Jeong Eunji makes good on her years-long promise to fans

On stage, Jeong Eunji is the powerful vocalist for girl group Apink. On the small screen, she’s known for her down-to-earth lead characters with tough attitudes, like in tvN’s “Reply 1997” (2012) and recently, Tving’s “Work Later, Drink Now” (2021-22).

As a solo singer, however, she shows her softer side, singing about how she misses her family and reminiscing on her childhood memories.

Jeong has been busy for the past 10 years, building a career as both a singer and actor, but still remembered to keep one promise she had to fans: to release a cover album before she turns 30.

“There’s really no other reason for it,” Jeong said, during a press interview at her agency late last month. “It was just a promise that I knew I had to keep.”

Jeong, who turns 30 next year, is set to release the album “log” on Friday. Described as a record of the singer’s life, it is a reinterpretation of hit songs throughout the 1990’s to 2010’s.

The album is comprised of covers of five tracks that the singer has specially chosen: “Journey For Myself,” “Blue Whale,” “Dream,” “For Love” and “About Thirty.”

“I feel like a load’s been taken off my chest,” Jeong said. “I’d already told my agency that I would do everything on my own — from choosing which songs to put on to the album to how they would be produced — and it took longer than expected. I’m grateful my agency was patient, and I think the final result turned out well.”

Putting together a cover album was essential to Jeong, because it was something she has always “fantasized about.” She consistently told her fans over the years, “When I turn 30, I’m going to release an album that includes a remake of the song ‘About Thirty,’” originally sung by late folk rock singer Kim Kwang-seok.

“The thing about a remake is it means that I’m singing the exact songs that had consoled me, in my own voice, which in turn will console others,” Jeong said. “Even when I’m at my worst, listening to songs has always been my way of running away from bad thoughts. I remember when I didn’t want to listen to something, I would just put my earphones in and pretend I didn’t hear.”

The lead track, “Journey For Myself,” is “a special song that helped me feel like I was traveling, even inside my own room,” Jeong said. The original song is by the rock ballad band Buzz in 2005.

“I’ve always been fond of the title,” Jeong explained when asked why she chose the song as the album’s lead track. “I never really had time to myself when I was younger. I have a brother who is eight years younger than me, and since my parents were always working, I would babysit him when he came home at around 5 p.m. So I had very little time to myself and the only album I had was Buzz’s album, and I remember listening to ‘Journey For Myself’ frequently.

“When I was younger, I thought it was just a happy song, but now that I’m older I’m seeing lyrics that I haven’t really noticed before,” Jeong continued. “’I’m going to have better memories than love’ is one of my favorite lyrics, because to me it seems like it was sung by someone who has been lovesick and hurt — yet, they are determined to make lemonade out of lemons. I didn’t know that when I was a kid, but now I realize why this song is still so great even after all these years.”

Jeong’s cover of the song was arranged as a jauntier, punk-rock version which, enhanced by her crystal clear vocals, reminds listeners of driving on an empty highway en route to a beach. This was exactly what she aimed for, Jeong said, because “log” is about her own “vacation and journey from beginning to end.”

For “Journey For Myself,” Jeong was “happy” with the final arrangement because it was not “seasonal” like the original version.

“I used to think that the original was one of those songs that represented summer,” she said. “The bass sounds are hot and have this simmering feeling, but when I decided to cover it I was worried that it would not fit the fall and winter mood. Thankfully, the sounds were rearranged with numerous sounds that elicited a cool atmosphere, that may be a bit cold for the winter (laughs), but I’m glad that it isn’t too seasonal.”

Other songs like “For Love,” originally by ballad singer Kim Jong-hwan, is dedicated to Jeong’s mother, because “she was disappointed that I sang only about dad in [her hit 2016 solo song] ‘Hopefully Sky,’” the singer joked.

“I learned this song on the piano when I was younger, and I remember playing it for my mom,” she continued. “My mom was surprised that I knew this song, so I decided to cover it again. She really loved it — she cried.”

When Jeong announced that she would be releasing an album in November, fans were surprised. The singer already had a jam-packed schedule for the year, so they were not expecting more music.

Jeong was starring in two series: streaming platform Tving’s  “Work Later, Drink Now” last year, which was renewed for a second season slated to air next month, and tvN’s mystery thriller series “Blind,” which ended earlier this month.

Apink released its fourth full-length album “Horn,” as well as another digital single “I Want You to be Happy,” earlier this year, the latter to celebrate the 11th anniversary of the group’s debut.

“Recording [for this album] actually relieved my stress,” Jeong said. “Sometimes I was tired when I wasn’t in good condition but singing high notes did help get rid of stress. I do think I work too hard — sometimes I feel like I’m being chased by my schedule.”

The highlight of the album is “About Thirty.”

“I first listened to this song after I debuted, in my early 20’s,” she said. “I vaguely knew the chorus, but after a while, I listened to it again and felt so sad. It reminded me of my parents, and my friends, and it just made me think so much. I never thought I would turn 30. So I still feel quite young, maybe because I feel like I have a long way to go. The lyrics bear so much meaning, and they seem very personal. It made me reminisce on my own life, that I too have been through a lot.”

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]