This year’s edition of rookie band competition Hello Rookie kicked off with the online auditions opening up in March. Monthly winners were chosen from May through September, and the grand finale took place in November. It was broadcast on EBS mid-December, and yesterday the rookie performances were finally uploaded to the Hello Rookie YouTube channel.
For the final, 6 bands had been picked through a separate audition: A’Z bus, Cranfield, Dead Buttons, MAN, Pavlov, and we hate jh. In addition to performing their own songs there were also special collaboration stages happening as part of the competition.
Cranfield, we hate jh and MAN formed the ‘cutie (귀요미) team’ and took on Justin Timberlake‘s “SexyBack”
Similarly, Dead Buttons, Pavlov and A’Zbus formed the ‘sexy team’ and performed their own rendition of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies”
In the end Cranfield stood as the winner with A’Zbus taking the runner-up spot and Pavlov getting the judges’ special price. The 6 member strong judging panel consisted of guitarist Ham Choon Ho, singer-songwriter Yi Sung Yol, 3rd Line Butterfly/My Way Killing front-woman Nahm Sang Ah, two representatives from EBS Space, and one journalist.
The full TV show is roughly 100 minutes and also includes special performances from Rock’N’Roll Radio and Idiotape, Jun In Kwon of Deulgukhwa fame singing “그것만이 내세상” and a special collaboration stage where Daybreak and Romantic Punch together perform “Saturday Night Fever and “좋다”.
Winner: Cranfield
Originally from Busan, the britpop influenced band Cranfield is now based in Seoul. First full-length album 밤의 악대 was released in November 2013 and was picked as Find of the Week by Naver Music and also made Daum Music’s pick for Album of the Month. Cranfield won Hello Rookie in May and also made the top 6 in 2014 K-Rookies.
Runner Up: A’Zbus
As rock band VeNdiNg MAchiNe disbanded in October 2013, vocalist 우주 and drummer Kang Tae Keun moved on to form A’Zbus together with Sizose bassist Woo Suk Je. The alternative rock trio released its first EP Smilecry in April 2014 and followed up with EP MONOmobile in December. A’Zbus won Hello Rookie in July and also made the top 6 in 2014 K-Rookies as well as being named one of 2014 Penta Super Rookies.
Special Award: Pavlov
Mixing all sorts of rock in a loud, engaging way, Pavlov released debut EP 반드시 크게 들을 것 in 2008. Six years later, in May 2014, came the very well-received first full-length album 26. Pavlov won Hello Rookie in August and was also named New Discovery in SangSang Madang’s 2014 Band Discovery.
Dead Buttons
While starting out as a threepiece in 2012, Dead Buttons transformed into a guitar-drums duo during the summer of 2013. Debut EP Whoever You Are was released in February 2014 and a few months later the band toured the UK. Dead Buttons won Hello Rookie in July.
we hate jh
Emo band we hate jh started out in 2012. Acoustic 7″ EP Demotivation was released a year later whereas officially, we hate jh, released in Jaunary 2014, counts as the band’s first official EP. we hate jh was selected as a Hello Rookie wildcard in May and also made the top 6 in 2014 K-Rookies.
MAN
MAN formed in November 2013 and has been actively playing since January 2014. The band’s first demo was produced by Rock’n’Roll Radio‘s RockQoo. In October came the band’s first official release: a two-track digital single called Man Studio Live. MAN won Hello Rookie in September and was also named Super Discovery in SangSang Madang’s 2014 Band Discovery.