The praise isn’t just coming from Mirror fans though; people from many different parts of the world have been commenting on the video too. Some of them even mentioned that they hadn’t heard of Lau or Lee before, but after seeing their impressive performance, they would be paying more attention to their work from now on.

What is The First Take – and who has performed on it?

Created by Sony Music Entertainment Japan and first launched in November 2019, The First Take invites singers to perform in a white studio and sing directly into the microphone. Only one take is given to each singer during the recording.

Asia’s Met Gala 2023 takeover: 11 best dressed stars on the red carpet

The music is either played acoustically live on a guitar or a piano, or singers are accompanied by a pre-recorded music-only track. With no auto-tune, overdubbing or other effects on the vocals, the performance is supposed to be a true reflection of the singer’s raw talent and skill.

Before Mirror’s Lau and Lee, Jason Chan was actually the first Hong Kong artist appearing on The First Take, surprising local fans and making them proud of his Cantonese-language ballad on the show, per A Day Mag.

With over 7.8 million subscribers, the YouTube channel is considered an excellent platform for singers to showcase themselves without a fancy set-up, keeping the focus on their natural vocal talents.

Netflix’s Take 1 shares a similar concept

In a similar fashion, Take 1, a South Korean music docuseries produced by Netflix, invites renowned musicians to pull together their greatest live performance of just one song. Unlike The First Take, the singer also suggests the venue and format of the performance in addition to choosing the song. As each episode is around an hour long, the audience is able to follow the artist from their initial meetings and rehearsals to stage time.

Life after Bling Empire: Christine Chiu on the cancellation and the Met Gala

Rain (Jung Ji-hoon) opted to bring his spectacle to the iconic Blue House. As the location was the former presidential residence of South Korea, the effort required to plan and execute the production was beyond our imagination.

A very different but equally remarkable performance was given by rock musician Yim Jae-beum, who returned to the stage after a six-year hiatus after his wife and father tragically passed away, per Korea Herald. As the episode was filmed during the height of Covid-19 in 2022, a bare-bones concert was set up on a rooftop, and he picked “This, Too, Shall Pass” as a tribute to his fans and himself, stated Seoulbeats.