Until reading Steyn’s piece I didn’t realize it was her first recording and that she wasn’t a professional singer. I thought her unusual delivery was her doing some kind of sophisticated, highly intentional minimalism, but in reality the lack of any “singerisms” is because she didn’t have any. But the result is perfect for the song.
I also recall she wasn’t really a speaker of English and that is why her accent is so cute (”youn-GHA”).