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“Ding dong, ding dong~” As soon as you hear this familiar xylophone sound, the automatic reflex was to sing out, “National~ Singing Contest!” Adding onto this, it was the “national rule (a universally recognized norm)” to throw in a shoulder dance and raise your voice to sing along “Ta-tada-ta-ta~”
Recently, however, this has been changing. If you play “Ding dong, ding dong~” to the younger generation, they might shout “전부~노래잘함 (Jeonbu~ Noraejalham),” which means “everyone sings well.” This is because the popular YouTube content “Everyone Sings Well” hosted by comedian Moon Seyoon signals the start of the program with a cool shout of “전부~ 노래잘함.”
For nearly 40 years, KBS1′s “National Singing Contest” has been a source of joy and emotions for the entire nation. However, the popularity of the show has been evaluated as having declined compared to the past. When comedian Kim Shin-young took over as the host in October of last year, the show started with a decent 9.2 percent viewership rating in its first week. However, the ratings dropped to the 6 percent range after just two weeks, and this year, it has been hovering in the 5 percent range. This is a significant decrease compared to the time when the late Song Hae was the host and the show served as a “national alarm” to wake people up from their Sunday afternoon naps, consistently hovering around the 10 percent mark.
Meanwhile, various entertainment contents with similar concepts to “National Singing Contest” have emerged and are penetrating the niche. The YouTube channel “Everyone Sings Well” presented by content production studio Peanut Butter features comedian Moon Se-yoon, known for his singing skills among comedians, traveling to major regions across the country, including universities and workplaces, to listen to participants’ stories and songs. Since its launch in April last year, the program has been recognized as “MZ generation’s version of National Singing Contest.” Recently, it has grown into a popular program that even famous celebrities eagerly participate as guest singers. In October of last year, the Han River Busking edition featured American singer Benson Boone, who had topped the Billboard charts. The episode has garnered 16.18 million views on YouTube as of the 24th. Among a total of 85 YouTube videos, 28 videos have exceeded 1 million views, accounting for around 30 percent of all the videos.
Co-produced by LG HelloVision, K-STAR, and HCN, “Tae-gun Singing Contest” is a program that began airing in May with “Trot Taekwondo Star” Na Tae-ju, who gained mainstream popularity through the TV Chosun audition program “Mr. Trot,” and Park Goon, a former Special Forces trot singer, as MCs. The program is especially popular for its “Unbelievable Amateur Live Performance” section. Both MCs are well-known trot singers among the middle-aged audience, and their presence, combined with their appearances in popular variety shows such as “Steel Troops” and “Law of the Jungle,” has added a raw and authentic flavor to the program. They also excel in spotting hidden talents that the camera might not capture. “Passing-by Baby Mom” Kim Myeong-jin’s episode set in Gangjin, Jeollanam-do, surpassed 2.6 million YouTube views, and the episode set in Muan, “Baby Mom Who Sang Unexpectedly While Taking Care of Her Daughter” also exceeded 1.26 million views.
TV Chosun’s “Singing Korea,” which first aired in April, has gained attention as a contender against “National Singing Contest” since its time slot was changed from Sunday nights at 7:50 PM to Saturdays at 12:00 PM in June. The program is known for the witty remarks of MC and director, comedian Kim Jong-kook. In the “Outreach Service of Preliminaries” section, MC Kim Jong-kook and the duo One Plus One (singers Lee Byung-chul and Kim Min-kyo) personally visit local traditional markets and famous tourist spots to discover hidden talents and bring them to the main stage, capturing the lively moments of various citizens. Singers from “Mr. Trot 2,” such as Na Sang-do, Kim Yong-pil, and Hwang Min-ho, have also appeared as guest singers on the show.
공희정 대중문화평론가는 ”여러 캐릭터를 소화하던 MC 김신영이 ‘일요일의 막내딸’ 이미지를 벗어나지 못하는 동안 개그맨 문세윤이나 가수 나태주처럼 자신만의 캐릭터를 내세운 MC들이 거리 공연 콘텐츠에 또 다른 볼 맛을 선사하고 있다”면서 “최근 1~2년 사이 새로운 문화 소비 주체로 성장한 중장년층이 코로나 이후 잠재됐던 에너지를 거리에서 쏟아내는 것도 거리 공연 콘텐츠 시장의 판을 키우고 있다”고 말했다.
Pop culture critic Gong Hee-jeong stated, “While MC Kim Shin-young, who used to embody various characters, hasn’t been able to break free from her ‘Sunday’s youngest daughter’ image, MCs like comedian Moon Se-yoon or singer Na Tae-joo, who have their own unique characters, are bringing a different flavor to street performance content. In the past 1-2 years, the middle-aged population, as a new consumer group in culture, has been channeling the energy that was dormant after the COVID-19 pandemic into street performances, thereby expanding the market for street performance content.”
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