On April 1, a video titled “Unreleased ‘You and me‘ Practice Video from 15 Years Ago (The Day Before Comeback)” was uploaded to IU’s YouTube channel.
The video was presented as a situational skit, set as a final test just one day before its original release”You and me” return. IU fully embraced the concept by recreating her past look, including similar hair and makeup styles from that era.
Most notably, it recreated the once-popular trend of heavy eyeliner. As IU noted, “There was eyeliner both above and below the eyes,” one staff member added wryly, “It took an hour just to draw the eyeliner. Yesterday we even got scolded because the makeup was too light,” enhancing the immersive retro atmosphere.
IU then continued to reconstruct scenes from the “You and me” music video itself. She reunited with the dancers she had worked with back then, recreating the choreography. Although the performance originally portrayed her from her late teens to early twenties, IU now in her thirties was seen catching her breath during even relatively simple moves, adding a lighthearted touch to the video.
Attention to detail stood out throughout production. Although IU’s channel usually uploads videos in high resolution (up to 2160p), this video was intentionally limited to 720p to mimic the visual quality of the past, further enhancing the nostalgic atmosphere.
In another playful moment, as she acted like her nineteen-year-old self, the dancers asked, “Do you think we could perform at the main stadium in 10 years?” The UI responded, “Let’s not say unrealistic things. Let’s work hard and maybe perform in the gymnastics arena one day.” The staff added: “We haven’t even done a national tour yet,” drawing laughter.
In fact, IU then achieved far beyond these “modest” goals by performing at the KSPO Dome in 2019 and becoming the first Korean female solo artist to hold a concert at Seoul Olympic Stadium in 2022. She will also perform at Goyang Stadium this September.
Netizens reacted enthusiastically to the video, leaving comments like: “Can anyone really get this far for April Fools’ Day?”, “It’s amazing that the same people from 15 years ago are still with her,” AND “I totally believed it.”
Sources: Daum
