I Can See Your Voice

Last updated

I Can See Your Voice
Created byLee Seon-young
Original work I Can See Your Voice (South Korean game show)
Owner CJ ENM
Films and television
Television seriesI Can See Your Voice (see international versions)
Miscellaneous
Genre Game show
First airedFebruary 26, 2015;10 years ago (2015-02-26) [1] [2]

I Can See Your Voice (abbreviated as ICSYV) is a television mystery music game show franchise created by Lee Seon-young and produced by CJ ENM, which originated from the South Korean program of the same title. [3] [4]

Contents

Background

In 2012, producer and creator Lee Seon-young initially planned to develop a singing reality competition show that includes "good singers". She would unusually add elements with "bad singers", lip sync, and "guessing game" flairs, [5] creating a unique format that would become the "mystery music game show" in the process. [4] Also, she originally envisioned a program that will allow anyone to be the main character regardless of their appearances, inspired by Kim Bum-soo who struggled to gain recognition because of his look. [6]

I Can See Your Voice made its debut on Mnet and tvN on February 26, 2015, with host Kim Bum-soo playing the game as a guest artist. [1] [2] Despite the poor reception in its first season, the show went on to become an instant success in South Korea, forcing to renew for a second season. [7]

Gameplay

Formats

Original format

Presented with a group of "mystery singers" that identified only by their occupation or alias, the guest artist(s) and/or contestant(s) must attempt to eliminate bad singers from the selection without ever hearing them perform live, over the course of several rounds. They are also assisted with clues regarding singers' backgrounds, style of performance, and observations from a celebrity panel. At the end of a game, the last remaining mystery singer is revealed as either good or bad by means of a duet between them and one of the guest artists. [8] [9]

Battle format

The "battle format" is a variation of the original South Korean rules that introduced in Giọng ải giọng ai , when two opposing guest artists eliminate one singer each during the proper game phase, and then remain one singer each to join the final performance. At the end of a game, the following conditions for winning mystery singers chosen by opposing guest artists, depending on the outcome of final performances, if: [10]

  1. One opposing guest artist has revealed as a good singer and the other one has a bad singer, or
  2. Both two opposing guest artists have revealed as good or bad singers.

For Veo cómo cantas in Mexico, two oppposing contestants must eliminate one mystery singer from an assigned group. At the end of first two or three rounds, the contestant having of a least one or two bad singer eliminations will proceed to the next round. [11]

Players

The game's main element, "mystery singers", are a lineup of selections played by guest artist(s), which divided into good and bad singers. [a] Actually, the winning mystery singer can perform freely without accompanying guest artist(s). [13] Aside from them, civilian or celebrity contestants are also included, taking the role of "eliminators". [9] Some lineup variations include:

Rewards

Throughout the game, mystery singers, contestants, and to lesser extent guest artists have given rewards such as prize money, trophy, or recording contract. [9] Some commonly used methods include:

Rounds

For its game phase, the mystery singers must examine for legitimacy through different rounds with varying mechanics.

Visual rounds

The guest artist(s) and contestant(s) are given some time to observe and examine each mystery singer based on their appearance.

  • A muted video of each mystery singer that reveals only 0.3 seconds of their singing voice is played as an additional hint.
  • Each mystery singer is given two different identities as a good and bad singer, with one of them is a real identity.

Lip sync rounds

Each mystery singer performs a lip sync to a song; good singers mime to a recording of their own, while bad singers mime to a backing track by another vocalist.

  • Also for the pair and batch variations, the guest artist(s) and contestant(s) eliminate one mystery singer from each group.
  • The mystery singer lip syncs to the good singer's recording, then a bad singer's recording comes in the middle of the performance.

Evidence rounds

Each mystery singer reveals an evidential piece. Good singers have own evidences, while bad singers had their evidences fabricated.

