Superstar K 4
# Superstar K 4

Superstar K4 (Korean: 슈퍼스타 K4) is the fourth season of the South Korean television talent show series Superstar K, which premiered on 17 August 2012 on Mnet and airs every Friday night at 11PM KST. Lee Seung-Chul and Yoon Mi-Rae returned as judges, and were joined by singer/songwriter PSY who replaced Yoon Jong-Shin who had been a judge in the last two seasons. 2,083,447 applicants were recorded for this season, surpassing the record set by the previous season.

This program ended on November 23, 2012 with the announcement of Roy Kim as the winner and DickPunks as the runner-up.

## Selection process

As with the previous seasons, applicants were able to apply via the internet, phone or in person. However, with this season, the options of applying via KakaoTalk and karaoke also became available.

### Auditions

Preliminary Auditions for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Regionals were held in these cities:

| Episode air dates | Audition city | Date | Venue | Tickets to SuperWeek |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| August 17 - September 7, 2012 | Seoul | July 7/8, 2012 | Seoul World Cup Stadium | 31 |
| August 17 - September 7, 2012 | Incheon | June 2, 2012 | Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium | 15 |
| August 24–31, 2012 | Busan | May 5, 2012 | Busan Exhibition and Convention Center | 19 |
| August 31 - September 7, 2012 | Gwangju | May 12, 2012 | Gwangju Yeomju Gymnasium | 19 |
| August 17, 2012 | Wonju | May 19, 2012 | Wonju Tattoo Plaza | 18 |
| — | Daegu | May 28, 2012 | EXCO Daegu Exhibition & Convention Center | 4 |
| — | Daejeon | June 17, 2012 | Daejeon Convention Center | 0 |
| — | Jeju | April 29, 2012 | Jeju City Civic Center | 2 |
| September 7, 2012 | Los Angeles | June 9, 2012 | Hollywood Musicians Institute Concert Hall | 0 |
| September 7, 2012 | New York City | June 10, 2012 | Best Buy Theater | 7 |
| — | Sydney | September 22, 2011 | SMC Conference & Function Centre | 0 |
| Total number of tickets to SuperWeek | Total number of tickets to SuperWeek | Total number of tickets to SuperWeek | Total number of tickets to SuperWeek | 115 |

* ^Note a The Daegu, Daejeon and Jeju audition episodes were not aired due to scheduling changes.
* ^Note b The 3rd Regional auditions for the Los Angeles and New York were held together.
* ^Note c Participants of the Sydney audition who made it to the 3rd Regional's were judged at Seoul instead.

## Finalists

### TOP 12

| Name/Group Name | Age | Place of Audition | Final Standing |
| - | - | - | - |
| Kye Bum-joo (계범주) | 22 | Seoul | Top 12 |
| Eddy Kim (에디킴) | 24 | Wonju | Top 6 |
| DickPunks (딕펑스) | 26 | Wonju | Runner-up |
| Roy Kim (로이킴) | 20 | Seoul | Winner |
| Volume (볼륨) | 27 | Seoul | Top 12 |
| An Ye-seul (안예슬) | 18 | Wonju | Top 9 |
| Yeon Gyu-sung (연규성) | 34 | Incheon | Top 9 |
| Yoo Seung-woo (유승우) | 16 | Seoul | Top 6 |
| Lee Ji-hye (이지혜) | 18 | Seoul | Top 12 |
| Jung Joon-young (정준영) | 23 | Seoul | Top 3 |
| Honey G (허니지) | 29 / 18 | Incheon (Honey Brown) / US (Park Ji Young) | Top 7 |
| Hong Dae-kwang (홍대광) | 28 | Seoul | Top 4 |

## Finals

Due to the adoption of 12 finalists in Superstar K4 compared to 10 and 11 finalists in the previous seasons, the format was changed by which three finalists are eliminated in the first week, and two in the following three weeks till the Top 5 is reached (exceptions including the judges decision to save DickPunks in the Top 7 week). Judge PSY was replaced from the Top 9 week by singer Yoon Gun, due to his decision to commit to promoting his song 'Gangnam Style (강남스타일)' overseas. The elimination of a contestant will be determinant upon who has the lowest number of points: with 60 percent of the points from a live text poll, 30 percent from the judges' decision and 10 percent from a pre-broadcast online poll.

