Singer Lim Jeong-hee, center, and music producer Park Jin-young, right,
will release an album together with top U.S. hip-hop duo Outkast.

By Sa Eun-young
Staff Reporter

Korean singer Lim Jeong-hee, 26, will collaborate with a Grammy-winning group to take her music to the United States. Lim will release an album with top U.S. hip-hop duo Outkast as the two sides agreed to co-produce a record, JYP/Big Hit Entertainment announced Thursday.

JYP Entertainment CEO Park Jin-young, a music producer and singer, was largely responsible for setting up the successful deal. Park, with a wide network among leading figures in the U.S. music industry, distributed a demo record of Lim voicing pieces written by Park, which was well received.

Lim, a highly accomplished singer in Korea, went to New York last year to receive vocal training and tune up her English. The singer, dubbed ``diva of the streets" in Korea for her mini street concerts, which made her famous even before her official debut, previously released two popular albums, ``Music is My Life" and ``Thanks."

Apparently, groups other than Outkast also showed interest in joining hands with the Korean pop diva.

``Not only Outkast, but world-class producers like the Neptunes and Pharrell Williams made official proposals to produce a record with Lim Jeong-hee. We took Lim's music style into consideration and signed a contract with Outkast," the entertainment label said.

The six-time Grammy winning hip-hop group Outkast, consisting of Andre 3000 and Big Boi, are highly acclaimed for their original music style and have sold more than 20 million CD copies since their debut.

``Big Boi was stunned by Lim Jeong-hee's vocals and Park Jin-young's music. He signed a contract to co-produce an album with Lim and asked that Park write music for Outkast's new album," JYP/Big Hit Entertainment said.

Park, better known as a producer who led Korean heartthrob Rain to become a world star, launched a U.S. division of JYP Entertainment last June, which is said to be the first U.S.-based Asian recording company. Lim will be the second female Korean artist he will debut in the U.S.

Park is currently working with top U.S. producer Lil John to co-produce the official debut album of teenage Korean singer Min, which will be released in October.

eysa@koreatimes.co.kr

Originally Posted by PandaMing0815 Thanks for sharing the Video clips, and good comparison to Alicia Key, both her ability to play the piano while sing, and her great vocal range. She could definitely be the pioneer of Asian Pop singer hitting the US market.