Bolbbalgan4's Ahn Ji-young expressed her feelings about joining as a judge after starting out on audition programs.
On the afternoon of the 12th at the SBS building in Mok-dong, Yangcheon District, Seoul, SBS held a press conference for its new audition variety show "Beiled Musician." Attending the press conference were Choi Daniel, Ailee, Paul Kim, Shin Yong-jae, MONSTA X's Kihyun, Bolbbalgan4 (Ahn Ji-young), KISS OF LIFE's Bell, and PD Lee Hong-hee, who talked about the show.
"Beiled Musician" is a survival show in which contestants hide their appearance, age, region, education and more behind veils and compete solely on voice and musicality. It is a large-scale project unfolding simultaneously in several Asian countries including Korea, and after the roughly eight-week journey of "Beiled Musician," each country's top three will gather in K-pop's home, Korea, to compete for Asia's best through the "Beiled Cup."
When asked about her feelings on joining an audition program as a judge for the first time, Ahn Ji-young said, "This year has been a year of many changes. My motto was to try everything, so I started with that mindset. I am grateful for the offer to be a judge, and since I don't appear on broadcasts often anyway, I thought of it as a new opportunity and accepted."
She said, "As you know, I am very familiar with being in the audition venue because I was there. Specifically, I think I chose to be a judge because I wanted to feel that nostalgia again and wanted to return to that place. The criteria I used to pass contestants was simply undeniable, innate talent and charisma. I gave passes to those who interpreted that very cleverly in their own way."
Asked how she approached judging as someone with audition experience, Ahn Ji-young said, "Honestly, being labeled as someone who came from an audition program was often uncomfortable. I am me, but the label 'from an audition' stuck on me," yet she added, "When I think about it, the heat at that audition, the attitude toward music, it was a time when I loved music very much. So when I returned as a judge, I felt the singers' passion intensely and thought about how much they loved music to win."
She continued, "Sometimes I felt so sorry about giving a fail that the whole process of running this audition program was actually very fulfilling and happy. It was also a time to recall the past," she reflected.
Meanwhile, "Beiled Musician" will be released on Netflix every Wednesday for eight weeks starting today (the 12th). The "Beiled Cup" will take place over four weeks starting in Jan. next year and has been scheduled to air on SBS. Judges for the "Beiled Cup" will include Tiffany Young, 10CM, Ailee, Paul Kim, Henry, and (G)I-DLE's Miyeon.
[Photo] OSEN reporter Min Kyung-hoon
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