After School’s newest member, Lizzy, has grown to be quite popular recently, ever since her promotions with After School’s sub-unit, Orange Caramel, and frequent appearances on numerous TV variety shows. Some have even dubbed her the new ‘Variety Queen’.
The 18-year-old, Busan-born Lizzy debuted with After School’s ‘Bang!’ back in March 2010. Many fans had anticipated the group’s new song, however, due to the occurrence of the Cheonan-ham crash around the same time, the result of their promotions were unable to raise the fans’ hype and anticipation. It was in fact her promotions for ‘Magic Girl’ with Orange Caramel that finally got the attention Lizzy needed from the public.
During an interview, Lizzy stated, “Right now I still feel more attached with Orange Caramel than After School.” She explained that she does not mean that she doesn’t feel attached with After School, however she feels more responsible when promoting for Orange Caramel, as it was the group that gave her a greater influence and helped her receive love and interest from the general
public.
Objectively speaking, it would be hard to find your existence in a group of 8 members, especially with leader Kahi and UEE taking the main spotlights. Orange Caramel was a great opportunity for Lizzy in that respect, and she was able to manage her role well.
While After School gives off a strong, feminine image, Orange Caramel challenged the polar opposite – a cuter and more delicate concept. Lizzy commented, “Both have their own charms. When I promoted with After School, I liked the sexy and powerful image, but I also liked Orange Caramel because I was able to express all of the cuteness I had stored in my body.”
It is true that Lizzy fits closer to the ‘cute’ image more than the powerful and strong image. Lizzy said, “I like songs with a hint of trot-feel. When I first heard ‘Magic Girl’ for the first time, I thought, ‘This is really my style’, and when the song hit jackpot, I felt even more confident.”
When Lizzy participated in variety programs during her ‘Bang!’ promotions, viewers expressed that they were unable to feel her full presence on the shows. However, following the introduction of Orange Caramel, Lizzy confidently and freely showed off her colors on all types of stages, most notably on SBS’s ‘Running Man’.
At the time, Lizzy appeared as a guest for the show with Jang Dong Min, and showcased a rather ‘crazy presence’, which led to her new nickname, the new ‘Variety Queen’. She was even able to take fun out of the punishment activities that everyone dreaded.
During the episode, the losing team had to make an embarrassing appearance on ‘Live Morning Wide‘, wearing hanbok. Despite this, Lizzy shrugged it off and said, “Is it something I can appear on TV for? If it’s for broadcast, then I’ll do anything.”
Looking back in retrospect, Lizzy explained, “I thought, who would ever get to go on a morning broadcast? I stood live on stage wearing hanbok. It was merely just reading a set of words that came up, but it was completely different compared to on music stages, so it was fun.”
Source + Photo: Seoul Newspaper NTN
