‘Mr. Trot 2’ concert seats ‘empty’

<<Ryu Ye-ji's yellow card>>

TenAsia reporter Ryu Ye-ji takes a proper look at the entertainment industry incidents and accidents that are attracting the most attention.

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Trot’s popularity is not what it used to be. There are concert tickets left over in Season 2, which were not available during 'Mr. Trot 1'. There's less than a week left until the first concert, and I'm still struggling.

Previously, tickets for Season 1 were sold out within 10 minutes of opening, but tickets for 'Mr. Trot 2' are still on sale. The Seoul concert, which is considered a measure of box office success, was not sold out, so the situation in other regions is even more shabby.

According to Interpark Ticket, there are 986 seats remaining (as of 4 p.m. on the 30th) for the Seoul concert on May 5, the first concert of the 'Mr. Trot 2' members. The next day, the 6th, the numbers were similar at 1pm and 6pm. On the 7th, nearly 1,000 seats were empty.

At the time of Season 1, there was a lot of buzz, even going as far as scalping tickets, but this time it was different. There are less than six days left until the concert begins, but the sense of crisis over the poor box office performance is already growing.

The failure of the 'Mr. Trot 2' members to sell out the concert was actually expected to some extent. This is because the viewership ratings were disappointing even when the program aired. The final episode of ‘Mr. Trot 2’ barely exceeded the 20% mark with 21.1%. Compared to Season 1, nearly 20% of viewers were missing. Until then, it had never exceeded 20% and only exceeded 10%.

The same is true when comparing the number of text votes. In Season 1, 7.73 million votes were counted, and in Season 2, 2.52 million votes were counted. Poor performance means there is little public interest in the cast.

It didn't even attract attention. Unlike 'Mr. Trot 1', which maintained the top spot for 11 consecutive weeks in entertainment rankings conducted by various research institutes, 'Mr. Trot 2' at the time had to give up the top spot in the area of topicality as well.

Nevertheless, TV Chosun pushes ahead with a new challenge. The spin-off program 'Tralalala Brothers' was launched with members of 'Mr. Trot 2'. The broadcast will have a 10-member system, with 3 participants added to the top 7. It is a content that combines entertainment such as quizzes and games with songs, and has recently completed its first recording and is preparing to be aired.

The challenge for spin-off programs is success. Without a clear top star, viewership ratings tend to decline. However, there is still no star in ‘Mr. Trot 2’ who can lead the box office success. A proper fandom was not even formed.

In 'Mr. Trot 1', there were stars that attracted attention other than the top 7. Examples include Kim Soo-chan, Hwang Yun-seong, Ryu Ji-kwang, Na Tae-ju, Noh Ji-hoon, and Lee Dae-won. On the other hand, 'Mr. Trot 2' failed to bring firepower even to the top 7.

Without a star to drive the fandom, concerts and broadcasts would not be successful. With Trot-related programs pouring in, viewers' fatigue has already reached its peak. Here, the members of 'Mr. Trot 2' are in a situation where the power of the fandom is relatively small. It is still unclear whether the new entertainment show 'Tralalala Brothers' will be able to break the preconceived notion that it will fail and take a leap forward.

Ryu Ye-ji, Ten Asia Reporter ryuperstar@tenasia.co.kr