Rediscovery of Korea-Japan famous songs and famous singers… The famous Korean-Japanese singer competition continues

‘But will I be able to meet you and love you again during those times?’ (Nami ‘Sad Destiny’)

‘The color of the relationship is so red that it burns even the sky.’ (Yukio Hashi ‘Kizuna’)

The popular song ‘Sad Destiny’ sung by Nami in 1985 was known as a Korean song at the time, but was actually written by Japanese composer Ryudou Uzaki. It is said that rather than adapting it, the composer created both Korean and Japanese versions from scratch and gave them to Nami in Korea and Yukio in Japan. In Japan, the song ‘Kizuna’ (絆) with the same melody was released. Afterwards, it became a famous song that is still familiar to this day in Korea, but it was not a big hit in Japan. The song was sung again by singers Rin and Rie Utagokoro in the 4th episode of MBN’s ‘Active Singer King’ broadcast on the 23rd, and was broadcast in both countries. Lin’s first verse in Korean, which contains sorrowful emotions, and Rie’s second verse in Japanese, which draws people in as if talking about herself, combine to create a deeper emotion.

It is a rediscovery of famous songs and famous singers. The Active Singer King Competition is especially attracting attention due to the performance of Japanese singer Rie in each episode. 30 years after her debut, she appears to be a mid-career singer who is now 50 years old, but in fact she was close to unknown until she appeared on the Japanese version of the active singer ‘Trot Girls Japan’ last year. She says that in the past she sang famous commercials in Japan, and recently she made a living by running a restaurant. He won 1st place in the ‘Self-Exploration Competition’ of the Active Singer King Competition and made a lasting impression on Korean viewers by exceeding 1 million views with ‘Snow Flower’ sung on the last broadcast. In the broadcast competition that day, the judges ruled in favor of Lin, but in the comments on the YouTube video uploaded immediately after the broadcast, praise continued for Lee’s unique clear tone, clean high notes, and calm singing style that even reflects the regret of the times. She is a hidden gem, and her hidden gem has been recognized not only in Japan but also in Korea.

In this way, strengthening the meaning of exchange between Korea and Japan, the 4th episode of Korea-Japan Singer King recorded a national viewership rating of 9.3% (provided by Nielsen Korea) and the highest viewership rating per minute of 10%. It also maintained its top spot in viewership ratings for the same time slot across terrestrial, comprehensive, and cable channels for four consecutive weeks.

The competition between the Korean and Japanese teams among the top 7 singers from each country is also exciting. While the finals, which are best-of-three matches, are in full swing, the Korean team won the second game and brought the game back to square one. The Korean team, which had previously suffered defeat by Japan in the first game, won a landslide victory of 7 to 1 in a total of eight matches in the desperate second game.

On this day, in addition to Lin and Rie, singers competed to sing a song together as a duet. Jeon Yu-jin and Fukuda Mirai sang ‘Lovers’, Maijin and Makoto sang ‘Rain and You’, Star Love and Natsuko sang Japanese Enka ‘Rain’s Longing’, and Maria and Kanou Miyu sang ‘Cutie Honey’. In a stage where it was difficult to determine superiority or inferiority, all singers from the Korean team, except for ‘Cutie Honey’, were ahead in the national judging panel vote.

Lin appeared on stage twice that day and contributed to the Korean team’s victory. Lin showed off her mournful tone from the first verse of Choi Baek-ho’s ‘My Heart Has Lost Where to Go’ and surpassed her opponent in the ’emotional competition’, enka prodigy Azuma Aki. In addition, Hye-shin Park performed a special Japanese version of her new song ‘Peacock’, which she received from ‘King of Active Singers’, and overwhelmed her opponent Natsuko from Japan.