Singer Hwang Chi-yeul tops Chinese TV show

Korean singer-songwriter Hwang Chi-yeul took first place on a season four episode of Chinese music contest show “I Am a Singer,” which aired Friday, said the singer’s agency HOW Entertainment.

This is the second time Hwang has taken first place, beating top Chinese stars competing with him.

Hwang reinterpreted Park Jin-young’s “Honey” for the eighth episode of the season, inserting Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” in the middle of the song and presenting a dance tribute to Jackson.

Hwang has been giving strong performances on the Chinese TV show, winning second place among eight artists on both the first and second episodes, which aired Jan. 15 and Jan. 22, respectively.

Hwang took first place for the first time on the fourth episode, performing Big Bang’s “Bang Bang Bang.” The performance also topped a vote by other participating artists.

Regaining first place in the eighth episode, Hwang demonstrated he could potentially win the 14-episode season of the show, according to HOW Entertainment.

Hwang, who officially debuted in 2007, made a dramatic return after an eight-year hiatus on Mnet’s music contest “I Can See Your Voice” in March 2015.

Since then, Hwang has appeared in season two of ”Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend“ on KBS2 last year and season four of ”I Am a Singer“ in China.

Meanwhile, Hwang will appear on Chinese TV show “Happy Camp” with other artists from “I Am a Singer” on China’s Hunan TV on March 10.

By Jung Eun-jin (jej2403@heraldcorp.com)