"The Ballad of Us" opens the new year wide with a spinoff broadcast.
SBS's domestic first ballad audition program "The Ballad of Us" will meet viewers anew in January 2026 as an open-radio concept public music talk show "Mumu X Chacha - Ubaladio" (hereafter "Ubaladio").
"The Ballad of Us," which concluded on the 2nd, captivated viewers' hearts by evoking memories of the era through era-by-era ballads reborn with the voices of contestants whose average age was 18.2. The show maintained top ranks in Netflix Korea's top 10 series throughout its broadcast and received great love, recording more than 100 million cumulative views for various online content.
In addition, it drew rave reviews for creating a top 100 ballads chart loved by Koreans, opening a new era for ballads. The competition songs released each week also dominated the top ranks of various music charts, proving intense interest not only in the program but also in the contestants.
Meanwhile, the first spinoff of "The Ballad of Us" was revealed to be the music talk show "Ubaladio," raising even greater expectations among fans. Jun Hyun-moo, who served as the main show MC, and Cha Taehyun, who served as a judge on "Top Baek-gwi," will appear as DJs to convey viewers' stories and deliver ballad sensibilities suited to winter nights.
Winners and participants from "The Ballad of Us" — winner Lee Ye-ji, TOP6 Song Ji-woo, Lee Ji-hoon, Cheon Beom-seok, Choi Eun-bin, Hong Seung-min, semifinalists Kim Yoon-i, Min Su-hyun, Lee Jun-seok, Im Ji-seong, Jeremy, and Jeong Ji-woong — the TOP12 participants will gather in one place to present a new stage and share unfinished stories, showing a charm different from the main broadcast.
"Ubaladio" is a music talk show that combines the sensibility of ballads, the transmission power of radio and the participation of a live audience, attracting attention as a new attempt to simultaneously raise empathy and immersion. In particular, the show's signature "Top Baek-gwi" from the main broadcast will be presented in a live participation format, adding a sense of presence through votes and reactions from 30 audience members.
Along with the January "Ubaladio" broadcast, the TOP12 participants will also hold "The Ballad of Us national tour concert," visiting fans across the country.
The national tour concert was also realized due to viewers' enthusiastic requests to hear the contestants' voices live. Performances will be held on Jan. 10, 2026, at Seongnam Arts Center Opera House in Seongnam; Jan. 24 at Daegu EXCO Auditorium; Feb. 7 and 8 at Kyung Hee University Peace Hall in Seoul; Feb. 28 at KBS Busan Hall in Busan; and March 7 at Chungnam National University Jeongsimhwa Hall in Daejeon.
In particular, the performances in Seongnam, Daegu and Seoul all proved their popularity by selling out at lightning speed, and, thanks to fans' passionate response, additional performances in Busan and Daejeon were added. Tickets for the Daejeon performance are scheduled to go on sale through NOL at 1 p.m. on the 23rd, and given the flood of fan requests, another fierce "ticketing war" is expected.
The spinoff variety show "Ubaladio" of "The Ballad of Us" is scheduled to premiere on SBS at 10:40 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2026.
[Photo] SM C&C
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