The sun rises earlier in Korea than in Canada, which might explain the curious celebrity of Georgia Murray, the B.C songstress whose status in South Korea outshines her home-country standing, for now.
Interest in Murray, a darkly emotive singer-songwriter who sports severe blond bangs and enjoys being photographed in camouflaged trousers and little else, began in 2010 when South Korean pop star Lee Hyori unknowingly released a song (Swing) that was based on Murray's We'll Never Know. The hit single was one of several that had been plagiarized by a dubious producer-collaborator of Lee's. The case was highly publicized in South Korea; Murray settled out of court in 2011.
Recently the Victoria-based artist, who is the younger sister of the Tenors's Clifton Murray, was featured in the Korean version of Elle magazine. Over here, she was a Top 20 finalist for the boot-camp/competition Peak Performance Project. Would she have become a star without the plagiarism episode? We'll never know.
Brad Wheeler