The voice-based competition 'Veiled Cup' has officially kicked off.
On the 11th (Sunday), SBS will air the first episode of the global vocal audition 'Veiled Cup.'
'Veiled Cup,' planned with the title "the fairest audition in the world," where skills are judged solely by voice, is the global expansion of "Veiled Musician" and is the world's first vocal country-versus-country competition in which the top three selected from nine Asian countries—Korea, China, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mongolia and Laos—compete for national pride, marking the full-scale start of the global project's climax.
Before the official start, on stage the silhouette of MC Lee Da-hee, showing off model-like presence, appeared and dominated the atmosphere. Afterwards, when Lee Da-hee herself appeared on the stage beyond the veil, an unexpected embarrassing situation caused everyone to burst into laughter; viewers can check the on-air broadcast to see what the MC Lee Da-hee's entrance mishap that filled the venue with laughter was.
As a vocal country-versus-country competition, participants of a different, world-class level appeared in large numbers, leaving everyone stunned, and the judges entrusted with the heavy responsibility of evaluating them also drew attention. Tiffany Young, a Korean representative global musician who has led K-pop and dominated music charts, 10CM, Ailee, Paul Kim, Henry and Miyeon gathered as judges and reportedly delivered sincere critiques and sharp analysis.
In particular, how was 10CM's first time sitting in the judges' seats on an audition program through 'Veiled Cup'? That day 10CM warned of a cold-blooded evaluation, saying, "I will be the most fair judge among these judges here," but in response to repeated performances by talented contestants they kept exclaiming, "Isn't this a contender for the title?", "They have everything I envy," and continued to express admiration for each stage. At one point, after watching a contestant's performance, he was silent for a while and then heaped praise, saying, "just a genius," and interest is focused on which country the contestant who completely disarmed 10CM, serving as a judge for the first time in his life, came from.
Following an outpouring of contestants whose skills made it hard to determine superiority, there were particular participants who piqued everyone's curiosity—those who made judges Tiffany Young and Ailee cry; they dominated the stage with explosive sensitivity and overwhelming skill in the final performances selecting each country's top three, heralding the arrival of powerful talents.
Also drawing attention was the stage of a Mongolian contestant who appeared under the nickname "Goryeoin." Choosing as a song one of Lim Young-woong's signature songs, "Love always runs away," the contestant moved Tiffany Young to tears and delivered an emotional performance, then surprised everyone by revealing a special story linked to Korea.
Meanwhile, Ailee, a judge who gained attention for her cutting critiques on the last 'Veiled Musician,' showed reluctance to speak easily after one contestant's performance, saying, "This might be a dangerous remark." At the urging of the other judges, Ailee cautiously picked up the microphone, leaving viewers curious about what critique she went on to deliver.
With contestants fighting for national pride and judges' comments alternating between icy and warm, keeping viewers on edge, the vocal country-versus-country competition SBS 'Veiled Cup' will premiere on Sunday, Jan. 11 at 4:30 p.m. on SBS.
[Photo] SBS
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