On the October 5 broadcast of SBS's "The Ballad of Us Season 2" (hereinafter "The Ballad of Us 2"), 16-year-old Kim So-yeon from Yeoju, who sings philosophy, captured the hearts of the Top 100 Ears.
Introducing herself as a girl who sings philosophy, Kim So-yeon drew attention by saying, "Philosophy is actually one's own way of seeing the world. I believe that to make music your own, you must have your own philosophy," adding, "I came here because I wanted to share how I see the world."
In response, Joo Woo-jae marveled at the extraordinary girl from Yeoju, commenting, "At 16, she probably only recently outgrew Heartsping."
Kim So-yeon explained how she came to explore philosophy, saying, "My writing was filled with question marks, and I often thought about things like, 'What is happiness?' That's why I felt I needed to study philosophy to make music my own."
Having spent much of her time alone with nature as her companion, Kim So-yeon shared that music filled those solitary moments.
For her first-round song, Kim So-yeon selected Yang Hee-eun's "About the Loneliness of Love." The Top 100 Ear representatives marveled, saying, "It suits her so well, truly so well."
Regarding her reason for choosing the song, Kim So-yeon touched hearts as she shared, "My father passed away last December. I haven't fully coped with the loneliness and emptiness caused by his absence, but listening to this song brought me comfort and helped me accept that void. And I am filling that loneliness from his absence with the love of my grandparents."
When Kim So-yeon's performance ended, no one could easily find words to speak. Deeply moved by the lingering resonance of her stage, Joo Woo-jae remarked, "If a clip of this song is uploaded, I don't think I could watch it again. The depth is so overwhelming that I feel it would be too difficult to listen to it two or three times over."
He added, "Back in my 20s and 30s, when I saw Jang Pill-soon perform, I experienced music hitting not just my ears, but my heart, and I felt that same sensation again for the first time in over ten years."
Jung Jae-hyung also expressed his admiration, saying, "As soon as I heard the song, I checked So-yeon's age. It went beyond shocking; it was even chilling. I felt she had transcended her pain."
Jung Seung-hwan then drew attention by confessing that he was completely overwhelmed as an audience member, saying, "I even thought to myself, 'Should someone really sing like this?' If she were to hold a concert, she could just sing this one song and finish. A flood of emotions hit me. Hearing her sing like this pained my heart. I wondered, 'Why does this young girl sing like this?' It didn't feel like the stage of an audition contestant."
Moon Geun-young, who was moved to tears by Kim So-yeon's performance, shared her heartfelt feelings: "The loneliness So-yeon expressed felt so profound it made my heart ache. It made me want to hug her. I found myself thinking, 'Why does she know such loneliness at such a young age? Why is she enduring this?' That's why I wanted to give her a hug," which brought Kim So-yeon to tears as well.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.