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Gwyn Dorado says she is happy to reach finals of 'Sing Again 4'
Gwyn Dorado says she is happy to reach finals of 'Sing Again 4'
Filipino singer Gwyn Dorado said she was happy to reach the finals of the Korean TV singing competition “Sing Again 4.”
“I never imagined I’d make it to the final stage. No matter the result, I’m just happy I made it through to the end,” Dorado told the Korea JoongAng Daily in an interview.
The top 4 contestants–Dorado, Lee Oh-wook, Kim Jae-min and Slowly–competed in the finals and the results were based on the following criteria: online early voting (10 percent), live text and online voting (40 percent), streams of new songs (20 percent) and judges’ scores (30 percent).
Dorado, 21, finished in second place with a total score of 3009.39 during the finale of “Sing Again 4” on Jan. 6.
Korean contestant Lee Oh-wook was declared the winner with 3051.06, or an edge of 41.67 points over Dorado.
Lee Oh-wook won in early voting and live voting, accounting for 50 percent of the total score, and streaming of new songs in South Korea but placed last in the judges’ scores.
During the finale, each of the top 4 contestants performed two songs: a cover and a new song.
For the judges, Dorado was the winner. She got a total converted score of 766.49 points from her two performances while Lee Oh-wook placed fourth and last with 740.78 points. In second place Slowly with 750 and Kim Jae-min placed third with 742.72.
For her first song, "Etude of Memories” by Exhibition, Dorado got the highest score among the four finalists with 781 while Lee Oh-wook tied for third place with Slowly with 766.
For her second song, “Light Up,” Dorado got seven perfect scores of 100 and one 99 from the judges for a total score of 799, the highest score in the show’s history.
Judge Lee Hae-ri of group Davichi commented, “When she’s onstage, she owns the whole thing.”
Judge Taeyeon of K-pop girl Girls’ Generation said, “She’s good enough to be sitting here judging with us.”
Dorado earned praise for her powerful voice from the judges, contestants and netizens.
The interview report stated that Dorado competed in “Asia’s Got Talent” when she was just 11 years old.
Her performance videos in “Sing Again 4” have earned millions of views on YouTube.
Two years ago, she went to Korea after her song “Why Do We Love?” became popular and signed up with Korean agency A.O Entertainment.
After “Sing Again 4,” the top six contestants, including Dorado, signed a two-year management contract with Music Farm, a Korean agency.
The finale of “Sing Again 4” showed it was a close finish between Lee Oh-wook and Dorado, who said she was happy to reach the finals.
“”At first, I didn’t even expect to make it to the final round. People around me say it’s a shame I didn’t win, but I really don’t feel that way. When I first came to Korea, I was so lonely. But through ‘Sing Again,’ I made friends and found people who cheer me on — and that makes me so happy,” she said.
She said her performance of “Etude of Memories” during the finals was the most difficult as her family was in the audience.
“Singing Exhibition’s ‘Etude of Memories’ in the final was really difficult. My family came to watch that day. Seeing their faces, I got overwhelmed and couldn’t control myself very well. I came off the stage after giving it everything I had,” she said.
On why she chose to go to Korea, she said, “During the Covid-19 pandemic, I watched a lot of Korean dramas, including ‘Itaewon Class’ (2020). I also listened a lot to soundtracks sung by 10cm, Paul Kim and others. I guess that naturally made me want to train in the Korean system. When I got an offer to work in Korea with ‘Why Do We Love?,’ I thought it was a really great opportunity.”
During “Sing Again 4,” judges commented that she had a good command of the Korean language.
Dorado said she studied diligently to learn Korean.
“At first, it was so hard. I memorized vocabulary and studied grammar diligently. I also wrote a diary in Korean every day. But more than writing a diary, my Korean improved a lot more by talking with friends I met through ‘Sing Again,’” she said.
For her singing, she cited her father who gave her support.
“My dad loves singing. Even now, whenever I go onstage, he gives me feedback and advice. He’s also the one who supported me in living as a singer,” said Dorado.
She is also a songwriter.
“After ‘Asia’s Got Talent,’ I fell into a slump. When I got to middle school, I tried to focus on studying. But when I thought about it, I realized I still wanted to keep making music. As I started enjoying songwriting, I naturally got over the slump,” she said.
On why she chose to sing Korean songs in “Sing Again 4,” “I thought that if I sang in a foreign language, it would be harder to make my name known in Korea. I just wanted Korean people to look kindly on me — that’s all.”
The top 10 contestants, including Dorado, will embark on a “Sing Again 4” nationwide concert tour in South Korea.
In addition, the top seven contestants, including Dorado, will appear on the Korean TV show “Knowing Bros.”
“I’m preparing for a nationwide tour with the ‘Sing Again’ Top 10. I’d also like to appear on variety shows like ‘Earth Arcade’ (2022), which a lot of Gen Z viewers watch, and on YouTube channels like ‘Find Kany’ hosted by French dancer Kany. For that, I’ll need to study Korean slang and abbreviations, too. I still have a long way to go,” said Dorado.