Lee Ye-ji on debut single '싫어': "I'll let out all your irritation for you"

Lee Ye-ji released her first digital single 싫어 on the 6th, stepping away from the ballad sound that made her the inaugural champion of SBS Our Ballad last year.

The track lives in Soul R&B territory, blending what she describes as a refined sound with free energy. "I was scared but also excited," she said. "Starting my first single with a new genre rather than ballad required great courage."

The title isn't just negativity on record. 싫어 — roughly "I hate this" or "I don't want to" — is, in her words, "an interesting inner confession rather than surface negativity," expressing honest emotion and the subtle sense of liberation that follows. Her pitch for the song: "I'll let out all your irritation for you."

The bridge through the ending is where she spent the most time. Emotions build quietly at first, then the back half opens up into dynamics that carry that liberation feeling. The repeating lyric 이제 다시는 싫어 was the hardest to nail — she and the music director worked through multiple sessions figuring out exactly what emotion would make the word land right.

In previous appearances on Our Ballad and 1등들 she leaned into deep emotional ballads. This time she wanted to show what she calls a "mischievous" side — brighter, freer energy. (Basically a stress-relief track with actual vocal range behind it.) She recommends the song for anyone hitting a wall at work or feeling pent-up frustration.

She also filmed a one-take group singing live with friends from Seoul Institute of the Arts.