### Top 12 – First Love

| Order | Contestant | Song (original artist) | Year | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Kye Bum-Joo | "Girls' Generation" (Lee Seung-Cheol) | 1989 | Eliminated |
| 2 | Lee Ji-Hye | "천일동안 (For Thousand Days)" (Lee Seung-Hwan) | 1995 | Eliminated |
| 3 | Volume | "Now" (Fin.K.L) | 2000 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Eddy Kim a.k.a. Kim Jung-Hwan | "버스안에서 (In the Bus)" (자자) | 1996 | Safe |
| 5 | Honey G | "비켜줄께 (I'll Move)" (Brown Eyed Soul) | 2010 | Safe |
| 6 | Yeon Kyu-Sung | "예술이야 (It's Art)" (PSY) | 2010 | Safe |
| 7 | DickPunks | "울릉도 트위스트 (Woolung Island Twist)" (이시스터즈) | 1968 | Safe |
| 8 | Hong Dae-Kwang | "노래만 불렀지 (I Just Do Sing)" (Kim Jang-Hoon) | 1996 | Safe |
| 9 | Yoo Seung-Woo | "My Son" (Kim Gun-Mo) | 2003 | Safe |
| 10 | Roy Kim | "다시 사랑한다 말할까 (Saying I Love You Again)" (Kim Dong-Ryul) | 2001 | Safe |
| 11 | Ahn Ye-Seul | "전설 속의 누군가처럼 (The Unwritten Legend)" (Shin Seung-Hoon) | 2000 | Safe |
| 12 | Jung Joon-Young | "매일매일 기다려 (Waiting Everyday)" (티삼스) | 1987 | Safe |

* Group performance: "사랑 만들기 (Making Love)" (Papaya)

### Top 9 – Rivalry

| Order | Contestant | Song (original artist) | Year | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | DickPunks | "고추잠자리 (Red Dragonfly)" (Cho Yong-pil) | 1981 | Safe |
| 2 | Yeon Gyu-Sung | "어둠 그 별빛" (Kim Hyun-sik) | 1988 | Eliminated |
| 3 | Hong Dae-Kwang | "이미 넌 고마운 사람" (Kim Yeon-woo) | 2003 | Safe |
| 4 | Honey G | "왜그래" (Kim Hyun-chul) | 1995 | Safe |
| 5 | Roy Kim | "휘파람 (Whistle)" (Lee Moon-sae) | 1985 | Safe |
| 6 | Ahn Ye-Seul | "Sk8er Boi" (Avril Lavigne) | 2002 | Eliminated |
| 7 | Jung Joon-Young | "Bed of Roses" (Bon Jovi) | 1992 | Safe |
| 8 | Eddy Kim a.k.a. Kim Jung-Hwan | "Love Story" (Rain) | 2008 | Safe |
| 9 | Yoo Seung-Woo | "열정 (Passion)" (Se7en) | 2004 | Safe |

* Group performance: "마지막 승부 (The Last Game)" (Kim Min-kyo)

### Top 7 - Go Back

| Order | Contestant | Song (original artist) | Year | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Eddy Kim a.k.a. Kim Jung-Hwan | "I'll Be There" (Jackson 5) | 1970 | Safe |
| 2 | Honey G | "오래된 친구 (Old Friend)" (빛과 소금) | 1994 | Eliminated |
| 3 | DickPunks | "같이 걸을까 (Shall We Walk Together)" (Lee Juck) | 2007 | Saved |
| 4 | Hong Dae-Kwang | "가족(Family)" (Lee Seung-Hwan) | 1997 | Safe |
| 5 | Jung Joon-Young | "그것만이 내 세상 (It's Only My World)" (들국화) | 1985 | Safe |
| 6 | Roy Kim | "청개구리 (Blue Frog)" (PSY) | 2012 | Safe |
| 7 | Yoo Seung-Woo | "말하는대로 (As I Say)" (처진 달팽이) | 2011 | Safe |

* Group performance: "고백 (Confession)" (Delly Spice)

