Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
‘Sing Again’ is another show whose concept is a rebooting audition program that provides a stage for singers to take another shot at showcasing themselves to the public. Given that it’s from the producers of Sugar Man, it’s quite popular in Korea, but the lack of buzz about it internationally has unfortunately prevented me from getting into it until recently.
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Note: There are no English subtitles, but you can get the gist of the show watching episodes without them and JTBC are posting clips and performances on JTBC Entertainment and JTBC Voyage on YouTube.
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The show also has a star fixed cast, with Lee Seung Gi hosting and Yoo Hee Yeol, Lee Sun Hee, Jeon In Kwon, Kim Ea Na, Kyuhyun, Sunmi, Lee Haeri, and Mino as judges.
Still perhaps most impressive is the talent that showed up, with a bunch of names you’ll recognize and many you won’t, but most obviously have a lot of skill. Of particular note to K-pop fans are Crayon Pop’s ChoA, TINY-G’s J.Min, Sunny Hill’s Ju.B, Soya, IMFACT’s Taeho, Ladies’ Code’s Sojung, Lee Michelle.
Anyway, here are my picks for the notable contestants, listed in the order they appear on the show. I also posted the song they are covering below their performance.
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Kim Jin Woong (#49) – Boohwal’s “Lonely Night” – 6 Votes
Seo Young Joo (#26) – Kang San Ae’s “Like The Salmon That Tracing Up The River” – 8 Votes
Loveholic’s Jisun (#2) – Loveholic’s “Loveholic” – 6 Votes
Crayon Pop’s ChoA (#59) – Crayon Pop’s “Bar Bar Bar” – 7 Votes
Lee Moo Jin (#63) – Han Young Ae’s “Is Anyone There” – 8 Votes
Lee Seungyoon (#30) – Park Jin Young’s “Honey” – 7 Votes
Hajin (#55) – Hajin’s “We All Lie” – 7 Votes
Youme (#33) – Youme’s “Love Is Always Thirsty” – 5 Votes
Michelle Lee (#14) – Hwasa’s “Maria” – 6 Votes
Venti (#1) – MAMAMOO’s “Piano Man” – 6 Votes
Cheon Danbi (#40) – Ann One’s “Even If It’s Only Just A Memory” – 8 Votes
TINY-G’s J.Min (#67) – Sam Kim’s “Make Up” – 7 Votes
IMFACT’s Taeho (#37) – Yang Jong Il’s “Rebecca’ – 7 Votes
Sunny Hill’s JuB (#42) – Sunny Hill’s “Pit-A-Pat” – 5 Votes
Jung Hongil (#29)- Yim Jae Beom’s “Where Are You” – 8 Votes
Ladies’ Code’s Sojung (#11) – Yim Jae Beom’s “The Flight” – 8 Votes
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So yeah, I’ve been missing out, and I think a lot of others have as well. There’s an eclectic mix of talent showcased, and not only singing ability as the remixes of classics provide a completely new experience for some of the songs. There’s also honestly a ton of nostalgic moments thrown in there including some where a lot of the appeal is simply remembering the drama or music video it was attached to.
As far as the idols go, Sojung was no surprise even if I didn’t know she was quite that good, and Ju.B did basically as expected. ChoA had a hard task since the song isn’t exactly a talent showcase, but she did her best to add flair to it. The surprises for me were J.Min and especially Taeho, as I recognize their groups but I didn’t know they had talent like that. Impressive.
I like the show so far a lot.
