On the 11th, Chungil took the final 1st place on TV CHOSUN’s ‘Golden Friday’ after receiving a perfect score for a song by Jo Young-nam.
The original singer Jo Young-nam’s evaluations varied from performance to performance, and the contestants received different scores even within the same repertoire.
This competition was not merely about reproducing a song similarly; the rankings were decided by how the performers brought out the rhythm and emotion.
3-line summary
1. Chungil took the final 1st place in the Jo Young-nam episode
2. 100 points for ‘Only Once in My Life’
3. The original singer’s evaluation and the score did not match
The Twist Created by Chungil’s ‘Only Once in My Life’
The 38th episode, broadcast on the 11th, featured Jo Young-nam appearing as the Golden Star and watching a Golden Star competition performed with his songs. Jo Young-nam announced that he would give a piece of artwork he had painted to the day’s highest scorer. It became a competition involving not only the rankings but also the original singer’s direct evaluations and a painting as a prize.
The person who reached the highest position was Chungil. Chungil sang Jo Young-nam’s ‘Only Once in My Life’ and received the day’s only 100-point perfect score. Jo Young-nam praised Chungil’s performance, saying in effect that he had imbued a song difficult to perform in rhythm with emotion as well. It was also the moment when Chungil, who had engaged in a light war of nerves with Jo Young-nam early in the broadcast, changed the momentum through the evaluation after his performance.
Chungil then successfully defended his position in the ‘Roulette of Destiny’ defense match, securing 5 Golden Stars and taking the sole lead. After all the competitions ended, he received Jo Young-nam’s painting as the final 1st-place winner. A clear scene from this episode was that the score produced on the actual stage changed the result more than the atmosphere or verbal sparring before the competition.
Scores and Evaluations Varied Even for the Same Jo Young-nam Songs
The evaluations received by the contestants who sang Jo Young-nam’s songs did not all point in the same direction. Yang Ji-eun received 97 points for ‘I Can’t Live Without Love,’ but Jo Young-nam expressed the opinion that the trot-style vocal technique did not suit the song well. A high score and the original singer’s complete satisfaction did not necessarily coincide.
By contrast, Nam Seung-min was praised for singing ‘The Third Daughter of the Choi Jin-sa Household’ better than the original singer. However, he could not overturn the score difference. Cheon Rok-dam borrowed Jo Young-nam’s glasses and then sang ‘Goodbye, City,’ receiving 98 points, while Son Bin-a recorded 92 points with ‘Hwagae Market.’ Jo Young-nam added an impromptu harmony to Son Bin-a’s performance, but this support did not lead to a higher score.
Kim Yong-bin took the lead by earning 99 points with ‘Now,’ composed by Jo Young-nam, while his head-to-head opponent Chu Hyeok-jin received 95 points. In the final match, Choi Jae-myung received 99 points for ‘Waterwheel Life,’ beating Oh Yu-jin’s 97 points. One point worth noting in these results is that it was difficult to predict the rankings from favorable expressions alone. The scores, the head-to-head structure, and the results of the subsequent defense matches together determined the final rankings.
Jeong Seo-ju’s 96 Points and Kim Se-hwan’s Super Catfish Performance
Jeong Seo-ju sang Jo Young-nam’s ‘The Leaves Are Falling,’ released in 1973, and received 96 points. Jo Young-nam highly evaluated Jeong Seo-ju’s singing, and Kim Se-hwan, who appeared as the super catfish, also praised her enough to recommend releasing a remake. Even though Jeong Seo-ju’s performance received high praise, it did not reach Chungil’s perfect score that day.
Kim Se-hwan recorded 97 points with ‘Swallow.’ After all the performances ended, the broadcast concluded with the cast singing Kim Se-hwan’s ‘On Saturday Night’ together. According to a report by the Korea Daily, that day’s broadcast recorded a nationwide viewership rating of 3.8% and a peak viewership rating of 4.2% based on Nielsen Korea. Among the performances in which each contestant interpreted Jo Young-nam’s songs differently, Chungil’s performance took both the highest score and the final reward.
References
Tags #TrotDeathMatch #GoldenFriday #Chungil #JoYoungnam #TVCHOSUN #TrotCompetition #GoldenStarCompetition #OnlyOnceInMyLife #KimYongbin #JeongSeoju #SonBina #KimSehwan #ChoiJaemyung