  • The hosts have randomly assigned clues about the mystery singer, and then the guest artist(s) and contestant(s) must choose a clue for each one.
  • The guest artist(s) and contestant(s) are presented with a video package containing possible clues by one of the mystery singers; this includes "house tour", "personal life", or "witness" variations.

Rehearsal rounds

Each mystery singer reveals a pre-show rehearsal piece, but their voices are actually concealed through audio distortion.

  • Three random panelists are wearing headphones to listen to a recording of assigned mystery singer that lasts for a short duration. Afterward, the panelist defends the mystery singer and convince the guest artist(s) and contestant(s) to choose them as the winner.
  • The guest artist(s) and contestant(s) are presented with video from a recording session by one of the mystery singers, but pitch-shifted to obscure their actual vocals.

Interrogation rounds

The guest artist(s) and contestant(s) may ask questions to the remaining mystery singers. Good singers are required to give truthful responses, while the bad singers must lie.

  • Each mystery singer has to confess what kind of identity they have if the singer is bad.

Reception

Legacy

Unlike reality competition programs such as Idol , Rising Star , The Voice or X Factor , I Can See Your Voice is preferred to as the game show alternative, serving as a "stepping stone" for participants to perform effortlessly; it also described as the "second coming of National Singing Contest ", specifically due to sudden impact on their careers and its contribution to the local music industry. [14] Certain mystery singers such as Hwang Chi-yeul [15] and Samantha Irvin [16] went on to have further successful careers, while others like Lee Sun-bin, [17] Kim Min-kyu, [18] Ninety One [19] and Black Pearl, [20] who had already made recognitions on their early careers, were also performed in the program.

Concerns and controversies

Plagiarism cases

According to TV Report, CJ ENM suspected on two Chinese programs, God of Singing by Shenzhen TV and X-Singer by Beijing TV (in which they first aired on August 5 and 8, 2015, respectively), of plagiarism; they also both implemented on "modified" game mechanics, which are strikingly identical to the original format of I Can See Your Voice without granting permission from the said company. One unnamed employee stated in a phone call that they did not emulate the South Korean program, proving both respective broadcasters had acquired rights to produce local adaptations, likely of Is That Really Your Voice? (another game show format created by the Turkey-based Global Agency in 2013); as a follow-up, they would immediately enforce countermeasures to avoid such occurrences. FormatBiz later revealed during an interview by CJ ENM's head of formats Diane Min in June 2020 that there was also a dispute of its own with the latter, in which I Can See Your Voice was accused as being plagiarized from their format. [21]

A subsequent similar case by the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange Berlin correspondent Lee Yu-jin published on the Korea Creative Content Agency in July 2020, reported that CJ ENM had been applied on a then-upcoming ProSieben program FameMaker  [ de ] of plagiarism, taking from the format elements of I Can See Your Voice that was noticed on his deleted tweet by Oliver Pocher. The show's production company Brainpool TV and producer Stefan Raab were also concerned of the issue, saying it was an original concept, which is leaning on The Voice-styled competitive approach with singers performing inside a soundproof dome. Later, an RTL Deutschland spokeswoman formally responded in an interview from Focus that both two programs have "good and bad singer" elements, but they were different formats; she had also initially refused to comment about ProSieben's attempt to acquire rights for another South Korean program as it succeeded in The Masked Singer . [22]

Gameplay issues

Guest artists have been also intended to perform along with unsuspected people before proceeding to the actual duet in-game as a "mystery singer", which is considered to be an act of cheating. One such example was occurred in a second season episode of Peesh ili luzhesh on November 24, 2024, when Orlin Goranov committed to remain with good singer Beatris Halvadjian (Judy's daughter) as the winner. However, it was subsequently noticed that they had recently performed together during BNT's Christmas Matinee concert in 2023. [23]

For some instances of games situating on mystery singers with only one bad singer in their specific lineup while using the American format that is considerably flawed, a third season episode of Sedato was happened on April 14, 2025, when contestant Akhil Royinbagh managed to eliminate five good singers, leaving with sole bad singer Amir Fadajan as the winner for a duet performance by returning guest artist Amir Mohammed Kamirpour. [24]

