Superstar K 4 Explained
Superstar K4 is the fourth season of the South Korean television talent show series Superstar K, which premiered on 17 August 2012 on Mnet and airs every Friday night at 11PM KST. Lee Seung-Chul and Yoon Mi-Rae returned as judges,[1] and were joined by singer/songwriter PSY who replaced Yoon Jong-Shin who had been a judge in the last two seasons.[2] 2,083,447 applicants were recorded for this season, surpassing the record set by the previous season.[3]
This program ended on November 23, 2012 with the announcement of Roy Kim as the winner and DickPunks as the runner-up.
Selection process
As with the previous seasons, applicants were able to apply via the internet, phone or in person. However, with this season, the options of applying via KakaoTalk and karaoke also became available.[4]
Auditions
Preliminary Auditions for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Regionals were held in these cities:
| Episode air dates | Audition city | Date | Venue | Tickets to SuperWeek |
|---|
| August 17 - September 7, 2012 | Seoul | July 7/8, 2012 | Seoul World Cup Stadium | 31 |
| August 17 - September 7, 2012 | Incheon | June 2, 2012 | Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium | 15 |
| August 24–31, 2012 | Busan | May 5, 2012 | Busan Exhibition and Convention Center | 19 |
| August 31 - September 7, 2012 | Gwangju | May 12, 2012 | Gwangju Yeomju Gymnasium | 19 |
| August 17, 2012 | Wonju | May 19, 2012 | Wonju Tattoo Plaza | 18 |
| — | Daegu | May 28, 2012 | EXCO Daegu Exhibition & Convention Center | 4 |
| — | Daejeon | June 17, 2012 | Daejeon Convention Center | 0 |
| — | Jeju | April 29, 2012 | Jeju City Civic Center | 2 |
| September 7, 2012 | Los Angeles | June 9, 2012 | Hollywood Musicians Institute Concert Hall | 0 |
| September 7, 2012 | New York City | June 10, 2012 | Best Buy Theater | 7 |
| — | Sydney | September 22, 2011 | SMC Conference & Function Centre | 0 |
| Total number of tickets to SuperWeek | 115 | |
|---|
- The Daegu, Daejeon and Jeju audition episodes were not aired due to scheduling changes.
- The 3rd Regional auditions for the Los Angeles and New York were held together.
- Participants of the Sydney audition who made it to the 3rd Regional's were judged at Seoul instead.
SuperWeek
Finalists
TOP 12
| Name/Group Name | Age | Place of Audition | Final Standing |
|---|
| Kye Bum-joo (계범주) | 22 | Seoul | Top 12 |
| Eddy Kim (에디킴) | 24 | Wonju | Top 6 |
| DickPunks (딕펑스) | 26 | Wonju | Runner-up |
| Roy Kim (로이킴) | 20 | Seoul | Winner |
| Volume (볼륨) | 27 | Seoul | Top 12 |
| An Ye-seul (안예슬) | 18 | Wonju | Top 9 |
| Yeon Gyu-sung (연규성) | 34 | Incheon | Top 9 |
| Yoo Seung-woo (유승우) | 16 | Seoul | Top 6 |
| Lee Ji-hye (이지혜) | 18 | Seoul | Top 12 |
| Jung Joon-young (정준영) | 23 | Seoul | Top 3 |
| Honey G (허니지) | 29 / 18 | Incheon (Honey Brown) / US (Park Ji Young) | Top 7 |
| Hong Dae-kwang (홍대광) | 28 | Seoul | Top 4 | |
Finals
