# K-pop Star 4

The fourth season of the South Korean reality television competition show K-pop Star premiered on SBS on November 23, 2014, airing Sunday evenings at 4:50 pm KST as part of the Good Sunday lineup. Yang Hyun-suk, Park Jin-young, and You Hee-yeol returned as judges. The contest began receiving applications in June, with preliminary auditions taking place in Seoul and throughout South Korea, as well as the United States, Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong until September 2014. The season ended on April 12, 2015, with Katie Kim crowned as winner and choosing to sign with YG Entertainment.
A special episode containing behind the scenes footage and interviews aired the following week. The show decided to change its rule and give the two runners-up, Jung Seung-hwan and Lee Jin-ah, the chance to choose the company they want to join as well. Both contestants chose Antenna Music and were accepted. On May 14, Lily M. revealed that she has signed an exclusive contract with JYP Entertainment.

## Process

* Audition applications + Preliminary auditions (June - September 2014)
** Preliminary auditions were held from around the world in United States, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and other countries.
* Round 1: Talent Audition (Airdate: November 23 - December 7, 2014)
** Contestants who passed the preliminary auditions appear in front of the three judges for the first time. Contestants can pass with at least two "passes" from the judges, or the judge can offer to use the Wild Card.
* Round 2: Ranking Audition (Airdate: December 7–28, 2014)
** Contestants who pass the first round are put into groups with others that are most similar to their age or singing style. The whole group can pass, fail, or a selected few can pass. Each contestant gets to have one-on-one training with Park Jin-young, Yang Hyun-suk, or You Hee-yeol.
* Round 3: Team Mission (Airdate: January 4–18, 2015)
** Contestants form teams to compete head to head. The winning team moves on to the next round. A member of the losing team must be eliminated.
* Round 4: Casting Audition (Airdate: January 18 - February 1, 2015)
** Contestants perform solo or in teams assigned by the judges. Each judge has six casting cards. Each spot can be occupied by a contestant or a team of contestants. Contestants not selected in the casting round are eliminated.
* Round 5: Battle Audition (Airdate: February 8–22, 2015)
** Contestants represent the company they were cast to in a 1 to 1 to 1 battle. First place automatically gets to be in the Top 10, while 3rd place is eliminated. 2nd place takes another round by themselves. Anyone who does not get in the Top 10 teams/contestants is eliminated.
* Round 6: Stage Audition (Airdate: March 1 - April 12, 2015)
** For the Top 8 Finals, the Top 10 competed in two groups on stage with the results determined by the judges. The top three contestants from each group were chosen to proceed to the next round.
** The Top 8, who proceeded to the live stage, were determined by the three judges as well as a 100-member Audience Judging Panel. The last two contestants from each group became Elimination Candidates, with the Audience Judging Panel voting for their preferred act. The two acts with the most votes from the four Elimination Candidates proceeded to the Top 8, with the other two contestants eliminated.
** For the Top 6, Top 4, Top 3 Finals, Semifinals and Finals, the judges and viewers' scores were weighted 60:40, and were combined to eliminate the contestant with the lowest score.

## Judges

* Yang Hyun-suk: YG Entertainment CEO, producer, singer
* Park Jin-young: JYP Entertainment Executive producer, producer, singer, songwriter
* You Hee-yeol: Antenna Music CEO, founder, singer, songwriter, composer, pianist

## Top 10

* Katie Kim: Born 1993, from New Jersey, United States, Winner, signed and left YG Entertainment, under company AXIS
* Jung Seung-hwan: Born 1996, from Incheon, Runner-up, debuted under Antenna Music
* Lee Jin-ah: Born 1991, from Seoul, eliminated on April 5, 2015 (5th Live), debuted under Antenna Music
* Lily M.: Born 2002, from Australia, eliminated on March 29, 2015 (4th Live), signed under JYP Entertainment, and debuted as a member of girl group Nmixx in 2022
* Park Yoon-ha: Born 1999, eliminated on March 22, 2015 (3rd Live), signed under Jellyfish Entertainment
* Esther Kim: Born 1999, from Los Angeles, California, United States, eliminated on March 22, 2015 (3rd Live)
* Grace Shin: Born 1988, from New York, United States, eliminated on March 15, 2015 (2nd Live)
* Sparkling Girls, eliminated on March 15, 2015 (2nd Live)
** Erin Miranda: Born 1999, from Australia
** Hwang Yoon-joo: Born 1995, from Incheon
** Choi Jin-sil: Born 1994, from Busan
** Choi Joo-won: Born 1998, from Seoul
* Ji John, eliminated on March 8, 2015 (1st Live)
** Jang Mi-ji: Born 1995, from Seoul
** John Chu: Born 1995, from Los Angeles, United States
* Seo Ye-ahn: Born 1997, from Yeongju, eliminated on March 8, 2015 (1st Live), debuted under JTM Entertainment

