Trot Singer Takes His Lounge Act to Olympic Park Venue

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Trot Singer Takes His Lounge Act to Olympic Park Venue

Na Hun-ah(54), a 'trot' music singer is taking his act to a larger venue, an Olympic stadium to be precise. 'Trot' music is a kind of 'lounge' music style popular among older-generation Koreans who associate the synthesizer drum-beat with the post-Korean conflict period 1945 to the early 1980s. There are still some practitioners of 'trot' plying their trade, but the genre's popularity is waning. Younger gernerations regard 'trot' as hopelessly 'old-style' and does not have the cross-generational attraction that jazz has. Nevertheless, Ha is preparing for a concert on March 24 and 25 at Olympic Park in Seoul in the Fencing Gymnasium
Up to now, Trot singers were usually confined to performing at lounges or on shows like KBS'Korean Music Stage' whose main viewing audience is mainly a 'mature' one. Stadium venues have been considered suited only to young musical groups because of the seating capacity in excess of 4,000, that and trot's lessening popularity.
However, Mr.Na might actually pull it off. He has given a record 30 concerts here as well as about 20 concerts abroad in the U.S. and Japan. Of particular note is the concert he gave in Seoul's Sejong Culture Center in 1998 which had all three shows sold-out. Sejong Culture Center can has a 10,000 person capacity. " I'd like to make my show full of variety and be colorful entertainment. I want to prove that trot singer shows can be just as interesting (and profitable) as any young pop stars. You know, half of my fans are under 30 years of age, you know," Na quipped.
Na show, however is not what one would consider a typical trot revue, with old men and women crooning away to a slow beat. His ripped bluejeans and tight-fitting T-shirt is in stark contrast with the typical trot costume with every centimeter covered in sequins or a very proper but staid business suit. Na seems more in common with George Michael than a trot singer. He is also planning to add dance moves and numerous back-up dancers to his show.
"I have released more than 1,000 songs during my entire singing career. I have not chosen all the songs I'm going to sing during the show yet. But, I will definitely sing my standards 'Love' and 'Love is the seed of sorrow'". He added that "Trot may be boring when you only listen constantly. So, it is totally up to the singer to make or break a show thats longer than two hours. Come and enjoy."




by Kang Chan-ho

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