Superstar K returns with 7th season
The members of the judging panel for Superstar K Season 7 pose at a press conference at CJ E&M Center in Sangam-dong, Tuesday. / Courtesy of CJ E&M
By Kim Jae-heun
“Superstar K,” the biggest Korean television talent show, launched its seventh season on cable network Mnet, Tuesday.
The annual audition program’s popularity peaked in season two with its highest viewing rate of 18.1 percent after its premiere in 2009. But the “Superstar K” series failed to ride on that success when its season five episodes were harshly criticized by viewers for keeping the same format and featuring poor performances.
This season, “Superstar K” has returned with several changes. Producer Ma Doo-sik took over the throne as main producer after seven years’ experience as an entertainment show producer.
The timeslot has also moved from Friday at 11 p.m. to Thursday at that time. Star singer Sung Si-kyung, who has joined the judging panel, said: “Thursday is a good day to enjoy the show as it is in the middle of the week going into the latter half that makes people generous about the show.”
Sung replaced former main judge Lee Seung-chul, who has starred in the series in the past six years. Baek Ji-young, another judge, said “Viewers can feel empty without Lee as he had played an important role in previous episodes. Yet Sung, who is also well known for straight forward speaking, has taken over Lee’s role of the evil judge.”
A new application system for regional auditioning in 13 cities has increased the number of participants by 20 percent compared with last season. Superstar K7 has adopted a “one-click” system, which makes it possible for people to sign up for an audition online without registering a new ID.
“We used ARS (audio response system) for people to join the regional audition,” said Ma. “It took 10 minutes with the old system. But with our new one-click system, it only requires one minute. Applicants will not have to sing when they sign up for the regional audition for this season, as many bands have applied for the audition and they require on-site verification.”
A total of 1.743 million participants have applied for the regional auditions.
A new audition sector for teens has been introduced as a notable change.
The series will feature 14 episodes with three pre-screening stages before Superweek, where the top 10 contenders will compete for the No. 1 spot through six contests.