on what God's purpose for her singing life was, and once again declined an offer of Super Stardom.
Sohyang has stated in a TV interview from 2019 that she believes God has stood in her way repeatedly such that she cannot have a life in the big time music industry--and she is very thankful He did! She now believes God's purpose for her is to simply be a Gospel singer and use her talents to lift the spirits of the needy, which is why she started out in the music business back in 1998 when she was about 20 with her husband's Gospel band POS. If a door opens and she is convinced that God approves, I think Sohyang will step out on the world stage and show everyone what they have been missing! But that is 100% conjecture on my part. 🤔💖👽🛸
It’s very disappointing not to see your reaction as you are watching. I also miss So Hyang’s actual performance. If you’re having problems with copyright strikes there’s many methods of getting around that…hope you return to reacting and not recapping. Blessings!
Thank you~♡
A warm welcome to the amazing world of SoHyang.
Welcome to SoHyang, (btw she & her team do her arrangements). Thanks for your lovely insights, please keep going ♥️
This Master Class performance from the Phenomenal So Hyang is even more impressive , given the fact she IS NOT well here. Some time prior to this event, she had been released from the hospital, still recovering from one of her numerous bouts with pneumonia (eight times between 2016 - 2020). Her physicians advised her to cancel, to not talk, and to just rest. So Hyang did not want to disappoint the audience. Furthermore, she already
believed her singing career was over and decided to sing one last time. After this event, So Hyang was readmitted to the hospital. She disappeared from public singing for nearly two years. When she returned , she proved her technique is ROCK SOLID. Fast forward to 2023, So Hyang's vocal range is still RIDICULOUS and her breath control remains INSANE.
BTW.......So Hyang is singing to God.
*Bridge Over Troubled Water* (Immortal Songs) is the obvious choice for the next Sohyang's reaction
최고 소향 다른곡도 많아요🙏🐏👍👍👍
Next song from Sohyang sing "Bridge over troubled water" on Immortal songs 2.
Welcome to Sohyang's world, pronounced "So" "Hyoung" No "W" sound, the H and Y blend together.
This one can be tough to keep up, we know. You can use a filter over the video or even a picture covering it is fine, but please don't cut the sound.
Sohyang did have pneumonia, she is a cancer survivor and a gospel singer and the best female vocalist in Korea. Feeling overwhelmed kind of goes hand in hand with many of her performances.
Yay! So Hyang ✨❤️✨
Is the full video on Patreon? I heard your analysis, but this video doesn't include a reaction. Was it blocked? I know it's hard to pause when she's singing, but that's the best way to get it on TH-cam.
Welcome to The slaying Queen So.
Hope TH-cam let you keep finding More layers from her 😅.
Thanks from Perú 😊.
Can't see your reaction on the full video.
Oh my queen 👸 sohyang 😊❤
My dear Rene, of course you're going to be overwhelmed. I and others have introduced you to maybe the five best singers on the planet in the last month or so. Believe me that all of us have felt this way whenever we have encountered these special people. It makes me extremely happy to see you and others react as I have over the last six years. I think there is one more Filipina you may want tune into, and that is Katrina Velarde. Her cover of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" rivals your heroes; Judy and Liza. I kid you not.
T H A N K S
Sohyang is responsible for her own arrangements. I’m not sure why we didn’t get to see you watching Sohyang perform, I assume copyright, in which case use a filter or put txt across it, I’m sure you’ve seen other reactors do this. As a long time Sohyang fan, the best part of these reactions, as well as the technical stuff, is watching someone going what looks like the very same emotions as you did when you were first discovering her, so please please please let us see you watching the whole performance.
She was ill indeed during this performance but she didn’t actively have pneumonia , she was recovering from her latest bout of pneumonia but had been advised not to perform. Like I said, I am a Sohyang fan of many years & I feel that although still a brilliant performance, this wasn’t her best performance as I feel that a couple of notes weren’t hit as smoothly as usual & it just lacked a little bit of that Sohyang magic, which for me is understandable given the state of her health & she looks very pale & extremely tired but I realise this is a personal opinion from someone who has been lucky enough to see everything possible from Sohyang on multiple occasions. Like I said, it is a fantastic performance by anybody else’s standards but I’m judging this on sohyang’s ‘out of this world’ standards & for me it doesn’t get in my top 10 & that is probably more like top 20 now that I have heard even more breathtaking vocals from her. The fact is that it doesn’t matter which performance you choose, it will always be fantastic because that’s all she does 😊.
This amazing woman can literally sing any genre & hopefully, if you stay on your sohyang journey you will discover this for yourself. Rock,pop,blues/jazz, the power ballads obviously & eventually, at some point in your journey, you will see her rapping, but her heart is very much with gospel music & elements of gospel can often be found in her arrangements of songs that in their original form aren’t usually associated with the genre.
I am excited for you as you discover for yourself the eighth wonder of the world but having seen your brief reaction to this performance I’m not sure just how you are going to be able to contain yourself when you see the performances that I know are waiting for you 😂😂😂
Welcome to the wonderful world if Sohyang from a new subscriber & enjoy her because she is very much on a lane of her own, a very special lane, a lane directly to & from the heavens.
If you care to know, the "Hyang" is pronounced as if you were taking the German "ja" and then adding an "h" at the front and "ng" at the end. So, like "Hjang" or "Hyaang."
Contrary to what some other commenters may be saying, it is distinctly NOT pronounced as a "young" with an "h" at the front. It is a "yaang" with an "h" at the front (where "yaa" sounds the same as the German "ja"). "Hyang" (pronounced, again, "Hyaang") is one syllable. So, NOT Huh-yaang, as many people err, but simply the one syllable of "Hyaang."
So is there a video where we hear the song?
Hi Rene. I think there was something wrong with this video. When you started the reaction, it went directly to the end. We didn't see you react to any of the video except the end. I hope you redo it.
노래 듣는거 까지 있었으면 훨씬 좋았을텐테....
Sorry you had to cut out 90% of your reaction. I think the reaction would have been great. Next time, please get her name right!! It’s like calling you Ronnie. After all she is rated as one of the best singer of all time and at the very least deserves the respect of being called by her rightful name. Thank you!
You might have heared this a thousand times but you will only remember this one, she really is a little bit SPECIAL, the guy they kept focusing on is a member of IRISH BOYBAND called WESTLIFE who actually covered this yrs ago 🇬🇧🔥👌❤️.