"What behind-the-scenes stories are there?! The burst of emotion from singers' hit songs" ranked first with Jo Sung-Mo's "To Heaven (1998)."

The 270th episode of KBS Joy's "20th Century Hit Song," broadcast on the night of 27th at 8:30 p.m., introduced hit songs from singers who had unfortunate stories behind their great popularity.

On that day, Park Jin-Young's "Don't Leave Me (1994)" ranked 9th. He debuted as part of "Park Jin-Young and the New Generation" during his university years but failed to gain traction and was preparing to debut with a team called "Freestyle" while working as a dancer for Kim Gun-Mo, but that plan ultimately fell through.

Kim Jung-Min's "Sad Covenant (1995)" took the 8th spot. The broadcast revealed a moment of Kim Jung-Min tearing up on stage after winning 1st place. Kim Hee-Chul noted, "It was said that his family environment was very difficult," explaining, "He was born in an unlicensed wooden house and debuted as a faceless singer. Even after that, his mother worked as a building cleaner and his father as a construction worker." He continued, "During his activity period, it was said that the five family members lived in a single room in a wooden village."

Song Chang-Sik's "The Flute Player (1974)," who had great musical talent, entered the Seoul Arts High School first but had to drop out due to difficult family circumstances, ranked 7th, while So Chan-Whee's "The Chance of Breaking Up (1996)," which overcame eight years of anonymity, was selected as 6th. The broadcast shared several anecdotes from So Chan-Whee's time as a guitarist in a rock band during her eight years of obscurity. Kim Hee-Chul revealed that "It was so hard that she even had extreme thoughts at one point," reflecting So Chan-Whee's feelings at that time.

The 5th place was taken by Lee Ji-Hoon's "Why Does the Sky (1996)." It was revealed that Lee Ji-Hoon, who lived in a semi-basement in a poor neighborhood before his debut, described his childhood home as "exactly like the house in the movie Parasite," and it was also reported that after his debut, five family members lived in a single room on the rooftop of a commercial building.

Lee Soo-Young's "I Believe (1999)" secured the 4th position. Kim Hee-Chul stated, "She was a girl breadwinner, and it is said that her father passed away in a car accident when she was in the second grade of elementary school," and "It is reported that even before her debut, her mother also passed away in a car accident," revealing Lee Soo-Young's family history. He also shared that Lee Soo-Young entrusted her seal to a relative and subsequently lost all her assets, accumulating a liability of 3 billion won.

Next, god's "To Mother (1999)" ranked 3rd, and its unfortunate story was also revealed. Im Ji-Moo shared that god member Park Jun-Hyung experienced alopecia due to the poor living conditions, and it was also mentioned that during the activities for their 6th album, god's meal expenses amounted to 200 million won for six months.

Rain's "Instead of Goodbye" was introduced in 2nd place. The broadcast outlined the process of Rain's debut, where he met Park Jin-Young after going through 19 auditions while juggling part-time jobs due to his group's disbandment and difficult family circumstances. It especially conveyed the heartbreaking tale of Rain asking Park Jin-Young for assistance in treating his mother, who was suffering from diabetes, and receiving treatment under his guarantee, but she passed away two weeks later. It was also shared that in a previous broadcast, Rain revealed, "After my mother died, I couldn’t afford to hold a funeral, and I couldn’t even feed my younger sibling," which brought tears to Im Ji-Moo, who said, "Why isn’t this number one?"

The coveted 1st place was secured by Jo Sung-Mo's "To Heaven (1998)." It was revealed that when Jo Sung-Mo's mother opposed his desire to become a singer, he said, "I will boldly become a singer and return," and did not return home for four years. Subsequently, Jo Sung-Mo faced many rejections in auditions and endured a difficult period while doing odd jobs in a studio. It was said that the album, which took over a year to prepare, was indefinitely postponed just before its release. After his debut, Jo Sung-Mo went back home, but due to his father's business failure from the IMF crisis, they had liabilities amounting to 1 billion to 1.5 billion won, with seizure notices all around the house. It was also reported that his missing brother was found dead after a hit-and-run accident.

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