Ailee and Henry’s cover of Adele’s Rolling In The Deep is a banger. Literally. To create the beat, Henry bangs on a chair with his fist, then the rhythm is looped as the backbeat for the K-pop idols to duet over. If you don’t know Ailee or Henry, then you are in for a treat. Both are North American born. 34-year-old Ailee was born in Denver, Colorado but her family soon relocated to New Jersey. 33-year-old Henry was born in Toronto, Ontario. Both moved to Korea to pursue careers in music.
Ailee and Henry are the real deal. Hello Music Theory lists Ailee at #5 in its article 15 Of The Greatest And Most Famous Korean Singers Of All Time (Jungkook from BTS is 1st, Psy is 2nd). As for Henry, he won the Arts Council Korea’s 2020 Art Patron of the Year award for his YouTube series Henry Together (on which he featured Korean child musicians as guests) and for his work as the ambassador of Orchestra of Dream (which supports the musical education of children). Let’s hear Ailee and Henry:
I told you it was a banger! That was from the 22 June 2021 episode of Henry’s YouTube show Henry More Henry. During the show, Henry and his guest, Ailee, hosted an intimate rooftop concert, where they covered Justin Bieber’s Peaches before tackling Rolling In The Deep. Their cover of Rolling in the Deep has 19M YouTube views and both artists are roundly and deservedly praised in the comments. An interesting subtheme is comments from people who were familiar with one artist but not the other.
Ruby Aghaverdy writes “I knew Ailee for 7-8 years. I’ve just discovered Henry. OMG he’s so talented. He has a unique music style. I really adore him. About this collaboration; Ailee’s vocals etc, I can say nothing but just great work.” H Perera says “There’s no doubt that Ailee has vocals that can’t be beaten! But how is Henry able to sing with any idol and be able to sync so well with every one of them! Love these segments the most on Henry more Henry!” Now let’s hear that Justin Bieber cover!
From Ailee and Henry’s cover of Peaches (5.1M YouTube views), you would have noticed that Henry plays the violin. Is he any good?
Henry Lau (commonly known as Henry) was taught the piano by his mother from when he was four. He started violin lessons when he was five, studying under Arkady Yanivker, who was a Toronto Symphony Orchestra violinist. In 2007, he won the Canadian Royal Conservatory of Music Regional Gold Medal for level 10 in violin. He also achieved level 10 in piano. He considered studying classical music at college, but, after auditioning for SM Entertainment, decided to go into K-Pop as it offered more opportunities.
Henry, who speaks English, Mandarin, Korean and conversational Cantonese moved to South Korea in 2007. He was associated with the K-pop boy band Super Junior and was soon placed in the Chinese subsidiary of Super Junior (called Super Junior-M, with the M standing for Mandarin). By 2015 he was a solo artist and in 2018 he started his own production company. Besides his successful music and YouTube careers, Henry has appeared in movies and on TV shows in both China and Korea. He played Trent in the Hollywood movie A Dog’s Journey (2019).
Ailee (real name Amy Lee) moved to South Korea in 2010. An uncle arranged an audition with YMC Entertainment for her. Ailee was so impressive that she was immediately signed on. In 2012 she won the Best New Artist award in just about any form it was possible for a K-pop star to win this award (Mnet Asian Music Awards, Melon Music Awards, Seoul Music Awards, and Golden Disk Awards). She also won Best Female Soloist from the Gaon Chart Music Awards. Since then, her releases have been consistently at the top of Goan digital download charts. In 2022 she released her first full-length English LP, I’m Lovin’ Amy.
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Ailee links
https://www.youtube.com/@aileemusic
https://www.facebook.com/Aileemusic
If you would like to see more from Henry Lau, you can subscribe to his YouTube channel or follow him on Facebook.