EXID‘s Elly (formerly known as L.E.) has paid tribute to the late producer and her close collaborator Shinsadong Tiger in a new Instagram post.
Elly uploaded a picture of her letter on February 28 to her personal Instagram page, captioned with the words: “A person I hate, a person I’m thankful for… rest in peace oppa. Goodbye.”
Shinsadong Tiger – real name Lee Ho-yang – was confirmed to have passed away last week by his agency, under undisclosed circumstances. The 41-year-old was a noted producer and songwriter in the K-pop industry who rose to prominence in the early 2000s as the producer behind a number of classic K-pop hits, from songs by HyunA to T-ARA.
Elly had worked very closely with Lee throughout EXID’s career, often seen credited alongside each other as co-producers, songwriters and/or composers. She also signed with his label, TR Entertainment, last year.
“To Lee Ho-yang, who should have been with me through my 20s and 30s. I’m honestly so mad at you. Why? All I can say is why?” wrote Elly. “I’m also angry at myself for not asking about your struggles when we’ve been together for 15 years. I’m also angry at you for never opening up to me about your struggles.”
The K-pop idol added that Lee is “someone I’ll always be grateful for”, describing him as an “island” for her. “You were such a creative. You always seemed fine but was always lonely,” she wrote.
“Now that I look back, you were with me throughout my 20s and 30s. Sometimes, you were mean, difficult to comprehend and sad. I hope you are now less lonely, less hurt and less hard,” Elly continued.
Elly concludes her letter by revealing that she’s “out of the country and can’t attend [his] funeral”, but she “was so happy that you were in my life”. Before she signs off, she writes: “I just wanted to write this in a letter. You, who I’m angry at but am grateful for, goodbye.”
Among his extensive backlog of achievements, Shinsadong Tiger was also best known for being the man behind EXID, a third-generation four-member girl group who skyrocketed to mainstream fame after their song ‘Up & Down’, which credits Lee as its creator, went viral in 2014.
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