Lee Eun Mee Calls Her Husband the "Harshest Ombudsman" of Her Music, Even Though She Didn't Like Him at First

Singer Lee Eun Mee described her husband as "the harshest ombudsman of my music." She made the remark as a guest on the SBS entertainment show My Little Old Boy, which aired on the 18th. She also revealed how they met, a story she had rarely shared on television. She did not warm to him at first because he seemed fussy, but he has since become the adviser she trusts most to judge her music sharply.

Why she listens to his critiques

Lee said she cannot accurately gauge the mood of the whole audience or how people are reacting while she is on stage. Her husband watches from the seats as a spectator, from start to finish, and feels the flow of the show and the atmosphere in the hall. "I'm on stage, so I can't know the overall situation or mood of the audience, but my husband fully feels the real atmosphere of that day from the seats and gives me feedback," she said. "I feel great trust in that sharp insight." The point, as she explained it, is that the view of those who make a show differs from that of those who watch it, and her husband points out what she may miss.

That does not mean his comments are always easy to hear. After watching one of her concerts, she said, he gives pointed remarks on the song selection and the staging. "When he has watched the whole concert, he makes sharp comments like 'the song selection was this, the staging was that,'" she said. Rather than simply praising her effort, he singles out specific points to improve. She admitted this can sting. "Sometimes I think, 'Then you try it yourself,'" she said. "I built the show by giving it my best effort, so when the person I love most speaks so coolly, I often feel hurt."

An introduction through a younger brother

The couple were introduced through Lee Gi-sang, a broadcaster who began as a VJ. Lee Eun Mee recalled the time when she was preparing her first album. Her agency had invited an overseas musician to perform, and Lee Gi-sang came to the venue to interpret. Seeing that he was tall and well built, she asked him, half joking, whether he had an older brother. "I don't like younger men, don't you have an older brother?" she said, asking for an introduction. She went on to meet Lee Gi-sang's older brother, who is now her husband. The husband is almost unknown to the public by face or name and remains tightly shrouded even in the broadcasting world.

The two did not click at once. "When I first met him, he looked really fussy," Lee Eun Mee recalled. She said she told Lee Gi-sang, "Unlike you, I don't think your brother is great," which drew laughs. She had liked the younger brother but found nothing special in the one she was introduced to. Even so, her husband has become the closest critic whose musical judgment she can trust. She said she sometimes feels hurt, torn between wanting recognition from the person she loves and the professionalism to check her shortcomings objectively, but acknowledges that the advice is needed to raise the quality of her shows.

The husband, who has kept his private life closely guarded and drawn curiosity as a result, made his presence felt through this broadcast not by an impressive résumé or fame but by how he regards his wife's music. Lee did not hide her hurt at his cool assessments, yet she recognized the sincerity and expertise behind them. Affection between spouses is not always expressed in sweet words, and her account offered a glimpse of what kind of companion he is to a singer who has walked the path of music for many years.

Read the original (Korean)