[Cheer Up, Today Too
Teacher of Hyungnim Class
Composed by Yoo In
Lyrics by Chae Hayoung, Jo Soyeon
Produced by Yoo In]
This song, which felt tailor-made for office workers, quickly gained traction on YouTube and gradually climbed streaming charts, debuting at 67th on Mango Player’s weekly chart. Some might dismiss a 67th-place finish on Mango’s Top 100, but in the cutthroat music industry—where countless artists debut or release daily—even cracking the Top 100 was remarkable. Especially for a YouTuber singer(?) who’d never appeared on TV.
Yet Yoo In’s success didn’t plateau. Dubbed the "commute anthem" through word of mouth, the song rose to 21st weekly in its second week before claiming multiple real-time No. 1 spots in its third week, landing at 9th. Comments flooded communities and YouTube, but the most stunned were composers and aspirants in music forums:
Yoo In’s on another level ㄷ
Yeeting an unknown rookie into Mango’s Top 10??? ㄷㄷ
Bro’s insane—what ARE these chord progressions????
“City pop” but skips the basic chords lolol
Doesn’t follow trends either lolol Still melody-focused like nobody else.
Straight-up genius;;;
Every track he’s dropped is a hit???
A “rookie” who doesn’t act like one—how??
Def an established composer under a pseudonym lol
How y’all know he’s a rookie?? Y’all just copy-paste internet chords too ㅋㅋ
Fr lol You judge Yoo In? Basic mass-produced hacks smh.
Pot meet kettle lol Y’all copy-pasted your whole discography.
To the younger generation’s hub, Yoo In was an anomaly. While others copied “successful” chords to mass-produce songs, he smashed four home runs using unheard-of progressions—even avoiding money chords. Some suspected he was an established composer incognito, but his experimental style defied all guesses. Others declared him a born genius—the closest guess, though none imagined a child nearing elementary school.
As composers took notice, Yoo In’s song value skyrocketed. Cash-wielding suitors flocked to Shin Ji-young, SSHIN’s sole public producer, for tracks. Yet Yeonwoo refused to share. Was she being greedy? Yes. Initially, she’d have let anyone sing her songs on TV, but her standards had sharpened. She sought artists worth her work—not just vocal prowess, but something inspiring: Kim Beom-shin’s god-tier vocals, Hadas’ harmonic idols, or Chae Hayoung’s unique tone.
Still, agencies pestered her—major labels to obscure ones—making Ji-young marvel at Korea’s agency count.
“Yeonwoo, quit being stubborn. Take one request,” Ji-young pleaded. “They’re hounding us.”
“Auntie, if another song blows up, they’ll demand more.”
“But we’ll buy months of peace while you prep the next track!”
“Doubt it...”
“Ugh—should we hire a handler? Or redirect to JOP’s label?”
Yeonwoo suddenly rummaged through her computer.
“What’re you doing?”
“If it’s too much... give them these two songs.”
“Wait—really?”
“Only if they can sing them. Say I’m exhausted and taking a break.”
Ji-young played the files, gaping.
“One’s a ballad... the other’s dance?”
“Yeah.”
“But Yeonwoo...”
“Hm?”
“Can... humans even sing these?”
The song Yeonwoo threw my way was undeniably fantastic. It felt fresh and catchy without chasing trends—exactly the kind of track leading today’s music scene.
The problem? Both songs were brutally difficult.
The ballad demanded off-beat singing during the climax and sky-high notes. The pitch was so extreme I doubted any singer in Korea could handle it, let alone keep up with the complex rhythm.
The second track? An instant hit if an idol sang it, but its breakneck tempo and fractured beats made me question if anyone could choreograph—let alone perform—to it. Just imagining dancers gasping for air or collapsing mid-routine made my head spin.
“Since no one can pull these off, they won’t come asking anytime soon.”
“You think?”
Jiyoung’s face lit up with mischief.
“What if we upload them as a challenge?”
“A challenge?”
“We’ve got that official YouTube channel now. Post it with ‘Sing this and we’ll make you the artist!’”
SSHIN’s channel already had 70,000 subscribers, though the only uploads were BSK-approved covers of Cold Night, Fly High, and Rising by Kim Beomshin and Hadas, plus Chae Hayoung’s Cheer Up and Today. Most viewers migrated from BSK’s channel and the “Hyungnim Class” teacher’s platform.
“How would people even sing along to an instrumental?” Yeonwoo frowned.
“We’ll write lyrics and use AI vocals for the guide track.”
“AI vocals?”
“Like… a computer singing?”
“Exactly. It’ll nail whatever you compose, Yeonwoo—though it’ll lack soul.”
His eyes sparkled.
“Fun!”
“Should we try?”
“Yeah! Who’ll write the lyrics?”
“I’ll find someone.”
“Do you know how to use that AI thing, Auntie?”
“I’ll figure it out…”
Jiyoung sighed, suspecting she’d created new chores to dodge old ones.
“How’s Mr. Yoo Jaehyuk’s treatment in the U.S.?”
“Surgery went well. He might sing again by next month—February at the latest.”
“Good.”
Another reason Yeonwoo hoarded his songs: he wanted Jaehyuk’s voice on them. Every track he composed now was for that purpose.
“Ugh, another call. When will you grow up? Debut already so these vultures stop pestering me!”
“I’m in elementary school!”
“The tragedy…” Jiyoung fake-sobbed, fleeing Yeonwoo’s indignant sputters to answer her phone.
