Lim Young-woong (; born June 16, 1991) is a South Korean trot, ballad and pop singer, entertainer and YouTuber. He signed with Mulgogi Music in 2016 and debuted as a singer with his first single "Hate You". Four years later, he rose to stardom after competing on the reality television show Mr. Trot, where he won the first place out of 17,000 applicants. In 2021, Lim achieved his first number-one song on the Gaon Digital Chart with the single "My Starry Love". Since his debut in 2016, Lim has released one studio album and one collaborative medley album, scoring four Gaon Digital Chart number-ones. He is also the first trot artist ever to receive the Gold Play Button for achieving one million subscribers on his official YouTube channel. Career 2016–2019: Career beginnings Lim initially dreamed of being a ballad singer, but later discovered his talent as a trot singer after winning an Excellence Prize at a singing contest. At the contest held in his native city of Pocheon, he performed 's song "What's Wrong with My Age?" (), considering the age groups of audiences. In 2016, Lim then appeared on KBS1's singing competition show Korea Sings, winning an Excellence Prize there after performing 's song "If You Smile, You'll Get Younger, If You Get Angry, You'll Only Get Older" (). This experience made him dream of his career as a trot singer in earnest. He also appeared as a contestant in the first season of SBS' music reality show Fantastic Duo that year. Shortly after, he signed with his current label Mulgogi Music. On August 8, 2016, the singer made his debut through the release of digital single "Hate You" (). He then released another single entitled "What's So Important?" () on January 2, 2017. However, these two singles did not do well commercially. Lim slowly gained popularity through his appearance in KBS1's morning show , where he became the final winner of its televised audition "Challenge! Dream Stage". On March 28, 2018, he released his third single "Elevator" (). The song was re-arranged and released under the title "Not by Stairs, but by Elevator" () almost five months later. On December 21 that year, Lim released a collaborative medley album with fellow trot singer , titled Newness of Trot (). The album's popularity at expressway rest areas made him called the "Expressway Idol Star". Lim was appointed as the