Bae Ah-hyun drops '뒷바라지' a year after her last release, composed by Algoboni Homsustae

Miss Trot 3's top winner is back with a ballad

Bae Ah-hyun released her new single 뒷바라지 on October 7 across online music platforms — roughly one year after 나 놀러갈거야, her previous dance-trot track.

The shift is immediate. 나 놀러갈거야 thrived on uptempo energy. 뒷바라지 is sorrowful, heartfelt — material built for her voice. She earned the nickname 꺾기 인간문화재 (roughly: living cultural treasure of vocal ornamentation) for her precise, expressive use of the trot melisma technique. Her live repertoire includes 조약돌 사랑 and 모란동백.

The song's origin traces back to 'Miss Trot 3'

Composer duo 알고보니혼수상태 wrote 뒷바라지 after serving as masters on TV CHOSUN's Miss Trot 3, where Bae took the top prize (善). They drew the song's concept from watching Bae and her father and the life they had built together. The closing lyric — 당신 등도 굽었답니다 ("your back has bent too") — anchors the track emotionally.

The recording features drummer 신석철, bassist 최훈, guitarist 이성렬, chorus vocalist 김현아, and string ensemble 융스트링. Full live-instrument arrangements don't always happen for single releases.

Bae won Miss Trot 3 as the 선(善) — the highest rank — and has remained one of the more active performers from that cycle, with multiple stage appearances since the show wrapped.