by REERA YOO | @reeraboo
editor@charactermedia.com
Korean American contestant Katie Kim, 22, was crowned the winner of survival audition show K-pop Star 4 on Sunday, taking home 300 million won and an exclusive contract with YG Entertainment.
SBS aired the final match on April 12, with Kim going head-to-head with runner-up Jung Seung-Hwan.
As part of the first challenge, Kim and Jung were required to sing a song that was previously performed by the other contestant. Kim opened the show with a rendition of Kim Jo-han’s ballad “I Want to Fall in Love” and received nearly a perfect score from all three judges: Park Jin-young (J.Y. Park), Yoo Hee-yeol and Yang Hyun-suk.
Kim later performed J.Y. Park’s “You’re the One,” which she received high praises for her soulful performance from the original singer and judge. She scored a total of 296 points out of 300.
While the judges’ scores accounted for 40 percent of the final vote tally, the remaining 60 percent was based on the live audience’s text votes.
After Kim was announced the winner, she was given the choice of signing a contract with one of the three agencies represented by the judges: JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment and Antenna Music. In the end, she chose YG, home of artists BIGBANG, 2NE1, Epik High, PSY as well as fellow K-pop Star alums Akdong Musician and Lee Hi.
Originally from New Jersey, Kim currently attends Berkelee College of Music in Boston. She is the second consecutive Korean American to win K-pop Star, following Atlanta’s Bernard Park, who debuted last year under JYP Entertainment.
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Featured image via My Daily
