The “Idol” title continued to elude Korean-American John Park.
Park (pictured bottom left), a former “American Idol” contestant, lost to 25-year-old repairman Huh Gak (pictured top left) in the finals of “Superstar K2,” Korea’s version of the hit American TV talent show.
The finale was a showdown between Park and Heo, who both sang two songs. The two made it to the finals after a series of eliminations.
The winner was decided by online votes (10 percent), judges’ decision (30 percent) and text message votes (60 percent). In the end, Huh got the most votes and won the title. For his feat, Huh won 200 million won (~$178,000) and a car. He will also release his first album.
Park, a native of Illinois, was a contestant in the Season 9 of the “American Idol” this year. He made it to the top 20 before being eliminated. He auditioned in Los Angeles.
In one interview, he claimed that he only auditioned for “American Idol” to gain experience before joining “Superstar K.”
“Superstar K2,” produced and shown on Korean cable channel Mnet, drew 1.34 million Korean applicants, twice the number when the show had its first season.
Source: mb.com.ph
@ Token White Guy:
Wow, sure makes wading through 1.34 million seem like an endless stream of… wow. Just wow, can you imagine how mind-numbingly boring that must become?!
I have no information about how the Korean version of AI is run. All the articles I read about John Park say he is Korean-American, so I have no idea if they are being politically correct or saying he has dual citizenship.
As for who many people try out for AI in any given year, that number is usually 75,000 to 100,000. There are six or seven audition cities a year, and each one averages around 15,000 people. One of the audition cities I’ve read about this year drew 17,000 people. The time they held the auditions in the Philippines, they only drew about 2500 people.
@ Token White Guy:
What do you reckon is the total number that tries out for Ai in any given year? I know you probably have that info at your fingertips!
Was there not a Korean nationality requirement? Does he have dual citizenship? And was there no runner-up prize? Darn, I’ll never make 20 questions at this rate!
1.34 million applicants???????? Did someone have to judge all of that talent (or lack thereof)????????