Don’t Expect YANG to Teach You: K-Pop Star 4
[OSEN=손남원의 연예산책] SBS’s popular audition program K-Pop Star 4 is dominating the nation’s Sunday. The viewer rate is breaking a new record every week. While all the other audition programs are going downwards, this one is going the opposite way. So what is the secret?
The obvious would be the level of contestants. Contestants on this show are thought to be much better than those on other audition programs. Only when their talents are good can they grab the attention of those who watch.
The second would be the amazing chemistry among the three judges, YANG HYUN SUK, Park Jin Young and Yoo Hee Yeol. One serious (YANG), one overreacting (JYP) and one straightforward (Yoo), the different colors come together in perfect harmony to entertain the viewers.
The third secret would be how it is directed. Eliminating tension and conflict for a forced drama, the director focuses on the competition and the actual performances. As the episodes go on, they get professional lessons from the judges and their talents improve dramatically. And those are exactly what the viewers are looking for.
YG’s executive producer YANG HYUN SUK is quite fond of K-Pop Star. He was involved in suggesting and designing the program himself, and recruited contestants like LEE HI, AKDONG MUSICIAN, and LEE SEUNG HOON to the agency and made them into monster rookies. It shows that the program isn’t all about hitting high viewer rate; it’s about discovering those with a dream to become artists and helping them achieve it.
In a recent interview with OSEN, YANG commented, “Thanks to JYP and Yoo, the show is more entertaining. While they are talented artists, they also write songs, which can help the contestants greatly and they can even teach. I don’t really write songs, so I’m different. My job is to find the gem and turn them into stars. I am there as a producer.”
“I actually try to teach them how to catch the fish. All artists in YG, including BIGBANG and 2NE1, were like that. I guide them at the beginning and the end only. No one knows the limit of their talents, so as the producer I should not trap them in a box. It’s not about trimming the stems or the flowers, it’s about packaging them nicely.”
So contestants on K-Pop Star 4 should not expect to get lessons from YANG. However, being picked by him is surely a way to take a step closer to achieving that dream of becoming a singer.
K-Pop Star 4 hit a viewer rate of 12.6% (by Nielson) last week. This is up by 0.5% from the previous week. Starting from 10.9% in the first week (Nov 23), the viewer rate of this popular program continues to climb.
2014. 12. 21.