## Round 6: Stage Auditions

* For the Top 8 Finals, the Top 10 competed in two groups on stage with the results determined by the judges. The top three contestants from each group were chosen to proceed to the next round.
** The Top 8, who proceeded to the live stage, were determined by the three judges as well as a 100-member Audience Judging Panel. The last two contestants from each group became Elimination Candidates, with the Audience Judging Panel voting for their preferred act. The two acts with the most votes from the four Elimination Candidates proceeded to the Top 8, with the other two contestants eliminated.
| Episode # | Group | Order | Name | Song - Original Artist | Rank | Result |
| Top 8 Finals (March 1 & 8) |||||||
| 15 | B | 1 | Jung Seung-hwan | 그날들 (Those Days) - Kim Kwang-seok | 3rd | Top 8 |
| 15 | B | 2 | Grace Shin | 10 Minutes - Lee Hyo-ri | 2nd | Top 8 |
| 15 | B | 3 | Lily M. | 아파 (It Hurts) - 2NE1 | Elimination Candidate | Top 8 |
| 15 | B | 4 | Katie Kim | 니가 있어야 할 곳 (Place Where You Need to Be) - g.o.d | 1st | Top 8 |
| 15 | B | 5 | Park Yoon-ha | 그대 내 품에 (Holding You in My Arms) - Yoo Jae-ha | Elimination Candidate | Top 8 |
| 16 | A | 1 | Seo Ye-ahn | Closer - Hyolyn | Elimination Candidate | Eliminated |
| 16 | A | 2 | Esther Kim | Come Back Home - 2NE1 | 1st | Top 8 |
| 16 | A | 3 | Ji-John | Alone - Sistar | Elimination Candidate | Eliminated |
| 16 | A | 4 | Lee Jin-ah | Rich in winter - Self-Written Song | 2nd | Top 8 |
| 16 | A | 5 | Sparkling Girls | When You Believe - Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston | 3rd | Top 8 |
* The Top 8 competes 1:1 on the live stage with the results determined by the judges. One contestant from each group is chosen to proceed to the next round.
* The contestants not chosen will go through live SMS voting by viewers, where the top contestants will proceed to the next round.
* Of the remaining contestants, the judges choose one contestant to proceed to the Top 6.
| Episode # | Group | Order | Name | Song - Original Artist | Judges Decision | Judges Decision | Judges Decision | 2nd Chance | Result |
| Episode # | Group | Order | Name | Song - Original Artist | JYP | YG | Antenna | 2nd Chance | Result |
| Top 6 Finals (March 15) ||||||||||
| 17 | 1 | 1 | Esther Kim | Lay Me Down - Sam Smith | Esther Kim | Lily M. | Esther Kim | N/A | Top 6 |
| 17 | 1 | 2 | Lily M. | Grenade - Bruno Mars | Esther Kim | Lily M. | Esther Kim | Judges | Top 6 |
| 17 | 2 | 3 | Jung Seung-hwan | 하늘을 달리다 (Running across the sky) - Lee Juck | Park Yoon-ha | Park Yoon-ha | Park Yoon-ha | SMS | Top 6 |
| 17 | 2 | 4 | Park Yoon-ha | One Last Cry - Brian McKnight | Park Yoon-ha | Park Yoon-ha | Park Yoon-ha | N/A | Top 6 |
| 17 | 3 | 5 | Grace Shin | 나만 바라봐 - Taeyang | Katie Kim | Katie Kim | Katie Kim | - | Eliminated |
| 17 | 3 | 6 | Katie Kim | 인디안 인형처럼 - Na-mi | Katie Kim | Katie Kim | Katie Kim | N/A | Top 6 |
| 17 | 4 | 7 | Sparkling Girls | Candy Man - Brown Eyed Girls | Sparkling Girls | Lee Jin-ah | Lee Jin-ah | - | Eliminated |
| 17 | 4 | 8 | Lee Jin-ah | 치어리더쏭 - Self-Written Song | Sparkling Girls | Lee Jin-ah | Lee Jin-ah | N/A | Top 6 |
* For the next three episodes (18-20), each week showcased a different company. As this season featured the winner choosing the company they wished to sign with on the final live stage, this gave the contestants the opportunity to experience and explore each company equally. The first week (Top 4 Finals) was YG Week, in which contestants received advice and help from YG. The second week (Top 3 Finals) was JYP Week. The third week (Semifinals) was Antenna Week.
* For the Top 4, 3 Finals, Semifinals and Finals, the judges and viewers' scores were weighted 60:40, and were combined to eliminate the contestant with the lowest score.
| Episode # | Order | Name | Song - Original Artist | Judges Score | Judges Score | Judges Score | Result |
| Episode # | Order | Name | Song - Original Artist | JYP | YG | Antenna | Result |
| Top 4 Finals (March 22) ||||||||
| 18 | 1 | Lee Jin-ah | 내 마음에 비친 내 모습 - Yoo Jae-ha | 85 | 90 | 95 | Top 4 |
| 18 | 2 | Park Yoon-ha | 가시나무 - 시인과 촌장 (ko) | 88 | 87 | 94 | Eliminated |
| 18 | 3 | Lily M. | Love - Keyshia Cole | 95 | 98 | 91 | Top 4 |
| 18 | 4 | Katie Kim | 촛불하나 (One Candle) - g.o.d | 97 | 98 | 93 | Top 4 |
| 18 | 5 | Jung Seung-hwan | 시랑.. 그 놈 (Love.. That guy) - Bobby Kim | 88 | 90 | 93 | Top 4 |
| 18 | 6 | Esther Kim | 2 Different Tears - Wonder Girls | 88 | 90 | 88 | Eliminated |
| Top 3 Finals (March 29) ||||||||
| 19 | 1 | Lily M. | I do - Rain | 91 | 88 | 92 | Eliminated |
| 19 | 2 | Lee Jin-ah | 회상 - Sanulrim | 100 | 90 | 95 | Top 3 |
| 19 | 3 | Katie Kim | 하루하루 - Tashannie | 94 | 97 | 94 | Top 3 |
| 19 | 4 | Jung Seung-hwan | 제발 (Please) - Deulgukhwa | 94 | 98 | 97 | Top 3 |
| Semifinals (April 5) ||||||||
| 20 | 1 | Jung Seung-hwan | 기억을 걷다 (Walking on the memories) - Kim Bum-soo | 97 | 98 | 97 | Top 2 |
| 20 | 2 | Katie Kim | Rehab - Amy Winehouse | 91 | 95 | 96 | Top 2 |
| 20 | 3 | Lee Jin-ah | 길 (Road) - g.o.d | 92 | 90 | 94 | Third place |
| Finals (April 12) ||||||||
| 21 | Round 1: Sing Each Other's Cover | Round 1: Sing Each Other's Cover | Round 1: Sing Each Other's Cover | Round 1: Sing Each Other's Cover | Round 1: Sing Each Other's Cover | Round 1: Sing Each Other's Cover | Round 1: Sing Each Other's Cover |
| 21 | 1 | Katie Kim | 사랑에 빠지고 싶다 - Kim Jo-han | 98 | 99 | 98 | - |
| 21 | 2 | Jung Seung-hwan | 니가 있어야 할 곳 - g.o.d | 99 | 95 | 98 | - |
| Round 2: Choose Your Own Song ||||||||
| 21 | 1 | Katie Kim | 너뿐이야 - Park Jin-young | 99 | 99 | 97 | Winner |
| 21 | 2 | Jung Seung-hwan | 만약에 말야 - Noel | 96 | 97 | 98 | Runner-up |

