Kpop Star 5 - Battle audition

After the contestants have been casted by

one of the companies (Antenna, YG, JYP), they are trained 

for the battle audition, where each company send a representative for each battle.

They are given 2 weeks to prepare for the battle.

It is also a matter of pride for the company a.k.a judges.

And the results of this battle will also decide the TOP 10 contestants!

[Shorter version of this post]

NOTE:
5♥ = A lot of praises from the judges
4♥ = Praise but with some minor mistakes
3♥ = Mostly negative comments
#I'm putting this symbol in case you don't want to read the whole comments..

[Kpop Star season 5 Ep 12]

Cha Ji Hye(JYP)  X  Mazinger S(YG)  X  Jung Jin Woo(A)

# Just by seeing the line-up, I thought Jung Jin Woo would win.

5♥
Mazinger S made a rendition of Jinju's 'I Will Survive'.
This song was actually a remake song from Gloria Gaynor (1978).
[Watch here]
Before their D-Day, they asked for advice from Lee Hi and AkMu's Lee Soo Hyun.
The performance was really exhilarating. All the judges enjoyed the performance too.
The judges was really impressed with the whole thing.
JYP praised Joyce's leadership for bringing this group together.
YHY and YG asked them to stick as a group since they all have distinct individuality yet they shine more as a group.
# Am I having a deja vu? This reminds me of One Direction..

4♥
Jung Jin Woo sang his song titled 'Let It Be'
The song is about how the guy are acknowledging the fact that they are two different people so it's better to break up and that time will heal the pain.
[Watch here]
#Oh no.. Don't let this be the ending song for K-drama 'Cheese In The Trap'! 
Only 2 more episodes left~
Lee Jin Ah dropped by while Jung Jin Woo was practicing and gave some advices.
The lyrics were good but JYP found that the story is too long.
The genre of the song was kind of new so YG asked him to find his own style.

3♥
Cha Ji Hye sang Lee Sung Hwan's 'Empty Heart'.
[Watch here]
She is unique in the sense that she did not use any technique that average ballad singer would use.
However, YHY don't know if it makes it a good interpretation.
YG finds it mediocre. JYP thinks she does has individuality but lacks in details.

RESULTS
Mazinger S won! Jung Jin Woo was sent for re-match while Cha Ji Hye was eliminated.

Park Min Ji (JYP)  X  Kim Chae Ran (YG)  X  Lee Soo Jung (A)

#Based on the line-up, I think I can guess the ranking already.

5♥
Lee Soo Jung sang G.O.D's 'Lies'.
[Watch here]
It's her first time singing Korean song alone. Last time she only did so together with Jung Jin Woo.
JYP was waiting for someone who can his song as if it's their own.
Although she did a lot of arrangement to the song, it sounded so natural as if her
emotion leads her to sing a certain way.
YG made a lot of jokes and that kind of lighten up the mood.
He felt that the song was meant for him. The part 'Goodbye.. Be happy.. I'm okay..' and
then 'Don't worry about me'. Then he light-heartedly said
he won't let her go anymore. He just can't!
#LOL.. I just love his comment!
JYP has to add up that sometimes he played piano with his foot
just like how she is emotional suddenly.
#Huh?! What? BAHAHA..

Side notes:
#I disagree with JYP when he said that no one had ever cried during
 a performance in the past 5 years. As a hardcore fan of Kpop Star, I remember clearly that 
Katie Kim did cry during the song 'YangHwa Bridge'.

4♥
Park Min Ji sang Kim Gun Mo's 'Alone in Love' which was recommended by JYP.
[Watch here]
She's been singing all her life and being in the TOP 10 felt like an evaluation for her singing.
The original song highest note was D# but she has to sing F# in the third octave.
She was praised for being the best Kpop singer contestant.
YG suggested that she sing an easier song next time so she can sing more comfortably.

3♥
Kim Chae Ran sang 'Goodbye for Me' by Kim Hye Rim.
[Watch here]
The PD-nim asked her what would she felt if she gets into TOP10.
Chae Ran felt that she don't deserve to be TOP 10.
#Pfftt~ What kind of question is that? I mean..  
Would anyone be sad or angry about it? 
She did not appeared much before but some extra info:
She sang 'Give Me One Reason' by Tracy Chapman in Ranking audition.
She sang 'Bye Bye Bye' as a duet with Monica Kim for Casting audition.
And during training with YG, he said she has potential but sang out of pitch a lot.
Her nose was stuffy that day. Thus, her performance was disappointing.
She was also too conscious about getting the right pitch.
But she was praised for making an effort to fix her issue.

RESULTS
Of course.. Lee Soo Jung won! Park Min Ji second and Kim Chae Ran third.

[Kpop Star season 5 Ep 13]

Seo Kyung Deok (JYP)  X  Park Ka Kyung (YG)  X  Lee Si Eun (A)

4♥
Lee Si Eun sang 'Wild Flower' by Park Hyo Shin.
[Watch here]
It's a song recommended by YHY and it relates to her hardship.
Jung Seung Hwan came to visit her. People said Lee Si Eun is like a woman
version of Jung Seung Hwan.
Jung Seung Hwan gave her a valuable lesson..
'I'll sing it to myself first', he said.
It was the most perfect song she sang but it was the least that touches JYP's heart.
He can see that she can't express herself freely because she's been bottling up her emotions.
YG said the high pitch this time has more emotion but she failed to control the power and emotion.
The only way for her to do that is to sing like telling a story roughly.