### Top 6 - My Style

| Order | Contestant | Song (original artist) | Year | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Roy Kim | "서울의 달 (The Moon of Seoul)" (Kim Gun-Mo) | 2005 | Safe |
| 2 | Hong Dae-Kwang | "뜨거운 안녕 (Passionate Goodbye)" (Toy) | 2007 | Safe |
| 3 | Eddy Kim a.k.a. Kim Jung-Hwan | "아름다운 강산 (Beautiful Rivers and Mountains)" (Shin Jung-Hyeon) | 1972 | Eliminated |
| 4 | DickPunks | "Muzik" (4Minute) | 2009 | Safe |
| 5 | Jung Joon-Young | "아웃사이더 (Outsider)" (봄여름가을겨울) | 1995 | Safe |
| 6 | Yoo Seung-Woo | "Butterfly" (Jason Mraz) | 2008 | Eliminated |

* Group performance: "그대에게 (To You)" (무한궤도)

### Top 4 - Audience Song of Choice

| Order | Contestant | Song (original artist) | Year | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | DickPunks | "연극이 끝난 후 (After the Concert is Over)" (샤프) | 1979 | Safe |
| 2 | Jung Joon-Young | "응급실 (Emergency Room)" (이지) | 2005 | Safe |
| 3 | Roy Kim | "한동안 뜸했었지 (I Was Floating For A While)" (사랑과 평화) | 1978 | Safe |
| 4 | Hong Dae-Kwang | "내 낡은 서랍 속의 바다 (The Sea In My Old Drawer)" (패닉) | 1998 | Eliminated |

* Special Stages: DickPunks and Hong Dae-Kwang: "Girl" (아스피린); Jung Joon-Young and Roy Kim: "Creep" (Radiohead)

### Top 3 - Judge's Mission / Contestant's Favourite Song

Each contestant performed two songs: a song from the judge that each had been assigned to be coached from, and a song of personal choice. For the judge mission, DickPunks were assigned to the mentorship of Yoon Mi-Rae, Jung Joon-Young to Lee Seung-Chul and Roy Kim to Yoon Gun.

| Order | Contestant | Song (original artist) | Year | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Roy Kim | "힐링이 필요해 (October Rain)" (Yoon Gun) | 2012 | Safe |
| 2 | Jung Joon-Young | "잊었니 (Did You Forget?)" (Lee Seung-Chul) | 2005 | Eliminated |
| 3 | DickPunks | "떠나지마 (Please Don't Go)" (Yoon Mi-Rae) | 2009 | Safe |
| 4 | Jung Joon-Young | "첫사랑 (First Love)" (나비효과) | 2003 | Eliminated |
| 5 | DickPunks | "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" (Mika) | 2007 | Safe |
| 6 | Roy Kim | "잊어야한다는 마음으로 (A Heart That Should Forget)" (Kim Kwang-Seok) | 1992 | Safe |

### Top 2 - Song Rendition / Self-Written Song

| Order | Contestant | Song (original artist) | Year | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | DickPunks | "노는게 남는거야 (Playing Something Memorable)" (Jang Jin) | 1995 | Runner-up |
| 2 | Roy Kim | "누구를 위한 삶인가 (Who are you living for?)" (Leessang) | 2006 | Winner |
| 3 | Roy Kim | "스쳐간다 (Passing by)" (Roy Kim) | 2012 | Winner |
| 4 | DickPunks | "나비 (Butterfly)" (DickPunks) | 2010 | Runner-up |

## Ratings

### Ratings

| Episode | Broadcast Date | Nationwide Viewership |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | 17 August 2012 | 8.4% |
| 2 | 24 August 2012 | 9.2%(+0.8) |
| 3 | 31 August 2012 | 9.6%(+0.4) |
| 4 | 7 September 2012 | 9.3%(-0.3) |
| 5 | 14 September 2012 | 9.2%(-0.1) |
| 6 | 21 September 2012 | 9.9%(+0.7) |
| 7 | 28 September 2012 | 10.6%(+0.7) |
| 8 | 5 October 2012 | 9.9%(-0.7) |
| Episode | Broadcast Date | Nationwide Viewership |
| 1 | 17 August 2012 | 6.3% |
| 2 | 24 August 2012 | 9.1%(+2.8) |
| 3 | 31 August 2012 | 8.3%(-0.8) |
| 4 | 7 September 2012 | 7.3%(-1.0) |
| 5 | 14 September 2012 | 7.7%(+0.4) |
| 6 | 21 September 2012 | 8.9%(+1.2) |
| 7 | 28 September 2012 | 10.6%(+1.7) |
| 8 | 5 October 2012 | 10.6%(0) |
