IU Showed Us Some 'Modern Times' In 2013: Year in Review

IU, the nation's younger sister, has captured many hearts with her smooth vocals and cute expressions. One of the most recognisable faces in K-pop, this year we saw IU trying to shed the little girl image and project a more mature one. Attempting to be taken more seriously as an artist in both realms of music and acting we saw more of her on the TV than we did on the stage.  However IU had her fair share of setbacks this year but she persevered and came out on top in the end.

Early in the year, it was announced that IU would be taking up a lead acting role. Two years after 'Dream High' it was announced that she would be playing the lead character in the drama 'You're The Best Lee Soon Shin'. The drama premiered in March and ran for about 50 episodes before ending it's run in August. It had a pretty steady viewership receiving, on average, about 25% whilst some single episodes gained 30%.

However, the road was not easy, controversy was created on the title of the drama and the naming of IU's character. The 'Global Youth League DN' filed an injunction against KBS for using the name  "Lee Soon Shin" in the title of the drama. It requested that the broadcast be stopped and that 'Lee Soon Shin' be removed from the title and character name changed. The characters namesake was a historical figure, an admiral famous for his victories against the Japanese Navy and they claimed his status would "deteriorate" when associated with the "weak and clumsy" protagonist that lead actress IU plays.

In February, IU was appointed as 'School Violence Prevention Ambassador' by the National Police Agency. IU commented, "It can be anyone's dream to become a police officer and I am honoured to be able to become an ambassador to help stop school violence." It was a very thoughtful thing for IU to give back to the community for a noble cause.

IU's Japanese Fans were in for a treat in March when she released her first Japanese EP. The EP contained included material produced by legendary Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis who are widely known as the production force behind Janet Jackson. The EP contains the IU penned track 'Voice-Mail' which was also released later in Korean on her album 'Modern Times' and it reached the top ten in the Oricon Daily charts.  After a short break she released the song 'Monday Afternoon' in September and the delightfully cute song reached the top 20 of the Oricon singles chart. 

IU has had a pretty tough year dealing with scandals and rumours. It was being spread on the internet that she was pregnant and also that she was getting married to Super Junior's Eunhyuk. This all started after she tweeted a picture of them both and he was seemingly topless. Luckily, IU's agency looked into the matter and the person was caught.  But, the damage was done as the singer took some amount of time to reflect and stay silent.

Things started looking up for IU after her comeback was announced. October was definitely IU's month as she released the long awaited album 'Modern Times' and title song 'The Red Shoes'. The album was promoted to show her transition to an adult and showed her detaching herself from the nation's younger sister image. Sonically, IU experimented with new and different sounds. The album contained hints of swing jazz, bossa nova and boasts features from Brown Eyed Girls' Ga In and SHINee's Jonghyun, who also wrote and composed the track 'Gloomy Clock'. The album was a huge success, giving her a perfect 'all-kill' and winning her many awards on music shows.

In November, IU held a solo concert at Kyunghee University's Peace Hall to great success. The concert got extra coverage after IU received a good luck tweet from British soul singer Corrine Bailey Rae to which IU, who hadn't used her Twitter account in over a year, replied and said gave her the energy of more than 100 Red Bull cans!

Also in November, IU premiered in another drama named 'Pretty Man' along with Jang Geun Suk. Unfortunately the ratings were not as strong as her previous effort even dropping below the 4% mark.

In December, IU finished the year off with a bang with the repackage of her 'Modern Times' album titled 'Modern Times Epilogue' with the title song 'Friday' (no, not a cover of Rebecca Black's Song) featuring HISTORY's Jang Yi Jeong. The repackage has already attained a perfect 'all-kill' and is sure to win her countless music show awards in the coming weeks.We hope that this sets IU up to have a more successful 2014 in both acting and music. 

IU proves in 2013 that talent and effort can break through any low moments.  We have seen the nation's little sister grow up to a wise young lady.  While her private life may still be the subject of prying eyes,   IU has blossomed into a beautiful flower even amidst the heaviest rains.  

Special Thanks:  IU Official Fansite (Admin Kpoppa) for feedback and review

Tags
IU
2013
You're the Best Lee Soon Shin
modern times
Pretty Man
Modern Times Epilogue
The Red Shoes
SHINee Jonghyun
Ga In
history
Jang Yi-Jeong
Corrine Bailey Rae
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