'King of Singers3' Kim Tae-yeon and Hong Ja and other traditional trot powerhouses fired a perfect 10-point salvo and secured direct advancement to the main competition, preserving their pride, and after the final elimination selection only 26 people confirmed their spots in the main round.
On the 30th aired episode 2 of MBN King of Singers3 recorded a peak minute rating of 10.3% and a nationwide rating of 9.6%, achieving the remarkable feat of rising 2% and 1.6%, respectively, compared with episode 1. In particular, it swept the number one ratings across terrestrial, comprehensive programming and cable in the same time slot and also ranked first among all Tuesday channels' variety programs, proving overwhelming dominance.
Episode 2 of King of Singers3 continued with the preliminary 'witch hunt' judged by a 'witch judgment panel' of 10 living legends whose combined years of activity total 418 years: Jeong Hoon-hee, Hyun Sook, Jang Eun-sook, Choi Jin-hee, Seo Ju-kyung, Jeong Soo-ra, Yoo Ji-na, Han Hye-jin, Seo Ji-o and Kim Hye-yeon. First, Soh Yoo-mi, the youngest daughter of a trot-singer family from father So Myung to brother So Yoo-chan and an active singer for 16 years, appeared flaunting powerful visuals and said she wanted to be judged on singing rather than looks, performing the traditional trot Samdado Sosik, but received a 5-point recognition after being told, "In a contest you have to do the stage you do best." Han Yeoreum, an eight-year veteran on her fourth try at a trot audition, delivered the flavor of mid-low traditional trot with Nimira Bureulikka, but received a harsh critique of "that was a very awkward ornamentation" and was given 5 points.
Akiyama Saki, 15, a unique enka prodigy who swept trophies at various Japanese singing competitions and is a 0-year active singer, revealed the resolute reason for entering, saying, "There are no broadcasts in Japan that compete with enka," and executed the classic Japanese enka Yawara with a fantastic storm of ornaments to earn 8 points of recognition. Bae Da-hae, the 16-year active singer behind the Nella Fantasia syndrome, hoped to surpass Nella Fantasia and performed Aemo, but received mixed extreme reviews of "you sang cleanly" and "I wish the song conveyed joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure," and earned 5 points, drawing regret.
After Jeon Yoo-jin, Ryu Yeon-ju, a traditional Korean music major and 1-year active singer working as a promotional ambassador for Pohang City, said it was her first time doing trot and competing and showed nervousness before singing Museun Sarang, but only received 1 point from the original singer Yoo Ji-na and burst into tears. Kim Ui-young, a four-year active singer who made the top five of Miss Trot 2, chose Beautiful Farewell and showed off a biting capsaicin voice, but bowed her head after Jeong Hoon-hee's critique, "You sing with technique but singing is done with the heart," and received 8 points of recognition.
Kim Tae-yeon, a returning baby tiger and a 5-year active singer who began as a gugak prodigy, delivered a bold declaration, saying, "If I'm on King of Singers3, I have to try to be the king at least once," living up to monstrous vocal skills with music, fandom and singing ability; she powerfully conveyed the pathos of traditional trot with Dan-hyeon and fired a perfect all-in recognition salvo, then tearfully revealed, "I went through a voice-change period and was in a slump," moving everyone to tears. Stephanie, a 21-year active singer who once belonged to the idol group The Grace and has a background as a ballerina and was noted as a performer gifted from the heavens, drew attention with a distinctive leg-splitting greeting. Stephanie delivered Dawn Rain as a musical-like performance with a vigorous declaration of "I want to stand on stage as a national representative performer," but suffered a mid-note slip and received 9 points, swallowing the regret of "it wasn't perfect."
Hong Ja, a 14-year active singer and the epitome of emotive vocals, confessed a hidden wound, saying, "I declined to appear on King of Singers1 because I was afraid of being rejudged," but completed You Ttanan Hu-e with a plaintive, beef-broth-like voice and rich emotional line and secured direct advancement to the main competition with a perfect 10 points. Kan Miyoun, a 29-year active singer and the original first-generation idol Baby V.O.X main vocalist, surprised by saying she released a trot album a few months ago and is a 1-year trot singer, and completed Angry Woman with an alluring, silky voice while maintaining unchanging preservative-like beauty, but received 5 points after criticism that "the lyrics weren't conveyed." Jin So-ri, the older sister of King of Singers1 top three Kim Da-hyun, said she came to overcome the pain of being overshadowed by her younger sister's halo and get back on her feet, and performed Yongdusan Elegy with plaintive vocalizations, but was judged to lack understanding of the song and recorded 5 points.
Then the three 'mask girls' who had been hiding their faces were finally called and shook the venue. Ban Ga-hee, a 12-year active singer, Ha I-ryang, a five-year active singer who prompted speculation of "looks like Jang Doyoun," and Kang Hye-yeon, a 14-year active singer — three contestants who had appeared on King of Singers1 — removed their masks and revealed their faces to roaring support, but at that moment Shin Dong-yeob announced the cruel rule, "Only one survivor. Two are automatically elimination candidates," and the venue froze. First up, Ban Ga-hee performed Sangcheo with a deep, rich vocal style and received praise of "refreshing." Ha I-ryang, fitting the new husky-voice powerhouse, sang Moseongcho and added a heartrending narration of "a mother is a mother so everything is all right," turning the venue into a sea of tears. With a more tense expression than usual, Kang Hye-yeon led Nalgue into a shiver-inducing performance with perfect tempo control, and after long deliberation by the witch judgment panel Kang Hye-yeon was declared the winner and confirmed survival.
Jang Tae-hee, a 16-year active singer dubbed the Marilyn Monroe of the trot world and a nine-heads-tall beauty, returned after fighting blood cancer for a year and said she wanted to sing again, performing Balbyeongi Nande-yo and earning 6 points while receiving Seo Ju-kyung's advice to "show the color inside." Jang Ha-on, a 13-year active singer and former girl-group member who is the original trot performer, expressed Tonight We Meet with a trot dance-break-style performance worthy of the originator and received 9 recognitions. Koo Soo-kyung, a 10-year active singer who declared ambitiously, "I starved for 10 years," delivered Hereseo with divine vocal power from three-tier high notes to stable low notes and received 9 points of recognition. Then Jang Eun-sook apologized, saying, "I didn't not press it, I couldn't press it," and was delighted as if jumping after Choi Jin-hee's high praise of "where did you go and now you're back."
After the preliminary 'witch hunt' ended, the nerve-wracking final elimination notification moment arrived. Cha Ji-yeon, Lee Soo-yeon, Solji, Kim Tae-yeon and Hong Ja secured direct advancement to the main competition with perfect 10-point recognitions, while nine elimination candidates Kang Ye-seul, Ryu Yeon-ju, Han Yeoreum, Kan Miyoun, Bae Da-hae, Soh Yoo-mi, Jin So-ri, Ban Ga-hee and Ha I-ryang stood in a line on stage, raising tension. The witch judgment panel's meeting resulted in Kang Ye-seul, Ryu Yeon-ju and Ban Ga-hee being named the final elimination picks, and both the active singers and even the witch judgment panel expressed farewells in tears. Among the 26 main competition qualifiers, Cha Ji-yeon was selected as the preliminary MVP, and Cha Ji-yeon said, "I will do my best and exhaust every effort so I won't lose," heightening anticipation for the full-scale main competition.
[photo] MBN King of Singers3 broadcast capture
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