Preparing to record Yeonwoo’s songs amid her chaos, Jiyoung prioritized lyrics.
“I’ll handle the dance track.”
With VVX’s recordings done and choreography outsourced, she claimed Song 2. Lyrics weren’t her passion, but dance tracks? She could manage.
Song 1—the ballad—was trickier.
Its quality demanded a top lyricist, even if she’d created it to avoid nagging calls. Scrolling through contacts, she targeted two ballad specialists among her four “1st-tier” lyricists.
-I’M DOING THIS ONE!!!!!!!!!
Kim Yena—renowned lyricist, producer, and Jiyoung’s same-age friend—pounced instantly. A paradox: she produced idols but wrote ballads.
“Is she that bored lately?”
Jiyoung dialed.
“Hey! Give me that song!”
“You haven’t even heard it.”
“It’s SSHIN! You’re hot right now—just say yes!”
...Alright, got it. Let me listen to the song once. Oh, and do you know any engineers who can handle AI vocals?
There are plenty of those. Can you check for me?
“Sure.”
After ending the call, Jiyeong immediately sent the song to Yena.
Shortly after, Yena sent a KakaoTalk message:
[Hey… who’s supposed to sing this?]
[Did you make this for Kim Sung-yoon Jang?]
[The song’s insane—anyone singing it would go crazy too.]
[More like their vocal cords would explode.]
[Wow…;;; But the song’s legit fire.]
[Can you hook me up with someone too? I might start working on a new album soon.]
[Huh?]
[Why are you leaving me on read? Hello?]
Reading Yena’s messages, Jiyeong smiled and stared at the title that caught her eye.
“Kim Sung-yoon Jang.”
A title created by combining the surnames of the four best vocalists since the era of Kim Beom-shin, Yoo Jae-hyuk, and the Four Heavenly Kings. These singers were undisputedly the most skilled in the country.
“Can even they pull this off?”
She wasn’t sure.
The song was so difficult that even the legendary Kim Sung-yoon Jang would struggle. The syncopation alone was tricky, but after hearing Yeonwoo’s interpretation, it also demanded advanced techniques in the high notes.
“Will anyone even attempt this challenge?”
She assumed no one would dare—the song was simply too hard.
But she was wrong.
After swiftly finishing the lyrics and receiving the AI vocal track from an engineer, Jiyeong worked with Jo So-yeon to produce two videos. She uploaded them to SSHIN’s official channel:
[Sing This Perfectly and It’s Yours 1
You Are Me
song by. AI vocal Eve]
[Sing This Perfectly and It’s Yours 2
Game Changer
song by. AI vocal Idol Siren]
At first, views trickled in slowly with little engagement, just as she’d expected.
But the clickbait titles soon drew crowds, skyrocketing the videos to trending status overnight.
Reactions poured in:
-LOL how is anyone supposed to sing this?
-Both songs are insane!
-They made this so no one could sing it, right? 😂
-They used AI vocals ’cause even they couldn’t handle it LMAO
-Only a computer can sing this 💀
-Did they create this just to troll us? 😭
-Is there even a singer brave enough to try?
Most agreed the songs were impossibly difficult.
Song 1, the ballad “You Are Me,” had relentless syncopation and a climax requiring a 3-octave solo with every vocal trick in the book.
Song 2, “Game Changer,” raced at a breakneck tempo. Singing it alone meant juggling split-second beat changes, alternating between syncopation and straight rhythm—enough to leave anyone gasping for air.
Who would dare attempt it?
-Maybe someone tried off-camera and gave up 😂
-If they couldn’t do it, they wouldn’t post it 💀
-Seriously, who can sing this?
-Wait… but I kinda feel like I could?
Yet there was a strange allure—the songs felt unapproachable but oddly achievable. This was no accident. Yeonwoo had subtly rearranged them after hearing Jiyeong’s challenge idea, crafting difficult yet tantalizing bait.
And someone bit.
[Perfect.Sing.This.Song Challenge!
You Are Me
cover by. Lil Jun]
The first challenger was Lil Jun, the main vocalist of a top male idol group renowned for his skills.
The result?
-Is this what you call “perfect”? 😭
-LOL where’d you learn to autotune like a robot?
-Lil Jun’s so pathetic 💀
-He messed up the beat too.
-For real? I couldn’t tell 😂
-This is a beat disaster.
LOL, how can someone who can’t even hit 3 octaves sing this? LOL.
Hey, take the video down.
Why the hate? Our oppa sings well.
Oppa’s voice is so good T_T.
Let’s ask Yoo In to sing this song. No one can pull it off this perfectly, guys T_T.
Defending him is even more disgusting lol.
This is perfect LOL.
You should be ashamed of yourselves.
The result was disastrous.
It might look like he’s singing passionately, but anyone can tell it’s a machine-edited voice, and he messed up the rhythm constantly.
He thought people wouldn’t notice, but there were countless music-savvy listeners.
After his humiliation, it seemed no one would dare attempt the song—but that wasn’t the case.
Though it drew negative attention, singers and YouTubers who noticed the rising buzz started challenging it one after another.
But most couldn’t handle the song.
When they tried to match the pitch, their technique fell short of the AI vocals. When they focused on technique, they lost the pitch entirely.
Then it happened.
[Sing it and I’ll give you the song?
"You Are Me"
cover by. BSK]
Kim Beom-shin entered the fray.
