Season 1

Updated 2021-05-02

This show starts off so strong ;; I hope y'all come to love everyone sahksahjjk.

I have a lot of favorites, but Go Eun Sung, Choi Kyung Rok, Yoo Seul Gi, and Park Sang Don were my tops from this episode! I was rooting for Chief Im too because he's such an underdog ;;

Can we take a moment to talk about the way the editing lowkey made fun of that one countertenor during <Lascia ch'io pianga>? The way they zoomed in on Park Yoo Gyeom and Lee Byeo Ri's reactions omf. And also the way Kim Moon Jung lead Park Yoo Gyeom's <Till I Hear You Sing>!

On top of singing well, a good song choice (an arrangement) really is key. ex. Yoon Sang's comments for Yoon So Ho's (poor) song arrangement. Not Kwon Seo Kyung being lowkey bitter at fellow baritone Park Sang Don (who chose a really good song)... lmao.

Updated 2021-05-08

The last auditions! I'm not actually a big fan of Ryu Ji Kwang, but his <My Way> really was much better than Kwon Seo Kyung's. Whether it was the emotion or something else, it was a lot more appealing and, friendly? An interesting comparison to draw, imo.

I liked a lot of the contestants from this episode. Oh Chi Young's <Messy Hair>! I love traditional Korean music. And I liked Baek Hyung Hoon as well! I remember I had just seen a local production of Newsies when I first watched this, so maybe that was why I was rooting for him lol.

While subbing this, I played Baek In Tae's audition back like ten times trying to hear what the judges criticized him on, but I just couldn't lmao. Meanwhile, Son Tae Jin came in with not too much confidence and the judges showered him with praise.

Go Hoon Jung, from this point on, became my favorite. His audition was just.. so good. Right up my alley. And then of the cut auditions, I liked Ki Se Joong and Oh Se Woong, too! Looking forward to more of them.

I'm curious who people's favorites are :o

Updated 2021-05-15

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Let the duets begin! I remember watching this the first time, this episode was where I absolutely lost my mind at the performance quality. And it just gets better from here!

For that first match, I feel like || Park Sang Don got a bit screwed over by that song choice ||. It's probably one of the weaker matches of this mission because there was a sense of competition between them, too. || But Seo Kyung crying after winning! ;;||. He seems kinda mean-spirited at first, but lowkey he's a soft boi lmao.

God, the next two matchups though. Byeo Ri and Joon Hwan got the ball rolling (so pretty omf) but then <Caruso> happened. I got shivers when I got to the harmonies. Honestly, it's one of the most iconic Phantom Singer performances, and it was what tipped the show over the edge from "great" to "wtf this is amazing" for me, lol.

It's a shame Ji Kwang and Chi Bong didn't go ahead with the harmonies! That songs has so many harmonies already in the original, so for them to sort of just bypass it, Yoon Jong Shin's comments were on point. || Also, Ji Kwang getting an all-kill... Poor Chi Bong ;; ||

I died a little watching Hoon Jung lowkey guilt Eun Sung into singing <The Show Must Go On> though. The way they cut to Eun Sung saying "I like calm songs..." lmao. A good performance, but had to agree with Michael's comments for it.

Hope y'all enjoyed these duets as much as I did! Look forward to the next set too!

Updated 2021-05-29

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I've added nametags to the contestants since I realize it's hard to keep track of who's who! Hopefully it's helpful and not distracting lol. Always feel free to drop suggestions for subbing into the comments!

Last half of the first mission is pretty strong!

I've got to say, I personally do not like Choi Yong Ho! As Yoon Jong Shin noted, it felt like he and Woo Jung Hoon didn't work together well. || Which also put Choi Yong Ho in an advantageous position! A shame we lost our butter voice. :( ||

No words for Son Tae Jin and Park Yo Sep. I love them omg. Same for the absolutely unbelievable matchup of Baek In Tae and Yoo Seul Gi. || That performance definitely deserved 1st place. || <Caruso> and <Grande Amore> are definitely some of the most memorable Phantom Singer performances. Absolutely insaaaaane.

I completely forgot about Kim Hyun Soo vs. Oh Se Woong, but I've always really liked Se Woong! Their performance was really pretty. I think I've got to agree with Yoon Sang's comments as well.

Chief Im and Yoo Gyeom's performance was so cute. ;; || But Chief Im!! ;; We knew he had to go, but he put up a good fight! ||. For Baek Hyung Hoon and Hong Sung Woo, I simultaneously agreed with Kim Moon Jung while also enjoying it lmao. I love Hong sung Woo's voice; his voice timbre is similar to Go Young Yeol of S3! || Hong Sung Woo's elimination is really unfortunate, but I would chalk it up to it being the first season, so there's a heavier focus on classical singers still (which definitely changes as the seasons go by!) ||

I really, really like Ki Se Woong. You can hear some of his lower notes slip through in his performance with So Ho, and daaaaang. (Also, I am not a fan of So Ho, I'm sorry asjkfhash).

Also, || Oh Chi Young! We didn't get to see enough of him :( I loved his audition of <Disheveled Hair>, so it's a shame he got cut, and without a full performance, no less! ||

Hope you guys enjoyed this episode! The next mission's performances just keep raising the bar, so look forward to it!

Updated 2021-06-15

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Hey guys! Hope the nametagging is helpful for y'all. This is the start of the second mission (and it's insaaaaaane!).

Ki Se Joong is a personal favorite of mine, and I actually wasn't a big fan of Dong Shin when I first watched lol. The two of them were good, but their voices are both so heavy (imo). As for Ryu Ji Kwang and Kwak Dong Hyun, it's probably one of my favorite performances sheerly for how unexpected it was!

Seul Gi and In Tae were so good too! I mentioned before I'm not a big Choi Yong ho fan, but he really tempered his power down to match Jung Hwi well! I'm still not a huge fan of him but they had an unexpectedly good harmony!

And Go Eun Sung and Kwon Seo Kyung... || Park Sang Don and Choi Kyung Rok just got so unlucky ;; || <Musica> was insane. I love Sang Don and Kyung Rok too! Their song really was on the opposite end of the spectrum, so it was a really interesting matchup. The emotion in their voices omg

These first performances are honestly insane. Every matchup had such good performances hhhh. Look forward to the last three!

Updated 2021-12-11

Sorry for such a late update! My semester was insane, but I finally am on break.

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Finally, we conclude the duet battles! I hope you guys are as in love with Go Hoon Jung as I am lol. The way he takes care of Lee Joon Hwan is adorable ||and the way he cried during the song, omg||.

Son Tae Jin and Kim Hyun Soo was a wild matchup for Park Yo Sep and Baek Hyung Hoon. The tenor/baritone pairings were so good, but dang. Hated to see them up against one another.

This is just a random note, but Michael Lee has such a strange interest in Yoon So Ho lol. He's just extremely invested in him or smth and it's so bizarre to me.

I was soooo sad to see ||Choi Kyung Rok and Park Yo Sep|| get eliminated though! Personal favorites.

As for the trio forming, I think each team picked really well and played to their strengths. Hope y'all are hype for the trio battle after that sneak peak of the first performance! (I will try to actually sub on time now that I'm on break lol).