The 63-year-old Cho Yong-pil has returned to the music scene with his first single in 10 years, titled “Bounce.” The track is a prerelease single from his upcoming 19th album “Hello,” which will be unveiled next week.

“Bounce,” released on Tuesday, was ranked in the top 10 on all the major local music singles charts, including Bugs and Soribada charts where it overtook Psy’s global hit “Gentleman” and claimed the No. 1 spot.

The versatile artist showed a completely different side of himself with his new release: a modern, upbeat bubble-pop track with the English chorus line, “Baby you’re my trampoline, you make me bounce, bounce.” 

Cho first debuted as a musician in 1968 performing for the U.S. Army with his country band Atkins. Two years later he joined the rock ‘n’ roll band Kim Trio, which inspired Cho to pursue rock music.

His first commercial single “Come Back to Busan Port” was released in 1975 and launched him into national fame. Five years later he released his first album titled “The Woman Outside the Window” and in the same year, he became the first Korean pop singer ever to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

In 1994, Cho became the first artist to sell 10 million album copies in Korea. Throughout his career spanning more than 40 years, Cho has released 18 full albums, the last one released in 2003.

Cho, who is being likened to the British singer David Bowie for his long-lasting power, versatility and a successful comeback album after a decade, will be performing a special premiere showcase at Seoul Olympic Park on April 23, the night his new album is to be revealed.

The showcase will be streamed live and can be viewed online through Naver starting at 8 p.m. local time. The rocker will also kick off his “Hello” nationwide tour with three concert performances in Seoul from May 31 to June 2 at the Gymnastics Stadium at Olympic Park.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)