''I Am a Singer'' () is a popular

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n singing competition program; a part of MBC's '' Sunday Night'' lineup. Seven talented, veteran Korean singers perform for a selected audience, which votes to eliminate one singer after each week's performance. The following week, another singer joins the competition, and the lineup of artists varies throughout the course of the show. The program ended its first season on February 19, 2012. Its second season ended in May 2012. Its third season ended on April 24, 2015. ''I Am a Singer'' differs from other televised music competitions in that the participants are all veteran musicians who have established music careers varying from mega stardom to relative obscurity. Due to this fact, and because none of the accomplished singers desire to be voted last amongst their peers and eliminated, the level of performance is usually high and acclaimed by critics and viewers alike.

Composition

The show is divided into rounds. Each round consists of two performance episodes, one that is preliminary and the second final performance which determines the lowest ranking contestant to be eliminated. In between performance are also separate intermediate episodes that document the singers' progress and rehearsals. Contestants are popular and prominent artists from various genres of the Korean music industry. Each contestant is paired with a "manager", seven Korean entertainers and comedians who serve as mentors, accompany their singers throughout the week to provide support during rehearsals and provide comic relief to the show. The competition is documented by the week. At the beginning of the 1st performance week, each contestant selects a song of their choice. All contestants spend the week practicing and planning, given free rein on the interpretation of their songs and the staging of their performances. After the performance, votes from the 500-member studio audience determine the singers' rankings, although there is no elimination. For the 2nd performance week, the singers gather and are assigned predetermined songs that fit their vocal range and style, and the rest of the week is spent in rehearsals and consulting with other musicians. These intermediate episodes include sample performances in the middle of the week, allowing the contestants to exhibit their progress in front of fellow competitors. The competitors privately vote for 1st and 7th place, determining the singers' rankings to serve as a checkpoint. Final performances are given, again, in front of a live audience. At the end of the performances, the audience casts votes for three favorites. The results are revealed sans audience to the contestants and managers, ranking competitors from first to seventh. The competitor with the lowest average ranking is eliminated, and the next week sees a new singer added to the competition. Starting from Round 1, the average of both performance scores is taken and the contestant with the lowest total of votes is eliminated, as new contestant replace him/her. Singers who survive 7 times in a row graduate from the program.

Competition Results

*P = Pass, E = Eliminated, G = Graduated, L = Voluntarily Left, R = Re-challenge

List of episodes in Season 1

Episodes 1-3: Pilot

Episode 1 - 1st Performance *Broadcast: March 6, 2011 Episode 2 - Interim Check *Broadcast: March 13, 2011 Episode 3 - 2nd Performance *Broadcast: March 20, 2011 *Eliminated:

Kim Gun-mo Kim Gun-mo (; born January 13, 1968) is a South Korean singer-songwriter, who is considered the country's most successful musical artist of the 1990s. His 1995 album, '' Wrongful Meeting,'' previously held the Guinness World Record for the bes ...

Episode 4: Controversy

*Broadcast: March 27, 2011

was eliminated on Episode 3, but the singers all felt that it was too early to be eliminated so he was brought back to try again. This angered the viewers since there were rules in place prior to broadcasting that a singer with the lowest ranking would be eliminated which would bring new singers into the program. *Eliminated: Jung Yeob

Episode 5: Managers' Special

*Broadcast: April 24, 2011 Due to the controversy with Kim Gun-mo being eliminated and returning, this episode showed the manager's point of view of the broadcasts and the singers thus far.

Episode 6: Exhibition and New Singers

*Broadcast: May 1, 2011 The program restarted with some changes, taking both Kim Gun-mo (who was originally eliminated) and Jung Yeob (who was newly eliminated) out of the competition. Baek Ji-young withdrew, citing that she had to prepare for her upcoming album, and three new singers were introduced. This was an exhibition episode; no one was eliminated.

