'Steal Heart Club' announced the first 10 eliminations and officially entered the survival phase, and the curtain rose on an extreme competition with a "band unit battle" in round 4 that will eliminate as many as 20 contestants.
On Tuesday the 18th, episode 5 of Mnet's Steal Heart Club (STEAL HEART CLUB) aired, featuring the final matchup of round 3's "dual stage battle," a K-pop girl group competition. The generation-integrated team led by front person O Da-jun (Kim Eun-chan A, O Da-jun, Jeong Eun-chan, Chae Pil-gyu, Han Bin Kim) faced criticism from the music director during a mid-review, who asked, "Is this really the best?" and put them in a crisis, but they overhauled the arrangement and stage composition to create a reversal with a newly reinterpreted performance of IVE's "Rebel Heart." As a result, the energy was raised by mass singing from the latter half of the audience and a surprise drum performance, and they eventually scored 738 points to win. O Da-jun said, "We ultimately achieved integration," and was moved to tears.
Meanwhile, the space-conquest team led by Dane (Dane, Park Cheol-gi, Sagisomer, Seo Woo-seung, Lee Jun-ho) reinterpreted aespa's "Armageddon" in a hard rock metal style and delivered an explosive stage. The eight-string guitar sound, Sagisomer's charismatic vocals, and Dane's stage command combined to earn praise such as "the arrival of rocks" and "historic," but they lost narrowly with 723 points in the band maker vote. Although the team lost, Dane ranked first among the reserve musicians with an individual score of 170 points and said, "Just because I'm a candidate for elimination doesn't mean our team members will be eliminated. Even if we lost, we fought very well."
Immediately after the competition, the directors began judging to select survivors by position. After intense discussion, the eliminations were decided as follows: vocals Jo Ju-yeon and Kim Eun-seong; keyboards Jang Jae-hyeong and Kim Ui-jin; drums Tae Sa-o and Kim Geon-dae; bass Kim Jun-young and San-i; guitar Yang Hyuk and Lee Jun-ho. However, when Kazuki from the drum position withdrew midway due to health issues, Kim Geon-dae, who had been high in the band maker vote rankings, rejoined and continued the journey. He said, "I am honored to be back on stage. I am grateful and this time I will really do well," and expressed his determination.
Lee Jun-ho, who left a strong presence with his eight-string guitar performance, said through tears, "Each day was happy and it was an unforgettable time," and Sunwoo Jung-a said, "I will root for the future and we will definitely meet," adding, "You gave great emotion and it was a wonderful performance," offering a warm message. Yang Hyuk, who drew attention for his appearance in "Lovely Runner," said in his final words, "I was able to bring back the dream of standing on stage as a guitarist. I now have a reason not to give up on music," leaving a deep impression.
Before the shock of the first eliminations had fully subsided, the round 4 missions were revealed. MC Moon Ga-young said, "In round 4's 'band unit battle,' as many as 20 contestants will be eliminated. Half of the current participants will be eliminated," shocking the site. She explained, "The 'band unit battle' will be held in two stages, round 1 and round 2. Round 1 will feature performances composed only of team members, and round 2 will be a collaboration unit battle where teams complete stages by collaborating with artists from other genres," adding, "This round is a very important stage to show team personality and unit strategy."
Dane (bass), Han Bin Kim (guitar), Yoon Young-jun (keyboard), Lee Yun-chan (vocal), and Kim Eun-chan A (drums), who ranked first in individual votes by position in round 3, were selected as round 4 "front persons" and began forming teams. Participants who were nominated simultaneously by multiple front persons were given the option to choose their team, setting off an intense psychological battle. After trials and tribulations, five teams of eight were completed, and attention is focused on which teams will survive the round 4 "band unit battle," in which only 20 of the 40 reserve musicians will remain.
Meanwhile, Steal Heart Club is a global band-making project that depicts reserve musicians developing their individuality and skills and growing into a single global iconic band, and it airs every Tuesday at 10 p.m. on Mnet.
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