Mnet’s “Voice Korea,” a popular singing contest show, crowned Son Seung-yeon its musical swan on Friday.

Son dazzled the judges and the audience with a heartfelt performance of “Ugly Duckling” in the final round which took place Friday night at Kyung Hee University in Seoul.

Son beat rivals Yoo Seung-eun, Woo Hye-mi and Ji Sae-hee to go home with 300 million won ($262,000) in cash and prizes, a new car and a tour of international cities renowned for their music.

“The new song that I sang during the finals, ‘Ugly Duckling,’ was a song about me,” said Son, 18, after her performance.

Her coach, popular singer Shin Seung-hun, on the other hand, said, “I wanted to show the audience that Son was a swan, not an ugly duckling.”

Son’s win was set as soon as she received a standing ovation for her performances singing “Ugly Duckling,” and Yoon Bok-hee’s “Everybody.”

“I was able to get such a great score because my voice received a standing ovation from coach Shin and the audience,” said Son through tears of joy.

“It takes over 10 years for professional singers to receive a standing ovation from the audience, how is it possible for an amateur to receive a standing ovation from the audience and singers through just one song?” asked Shin.

“Voice Korea” is the wildly popular local version of the equally sensational “The Voice,” a U.S. survival music program and its Dutch predecessor “The Voice of Holland.”

The program featured popular local singing legends Baek Ji-young, Gil of the rap group LeeSsang, and Kangta as coaches for the contestants.


By Robert Lee
(robert@heraldcorp.com)