LA POEM (라포엠)

LA POEM built its foundation not in a conventional idol training room but on a competitive classical stage. The four-member South Korean crossover group came together through Phantom Singer 3, JTBC's vocal survival program, and went on to debut on July 3, 2020 — bringing operatic voice types rarely heard in mainstream Korean pop into the group format.

Debut and Formation

The group's origins in *Phantom Singer 3* set it apart from virtually every other act in the Korean pop landscape. Rather than an agency assembling trainees, the lineup emerged through competition, with each member already possessing formal vocal training. The four who came together — Yoo Chae-hoon, Choi Sung-hoon, Jung Min-sung, and Park Ki-hoon — represent a deliberate spread of classical voice types: two tenors, a countertenor, and a baritone. That combination is the structural core of the group's sound, allowing for harmonic depth and range that straightforward pop vocal arrangements typically do not attempt.

Members

• Yoo Chae-hoon — tenor
• Choi Sung-hoon — countertenor
• Jung Min-sung — baritone
• Park Ki-hoon — tenor

Music and Identity

The term "crossover" in the Korean context describes acts that draw on Western classical or operatic technique while working within the commercial music industry — a space that has periodically found an audience in South Korea through figures trained in conservatories but performing outside concert halls. LA POEM operates squarely in that tradition, with the countertenor presence of Choi Sung-hoon adding a particularly distinctive upper register that separates the group's texture from any standard pop four-part harmony.

Activities

By early 2026, LA POEM was preparing for a performance in Busan, continuing a pattern of live activity that has been central to their profile as a group whose appeal rests heavily on vocal delivery in a concert setting.