By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Seo In-gook, winner of Mnet's ``Superstar K,'' a reality competition program to find new musical talent similar to the United States' ``American Idol,'' instantly topped online music charts with his debut mini album, the cable music channel announced Tuesday.
All three songs featured on the mini album ― ``Bureunda'' (Calling You), ``Young Love,'' which the 22-year-old wrote the lyrics for and sang during the competition, and ``Areumdaun Ibyeol'' (Beautiful Breakup), a remake of the Lee Seung-chul song ― became top-ranking numbers upon its release Tuesday.
``It is extremely rare to sweep music charts on the day an album is released, unless you are a top singer. It's even more significant considering that competition is tough opposite top stars who are making their comebacks and rising newcomers,'' said Mnet in a statement.
The debutant singer's tracks took the top three spots on Mnet's Web site (www.mnet.com). He also beat out popular K-pop artists like Leessang, SHINee, Baek Ji-young and Girls' Generation on Cyworld (www.cyworld.com) with ``Calling You.'' His two other songs were included on Cyworld's top 20 chart.
``Calling You'' was written by leading producer Bang Si-hyuk, who is known for his work with JYP Entertainment, for the winner of the talent competition. Featuring a first-place prize of more than 100 million won and the chance to make a debut fully backed by music giant Mnet, ``Superstar K'' garnered much interest among aspiring musicians and fans.
Seo, a native of Ulsan, was quoted as telling local media that he dreamed of becoming a singer ever since he was little. ``I was struck by (rocker) Kim Jung-min when I saw him on TV at age 10,'' he said. He was encouraged by his cousin to audition for the program. He is currently majoring in applied music at Daebul University.