When you see the phrase "actors who can sing," famous examples such as Lee Seung Gi and Seo In-Guk immediately come to mind. Reason being, they are amazing actors and vocalists alike, but perhaps more known for their dramas than their released albums.
It is hard to remember that they started off in the K-pop industry before venturing into the world of acting. In fact, these occurrences are getting more and more common. There is virtually no K-drama showing now that does not involve an idol actor, whether they are playing supporting roles or even having leading ones. All of this made me wonder whether there were existing all-rounded actors and actresses who could go against the norm, to debut as actors before entering the K-pop industry.
Lo and behold, I found five of them.
1. Park Seo Joon
You might recognise this multi-talented actor from his currently airing drama "She Was Pretty," but did you know that he can sing? Unfortunately, his releases have only been limited to drama OSTs so far, but he undoubtedly has a really beautiful voice. Not just that, there is also evidence of training in his voice because he controls it skilfully. He doesn't just act with passion and emotion, he sings with it as well. Take "Letting You Go" from the "Kill Me Heal Me" OST for example.
In the drama, his character Oh Ri On has to make several painful and difficult decisions regarding his adopted twin sister Oh Ri Jin, such as enabling her romance with the main character Cha Do Hyun, even when he himself has romantic feelings towards her. This heartbreaking dilemma is portrayed perfectly through Park Seo Jun's acting, but even more so through this appropriately titled OST. Even for a person who doesn't understand Korean like me, his voice transcends the boundaries of language and makes me understand fully what he is trying to convey through the song. Park Seo Jun is a real gem in the making, and I hope that he will release more OSTs and even an album soon.
2. Kim Soo Hyun
This actor is still at the height of his popularity a year after his hit drama "You Who Came From The Star," but there is more to his charm than just his acting. He is a great singer as well and has released OSTs for every drama he has been in, with the exception of his latest drama, "The Producers." Kim Soo Hyun's voice is extremely skilled, and he sounds very sincere whenever he sings. He also loves to sing randomly, as can be seen by behind the scene videos of his dramas. Even in the 2011 drama "Dream High," his vocal abilities stood out amongst the several idols who acted in the drama as well, especially in his emotional performance of "Dreaming."
It is already difficult to act well or sing well, but to be able to do both well is a feat that few can pull off. Kim Soo Hyun's singing in the wrong key for the first half of the song was impressive to me, because believe it or not it is hard to sing in a different key from the music that is playing around you. Not to mention the fact that he had to portray his difficulties clearly through his expression and his singing, and when he did this perfectly it created an extremely memorable scene in this drama.
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Any opinions expressed are not those of KpopStarz, but are the ideas of the writer.
