Inside the radio broadcasting studio, Iris wore headphones and sat in front of a microphone while conversing with one of the most popular radio hosts in the country, DJ Song.
DJ Song and JJ were friends. As a result, JJ's artists frequently guested in DJ Song's radio show. And now, Iris was experiencing this benefit.
The previous Iris Long guested in countless radio shows, but was never invited to DJ Song's radio show before. Aside from being a DJ, he was also known as a harsh music critic. He shared the same high standards as his friend, JJ.
With the previous Iris Long's shallow songs, how could she expect to be invited by DJ Song? She would just be asking him to shred her to pieces with his criticisms.
Now, however, was different. Although she could sense DJ Song's reservations about her, he was polite because she was now one of JJ's artists.
The show was being broadcast live on air on radio. In addition, there were also video cameras mounted in different locations within the studio and a cameraman moving around inside to livestream online.
Iris was very calm and eloquent, surprising DJ Song and the staff working on the other side of the studio's glass partition.
At the start of the interview, they talked about general things and her abrupt retirement. She briefly shared about the accident and her coma, basically repeating what she said at her "MusicFest Tonight" interview the night before.
DJ Song made some sympathetic noises but quickly moved on from the topic. He and JJ had an agreement that more focus should be placed on her upcoming album.
DJ Song: "How did you come to work with Old J? I know what he's like. He won't accept just anyone."
Iris laughed lightly and everyone thought that her laughter sounded lovely.
Iris: "Indeed. Mr. JJ has extremely high standards, but that's also why I was determined to work with him. Who doesn't want to work with the best, right? I sent him a couple of demo tapes. And then I got a call from him and that's how everything started."
DJ Song: "That's it? He accepted you just like that?"
Iris: "Of course not. How could it be that easy? Let's just say that he liked the songs I sent him but was doubtful about me because my previous musical style was very different. In the end, we ended up meeting for lunch and he dared me to perform live at the restaurant. I accepted the challenge and as they say, the rest is history."
DJ Song: "In other words, he made you audition."
Iris: "Now that I think about it, yes, maybe that was my audition. It's one of my most memorable experiences, the first time that I performed with this new musical style in front of a live audience."
DJ Song: "Were you nervous?"
Iris: "Of course. I think that anyone who is dared by Mr. JJ to perform on the spot will feel nervous."
DJ Song: "Ahahaha! That's true. But not me. I'm not afraid of that old man."
Everyone laughed.
DJ Song: "What's it like working personally with Old J? I hope he didn't make you cry. He has a reputation of reducing his artists to tears with his extremely high standards and demands. Difficult guy to work with, right?"
Iris: "No, he didn't make me cry."
DJ Song: "Really? Congratulations! How rare."
She chuckled.
Iris: "As for being difficult…I don't see him that way. We all know that he has extremely high standards. And that's why I wanted to work with him in the first place. Instead of saying he's difficult, I think it's more appropriate to say that he's adept in giving out constructive criticisms."
DJ Song: "That's a nice way to put it, but you're right. He has difficult demands from his artists because he wants to draw out their full potentials. Hearing you say all these about him, it seems that your experience working with him was harmonious?"
Iris: "Absolutely not. We actually fought a lot while recording."
DJ Song: "What? You fought with Old J and you're still alive and sane?"
Everyone laughed.
DJ Song: "What did you fight about?"
Iris: "Differences in our ideas. He had all sorts of ideas on how to perfect my songs for their final versions, but I didn't always agree with him. I composed all the songs in the album myself, so I feel…hmm, protective of them, I guess. As the composer, I have a vision in my head on how I want each of my songs to sound like. Mr. JJ and I fought a lot because our visions differed from one another."
DJ Song: "Oh, I see. So what happened? How did you resolve these differences in your visions?"
Iris: "A lot of fighting…I mean, debating. But in the end, we were able to reach a compromise that made both of us satisfied with the final results."
DJ Song: "Wow. Let me just say that I'm impressed with you for being able to stand up against Old J. I know what he's like. He's very stubborn and likes to get what he wants, especially when it comes to music."
Iris: "Yes, but I'm also very stubborn and like to get what I want when it comes to music. Especially now. Back then, I always let others decide the music I sang. I followed others' lead. I don't want to be like that anymore. I want the freedom to choose my own music. I want to feel comfortable whenever I sing and perform. I want to be myself."
DJ Song: "I see. Makes sense. Very inspiring."
Iris: "Thank you."
DJ Song: "And now do you feel that you're being yourself? Will this be your musical style from now on?"
Iris: "Yes, I feel very much like myself now so I'm very happy and grateful to Mr. JJ for giving me this opportunity. As for this musical style, I'm not going to say anything definite. Like I said, I want freedom when it comes to music. That means that I'm going to do my best to sing songs from the heart. My emotions change, so I think that it's only natural that my music will also change based on my life experiences. Also, I want to develop my composing skills so exploring different kinds of styles might prove useful to me."
DJ Song: "That sounds exciting. It looks like this is only the start of us seeing the new Iris Long, folks! It seems that she has more in store for all of us!"