Accolades

I Can See Your Voice has been nominated for Best Non-Scripted Entertainment Program at the 44th International Emmy Awards, [25] Best Light Entertainment Program at 2020 Venice TV Awards, [26] and Studio Entertainment Award at 2023 Rose d'Or. [27] [28]

International versions

I Can See Your Voice franchise locations:

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Original South Korean program
With own single adaptation of ICSYV
Part of a regional or multinational, single adaptation of ICSYV
With own multiple adaptations of ICSYV I Can See Your Voice around the world.png
I Can See Your Voice franchise locations:
  Original South Korean program
  With own single adaptation of ICSYV
  Part of a regional or multinational, single adaptation of ICSYV
  With own multiple adaptations of ICSYV

I Can See Your Voice commenced franchising [29] [30] with a joint agreement by CJ ENM and Chinese broadcaster Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation in June 2015, to acquire the rights for producing its first locally-licensed adaptation. [31] [32] On the other hand, Thailand was the first country to air its own local adaptation, debuting on January 13, 2016. [33] [5] Since then, the ICSYV franchise produced 32 adaptations, airing in 31 countries and territories. [34]

Giọng ải giọng ai (subtitled as Hidden Voices) is a formally recognized Vietnamese adaptation of I Can See Your Voice that has aired from 2016 to 2020. Also, the introduction of a "battle format" would be later implemented to existing ICSYV counterparts. [35]

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Catch Me If You Can is a unofficial adaptation of I Can See Your Voice, serving as a replacement to its original counterpart Ya vizhu tvoy golos [36] that has aired since 2024. [37] The gameplay is also based on a modified "battle format" actually implemented from Giọng ải giọng ai, featuring the opposing teams of guest artists and mystery singers. [38]

Status:      
  Currently airing
  Ceased to air
  An upcoming show or season
Country or regionLocal titleNetworkSeason countHost(s)Panelists
Belgium I Can See Your Voice VTM
Bulgaria Пееш или лъжеш
(Are you singing or lying?)
Nova
Cambodia I Can See Your Voice Cambodia Hang Meas HDTV
Canada Qui sait chanter?
(Who can sing?)
Noovo
China 看见你的声音
(I Can See Your Voice)
JSTV
  • Finished: 1
Croatia (1–2) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2) Tko to tamo pjeva?
(Who's singin' over there?)
Estonia Ma näen su häält
(I Can See Your Voice)
Kanal 2
Finland Mysteerilaulajat
(Mystery singers)
Nelonen
  • Finished: 1
France Show Me Your Voice M6
Georgia გვაჩვენე შენი ხმა
(Show us your voice!)
Rustavi 2
Germany I Can See Your Voice RTL
Hungary Mutasd a hangod!
(Show me your voice!)
TV2
Indonesia I Can See Your Voice Indonesia MNCTV
Various
(see cast)
Iran صداتو
(Your voice)
Filimo
Israel רואים את הקול
(I see the voice)
Keshet 12
Lithuania Aš matau tavo balsą
(I Can See Your Voice)
  • Finished: 1
Malaysia 看见你的声音
(I Can See Your Voice Malaysia)
8TV
I Can See Your Voice Malaysia
Various
(see cast)
Mexico Veo cómo cantas
(I see how you sing)
  • Finished: 1
Netherlands I Can See Your Voice RTL 4
Philippines I Can See Your Voice
Various
(see cast)
Portugal Cantor ou Impostor?
(Singer or impostor?)
SIC
  • Finished: 1
  • Upcoming: 2 (TBA) [43]
Romania Falsez pentru tine
(I sing badly for you)
Pro TV
  • Finished: 1
Russia Я вижу твой голос
(I Can See Your Voice)
Rossiya-1
  • Finished: 1
Поймай меня, если сможешь
(Catch Me If You Can)
Unofficial adaptation
Rossiya-1
  • Vladimir Markony
No permanent member(s)
Singapore I Can See Your Voice Singapore Channel 5
  • Finished: 1
South Korea I Can See Your Voice
너의 목소리가 보여
Original program
Various
(see cast)
Spain Veo cómo cantas
(I see how you sing)
Antena 3
Thailand I Can See Your Voice Thailand Workpoint TV Various
(see cast)
United Kingdom I Can See Your Voice BBC One
United States I Can See Your Voice Fox
Uruguay Veo cómo cantas
(I see how you sing)
Teledoce
  • Finished: 1
Vietnam Giọng ải giọng ai
(Hidden voices)
HTV7

