SBS music audition 'Our Ballad' successfully concluded its 4-month journey with the final victory of Jeju girl Lee Ye-ji.
SBS 'Our Ballad' (directed by Jung Ik-seung, Ahn Jung-hyun, Han Ye-seul, Ko Ji-yeon) ended on the 2nd with the final live broadcast. The broadcast featured touching ballad performances from the top 6: Hong Seung-min, Choi Eun-bin, Song Ji-woo, Lee Ji-hoon, Lee Ye-ji, and Cheon Beom-seok, with Lee Ye-ji taking the final victory. Lee Ji-hoon came in second, and Cheon Beom-seok was third.
The final stage began with a special performance of 'Gather My Tears' by the Top Back Choir. The piano performance by composer Jung Jae-hyung, along with Danny Koo's violin and singing, and the songs by Cha Tae-hyun, Choo Sung-hoon, Jeon Hyun-moo, Park Kyung-rim, Crush, Jung Seung-hwan, and Mimi provided a special emotional experience.
The theme of the final stage was 'My Ballad', and the song selections contained the honest stories and experiences of the top 6, raising expectations. The final scores to determine the winner were calculated by combining 40% from the scores of 300 on-site Top Back Choir members, 55% from real-time text votes, and 5% from pre-app votes. The participation of many people added significance to the determination of the final winner.
The participants' performances also shone. The first performer, Hong Seung-min, showcased his sweet voice with Jung Joon-il's 'Hug Me' and scored 2365 points. Choi Eun-bin sang Shin Seung-hoon's 'You're Just a Little Higher Than Me' with great appeal, receiving 2562 points.
Song Ji-woo reinterpreted Lee Seung-chul's 'On a Sleepless Night' with dreamy charm, recording 2389 points. Following that, Lee Ji-hoon presented Cho Baek-ho's 'Things Leaving Me' with guitar accompaniment, delivering a heavy resonance. Jung Seung-hwan, who participated in the lyrics and featuring of the song, praised, "It seems like Lee Ji-hoon showed his own song," and Lee Ji-hoon surprised the audience with 2741 points.
In particular, Lee Ye-ji provided great comfort by passionately singing Yoon Jong-shin's 'Uphill Road' with her husky tone. Park Kyung-rim praised, "This is the beginning of Lee Ye-ji's uphill road," and Lee Ye-ji quickly rose to first place in the on-site Top Back Choir scores with an impressive score of 2883 points. Cheon Beom-seok performed Panic's 'Bus Stop' with piano and his beautiful voice, receiving 2628 points.
Lee Ye-ji, who secured first place in the on-site Top Back Choir scores, became the final winner as the results of the real-time text votes, which distinguished the pre-app votes and final rankings, were combined. With tears of joy, Lee Ye-ji expressed her gratitude, saying, "I think many people are curious about my upcoming uphill road," and thanked her family and friends. The final rankings were determined as follows: 2nd place Lee Ji-hoon, 3rd place Cheon Beom-seok, 4th place Choi Eun-bin, 5th place Hong Seung-min, and 6th place Song Ji-woo, with all top 6 members receiving the privilege of signing exclusive contracts with the global agency SM C&C.
'Our Ballad' received great responses by evoking viewers' memories through ballad songs reborn with the voices of participants with an average age of 18.2 years. It also sparked interest in the ballad genre through the announcement of the Top 100 Ballads loved by Koreans. The audition was praised for opening a new horizon with fresh attempts such as the Top Back Choir system composed of music experts and ordinary people, achieving a successful conclusion.
The public music talk show 'Our Ballad' featuring the hot participants is expected to come soon with an open radio concept, and story submissions will be accepted on the official website until the 11th.
