KBS2‘s ‘The Ttanttara’ heralded the birth of a star in just 2 episodes.

KBS 2TV’s entertainment program ‘The Ttanttara’ (directed by Yang Hyuk / written by Choi Moon-kyung) is a new variety audition program presented by the original Ttanttara Park Jin-young and KBS, a project to find Ttanttara who can sing, dance, act, and do variety shows. It is an all-rounder audition that has never been seen before, discovering and nurturing ‘Ttanttara’ with star quality in any genre, including comedy, acting, singing, dancing, traditional Korean music, and trot.

The 2nd episode, which aired on the 10th, featured the local round Busan auditions. The first contestant was Sim Sang-il, the main vocalist of idol group SNUPER and a former idol in his 6th year. He was dreaming of making a comeback in the entertainment industry when the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly took a break from his activities, working night security at night and practicing acting and singing during the day. Shim Sang-il played the role of Kim Joo-man, played by actor Ahn Jae-hong, in the drama ‘Fight for My Way’, but Wendy, feeling regretful, asked him, “Aside from acting, have you prepared any songs?” and he performed a performance of trot singer Jang Min-ho‘s ‘I Love You Noona’. Wendy replied, “There’s a reason you‘re the main vocalist,” and gave him a passing grade. Cha Tae-hyun and Kim Ha-neul encouraged him, telling him to act with confidence, and Kim Ha-neul commented, “When you sang, you shook your hips. I felt that ‘you had something there.’.” In the end, Sim Sang-il, who was confirmed to advance to the next round, shed tears and said, “Actually, I thought I would never be a singer again,” to the consolation of the masters, making everyone emotional.



The second contestant, Ahn Young-bin, raised expectations by covering Park Jin-young’s ‘The Ddanddara’ boyfriend meme, which became a hot topic even during his application video. Ahn Young-bin, who prepared for singer Hwasa’s ‘I Love MY Body’, received applause as he quickly took over the stage with a bright expression. Ahn Young-bin then performed ‘I Can’ Do It Alone’ from ‘Chicago’, captivating the masters with his nonstop body movements and ever-changing facial expressions. Kim Ha-neul praised him, saying, “I really fell in love with him. It was ecstatic,” and pressed the pass button. Then, Wendy and Young Tak both pressed the pass button, and Cha Tae Hyun also said, “What would have happened if you hadn’t come here? You have natural talent.” In particular, Park Jin Young praised her, saying, “If you can‘t do well like Psy, you should take care of your body like this,” raising expectations for her future activities.

The third contestant was dance instructor Choi Soo Min, who had practiced dancing for 12 years and graduated at the top of her class at an arts college. Choi Soo Min, who had prepared a jazz choreo, changed her expression 180 degrees when she started performing “Hush Hush; Hush Hush” by The Pussycat Dolls. Kim Ha Neul said, “I want to dance like that. She was charming,” and Park Jin Young said, “Actually, I didn’t get knocked out. The choreography looks a little obvious. But still, her dancing skills are not at the Korean level. It‘s not easy to be perfect at both dance and movement,” and pressed the pass button to advance to the next stage.

The most intense local auditions in the metropolitan area then took place.

The first contestant from the metropolitan area was Kim Hanna, who is ‘equipped with multiple functions’. The stage Kim Hanna prepared was singer Lee Ye-jun’s song ‘Crazy Sound’. Gaeko pressed the ‘You are special’ button, saying “If someone like this can‘t pass the first round, who will?”. The second contestant was Baek Seung-ho, a college student in his 20s who majored in Afrobeach (a music genre that borrows rhythms and languages unique to West Africa into songs) and was selected as one of the five new artists by the Korea Creative Content Agency. Cha Tae-hyun mentioned Baek Seung-ho’s extraordinary looks, saying “He really looks like Psy”, and the masters were immersed in the unfamiliar Afrobeach stage based on his self-composed song ‘No Love’. Cha Tae-hyun praised him, saying, “You‘re really a talented artist,” and Gaeko said, “It’s adventurous to bring a self-composed song to an audition like this, but it‘s good enough. I’m looking forward to it,” and passed, receiving four special buttons.

