Kim Beom-soo Cracks While Singing 'I Miss You'... Severe Stage Fright Despite Being Told His Vocal Cords Were Fine ('My Little Old Boy')

[Sportschosun Reporter Anjee Jung] Singer Kim Beom-soo opened up about the shock of having to abruptly cancel a performance seven years ago and the stage fright that followed.

The December 13 episode of Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS)'s 'My Little Old Boy' featured Kim Beom-soo, one of South Korea's top singers, visiting a vocal training center, raising questions about the reason for his visit.

During vocal exercises, Kim Beom-soo repeatedly sang off-key and complained of discomfort. Seven years ago, after developing vocal problems, he canceled a performance and temporarily suspended all of his previously active concert work.

To obtain an accurate diagnosis, Kim Beom-soo sang his signature song 'I Miss You,' but he appeared to be experiencing clear discomfort in his throat. Before visiting the center, he had also seen an otolaryngologist and was told that there was no particular abnormality in his vocal cords.

Kim Beom-soo recalled a 2021 concert, when he first noticed signs of the problem. "I warmed up my voice during rehearsal. I used it for about an hour, and it felt like I had about 5% battery left," he said. "I practiced more because I thought maybe my voice just wasn't warmed up, but then it felt like I had only 1% battery left." He described the sudden warning signs he experienced at the time.

Kim Beom-soo eventually stopped rehearsing and rushed to the hospital. Although his throat had felt fine until the previous day, a doctor told him, "You shouldn't perform in your current condition."

"As a singer, it felt like the sky was falling," Kim Beom-soo said, opening up about the incident seven years ago that forced him to suddenly give up a concert. "I went up onstage to announce the cancellation, and taking those steps was terrifying. It felt like I was walking up to a cold gallows. I felt as though I would never be able to come back down once I got up there, and if I could disappear somewhere, I just wanted to vanish," he recalled.

"I came home and lay down, and I had suffered tremendous psychological damage," Kim Beom-soo said. "Just as the brain registers the moment of a major accident and it later appears in nightmares, I think the trauma that began then was the starting point." He continued, "That issue kept tormenting me." He also described how his stage fright gradually worsened: "I was afraid of the stage. The stage had been the most enjoyable playground for me, but after that, whenever I tried to go onstage, my hands and feet tingled, I broke into a sweat, and my heart pounded so hard I could hear it."

Kim Beom-soo eventually decided to take a year-long hiatus. He spent time away from the stage, resting on Jeju Island without singing. However, even after the hiatus ended and he returned to the stage, the fear he had experienced that day did not easily disappear.

Kim Beom-soo eventually found a new way to sing by relaxing his voice. "I can't fully accept it myself, but I'm grateful that I can still create a sound this way," he said before singing 'I Miss You' again using his new vocal technique. Viewers were drawn to Kim Beom-soo as he refused to be defeated by his trauma and found a new path through a different singing style.

anjee85@sportschosun.com

This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.