Cho Yong-pil, comeback 10 years after ‘Bounce’ in 2013
A charming musical attempt… Singer sensitive to change
Critic Lim Jin-mo: “Cho Yong-pil, an experimentalist who promoted change”
A charming musical attempt… Singer sensitive to change
Critic Lim Jin-mo: “Cho Yong-pil, an experimentalist who promoted change”
《Yoon Jun-ho’s Rebirth》
Reporter Junho Yoon of Ten Asia introduces trends in the entertainment industry. Let's look back at what the heightened needs of viewers are from the perspective of the MZ generation and what made it popular or uncomfortable with the public.
The King of Singer, Cho Yong-pil, is back. It's been 10 years since 'Bounce' in 2013. From MZ to the older generation, everyone is crazy about ‘singer Cho Yong-pil.’ What power does the 73-year-old artist’s music contain?
Cho Yong-pil released a new song that will be included in his 20th full-length album on the 26th. This album contains the new song ‘Feeling Of You’. ‘Feeling of You’ is a synth-pop genre with strong electronic music characteristics. Another song, ‘La’, is based on the progressive house genre.
Through this album, Cho Yong-pil showed that there are no genre limitations. Although the music was performed by a 73-year-old singer, it showed a modern musical color. Keeping one's own colors while keeping up with changes in the times. He proved to himself why he is a top artist from past to present.
Cho Yong-pil's music began at a US military club located in Gyeonggi-do. Active since the 1960s, he created numerous hit songs and established himself as the king of singers.
Singer Cho Yong-pil itself is unfamiliar to the ‘MZ generation’ born in the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, he does not stop at just being an old singer that his parents like. This is because he is an ‘active singer’ who is still releasing new songs. Despite being ‘grandfather-aged’, he is evaluated as being not inferior to younger singers when it comes to music.
Why is Cho Yong-pil evaluated as a singer who is constantly changing and still growing? There are three main reasons. First of all, it is a wide spectrum of music. If you ask Cho Yong-pil what kind of music he makes, you can answer 'the youngest music.' We have tried a variety of styles, including rock, trot, folk songs, jazz, and pop. This is a change that cannot be achieved without endless study of music.
The change was successful, and the public cheered. In 2013, Cho Yong-pil's true value was revealed in 'Bounce' and 'Hello'. The younger tempo was more pleasing to the public's ears than the 1980s hit songs 'Short Hair' and 'I Like You'. It also ranked first on the music charts. Past hit songs such as ‘The Leopard of Kilimanjaro’ were also brought into the spotlight again.
The second is a world-class stage performance. Cho Yong-pil's solo concert held in 2010 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his debut. We interacted with 100,000 fans over two days. The passion for the stage is also noticeable. It was hard to believe that he was old, so he walked across the playground and played music. The moving stage and 3D animation were attempts rarely seen at any concert venue at the time. The story that he spent about 6 billion won on performance production costs alone shows Cho Yong-pil's sincerity about the stage.
Third is his broad heart. Songs such as ‘Hello’, ‘I Need a Charge’, and ‘A Clumsy Wind’ combine electronica sounds with rock. Here, we even attempted vocal effects through auto-tune. 'What I Miss' is electronic dance music and is suitable for use in clubs.
In order to make young music like this, you have to constantly communicate with young musicians. Despite being the ‘King of Singer’, the result of listening to the stories of young musicians and communicating with them was the driving force behind creating today’s ever-changing music. An industry insider commented, “Mr. Cho Yong-pil showed himself to be a singer who is still open musically, without being authoritative or authoritative to younger musicians.”
Changing the trends of the times rather than following them. These were the virtues of those who were called true stars. In an interview, he said, "When I leave the concert hall, I want to create something to talk about, not saying, 'Cho Yong-pil is old, but he's still performing,' but saying, 'Cho Yong-pil showed something new in this performance.' Fans like it and enjoy it. “Showing as much as I can is my way of repaying and giving back to the love I received from my fans,” he said. This is why the music of people in their 70s is refreshing to the younger generation.
Lim Jin-mo, a popular music critic, said, "Cho Yong-pil was an experimentalist who pursued artistry and sought change in each and every album. What stands out is that he continues his musical activities looking at the current generation beyond the generation that was with him." He said. An attitude of constantly learning and expanding. This is something that not only younger musicians, but all of us living in the same era can learn from.
Reporter Junho Yoon, Ten Asia delo410@tenasia.co.kr