by Kim Seung-soo’s remarks, the role of tension
The global growth of K-pop has brought to light not only the singers but also the producers behind the scenes who make and plan music. KBS2’s ‘Listen Up’ rides this flow and summons producers to the public stage and puts them in the ring of survival, where they compete for rankings with their skills.
Ryan Jeon, who has numerous hit songs, singer-songwriters Doko, Pickboy, and JYP recruited producers, Seungsu Kim, 1st place in the audition, hip-hop producer Palo Alto, Jungki Kang Sein in ballads, rookie producers BigNati, Lars, and the music of the idol group Ab6ix. We focused on diversity by recruiting 10 people with different positions and colors, such as Lee Dae-hwi, who produced. This shows the intention of the production team of ‘Listen Up’, which was designed to present the direction of K-pop and various discourses. And this intention was hit from the first broadcast.
This is because Kim Seung-soo, a participant in ‘Listen Up’, uttered dissatisfaction with the concept of a producer. Kim Seung-soo made a sharp remark saying, “If you put it on your ear, it’s like an earring, if you put it on your nose, it’s just like a nose ring. I don’t think anyone who can’t play an instrument or doesn’t know the compressor function is a producer.” Seungsu Kim did not stop there. Picking Ryan Jeon as the worst producer, he did not bend his will, saying, “In principle, he should be able to do it all by himself from start to finish. After the stage of ‘Kiss me happy’, which was planned by Ryan Jeon, he flew a fastball one after another, saying, “The chorus melody must have been written by another foreign composer. If he knew it, he would be upset.”
Ryan Jeon, who has hit songs such as IU’s ‘Celebrity’, Oh My Girl’s ‘Dolphin’, and Ive’s ‘Eleven’, runs a publishing company and works with 5 to 600 team members. Ryan Jeon also said about the rumors surrounding himself, “They said, “I’m not the main player, but I’m pretending to be a player. When I receive a song, they ask me why it’s like I wrote a song. I never said that. I work with my team members with a healthy mind, Yes. I appeared to eliminate prejudice.”
What Ryan Jeon has always emphasized is also the musical direction. He has said many times that he will work with talented but no-opportunities composers to create a healthy K-pop structure.
The difference between the two people’s views on the producer is another point of observation created by ‘Listen Up’. Ryan Jeon defines a producer as not only making songs, but also planning all the elements necessary for the performance, such as stage concepts, costumes, and choreography. On the other hand, Kim Seung-soo is in a position to view the basics of a producer as handling musical instruments or looking at sheet music.
If you look at the planning intentions of ‘Listen Up’ here, you can guess who is more suited to the program. ‘Listen Up’ is written in the planning intention column as ‘producers who design and decide all elements of the sound source as well as writing lyrics and composing.
In fact, on the first stage, Ryan Jeon received favorable reviews for Ailee’s ‘Kiss Me Happy’ for stage directing such as overseas awards ceremonies, and also received good marks for adding an intro that other producers could not think of. Doko commented, “I’m learning a few things,” and Lee Dae-hwi did not hide his feelings of being overwhelmed by Ryan’s stage.
After seeing Ailee’s stage and Kim Seung-soo’s stage in ‘That Summer’, Ryan Jeon said, “It was so good, but I’m still like a composer,” he said, proving his ability with ease.
A representative and producer of the agency who watched the broadcast said, “SM Entertainment producer Lee Soo-man himself made a song and has the title of producer, right? When I jumped in, I realized how many things I didn’t know when I was only composing and how many things I had to pay attention to.”
Another producer also said, “I’m enjoying it. It’s a problem that has been debated in the music industry for a long time. I appreciate Kim Seung-soo’s enthusiasm for raising this issue to the surface. I tend to sympathize more with Ryan’s position on the concept of a producer, but Kim Seung-soo needs a story. I think it gave tension throughout the film. It is necessary to accurately point out the role and move on.”
Currently, ‘Listen Up’ has only been held 3 times. The quickest way to support who is the better producer and who is right is his skill. This is the reason why the future of ‘Listen Up’ is looking forward to what other stories the producers’ competition will bring out about the future direction and current state of K-pop along with the stage that has been polished and prepared.
