Lee Chan-won shares backstage photo ahead of Boohwal 40th anniversary special on Immortal Songs

Lee Chan-won posted a waiting-room photo from the hallway to get viewers tuned in for episode 764 of KBS2's Immortal Songs, airing July 11 at 6:05 PM. The episode is titled Immortal Songs — Artist Kim Tae-won Edition in honor of rock band Boohwal's 40th anniversary.

Six acts perform: Kang Seung-yoon, Kim Shin-eui Band, Yuk Joong-wan Band, Lee Ye-ji, Lee Seung-hyub & Yoo Hoe-seung (N.Flying), and Jo Jjaejeuz. Jo Jjaejeuz picked "Never Ending Story," the title track from Boohwal's 8th album.

The song choice sparked a memory for Lee Chan-won. He'd auditioned for the three major agencies in his third year of middle school using that exact track — but in trot style. "I sang it in a trot version and failed completely," he said, smiling ruefully. Then he performed an impromptu trot rendition right there, drawing cheers from the cast. Kim Shin-eui told him: "The ability to digest any song in trot style is unparalleled."

Lee Chan-won also reflected on the songwriter behind the episode's theme. "When I carefully contemplate Kim Tae-won's lyrics, sometimes just looking at the lyrics without the melody brings tears to my eyes."

His path from audition failure to MC is its own story. He placed 3rd on TV CHOSUN's Tomorrow is Mr. Trot in 2020. At the 2024 KBS Entertainment Awards, he won both the Entertainment Award of the Year and the Grand Prize, becoming the youngest male solo recipient of the KBS Entertainment Grand Prize. His self-written, self-composed track "Such a Good Day" earned consecutive music program wins and a hall-of-fame entry. His second full-length album 찬란 (燦爛) dropped in 2025, the same year he won at the Korea PD Awards and the Brand Customer Loyalty Awards.

Last week's episode 762, which aired July 4, was a special called "The Day We Sing" built around musical Those Days, which reimagines the late Kim Kwang-seok's catalog. Cast members Choi Jin-hyuk, Kim Jung-hyun, Sandeul, Park Gyu-won, and Lee Ji-su appeared, with Seo Hyun-chul and Go Chang-seok as special talkers. Lee Ji-su, a 15-year musical theater veteran, performed "Sangsa-hwa" by An Ye-eun — the OST from drama Rebel — in a pure white dress she prepared herself. Kim Jung-hyun said of her performance: "If the original song felt like a desperate feeling blooming from mud, this stage was like light shining through a winter snowstorm."

Immortal Songs airs every Saturday at 6:05 PM on KBS 2TV.