KOREAN SHOWS: MBC's "I Am a Singer" Season 2 (2)

Naneun Gasuda (나는 가수다) or NAGASU (나가수)

The second night of MBC's "I Am a Singer" Season Two (5/13/2012) was much expected as it featured the competition among singers in Group B – Group of Death, but its ratings slipped obviously due to the lackluster performances by Group A singers.  Last night, Kim Gunmo, Park Wankyu, and Kim Yunwoo made the top three and moved up to the “Singer of the Month” round; Park Sangmin, Jeong Yeop, and Jeong In ranked the bottom three headed to the elimination round. 

Right before the placement announcement, Kim Younghee, the show’s creator and producer, said the outcome represented an important significance (for the future direction of the show). In live performances, there’s a sense of immediacy and of aliveness that we never get in a family room watching on TV, and powerhouse singers with high notes have advantage to capturing the audience’s heart as their sound projects more strongly than other low-pitched, understated singers.  Thus in the first season, the show had been pestered by criticism that it was a high-pitch contest.  Now in the second season, the weight given to the votes of live studio audience was reduced from 100 percent to 40 and the rest (60 percent) was given to the votes of TV viewers.  According to Kim, the viewers’ votes in fact overturned the live audiences’ choices, which implies Kim Gunmo might have been boosted up to the top three by the viewers. 

I think Kim’s understated rendition of the late Yoo Jaeha’s Nae Maeume Bichin  Nae Moseup (내 마음에 비친 내 모습, “Myself Reflected in My Heart”) outshone the rest in Group B!  Park Wankyu, the winner of last night’s competition, has been my all-time favorite but I don’t think he deserved the win.  The rearrangement of Park Insu’s soulful Bombi (봄비, “Spring Rain”), written by Shin Junghyun, the legend of all legends, into a strong, powerful metal was not bad but the overall performance was quite sloppy - especially the chorus and the house band were just horrible to my ears.  And about Kim Yunwoo, I’d rather not talk about his performance as I was not, am not, and probably will not be a fan of his singing.  Personally, I'd rather have seen Jeong Yeop in the top three.

[STUDIO VERSION] Kim Gunmo: "Myself Reflected in My Heart"

on MBC's NAGASU (aired on 5/13/2012)

LYRICS:  “Myself Reflected in My Heart”

1. Pieces of my dreams that I can’t hold are disappearing one by one

And now I’m adrift again as if I was endlessly running in a wheel

Knowing that it’s a lie, I pretend not to know it

And spit a word with a sigh as if it contained the truth of my own

2. I’m all alone as I wake up from a long dream, peppered with twists of fate

Without asking questions, I’m heading to a place I know

Struggling to send off the troubled moments

I keep remembering and forgetting the memories I’ve erased

(Refrain) Why try to add my thoughts when it’s too late?

I can just take it casually and look at it from another view

How can I fill the empty space inside myself that I haven’t drawn?

I’d rather fill it with myself reflected in my heart

Original Version: Yoo Jaeha (singer/song writer)
Nae Maeume Bichin Nae Moseup "Myself Reflected in My Heart" (1987)

  Park Wankyu: "Spring Rain"

on MBC's NAGASU (aired on 5/13/2012)

LYRICS:  “Spring Rain”

Walking down the street in the drizzle,
All wet with spring rain,

All by myself, I try to soothe my heart,
Listening to the raindrops

But I can't ease my lonely heart

My eyes overflow without end

Are raindrops turning into tears?

They overflow without end

Spring rain! You’re making me cry.

Spring rain!  When are you gonna stop?

Spring rain!  You’re even making my heart cry.

I can't ease my lonely heart

My eyes overflow without end

Are raindrops turning into tears?

They overflow without end

Park Insu Version: Bombi "Spring Rain" (1970)

Written by Shin Junghyun, legendary guitarist/singer/song-writer

[STUDIO VERSION] Jeong Yeop: "In Dreams"

on MBC's NAGASU (aired on 5/13/2012)

LYRICS:  “In Dreams”

In a dream, last night in a dream, I saw you

I don’t know who you are but can’t forget about you

I’ve never seen you before; I never know your name

Lady, you just grazed me in my dream

As I think of you in the dark, you suddenly seem familiar

And a vivid memory of you comes back to me

You’re the lady I’ve once seen and forgotten

 (Refrain) I saw you on one autumn day

Afraid of waking up if I open my eyes

I see you with my eyes closed

My dream popped like a bubble

My dear, please come back tonight

You vanish as I open my eyes

So I see you with my eyes closed

My dream popped like a bubble

My dear, please come back tonight

Original Version: Ggume "In Dreams" (1986)
Written & Sung by Jo Deokbae

[STUDIO VERSION] Kim Yunwoo: "Standing in the Shade of the Roadside Trees"

on MBC's NAGASU (aired on 5/13/2012)

LYRICS:  “Standing in the Shade of the Roadside Trees”

The fragrance of lilac flowers brought back memories I can’t forget

So I cry with my head leaning against the bus window,

With a sorrowful heart that is dazzling in brilliant sunshine

As I’m standing in the shade of the roadside trees,

I see you who look like floating

When fall comes shattered in the cold rain,

I erase you with the cold morning breeze

It’s such a beautiful world!

I’ll not forget the story of my love

(Refrain) Oh, oh, oh! The fragrance gets thicker in the shade

Of the roadside trees that get thinner

Oh, oh, oh! (It’s a) beautiful world

I know you knew that I loved you

Oh, oh, oh!  The fragrance gets thicker in the shade

Of the sky where the stars are waning

As I’m standing in the shade of the roadside trees,

I see you who look like floating

When fall comes shattered in the cold rain,

I erase you with the cold morning breeze

It’s such a beautiful world!

I’ll not forget the story of my love

(Refrain)

Would the you that I loved know?

Original Version: Garosu Geuneul Arae Seomyeon 
"Standing in the Shade of the Roadside Trees" (1988)
Written by the late Lee Younghun/Sung by Lee Munse

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KOREAN MUSIC: MBC's "I Am a Singer" Season 2 (4)
KOREAN MUSIC: MBC's "I Am a Singer" Season 2 (5)
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