
KBS’s “Immortal Song 2” certainly debuted to a strong start, but it was also embroiled in a series of controversies that left viewers with some concerns.
The show recorded remarkable viewer ratings, coming in at 7.9% according to AGB Nielsen Media Research. To put the achievement into perspective, it beat out MBC’s “We Got Married” and it was only 1.1% off from SBS’s “Star King.”
But with the impressive start came criticisms, as many were of the belief that the show was too strongly similar to MBC’s “I Am a Singer.“ PD Kwon Jae Young sat down with E Daily for an interview answering the concerns. Check it out below:

1. “Some are criticizing the show’s concept for being too similar to ‘I Am a Singer’.”
PD: “It’s something we expected. Singing battles have become a trend for broadcast companies. Not only is ‘Immortal Song 2′ in the same frame as ‘I Am a Singer’, but ‘Superstar K‘ and ‘Birth of a Great Star‘ if you look at it that way. ’Immortal Song 2′, however, is a corner created from the original ‘Immortal Song.’ The concept of having other singers learn to sing another famous singer’s song has always been ours, but just changed to match up to the current trend of song battles.
When ‘1 Night 2 Days‘ first aired, it, too, was criticized for being similar to MBC’s ‘Infinity Challenge.‘ But how is it doing now? As time passed, it created its own individuality and there is barely anyone that still thinks the two programs are similar. We hope to take ‘Immortal Song 2′ through the same transformation, as it is something the producers definitely need to work out.
Instead of the results, our program places emphasis on the process, which is why we spend so much time preparing the idol singers and their song arrangements.”

2. “There are also viewers that don’t like the way the winner is chosen.”
PD: “We discussed the way winners are selected a lot.
Although there’s already the standard format of calling all six out and choosing the final winner, it’s already being used by ‘I Am a Singer’ so we couldn’t just do that. While looking for something that would be both unique and fun, we came up with our current system.
Honestly speaking, we also thought of using a traditional tournament style where #1 and #2 would go against each other, #3 and #4 would go against each other, and the final winners would then go against each other. But going that route puts too much pressure on the artists and they’d have to prepare three songs a week. It’s kind of meaningless to battle again with a song you’ve already won with.
It already takes all week long for artists to arrange just one song by a legendary artist, so a traditional style would kill the artist. We are, however, considering a change to the system, but we won’t be changing the way we only choose a winner. We will be leaving open the possibility for changes in the program, as long as it doesn’t break any major rule.”
3. “When two people are on stage, the idol singer with the least votes get their spotlight turned off. Viewers thought this was cruel.”
PD: “‘Immortal Song 2′ is a variety program, but as it is a singing competition, there needs to be a certain level of tension. We turn off the spotlight to raise that tension.
We hope that people will regard it in a warmer light.”
Source + Photos: EDaily via daum & allkpop
"the idol singer with the least votes get their spotlight turned off. Viewers thought this was cruel" welcome to the entertainment world complainers. Only in Korea people would complain about such thing
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Date: 2011-06-05 08:43 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2011-06-05 08:46 pm (UTC)thanks!
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Date: 2011-06-05 08:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2011-06-05 08:50 pm (UTC)That being said *shrug* I wanted Jonghyun/Yesung to win, but they didn't and in the long-run it was of the best, because if Jonghyun was going to cry much as he did when he beat Yesung, every-time he beat someone, it would have caused 'Noah II'.
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Date: 2011-06-05 08:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2011-06-05 09:03 pm (UTC)/is currently watching all the performances
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Date: 2011-06-05 09:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 09:05 pm (UTC)Those directors always act and do things like they don't know who the public actually is. It baffles me.
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Date: 2011-06-05 09:11 pm (UTC)well i hope they chose other participants once in a while because i think even preparing one or two songs a week is a lot of stress for idols with a tight schedule.
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Date: 2011-06-05 09:11 pm (UTC)really, they could show that they CAN sing and that they aren't idols for no reason
i cried so much during watching this show, for example Jonghyuns (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cymT2AeIB8I) was really touching imo
but the way the winner was chosen was weird, though I am really really happy for Hyo ♥
and the thing with the light...idk i don't think that was cruel. it's just a show
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Date: 2011-06-05 09:15 pm (UTC)I saw Lyn and Wheesung were here and i though the fabulous 3 should do it (add Gummy) but since they are already behind IU.
I'm glad that singers like Hyorin can shine with those shows. Shwaols and Beauties can calm the fuck down now (though i'm a huge yojjang fan).
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Date: 2011-06-05 09:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2011-06-05 09:19 pm (UTC)I still can't believe Jonghyun didn't win. His perf was the most touching and beautifully sang ;/
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Date: 2011-06-05 09:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 09:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2011-06-05 09:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 09:40 pm (UTC)Final one left standing after all have performed is the winner
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Date: 2011-06-05 09:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 10:18 pm (UTC)...and then of course, there are the fangirls who are simply that - butthurt. but i wouldn't say they were a majority.
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Date: 2011-06-05 09:34 pm (UTC)There is however some truth that the traditional tournament format is better, because with their current format, the first few singers will ALWAYS be at a disadvantage as the show progresses as the audience forgets the feelings that were evoked/how impressed they were by those initial performances.
That Hyorin won is a testament to how outstanding her performance was to outlast the final 3, even though the format is slightly unfair.
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Date: 2011-06-05 10:21 pm (UTC)I don't like the format as much also because there's no more excitement for the previous contestants who were beaten out. I still want them to be part of the competition as the show progress.
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Date: 2011-06-05 09:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 10:27 pm (UTC)Are there like parts where the judges/experts critic the performance or something? That, I think, would be much better.
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Date: 2011-06-05 10:31 pm (UTC)seeing some butthurt fangirls go "omg i'm super angry how could yesung have lost" is pretty hilarious though, i'm a yesung stan and i thought his performance was good, but boring in comparison, so i wasn't really surprised about the results.
looking forward to see jieun on the next show! ♥
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Date: 2011-06-06 09:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 10:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-06 03:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 10:54 pm (UTC)that aside, I thought hyorin winning was really good. i liked her performance. yoseob's umma song made me cry ;__; someone needs to gif jonghyun's trembling face tho during umma tho xD
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Date: 2011-06-05 11:04 pm (UTC)I thought HyoRin did an awesome job although I kinda hoped she wouldn't win for a while so she'd have more time to show off her talents/get recognized.
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Date: 2011-06-05 11:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-06 12:10 am (UTC)Anyway, Hyorin did so good! They all did! I wasn't really THAT impressed by JongHyun. He sang like Lee Sora so I couldn't really..
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Date: 2011-06-06 01:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-06 03:06 am (UTC)