4♥
Seo Kyung Deok sang 'You're Too Far To Be Close' by Lee Gwang Joo, first released in 1985.
[Watch here]
He said he was worried at first since it was an old song but
his mom loves the song, he thinks it could be a good sign.
His performance was a bit disappointing since he sang the song differently to the
point that he lose his own self.
His vocalization has improved and his voice are much more powerful.
But gradually they overpower his emotions and melody.
#Sorry to say.. but I did not enjoy his performance. Such a pity..

3♥
Park Ka Kyung sang 'The dance in the Rhythm' by Kim Wan Sun.
[Watch here]
Her tone was unstable but it was a good performance considering the choreography and stuff.
JYP believes she has a lot of potential.
For her defense, YG said the notes were long so it's hard for her to sing while dancing.
Regardless, she was the youngest contestant and she did very well considering her age.

RESULTS
I was surprised that they choose Lee Si Eun. Seo Kyung Deok has to do the rematch.
The competition will be too harsh for Park Ka Kyung.

Yoo Jei (JYP)  X  Joo Mi Yeon (YG)  X  Ryu Jin (A)

5♥
Yoo Jei sang 'Everybody' by Yoon Bok Hee, released in 1979
[Watch here]
It is a very old song and the judges were surprised that
Yoo Jei herself picked the song.
But her performance never disappoint us.
She said she's going to sing this as if comforting her mom when she's having a hard time.
YG was surprised to hear her thick, high-pitched voice coming from her small body.
YHY felt like he's seeing an imaginary person coming to life.
JYP was just amazed how every time a song was thrown to her, she always sing it
in her own style.

4♥
Ryu Jin sang 'Becoming A Song' by Sung Shi Kyung
[Watch here]
JYP said it was too much of emotion but it was good as she was initially like a 'stone'.
YG said the lyrics and the song just combine perfectly together.
YHY felt so glad he did music to see someone transform emotionally.

4♥
Joo Mi Yeon sang 'Watching You' by Ann
[Watch here]
With her, the task was to get rid of her fear of YG and stage fright.
YHY was surprised that she sang ballad with R&B sentiments and she can do it powerfully.
Although she sang the best, it was the most boring one for JYP.
YG did not feel she put in any effort on this song although she sang it well.

RESULTS
Who can beat Yoo Jei? She's first!
Ryu Jin and Joo Mi Yeon were given a second chance for re-match.

[Kpop Star season 5 Ep 14]

Sophie Han (JYP)  X  Yoo Yoon Ji (YG)  X  Woo Ye Rin (A)

4♥
Woo Ye Rin sang 'In My Dream' by Cho Duk Bae
[Watch here]
Instead of a piano, she played a melodeon.
They saw a new side of her. JYP was more assured about her talent.
YG was not entirely satisfied since it's a song that he used to like. He wanted her to sing more appealingly.

4♥
Sophie Han sang TaeTiSoo's 'Twinkle'
[Watch here]
The judges said she needs to practice more.
Unfortunately for her,she got a cold and her nose was blocked so she was extremely nervous.
She did try her best though.

4♥
Yoo Yoon Ji sang Bruno Mars's 'When I Was Your Man'
[Watch here]
Her voice sounds so different, even anyone can tell.
Her throat was not in a good condition. Her breathing technique has changed too.

RESULTS
Woo Ye Rin proceed to the TOP 10 list!
Sophie Han and Yoo Yoon Ji tied with 2nd place.

Kim Young Eun (JYP)  X  Lim Ha Eun (YG)  X  Ahn Ye Eun (A)

3♥
Kim Young Eun sang Byul's 'December 32nd'
[Watch here]
She was lacking in expressing the emotion of the song so Byul teach her some tips.
YG felt there's no strength in her singing.
YHY said the good thing is she sang certain phrase or words with a specific tone
but other part is a bit shaky.
JYP knew her condition was not good so she was extremely nervous.

3♥
Ahn Ye Eun sang a self-written song called 'Number of Cases'
[Watch here]
It's about how a girl predicted she is going through a break-up and
how the whole situation would look like.
JYP said 'the thing that I like about you disappeared today'.
But both YG and YHY enjoyed her performance and song.
#I still can get used to her voice at times

3♥
Lim Ha Eun sang 'Valerie' by Amy Winehouse
[Watch here]
JYP was amazed how energetic she was, with the singing and dancing.
But the song was supposed to be a Soul music instead of Pop.
Again, YHY and YG contradicted JYP and found the performance to be flawless.
#I applauded her for the effort but I just don't like this version of the song.

RESULTS
They were all given another chance for a re-match.


Re-match

■ Jung Jin Woo sang 'Stop Right Here' by Yoo Sung Eun
He's stylish but he lacks of competitiveness

■ Sophie Han sang 'Let's meet on Friday' by IU
She has potential

■ Joo Mi Yeon sang Lee Sora's 'I'm happy'
She's special because she sang just with the tone and head on
delicate sensibility

■ Ryu Jin sang 'Apology' by IKON
Now it's too much emotion and unnatural

■ Ahn Ye Eun sang self-written song, 'Sticker'
The song is unique, classy and on point
It's the best performance from her so far

■ Kyung Deok sang 'On a Night Like Tonight'
It was very bland

■ Yoo Yoon Ji
-Her voice was really in a bad condition

■ Park Min Ji
-Her breathing is good but she might be too stable for next round

■ Lim Ha Eun
She sang Lee Hi and Soo Hyun 'Different'
The way she sang was too unnatural

■ Kim Young Eun
The song choice was too challenging for her


TOP 10 LIST

1) Mazinger S
2) Lee Soo Jung
3) Lee Si Eun
4) Yoo Jei
5) Woo Ye Rin
6) Joo Mi Yeon
7) Jung Jin Woo
8) Park Min Ji
9) Sophie Han
10) Ahn Ye Eun