750 songs. From the ballads of SG Wannabe, CYA, and Davichi to the trot of Lim Youngwoong, Cho Youngsoo has spent the last 30 years writing melodies that penetrate the emotions of the times. It’s hard to name a singer in Korea who hasn’t collaborated with him, and he recently took to the stage with his keyboard. As a member of Amputaband, a group he formed with his close friends Hong Kyung-min, Cha Tae-hyun, and Kim Jun-hyun.
Cho Young-soo ‘Amputaband’ Cho, not a composer
Amputaband is a band consisting of Hong Kyung-min (leader and bass), Cho Young-soo (keyboard), Cha Tae-hyun (guest vocalist), Jeon In-hyuk (guitar), Kim Jun-hyun (drums), and Cho Joong-min (piano). The band made a name for themselves by winning the 2026 Actor Special of KBS 2TV’s “Immortal Song” New Year’s Program. They made their official debut in February with the release of their digital single album “You Know”.
Youngsoo Cho’s face was full of newness and excitement as he returned as a band member instead of a composer.
“I started because I loved music so much, but after almost 30 years of treating it like a job, the joy was gone and all that was left was a sense of obligation, and I felt the excitement I had when I first started the band.”
It’s a new outlet to fill the void that comes with doing what you love when it becomes a routine.
It was by chance that he joined the band. His friend Hong Kyung-min told him that he had formed a band, and the moment he heard it, he said, “I want to be a part of it.” He had been watching the singer perform from the audience or backstage, and for the first time, he took the lead role.
“It was the first time I realized that this is why I do music, this is why I sing, this is why I do it for the pleasure of it. I feel like I know that empty feeling that idol singers feel after a performance, and I can’t wait to do it again.”
The process for their debut song “You Know” was also different. The melody was written as it came to us, and the lyrics were completed by the five members in a relay system in a group chat room.
“I’d write two lines of lyrics and post them in the chat room, and then the members would write the next line on a first-come, first-served basis, and it was really refreshing to have a lot of color and vocabulary from all five of us, whereas in the past we’ve usually had one lyricist’s color.”
Known for being a perfectionist director, he added that working with the band reminded him of the essence of the band’s music, which is to fill out the sound while respecting the individuality of the members.
750 songs in 30 years… the secret is prepared cramming
Cho Young-soo has written debut and hit songs for hundreds of South Korea’s leading artists, including Lee Ki-chan, Lee Seung-cheol, Davichi, SG Wannabe, and many more. The story behind the songwriting process that has allowed him to consistently produce hits over the years is surprisingly simple: deadline cramming.
“I’ve had a cramming habit since I was a kid,” he says, “I’d write a ballad in almost five minutes and send it right away, and it’d become a hit. I wrote Lee Ki-chan’s ‘Beauty’ the night before it was due and sent it in the morning, and it became the number one song of the year in 2007.”
Although the physical time of writing a song is short, it’s underpinned by days of intense planning. While walking down the street, eating a meal, or driving, I’m constantly thinking about the singer’s voice and musical direction. This is how the accumulation of ideas in his head meets the intense concentration of the last minute before the deadline.
After writing thousands of songs, there’s a risk of unknowingly duplicating a previous melody or sounding similar to someone else’s work. To avoid this, Cho’s first step is to have his fellow composers monitor and filter his songs once they’re finished. His principle of “if there is a similar melody, throw it away and write a new one” has been the foundation of his 30 years of creativity.
Plateaus and self-care
He was on the rise, but then came the crisis. Around 2015-2016, as idol music became more popular, the ballad market declined sharply. Ballad composers around him disappeared one by one. His health was also on red alert due to his tireless dedication. His all-nighters led to rapid weight gain, and adult diseases such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and blood pressure followed.
“I realized I might not be able to do music for a long time, so I learned to say no and started making time for exercise and rest.”
Nowadays, I visit the gym every day if I don’t have anything else going on, especially since I started playing golf. It’s a way to get out of the isolation of being a composer who works alone, and to meet new people and regain some emotional space.
Recently, I solved a long-standing dental problem. In my mid-40s, I started to notice the wear and tear on my teeth in the mirror and on screens. I also developed a habit of not being able to open my mouth wide enough when I smiled. After a long time of worrying about it, she had Minish treatment and regained her confidence. Recently, for the first time, I heard my bandmates say, “Hey, you’re smiling so much better these days.”
From trotting to Olympic music… “The music that proved my worth”
Even in the midst of the market’s downturn, all he could do was not give up. Instead of settling for his specialty of ballads, he continued to compose in other areas. He composed military songs and wrote trots. One of the songs that came out of this was Hong Jin-young’s mega hit “Battery of Love.
“When you get a hit in a new genre, it’s a great feeling, and after the success of ‘Battery of Love,’ it gave me the confidence to do other music, and I think I’ve grown a little bit.”
In 2018, for the first time as a popular composer, he wrote music for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics ceremony. At the time, I didn’t realize that I could regain my self-esteem outside of popular music.
“Working on the music for the Olympics was a great honor in itself, but the moment I felt I had done a good job was when the medalists walked up to the podium crying, and knowing that my music would live on in their memories was very rewarding as a composer.”
Another turning point came in a taxi, late at night on my way home from work. The radio was playing SG WannaBee’s “My Person,” a song about an elderly couple who wanted to convey their love to their sick wife.
“That’s when I got goosebumps and realized, ‘Oh, this is why I do music,’ and it gave me the strength to keep going, knowing that someone was being comforted by my music and spreading love.”
More recently, he’s been keeping an eye on the rise of AI. In a blind test, an AI-written song won first place, so he acknowledged the technical perfection. However, he believes that humans are still the ones who create new emotions.
“If I ask the AI to write a song in the style of Young Soo Cho, it’s going to analyze all 750 songs I’ve written, and there’s only one thing I can do: do something I haven’t done before.”
Eighty-year-old band member dreams of topping the Billboard charts
He has two clear goals. As a band, he wants to continue performing with his bandmates, crossing genres and having fun until he’s 80, and as a composer, he wants to go global.
“With K-pop taking the world by storm, I dream of becoming a Billboard #1 songwriter with my favorite pop and R&B sensibilities. I’m already working overseas and my first song will be out within the year, so these are my new goals for the rest of my musical life: a band and Billboard.”