Episodes 7-9: Round 1

Episode 7 - 1st Performance *Broadcast: May 8, 2011 The contestants sing a song they want to sing. Episode 8 - Interim Check *Broadcast: May 15, 2011 Episode 9 - 2nd Performance *Broadcast: May 22, 2011 *Eliminated:

Kim Yeon-woo Kim Hak-chul, better known by his stage name Kim Yeon-woo (; born July 22, 1971) is a South Korean male singer, vocal coach, and professor at Seoul Art College ( :ko:서울종합예술학교). Nicknamed God of Vocals, he is well known for his b ...

Episodes 10-12: Round 2

Episode 10 - 1st Performance *Broadcast: May 29, 2011 Episode 11 - Interim Check *Broadcast: June 5, 2011 Episode 12 - 2nd Performance *Broadcast: June 12, 2011 *Eliminated: Lee So-ra *JK Kim Dong-wook withdrew from the competition due to making a lyrical mistake in his performance.

Episodes 13-15: Round 3

Episode 13 - 1st Performance *Broadcast: June 19, 2011 Episode 14 - Interim Check *Broadcast: June 26, 2011 Episode 15 - 2nd Performance *Broadcast: July 3, 2011 *Eliminated: BMK

Episodes 16-18: Round 4

Episode 16 - 1st Performance *Broadcast: July 10, 2011 Episode 17 - Interim Check *Broadcast: July 17, 2011 Episode 18 - 2nd Performance *Broadcast: July 24, 2011 *Eliminated:

Ock Joo-hyun Ock Joo-hyun (; sometimes spelled Ock Ju-hyun; born March 20, 1980) is a South Korean singer and musical theatre actress, known mostly for her role as the lead singer of the South Korean girl group Fin.K.L. After their unofficial breakup in 2 ...

Episodes 19-21: Round 5

Episode 19 - 1st Performance *Broadcast: July 31, 2011 Episode 20 - Interim Check *Broadcast: August 7, 2011 Episode 21 - 2nd Performance *Broadcast: August 14, 2011 *Eliminated:

Yoon Do-hyun Yoon Do-hyun (born February 3, 1972) is a South Korean hard rock/folk rock singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the founder and lead vocalist of the Yoon Do-hyun Band (YB) since 1996. Yoon is also an MC on TV variety programs (notably ''Yoo ...

*Honor Graduation:

Park Jung-hyun Park Jung-hyun (; born March 23, 1976), also known as Lena Park (), is an American-born South Korean singer who debuted in 1998 with the album, ''Piece.'' She is also widely known in South Korea as her nickname "National fairy" due to her peti ...

Kim Bum-soo Kim Bum-soo (; born January 26, 1979), is a South Korean singer who is widely considered one of the country's best vocalists. Kim debuted in 1999 with the album, ''A Promise'', and in 2001, he charted on the '' Billboard'' Hot Singles Sales cha ...

Episode 22: Graduation and Exhibition

*Broadcast: August 21, 2011 Three new singers are introduced into the competition. All contestants performed one of their own songs. This is an exhibition episode; no one was eliminated. *Graduation Performance:

and

singing 사랑보다 깊은 상처 ( Im Jae-bum, Park Jung-hyun)

Episodes 23-25: Round 6

Episode 23 - 1st Performance *Broadcast: August 28, 2011 Episode 24 - Interim Check *Broadcast: September 4, 2011 Episode 25 - 2nd Performance *Broadcast: September 11, 2011 *Eliminated: Kim Jo-han

Episodes 26-28: Round 7

Episode 26 - 1st Performance *Broadcast: September 18, 2011 Episode 27 - Interim Check *Broadcast: September 25, 2011 Episode 28 - 2nd Performance (Cho Yong-pil Special) *Broadcast: October 2, 2011 The contestants performed songs of their choice by Cho Yong-pil. *Eliminated: Jo Kwan-woo

Episodes 29-31: Round 8

Episode 29 - 1st Performance (Duet Special) *Broadcast: October 9, 2011 Episode 30 - Interim Check *Broadcast: October 16, 2011

