'Phantom Singer 2' to boost crossover music further
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Kang Hyung-ho, an employee from Busan-based chemical research lab, sings the theme song from “Phantom of the Opera,” freely crisscrossing the male and female parts of the song during JTBC's singing competition "Phantom Singer 2" / Courtesy of JTBC
By Park Jin-hai
JTBC’s singing competition show “Phantom Singer,” which brought out fans of the less-recognized crossover music, has returned for a second season in just six months.
Premiering on Friday, “Phantom Singer 2” aims to find four finalists of the survival talent show to make a crossover quartet similar to Italy’s Il Divo.
It features plenty of hidden talent from various backgrounds.
Following the successful first season, which led to the crossover quartet “Forte di Quatro” whose album and concert tours enjoy unforeseen popularity, the new season features five times the number of audition participants than the previous season _ and more talent, says the broadcaster.
“If the first season focused on rising stars, the new season will offer more big-name stars as well as anonymous talents,” said a JTBC official.
In the first episode, featuring preliminary auditions, diverse contenders ranging from rising musical star to a famous Italy-based Korean opera singer and an ordinary office worker stole the show, surprising judges.
Prolific baritone Julian Kim, or Kim Joo-taek, flew from Italy and said, “It needed great courage to be here. Regardless of opera or pop music, I thought it is meaningless without an audience,” revealing why he decided to join the show.
He sang Chopin’s “Tristezza,” leaving judges awe-struck.
Another contender Cho Min-kyu, who recorded a song for the 2011 film “The Front Line” but who has often drawn negative critical comment because of his unusual tenor voice, received big applause from the judges.
What shocked the judges was the performance of Kang Hyung-ho, an employee from Busan-based chemical research lab. The researcher, 30, sang the theme song from “Phantom of the Opera,” freely crisscrossing the male and female parts of the song.
After the show, viewers said, “Kang’s performance gave me goose bumps,” and, “Seeing his performance reminds me of champions beaten by martial art masters living as hermits.”
Helped by the jaw-dropping performance of the contestants, the show’s first episode garnered 3 percent rating, compared with 2 percent the previous season.
Producer Kim Hyung-joong had said earlier “Many contenders of the first season, including winning team Forte di Quatro, have done so well, together taking the minor musical genre into the mainstream. So I felt great responsibility that the new show should offer even better quality.”
“I hear that [some people think] the second season has been launched too soon after the first one.
“But this has been possible because there are so many unknown crossover musicians, and I wanted viewers to be able to hear their voices.”