It’s been four years since high school student Lee Hi made judges’ jaws drop on audition show “K-Pop Star” with her precocious rendition of Jazmine Sullivan’s “Bust Your Windows” -- a song about smashing an unfaithful lover’s car.

It’s been three years since she debuted as a solo singer with retro-soul album “1,2,3,4.”

Now 21 years old, the still-young starlet has returned after a long hiatus with new album “Seoulite,” released March 9. The lead track “Breathe” is a soft, piano-based ballad; Lee is older, more pensive, she says.

“I look back at (‘K-pop Star’) and I think I must have been out of my mind,” Lee told reporters at a group interview at a cafe near Hapjeong, Seoul, wearing a bubblegum-pink sweater and speaking in her trademark husky voice.

“I was so young and knew nothing about TV. I wanted to be free and I was free. I just walked on stage and sang songs I listened to all the time.”

These days, she has more to worry about, Lee said, which is why she decided to make her comeback with a track that seeks to offer solace to fellow city folks living in bustling Seoul -- hence the name of her album.

“I wish I could say I had done something big and interesting in the last three years,” she said. Instead, she spent most of her time training, taking English and songwriting lessons and thinking about her future career at her label, K-pop powerhouse YG Entertainment.

“YG is such a big company. There were lots of other groups” -- including K-pop sensation Big Bang -- “that needed to release their albums, so my schedule got postponed,” Lee said. “I didn’t resent the company. But I was disappointed. I was full of passion. I should have been active and having fun on stage, but I had to stop.”

During that time, though, she was able to further hone her skills and figure out the direction of her music, Lee said.  

That was when she started working with rapper Tablo and DJ Tukutz of Epik High, the hip-hop trio that runs Highgrnd, the sister label of YG which coproduced Lee’s latest album.

“I told Tablo I wanted to sing a song that could comfort people ... because I had so much on my mind,” Lee said. The seasoned rapper whipped out “Breathe” -- written by Jonghyun of boy band SHINee -- from the archives and gave Lee a listen. As soon as she heard it, she knew she liked it.

“I like alternative R&B music,” said Lee. “I was listening to a lot of Jhene Aiko and Luke James at the time. I wanted to take that sound and make it more accessible to a larger audience.” 

Her next album, set to be a sequel to “Seoulite,” will feature more soulful tunes, she added. For now, “I’m happy to be back on stage and singing,” Lee said. “I hope a lot of people will find comfort through this album.”

By Rumy Doo (doo@heraldcorp.com)