The next contestant was 20-year-old Park Si-woo, who performed a stage for the group Fire Truck‘s “Last Night Story.” Gaeko praised Park Si-woo, who performed a song based on “Last Night Story,” saying, “I felt madness. I’ve never heard this kind of singing style in my 25 years as a singer. The pitch wasn‘t right, and it felt like I saw a crazy scene from a movie. If you polish it, I think you’ll become a great artist,” and all the masters received the “You are special” button and advanced to the next stage.

The next contestant was 16-year-old Japanese Yu Kawasaki, who aroused the masters‘ high expectations with just the application video. Park Jin-young said, “He dances all the different dances differently. ”This is unusual,“ Gaeko said, ”I just saw him briefly but I was surprised,“ and expressed his admiration for his extraordinary dancing skills. While Yu-woo appeared wearing a custom-made t-shirt and was preparing for the stage, Park Jin-young said confidently, ”If that guy can’t do it, I‘ll quit this job. My intuition can’t be wrong.“ Yu-woo prepared a freestyle version of singer Hye Eun-yi‘s ”Dawn Rain,“ and he briskly moved around the stage to match the disco genre. Park Jin-young said, ”I did this program to meet friends like this,“ and praised him, saying, ”It feels like I’m slowly driving a supercar. His vocalization is also perfectly captured. The dancing, singing, acting, expressions, and talent are all special.“ Yu-woo burst into tears at Park Jin-young‘s praise, and Kim Ha-neul said, ”I’m really in love,“ and Gae-ko said, ”Charm is this scary. It‘s a stage like I’ve never seen before. It was shocking how it kept catching everyone‘s attention,“ he said with great praise, receiving a special button from everyone. Even after Yoo Woo’s stage ended, Park Jin-young was unable to recover from the lingering emotions and asked, ”I also have two daughters. How did your parents raise you?“ and continued to express his admiration.

Another contestant who received great praise from Park Jin-young was 17-year-old high school student Kim Hye-rin, who appeared last. She reinterpreted the musical ‘Seopyeonje’ OST ‘Resentment’ on stage, and Kim Hye-rin, who seemed ordinary, changed her gaze 180 degrees as soon as she started acting. While acting to deeply express her resentment, she suddenly took off her outerwear and sang singer Chungha‘s ‘I’m Ready’, drawing admiration from the masters. Park Jin-young commented, ”You‘re like a monster,“ and praised Kim Hye-rin, who had never learned to sing, saying, ”You’re just a fool. You‘re a fool with perfect basics.“ Cha Tae-hyun said, ”I didn’t even learn acting, but it‘s no joke,“ and Wendy continued to praise her, saying, ”The ringing sound, the resonance, and the pitch are perfect. When she sings Chungha’s songs, the look in her eyes changes. She‘s a scary person.“ Gaeko gave her a thumbs up, saying, ”It felt like I was seeing a person possessed by a god. She’s amazing and a genius.“ When Park Jin-young, unable to hide his excitement, said, ”You have a chance of winning. You‘re so well-suited for this program,“ Cha Tae-hyun said, ”Hye-rin, be humble,“ causing laughter.

The second episode of ’The Ttanttara‘ brought cheers as it announced the birth of the next generation star. In particular, the creative genius of the contestants, recognized by Master Park Jin-young, Cha Tae-hyun, Kim Ha-neul, Wendy, Young Tak, and Gaeko, surprised the viewers and made them very curious about how they will develop their skills in the future.

Meanwhile, the unprecedented variety audition program ‘The Ddanddara’, produced by Park Jin-young and KBS to find the next generation of entertainers, airs every Sunday at 9:20 PM.

Reporter Choi Yoon-na, yyynnn@donga.com