KBS to air new music program ‘The Seasons’

Public broadcaster KBS will continue its 30-year legacy of late night music talk shows with a new program, “The Seasons,” starting in February.

The new music program, which stars Korean singer and rapper Jay Park as its new host, will air Fridays in the same time slot as “You Heeyul’s Sketchbook,” which ended abruptly in July.

The upcoming show is set to be aired in four different seasons with new hosts each quarter, the broadcaster said in a press release, with Jay Park being the host for the first quarter. Following the KBS tradition of naming the late night music program after the artist, the first segment will be “The Seasons – Jay Park’s Drive.”

“The 15-year-artist has shown his talent as a dancer, rapper, vocalist and producer. Though Park challenges himself to lead a music program by himself for the first time, he will share various stories from the artists from different fields,” KBS said.

“The Seasons” will be filmed with a studio audience on Jan. 11. Fans can apply to get a seat for the recording of the show's first episode, starting from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4, on KBS' official website.

“The Seasons” seeks to continue the broadcaster's history of late night music talk shows, following “Roh Young-sim’s Small Concert” (1992-94), “Lee So-ra’s Propose” (1996-2002), “Yoon Do-hyun’s Love Letter” (2002-08), “Lee Hana’s Peppermint” (2008-09) and “You Heeyul’s Sketchbook” (2009-22).

The shows have earned the public’s respect for introducing many talented artists, ranging from popular boy band and singers to indie, lesser-known musicians. Offering live performances and a platform for artists to demonstrate their skills, the shows have become a dream stage for countless singers.

In July, renowned singer-songwriter You Hee-yeol stepped down from “You Heeyul’s Sketchbook,” a Friday night fixture for more than a decade, after issuing multiple apologies over plagiarism claims about his 2021 track “A Very Private Night."