'Trot Elsa' Choi Yeon-hwa moved the audience with her first solo concert.
Choi Yeon-hwa took the stage for the first solo concert 'Osose' at 7 p.m. on the 1st at Yeongdeungpo Art Hall in Seoul, marking her first solo concert in 16 years since her debut.
On that day's stage, a video was shown featuring scenes of her winning the grand prize in the 1997 KBS 'National Singing Contest' World Korean Singing Contest and placing third on the 2019 MBN 'Voice Queen,' and as her journey to becoming a trot singer came to mind, Choi Yeon-hwa's face clearly showed a reflective expression.
The stage opened with the pop song 'What a feeling,' and the performance unfolded into a passionate two-hour show that moved through a long-awaited reunion, deep-seated wishes, memories reunited across time and space, and reached a moment where rhythm and joy lingered.
"I prepared the show very hurriedly and I didn't know how you would receive it," Choi Yeon-hwa began, then said, "I tried to prepare a lot of delicious dishes. I arranged several things to repay your difficult trip here, and I hope you enjoy and leave satisfied."
She said she was born in Harbin, China, and recalled that she had been a member of a state-affiliated arts troupe from 1994 to 2002, and that because her grandfather left the Korean Peninsula for China and her father worked as a music professor, she was exposed to Korean songs from an early age.
"Watching videos of 'Gayo Stage' where many singers such as Joo Hyun-mi, Shim Soo-bong, and teacher Nam Jin sang, I vowed that someday I would definitely stand on that stage, and I nurtured my dream of becoming a singer from childhood; standing here today feels especially moving," she said.
Congratulatory performances by junior singers also drew response. Jeon Ha-yoon, the youngest contestant of 'Miss Trot 4,' performed 'Give them a round of applause' and 'Brother' with cute yet flawless vocals, and junior singers Oh Kang-hyuk and Lee Hyun-seung followed to enthusiastically congratulate the senior singer's performance. That day, members of Oh Kang-hyuk's fan club 'Oh Ganghyuk-myeong' showed passionate support for Choi Yeon-hwa throughout the concert, creating a warm atmosphere.
Singers Nam Jin and Sul Woon-do, Jo Jang-hyuk, KBS 'National Singing Contest' bandleader Shin Jae-dong, judge and composer Park Sunghoon, comedian Jung Eun-sook, and traditional musician Nam Sang-il sent warm words of encouragement to Choi Yeon-hwa, who is meeting fans with her first solo concert, via video.
Following the 'Our mother' she performed on her final stage during her appearance on 'Voice Queen,' Choi Yeon-hwa delivered moving vocals from 'Jjille꽃' and 'That person in Sinsa-dong' to her latest song 'Osose,' and drew attention by transforming into a rocker with 'The cigarette seller's daughter.' She then recalled memories of growing her dream of becoming a singer during childhood in China by performing the Chinese original 'Love in a dream,' widely known for Hyun-in's song, 'The moon represents my heart,' and the Chinese folk song 'Moriwa.'
At the encore stage, Choi Yeon-hwa came down from the stage and burst into tears the moment she held the audience members' hands. She recalled the times she left her hometown, lived as an expatriate in her grandfather's homeland, started a family, had a child, and naturalized, and the fans who witnessed this gave her passionate applause.
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