Insooni Kim In-soon ( ko, 김인순; born April 5, 1957), known professionally as Insooni ( ko, 인순이), is a South Korean singer who made her debut in 1978 as a member of Hee Sisters ( ko, 희자매). Since then, she has recorded a total of 19 alb ...

had a performance at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

and was absent. The lowest ranking is 6th place. Episode 31 - 2nd Performance *Broadcast: October 23, 2011 The contestants and managers were flown to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where they held a special concert for the 2nd performance at the

Sidney Myer Music Bowl The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor bandshell performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain on Linlithgow Avenue close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment precinct ...

to an audience of 2,000. Unlike previous final performances, there was no predetermined setlist and all contestants performed a song of their choice. *Eliminated: Jo Kyu-chan

Episode 32: Australia Exhibition

*Broadcast: October 30, 2011 Seven former contestants and graduates accompanied the current singers to Melbourne, where they also performed songs of their choice. The audience also voted to rank the singers, although no one was eliminated.

Episodes 33-35: Round 9

Episode 33: 1st Performance *Broadcast: November 6, 2011 Episode 34: Interim Check *Broadcast: November 13, 2011 Episode 35: 2nd Performance (Switch Special) *Broadcast: November 20, 2011 The contestants performed another contestant's original song. *Eliminated: Jang Hye-jin

Episodes 36-38: Round 10

Episode 36: 1st Performance *Broadcast: November 27, 2011 Episode 37: Interim Check *Broadcast: December 4, 2011 Episode 38: 2nd Performance ( Sanullim Special) *Broadcast: December 11, 2011 The contestants performed songs of their choice by Sanullim or song that Sanullim's member compose. *Eliminated:

Episodes 39-41: Round 11

Episode 39: 1st Performance *Broadcast: December 18, 2011 The contestants sing a song they want to sing. Episode 40: Interim Check *Broadcast: December 25, 2011 Episode 41: 2nd Performance *Broadcast: January 1, 2012 The contestants performed a former contestant's original song. *Eliminated:

Bobby Kim Kim Do-kyun (; born January 12, 1973), more commonly known as Bobby Kim (Hangul: 바비 킴), is a South Korean hip hop and R&B artist. Music career His father, a trumpet player, influenced and exposed him to music. At an early age, he worke ...

*Honor Graduation:

Jaurim Jaurim ( meaning "Purple Rainforest") is a rock band from Seoul, South Korea. They had performed in the indie scene in 1993. The band's initial name was Full Count. They changed the band's name to Jaurim in 1997 and became major with their first ...

Episodes 42-44: Round 12

Episode 42: 1st Performance *Broadcast: January 8, 2012 The contestants sing a song they want to sing. Episode 43: Interim Check *Broadcast: January 15, 2012 Episode 44: 2nd Performance *Broadcast: January 22, 2012 The contestants sing a song their choice by O.S.T *Eliminated: Tei *Honor Graduation: Yoon Min-soo

Episodes 45-47: Round 13

Episode 45: 1st Performance *Broadcast: January 29, 2012 The contestants sing a song they want to sing. Episode 46: Interim Check *Broadcast: February 5, 2012 Episode 47: 2nd Performance *Broadcast: February 12, 2012 *Eliminated: None *Honor Graduation:

Kim Kyung-ho Kim Kyung-ho (; born June 7, 1971) is a South Korean singer who is often referred to as a "legend of rock" for his efforts in bringing rock music to South Korea and his four octave vocal range. He makes frequent appearances on South Korean v ...

International franchise

: Franchise with a currently airing season : Franchise with an upcoming season : Franchise that has ended : Franchise with an unknown status

References

External links

*
''I Am a Singer''
on the Official '' Our Sunday Night'' homepage {{Sunday Night MBC TV original programming South Korean music television shows South Korean reality television series 2011 South Korean television series debuts Korean-language television shows Music competitions in South Korea