Forténa still feel like winners, despite second-place finish

Vocal quartet Forténa narrowly lost its trophy in the finale of “Phantom Singer 4” on Friday, but the members felt they were winners at heart nonetheless. “It really feels no different from an actual win because I made friends for life,” Forténa's...

From left, David DQ Lee, Austin Kim, Seo Young-taek and Kim Sung-hyun are members of the male crossover quartet Forténa which placed second on JTBC's music survival show "Phantom Singer 4," on Friday

Vocal quartet Forténa narrowly lost its trophy in the finale of “Phantom Singer 4” on Friday, but the members felt they were winners at heart nonetheless.

“It really feels no different from an actual win because I made friends for life,” Forténa's leader David DQ Lee told the local press on Tuesday in Mapo District, western Seoul.

“Phantom Singer” (2016-) is a male crossover survival show on JTBC that brings together undiscovered vocalists to form crossover quartets that compete against each other for the final prize of 200 million won (around $150,000). This year, it aired its fourth season.

“The result is a dream that has come true, and I am grateful to have created memorable performances with Forténa,” said Austin Kim.

Forténa came in No. 1 during the first round of finals after giving prodigious performances of Luciano Pavarotti’s “Neapolis” (2003) and Lara Fabian’s “Demain n'existe pas” (2010). But it lost its place to another competing crossover quartet, Libelante, in the second round.

The team took home the runner-up’s check worth 100 million won (around $77,000) on Friday.

“It would be a lie if we said we weren’t even a little disheartened, but our team tried its best in every competition [on ‘Phantom Singer’] and we believe that there will be more opportunities to show our music to the public. This is only the beginning,” said Kim.

Forténa introduces itself on May's episode of JTBC's male crossover survival show "Phantom Singer 4." [JTBC]

Comprised of two countertenors and two tenors, the team name Forténa is a combination of the words “fortuna,” which means fortune in Italian, and “four tenors.” It was the only all-classical team on “Phantom Singer 4,” which is known to bring together singers from many different genres.

Lee is a world-class countertenor who has won over a dozen awards at international vocal competitions, including the Francisco Vinas International Competition in Spain and the George London Competition in the United States; Austin Kim is a countertenor in Forténa but is best known as Korea’s first contralto; tenor Seo Young-taek is a Paris Conservatory graduate; and tenor Kim Sung-hyun has a sweeping number of accolades in local classical singing competitions.

The team attributed its many successes to Forténa’s eldest and most experienced Lee.

“Honestly, it was an intimidating group of people to be in a team with,” said Seo, “but [David DQ Lee] really made a comfortable atmosphere where we could freely express our thoughts and opinions.”

“After years of education in Berlin, I never liked Korean hierarchical culture,” said Lee. “I didn’t want to be authoritative and just wanted everybody, including myself, to do their best and have fun.”

Forténa hoped to retain its current popularity through everchanging music.

“Our base will always be in classical music with large orchestral sounds, and on top of that, we hope to try different genres,” said Kim Sung-hyun.

“It's safe to say that Forténa will constantly work to show different facets of the team with diverse and experimentative music,” said Lee.

Forténa, along with two other finalists of “Phantom Singer 4” — Libelante and Crezzle — will hold concerts nationwide, starting from Seoul on July 14. Tickets to the concerts open Thursday on the local ticketing platform Interpark.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]