Due to the adoption of 12 finalists in Superstar K4 compared to 10 and 11 finalists in the previous seasons, the format was changed by which three finalists are eliminated in the first week, and two in the following three weeks till the Top 5 is reached (exceptions including the judges decision to save DickPunks in the Top 7 week). Judge PSY was replaced from the Top 9 week by singer Yoon Gun, due to his decision to commit to promoting his song 'Gangnam Style (강남스타일)' overseas.[5] The elimination of a contestant will be determinant upon who has the lowest number of points: with 60 percent of the points from a live text poll, 30 percent from the judges' decision and 10 percent from a pre-broadcast online poll.[6]
Top 12 – First Love
- Group performance: "사랑 만들기 (Making Love)" (Papaya)
Top 9 – Rivalry
- Group performance: "마지막 승부 (The Last Game)" (Kim Min-kyo)
Top 7 - Go Back
- Group performance: "고백 (Confession)" (Delly Spice)
Top 6 - My Style
- Group performance: "그대에게 (To You)" (무한궤도)
Top 4 - Audience Song of Choice
- Special Stages: DickPunks and Hong Dae-Kwang: "Girl" (아스피린); Jung Joon-Young and Roy Kim: "Creep" (Radiohead)
Top 3 - Judge's Mission / Contestant's Favourite Song
Each contestant performed two songs: a song from the judge that each had been assigned to be coached from, and a song of personal choice. For the judge mission, DickPunks were assigned to the mentorship of Yoon Mi-Rae, Jung Joon-Young to Lee Seung-Chul and Roy Kim to Yoon Gun.
Top 2 - Song Rendition / Self-Written Song
Ratings
Ratings
| Episode | Broadcast Date | Nationwide Viewership |
|---|
| 1 | 17 August 2012 | 8.4% |
| 2 | 24 August 2012 | 9.2%(+0.8) |
| 3 | 31 August 2012 | 9.6%(+0.4) |
| 4 | 7 September 2012 | 9.3%(-0.3) |
| 5 | 14 September 2012 | 9.2%(-0.1) |
| 6 | 21 September 2012 | 9.9%(+0.7) |
| 7 | 28 September 2012 | 10.6%(+0.7) |
| 8 | 5 October 2012 | 9.9%(-0.7) | |
- AGB Nielsen Media Research
| Episode | Broadcast Date | Nationwide Viewership |
|---|
| 1 | 17 August 2012 | 6.3% |
| 2 | 24 August 2012 | 9.1%(+2.8) |
| 3 | 31 August 2012 | 8.3%(-0.8) |
| 4 | 7 September 2012 | 7.3%(-1.0) |
| 5 | 14 September 2012 | 7.7%(+0.4) |
| 6 | 21 September 2012 | 8.9%(+1.2) |
| 7 | 28 September 2012 | 10.6%(+1.7) |
| 8 | 5 October 2012 | 10.6%(0) | |
Notes and References
- Web site: Kim. Won-Gyeom. ko:윤미래, 2년연속 ‘슈스케’ 심사위원. http://news.nate.com/view/20120530n03015?mid=e0101. Star News. 14 October 2012. 30 May 2012. ko.
- Web site: Park. Hyun-Min. 이승철 "'슈퍼스타K'는 휴먼 다큐멘터리, 감동에 또다시 동참". enews24. 14 October 2012. 28 March 2012. ko.
- Web site: Lee. Jin-Ho. ko:‘슈스케4’ 200만 돌파, 이승철-싸이 반나체 등산 공약 ‘실천만 남았다’. http://enews24.interest.me/news/01/3359451_1161.html. enews24. 14 October 2012. 5 August 2012. ko.
- Web site: Cho. May. Superstar K Season 4 Audition Applicants Surpass 2 Million. 19 October 2012. 6 August 2012.
- Web site: Kang. Hye-In. ko:윤건, ‘슈스케4’ 제 4의 심사위원 "싸이 완전 하차 아냐". http://www.fnnews.com/view?ra=Sent1301m_View&corp=fnnews&arcid=12103010471910&cDateYear=2012&cDateMonth=10&cDateDay=30. ko.
- Web site: Jeon. Su-Mi. ′Superstar K4′ to Launch Live Broadcasts with First Love Theme.