Proposals

Aside from countries or territories that had already adapted, 14 other countries have formally announced their intention to produce local adaptations of I Can See Your Voice:

Notes

  1. The number of mystery singers in a lineup may vary depending on the game's duration, with a minimum of five people setting in the Philippine adaptation. [12]

References

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  2. 1 2 Kim, Kyung-min (February 27, 2015). ['너의 목소리가 보여' 첫방] 음소거가 만든 반전 추리극 '음치라서 행복해'. The Fact (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  3. Kim, Jin-seok (January 2, 2015). Mnet, '너의 목소리가 보여' 2월 론칭. JTBC (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 19, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  4. 1 2 I Can See Your Voice genres
  5. 1 2 I Can See Your Voice origins
  6. I Can See Your Voice inspirations
  7. "'너의 목소리가 보여' 피디, "시즌2, 더 큰 반전 있을 것"". Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). May 15, 2015. Archived from the original on March 21, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  8. Original format
  9. 1 2 3 Original format (with contestants)
  10. Battle format
  11. "Veo Cómo Cantas 2023 se estrenó por Univision: el emocionante programa de concursos donde las corazonadas te mantienen al filo del asiento". Univision (in Spanish). TelevisaUnivision. August 6, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  12. "TV Review: I Can See Your Voice returns pitch perfect with a new set of SING-vestigators and a modified format". LionhearTV. October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  13. Duetless rule
  14. I Can See Your Voice as a singing-oriented game show alternative
  15. '너의 목소리가 보여' 황치열, 임재범도 인정한 '꿀성대'. Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). March 6, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  16. Kurie, Brenda (October 1, 2020). "Watch New Bedford's Samantha Johnson perform on new FOX show". South Coast Today. The Standard-Times . Retrieved October 2, 2020.
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  19. Ninety One
  20. Lee, Hana (April 10, 2022). 블랙펄 김휘은X나영주 12년만 무대 울컥 "마지막 인사 전하려 출연"(너목보9). Nate (in Korean). SK Communications . Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  21. Is That Really Your Voice? plagiarism
  22. FameMaker plagiarism
  23. Orlin Goranov cheating incident
  24. "یک اتفاق نادر و عجیب که در قسمت ششم صداتو اتفاق افتاد. وقتی 5 خواننده حذف شدند و فینال برگزار نشد". Film News (in Persian). April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
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  26. "2020 Venice TV Awards — Winners and Nominees". Venice TV Awards . September 28, 2020. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  27. "Rose d'Or 2023 Nominees Announced". Rose d'Or . November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  28. "Winners of 62nd Rose d'Or awards announced". Rose d'Or . November 28, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
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  30. I Can See Your Voice franchise profile
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  32. "《看见你的声音》阵容大曝光,六大金刚各显身手,辨音神助攻!". Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation (in Chinese (China)). March 11, 2016. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  33. THA s1 THA s2 THA s3 THA s4 THA s5 THA s6
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  35. VNM s1 VNM s2 VNM s3 VNM s4 VNM s5
  36. RUS-Voice
  37. RUS-Catch s1 RUS-Catch s2
  38. Catch Me If You Can recognition
  39. BGR s3
  40. EST s6
  41. IRN s4
  42. MYS-Malay s8
  43. PRT s2
  44. RUS-Catch s3
  45. US s4
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