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A crowd of middle-aged female fans cheer for Cho Yong-pil at the singer’s showcase in the Olympic Hall in Seoul on Tuesday night. (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald) |
Cho Yong-pil’s latest album simply proves once a legend, always a legend.
Not only did the artist’s lead track “Hello” featuring rapper Verbal Jint from his 19th studio album receive a certified “all-kill” on the major local music charts upon its release, all 10 songs from Cho’s 10-track album “Hello” were listed on the top 10 singles on Bugs’ real-time music chart as of Tuesday night.
“I’m just a musician,” said Cho at a press conference held at Olympic Park the night his album was released. “I never think about what the lead track needs to be. When making an album I just think about my songs one track at a time.”
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Cho Yong-pil performs live at the showcase for his 19th studio album “Hello” in the Olympic Hall at Seoul Olympic Park on Tuesday. (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald) |
On Tuesday night, Cho held a showcase at Seoul Olympic Park where hundreds of eager fans made their way to the limited-seating event to see the iconic singer introduce his new album. Near the end of the show the artist took to the stage and performed the singles “Bounce,” “Someday on My Way Back” and “Hello,” driving the fans wild and filling the stadium with screams of “Oppa!”
The show was streamed live on Naver and featured several guest singers such as hip-hop trio Phantom, who performed the group’s single “Like Cho Yong-pil,” as well as rockers Guckkasten, IDIOTAPE, Park Jung-hyun, Jaurim and Verbal Jint ― all of whom sang their interpretations of the artist’s past hits including “Mona Lisa,” “Short Hair” and “Dream.”
The legendary singer, who many locals refer to as the “King of Singers,” sold 20,000 copies of his comeback 19th album on the first day of sales. On Tuesday morning, around 400 fans gathered outside YP Bookstore in Jongno, Seoul in a line that stretched about 250 meters, waiting to purchase the first new album that Cho has released in a decade.
“People who love music are the people that will listen to this album,” said Cho.
The “Hello” album is unlike anything Cho has released in the past, with the 63-year-old artist attempting to reach out to a more diverse and youthful audience with his upbeat and modern-sounding tracks.
“I’m old. I can’t even think like a 20 or 30-year-old,” he said, laughing. “I was so happy to hear people say that my voice did not sound like the voice of a 63-year-old man.”
Even with his singing debut 45 years behind him, Cho’s attempt at a new sound paid off as he confirmed his relevance in today’s music scene. Seven songs from Cho’s album were listed on Soribada’s top 10 singles chart; six were listed on the top 10 ranking on Naver; four songs on Daum; and two tracks on Melon.
The artist is scheduled to kick off his nationwide “Hello” tour with three performances in Seoul from May 31 to June 2 at the Gymnastics Stadium at Olympic Park.
By Julie Jackson (
juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)
