K-pop legend Cho Yong-pil to return with new single

Cho Yong-pil, a living legend of the Korean pop scene, will be back this week with his first release in nine years, his management agency said Tuesday.

The 72-year-old singer will drop a new single, titled “Road to 20-Prelude 1,” on Friday at 6 p.m., YPC Company said.

It also teased the upcoming release on the singer’s official YouTube channel. The 30-second teaser video showed the Korean titles of the two tracks to be included on the album, which are roughly translated as “Moment” and “Like Serengeti,” along with the date and hour of its release.

The K-pop legend’s last release was his 19th full-length album, “Hello,” in 2013. “Bounce” and “Hello,” tracks off the album, conquered music charts, pushing aside younger K-pop stars like Psy of “Gangnam Style.”

“It will be released as a single album, which he has never tried before,” the agency said in the video without giving further details of the upcoming release.

Cho debuted as a member of the rock band Atkins in 1968. After working for a decade in several bands, including the Kim Trio, he debuted as a solo artist with the hit single “Come Back to Busan Port” in 1976.

He rose to stardom through his first full-length album with hit tracks, such as “A Girl Outside the Window” and “Short Hair Girl,” which sold a million copies for the first time in K-pop history in 1980.

He has maintained his supremacy over his 50-year career, releasing 19 studio albums with famous tracks like “Candle Light,” “Dream” and “Leopard of Kilimanjaro,” among many others, while sweeping up awards and setting numerous records on the music scene.

Cho will hold four concerts in Seoul on Nov. 26-27 and Dec. 3-4. All 40,000 tickets to the shows sold out 30 minutes after reservations began.