'The king of singers' Cho Yong-pil heated up living rooms during the Chuseok holiday. 75 years old, age was just a number.
On the KBS 2TV special that aired on the 6th, '80th anniversary of liberation KBS grand project Cho Yong-pil: This moment forever,' Cho Yong-pil said "It's been 28 years since I've been on KBS. Actually, I'm not used to appearing on TV. I'm nervous now. I get tense. But if not now, I don't think I'll have many opportunities to see you all. If my voice gets worse in the future, I think I should do it soon, so I decided to do it," expressing his feelings about preparing a solo KBS performance for the first time in 28 years since the 1997 'Big Show'.
He continued, "Because you liked me, I was able to do this. My voice is small. Shall we officially sing together in a chorus?" and led fans in a sing-along of the hit song 'Heogong,' then said "It's really so good. It will remain a memory for a long time. I want to sing the next song together with you" and passionately performed his debut song 'Come Back to Busan Port,' moving the audience.
Cho Yong-pil not only holds the rare record of being the first domestic single-album million seller and the first to surpass 10 million cumulative album sales in Korea, but he is also a national treasure-level singer with so many cherished masterpieces that the largest number of his songs among domestic popular singers have been included in music textbooks.
Even at 75, marking his 57th year since debut, his powerful voice fired up Gocheok Dome. From numerous masterpieces such as 'Heogong,' 'Dream,' 'Gochujamjari,' 'The teahouse of that winter,' 'Monalisa,' 'The era of youth,' and 'Song of the wind,' he personally selected 29 songs and sang them passionately for three hours. The 'king of singers' was perfect even on the encore stage with songs like 'The leopard of Kilimanjaro,' 'Bounce,' and 'Let's go on a trip.'
Fans in the audience sang and danced passionately from start to finish. Middle-aged fans wiping tears at Cho Yong-pil's songs as well as younger generations who came with their parents enjoyed the 'king of singers'' stage. Cho Hyun-a was captured with her stepfather as shown on the broadcast, and Lee Seung-gi drew attention as he held a light stick and sang along to 'Song of the wind.'
Cho Yong-pil smiled and said, "The voice ages if you don't sing. I practice really hard before going on stage. I only know music in my life. My dream is to die singing on stage. How happy would that be. It's my dream. Although it may not happen that way."
IU praised, "When I went to Cho Yong-pil's concert with my mother, I became a fan just by being there. He is unique in that he is someone the whole world can love." Park Jin-Young said, "If someone released a song with a voice like Cho Yong-pil's, they would become a superstar," attracting attention. Park Chan-wook, who inserted 'Gochujamjari' into the film No Other Choice, said, "He is my hero. When I heard 'Gochujamjari,' I felt a door to a new era had opened. If I were to make a film with Cho Yong-pil as the protagonist, it would deal with Korea's modern and contemporary history, the evolution of popular music, and how a great artist was born," offering high praise.
Meanwhile, the behind-the-scenes documentary that lets viewers savor the afterglow of the concert, 'Cho Yong-pil, This Moment Forever — Record of that day,' will air on the evening of the 8th (Wed.) at 8 p.m.
[Photo] Capture
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