Mnet's new reality show seeks musical experiment

The cast members of Mnet's new reality show “The Call” pose during a press conference at Amoris Hall in Times Square, southern Seoul, Friday. From left are singer Lee Sang-min, ballad singer Shin Seung-hun, Chief Producer Lee Sun-young, vocalists Kim Bum-soo, Kim Jong-kook, and comedian Yoo Se-yoon. / Courtesy of CJ E&M

In 'The Call,' noted musicians team up with anonymous singers

By Kwak Yeon-soo

What if British rock group The Beatles could team up with Bruno Mars for a new album? If so what kind of music would they produce?

Mnet's new experimental reality show “The Call” will help the public imagine what their songs would sound like if such a collaboration could happen.

“The Call” aims to bring color and variety to Korean music that now heavily relies on idol groups and hip-hop.

Any kind of music is a surprise but musical melanges that transcend genres and generations allow us to rediscover musicians in various ways, according to Mnet's Chief Producer Lee Sun-young.

“Korean music has grown to the point where our musicians are gaining international recognition, but I believe there needs to be more effort to diversify the music,” Lee said during a press conference at Amoris Hall in southern Seoul, Friday. Her previous shows include “I Can See Your Voice” and “Show Me the Money.”

“My approach at this time is to create a show where musicians could work together and produce new music that could generate a certain mystique about them,” she added. “So I sought after various indie bands, hip-hop artists and idol groups to appear on the show.”

In “The Call,” the show invites four lineup artists ― Shin Seung-hun, Kim Jong-kook, Wheesung, and Kim Bum-soo ― to be matched with the other secret soloists. A secret soloist may collaborate with a lineup artist on a duet only if the lineup artist chooses them as his first preference. If a secret soloist receives a call from a lineup artist, they would have to make a new song in two weeks and perform it live on stage.

Shin Seung-hun, a renowned ballad vocalist in Korea who debuted in 1991, said he joined the show to challenge himself and try genre-straddling music. “I decided to participate in the show to widen my musical spectrum,” Shin said. “It's a rare opportunity to work with such amazing creatives,” he added.

Kim Jong-kook, who set aside his profession as a solo musician and has been appearing on variety shows until recently, said he wishes to showcase his musician side through “The Call.”

“I understand the general public finds my singing on stage quite awkward. But I'd like to take this as an opportunity to boost myself up to prepare for a new solo album.”

Meanwhile, Kim Bum-soo said he had cravings for creating music because his activities were learned from appearing on variety shows and holding concerts. “This is completely different from working on cover songs. We literally had to make something out of nothing,” he said.

“The Call” will be broadcast at 8:10 p.m. every Friday on Mnet and tvN. The first episode was aired last Friday.