(Loen Tree)

Singer-songwriter IU delivered her controversial song “Zeze” at her two-day “CHAT-SHIRE” concert held in Seoul over the weekend. Prior to singing the piece, she issued a short comment on how she still dearly loves the song.

“Zeze,” named for the 5-year-old boy protagonist of Portuguese novel “My Sweet Orange Tree,” had been the target of criticism for its sexually suggestive lyrics. That the singer had described the character Zeze as “sexy” in a separate interview also became a point of debate.

The extent to which the issue caught fire made the media declare that IU had been “mired” by the song she wrote.

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The 22-year-old was unperturbed, however, as she sang the piece to the 6,000-or-so audience on Nov. 21 at Olympic Hall in Seoul, in what was to be the opening to her domestic tour.

IU started off the Saturday concert with “Shoes,” from her latest mini-EP “Chat-shire,” followed by “Everyone has secrets,” “Obliviate” and “Red Queen,” leading up to “Zeze,” the fifth in the song lineup.

More songs followed in suit, including “You&I,” “The Red Shoes,” “The Shower,” “Knee,” “Bad Day,” “My Old Story,” “The Meaning of You,” “23” and “Leon.” She also sang the background track of famous Japanese cartoon series “Sailor Moon,” as a thank-you to fans.

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People personally close to IU were present to give her emotional support. IU’s boyfriend of two years, Jang Ki-ha, along with IU’s best friend Yoo In-na and Indie duo group 10cm’s Kwon Jung-yeol were in the crowd.

The chanteuse finished off the show by thanking the audience, “As this was the first concert (for ‘Chat-shire’), we prepared hard, and there were things to overcome. I was very nervous but upon coming up to the stage, I saw your smiling faces and felt grateful. You had no worries on your shining faces and that was reassuring.”

On the screen next to her, subtitles read, “There are words I want to say that keep on piling up, but for now I’ll only part the few that are crusted around my lips. Thank you always.”

IU’s concert series is a national tour that stretches to Daegu, Busan, Gwangju and more venues through the end of the year.

(Loen Tree)

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)

Related article: K-pop Herald quoted by U.K.’s Guardian on IU’s ‘Zeze’ scandal