## Ratings

In the ratings below, the highest rating for the show will in be red, and the lowest rating for the show will be in blue. (Note: Individual corner ratings do not include commercial time, which regular ratings include.)
| Episode # | Original Airdate | TNmS Ratings | TNmS Ratings | AGB Ratings | AGB Ratings |
| Episode # | Original Airdate | Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area | Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area |
| 1 | November 23, 2014 | 10.6% | 13.3% | 10.9% | 11.9% |
| 2 | November 30, 2014 | 11.7% | 14.6% | 12.1% | 13.2% |
| 3 | December 7, 2014 | 10.5% | 14.0% | 12.1% | 13.6% |
| 4 | December 14, 2014 | 11.1% | 13.8% | 12.6% | 14.7% |
| 5 | December 21, 2014 | 10.2% | 12.1% | 11.5% | 12.1% |
| 6 | December 28, 2014 | 10.7% | 13.5% | 12.5% | 13.0% |
| 7 | January 4, 2015 | 11.9% | 15.0% | 13.9% | 16.2% |
| 8 | January 11, 2015 | 10.0% | 12.3% | 11.8% | 13.3% |
| 9 | January 18, 2015 | 10.7% | 13.7% | 11.6% | |
| 10 | January 25, 2015 | 10.1% | | 14.1% | |
| 11 | February 1, 2015 | 9.1% | | 11.9% | |
| 12 | February 8, 2015 | 9.2% | | 13.1% | |
| 13 | February 15, 2015 | 10.4% | | 11.8% | |
| 14 | February 22, 2015 | 10.8% | | 13.1% | |
| 15 | March 1, 2015 | 10.4% | | 12.1% | |
| 16 | March 8, 2015 | 10.4% | | 12.6% | 14.0% |
| 17 | March 15, 2015 | 10.6% | 13.1% | 11.8% | 12.8% |
| 18 | March 22, 2015 | 10.2% | 13.2% | 11.5% | 13.2% |
| 19 | March 29, 2015 | 9.8% | 11.6% | 11.3% | 13.4% |
| 20 | April 5, 2015 | 9.2% | 10.4% | 11.0% | 12.5% |
| 21 | April 12, 2015 | | | 11.4% | |
| Special | April 19, 2015 | | | 5.5% | |