I'm a Singer

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

I'm A Singer is a reality show in Korea hosted by MBC that is unique in that it stars actual singers and has them face off in "contests" where they sing other Korean songs. The contests are judged by a studio audience of 500 people picked from all age groups, who can vote for three singers out of a total seven to win after the contest ends. Every two contests, the singer with the lowest number of votes is eliminated, and a new singer takes his/her place. The format is spread upon a three-week system:

  • In the first week, the singers have their choice of songs to pick and sing for the first contest, and the first contest is held.
  • In the second week, the singers randomly get their songs for the second contest chosen from the recommendations of the studio audience.
  • In the third week, the second contest is held, and the singer with the lowest number of votes total is eliminated.

Known for sparking a lot of controversy and allowing the rediscovery of several relatively obscure singers.

Current[when?] participants (in order of first appearance):

  • Gummy
  • Jeok-Woo
  • Park Wan-Kyu
  • Shin Hyo-Beom
  • Lee Young-Hyun
  • Lee Hyun-Woo

Former participants (in order of leaving the show):

  • Jung-Yeop, member of ballad group Brown Eyed Soul (eliminated)
  • Kim Gun-Mo (quit)
  • Baek Ji-Young (quit)
  • Kim Yeon-Woo (eliminated)
  • Yim Jae-Beom (left due to illness)
  • Lee Sora (eliminated)
  • JK Kim Dong-Wook (quit)
  • Big Mama King, or BMK (eliminated)
  • Ok Joo-Hyun (eliminated)
  • The Yoon Do-Hyun Band, featuring lead vocalist Yoon Do-Hyun (eliminated)
  • Kim Beom-Soo (Hall of Fame)
  • Park Jung-Hyun (Hall of Fame)
  • Kim Jo-Han, former member of R&B group Solid (eliminated)
  • Cho Kwan-Woo (eliminated)
  • Cho Kyoo-Chan (eliminated)
  • Jang Hye-Jin (eliminated)
  • Insooni (eliminated)
  • Bobby Kim (eliminated)
  • Jaurim, a band featuring lead vocalist Kim Yoon-Ah (Hall of Fame)
  • Tei (eliminated)
  • Yoon Min-Soo, member of ballad group Vibe (Hall of Fame)
  • Kim Kyung-Ho (Hall of Fame)

The official site can be found here, and the link for the contest clips can be found here.


Tropes used in I'm a Singer include:
  • Audience Participation Song: Considering this show runs on a live studio audience, a lot of the songs tend to be this, much to the fandom's displeasure. Some of the Genre Savvy singers often deliberately invoke this trope to get a higher placement, again, much to the fandom's displeasure.
  • Bittersweet Ending: Park Jung-Hyun and Kim Beom-Soo, who were inducted to the Hall of Fame (read: had to leave the show) after weeks of hard work; to be fair, though, this was probably necessary for the singers as the show was physically weary for them.
    • Subverted cruelly with YB, which was eliminated right before their Hall of Fame induction could take place.
  • Black Sheep Hit: A lot of the singers tend to attempt this with varying levels of success. Jaurim happens to be a master at this.
  • But Not Too Foreign: One of the singers currently appearing, Lee Hyun-Woo, is Korean-American. Former contestants Park Jung-Hyun, Kim Jo-Han, and Bobby Kim are Korean-Americans as well. Also, Insooni is half African-American in blood.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: The paths of the third and fourth Hall of Famers, Jaurim and Yoon Min-Soo respectively, count as this.
    • Subverted hard with Jang Hye-Jin, though, who was eliminated in her Hall of Fame round.
  • Follow the Leader: Created during the craze of singing contests that Superstar K brought in Korea.
  • Invincible Hero: Park Jung-Hyun, who placed within the top 3 in every single performance but one. Kim Kyung-Ho is also this as well.
  • My Greatest Second Chance: Subverted hard during the "retry" controversy with Kim Gun-Mo.
  • Revival by Commercialization: Happens to quite a few of the songs sung on the show.
  • Spoiler: One of the biggest controversies of the show, as the show itself is never live, but recorded pre-airing.
  • The Faceless: Kim Beom-Soo in general, before he came onto the show. Now, however, he's the "visual singer".
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: Jung-Yeop, Kim Gun-Mo, Baek Ji-Young, Kim Yeon-Woo, Yim Jae-Beom, JK Kim Dong-Wook, Cho Kyoo-Chan, and Tei all spent only one cycle on the show.
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