Mnet’s “I Can See Your Voice” is a music competition show that presents a group of mystery singers who hide their job, age and singing talent. The goal of the show is to distinguish tone-deaf singers from talented singers. Since its first broadcast in Korea in 2015, “I Can See Your Voice” has been on air for eight seasons, garnering a dedicated following of viewers. Following its success in Korea, “I Can See Your Voice” has been sold and remade in 18 countries around the world — including the U.S., the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Russia, Belgium, Spain, Canada and Thailand — and has established itself as a global music entertainment program.
“I Can See Your Voice” Experiences Record-Breaking Popularity Across Europe
The popularity of “I Can See Your Voice” in the United Kingdom, France and Russia, which are currently airing or have recently ended, is especially noteworthy. The United Kingdom version of “I Can See Your Voice,” which ended on May 29, 2021, was broadcasted every Saturday evening on the BBC One channel during prime time viewing hours. Most notably, the sixth episode of the program, which aired on May 15, 2021, saw the highest number of viewers, reaching close to 5 million viewers. It was the number one rated show of the day for non-sports shows with TV audience share of 28.1% on the day of its broadcast. Similarly, the third and fifth episodes of the show broke viewer rating records during their broadcast, achieving the highest rankings of any show broadcasted on the air dates. Due to its massive popularity, the show was renewed for a second season even before the first season concluded.
“CJ ENM producers willingly shared their experience in producing eight seasons of “I Can See Your Voice,” including the expertise they have accumulated while creating numerous overseas versions of the program,” said Amelia Brown, Managing Director at Thames TV, the production company that produces the UK version of “I Can See Your Voice.” “We were impressed by the domestic production team’s dedicated effort to provide immediate support whenever we had any questions or concerns while producing the UK version of the show.”
Similarly in France, M6, the country’s biggest broadcasting company, presented the program under the title “Show Me Your Voice,” and received an added boost from having Issa Doumbia, famous French comedian and actor, as its host. The first episode aired on April 22, 2021 and captured viewers’ attention, recording a total of 2.21 million viewers and ranking first among female viewers aged 15 to 49. The Russian version of “I Can See Your Voice” has been broadcasted on the national channel Russia 1 and is growing in popularity, recording a peak of 3.8 million viewers in its third episode. For its sixth episode, the show ranked top in viewership among programs in its time slot.
Moreover, the German Version of “I Can See Your Voice” aired two seasons on RTL, the channel with the highest viewership ratings among private broadcasting stations in Germany. Likewise, in the Netherlands, the Dutch version of “I Can See Your Voice” also broadcasted two successful seasons of the show.
The popularity of “I Can See Your Voice” is expected to spread throughout Europe, with additional European versions scheduled to air soon. This includes the Spanish version of “I Can See Your Voice”, produced through a partnership of Atresmedia, Warner Bros. and ITVP Spain, that is set to broadcast on Spain’s television channel Antena. Additionally, the Belgian version will be broadcasted on VTM, the largest private broadcasting station in Belgium, and the Finnish version will air on the Nelonen Channel, one of the largest private broadcasting stations in Finland.
“Regardless of the country it’s aired in, all cast members react similarly the moment when a mystery singer is revealed on the ‘Stage of Truth’,” said Lee Sun-young, Mnet chief producer who produced and directed “I Can See Your Voice”. “I believe this is the power of the ‘I Can See Your Voice’ format; the show can be recreated despite the differences in language and culture. I’m pleased that the success from the U.S. version of the show spread to Europe as well, and I want to invite the cast and contestants of ‘I Can See Your Voice’ from all over the world to produce a global special episode together.”
“The format of ‘I Can See Your Voice’ is a music entertainment show created from the combined participation of contestants and the audience,” said Min Da-hyeon, Team Leader of the Overseas IP Distribution Business team that sold “I Can See Your Voice” to other countries. “The format of the show, which originated in Korea, is able to represent Korea while delivering fun and touching moments to fans all over the world. Through consistent communication of our expertise and a solid partnership with global production companies and broadcasting stations, local versions of ‘I Can See Your Voice’ have seen great success in European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and France.
