TV
Singer Heo Chan-mi Reflects on Her Journey with 'Miss Trot 4'
On the afternoon of the 13th, a press conference for the TOP5 of MBN's variety show 'Miss Trot 4' was held at TV Chosun's Gasan Studio in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul. The event was attended by the top contestants: Lee So-na, Heo Chan-mi, Hong Sung-yoon, along with 4th place Gil Ryeo-won and 5th place Yoon Tae-hwa.
Heo Chan-mi, who secured the 2nd place, debuted in 2010 as a member of the group Co-Ed School and later with F-ve Dolls and as a solo artist. 'Miss Trot 4' marked her fourth audition attempt. She was a strong contender for the win until the final round, but Lee So-na took the first place, creating an unexpected outcome. When asked if she was disappointed about not winning, Heo Chan-mi said, "My goal was to be in the TOP5," adding, "The process of reaching the finals was significant to me, so I don't feel disappointed with the result."
Regarding her decision to participate in another audition program, she shared, "I felt a lot of self-doubt." She explained, "I started as a trainee at 13 and have been in the music industry for a long time. I often got eliminated at the final stages of auditions, which made me wonder if I wasn't loved by the public. I wanted to challenge myself one last time to become a recognized singer. I prepared diligently."
Heo Chan-mi had previously hinted that she would quit singing if she didn't achieve good results in 'Miss Trot 4'. She stated, "I took on the challenge with determination," and added, "I wanted to shed the label of being an idol. While performance is my strength, I felt it was unfortunate that people only saw me as an idol."
Her determination led to new learning experiences. To transform her image on 'Miss Trot 4', she even learned Gyeonggi folk songs. Heo Chan-mi explained, "I researched and practiced traditional trot extensively. Since I challenged genres I hadn't done before, every stage felt like a final."
She further mentioned, "Having been an idol for a long time, I had the compulsion to perform perfectly without mistakes on stage. This time, I approached it with the mindset of letting go, even if I received criticism."
Meanwhile, the final episode of 'Miss Trot 4', which aired on the 5th, recorded a nationwide viewership rating of 18.1%, with a peak of 18.4%, achieving the top spot across all channels in its time slot for 12 consecutive weeks.
By Da-yeon Jeong, Ten Asia Reporter light@tenasia.co.kr