‘Our Ballad 2’ First Broadcast Ratings Hit 7.1%… Ranks 1st in the Same Time Slot for 2049 Viewers

The ratings for Part 1 and Part 2 of the first episode were 4.7% and 6.2% respectively, while the 2049 ratings were recorded at 1.2% for Part 1 and 1.7% for Part 2. According to SBS, the ratings are based on Nielsen Korea, and the program ranked first in its time slot and among Monday variety shows in the 2049 ratings. The first broadcast ratings were higher than the first broadcast of the previous season.

In the first episode of ‘Our Ballad 2’, participants with an average age of 17.9 years reinterpreted ballad songs released from 1989 to 2002 in their own ways. The first round, held under the theme ‘The Song That Made Me Cry’, featured a panel of 150 ‘Top 100 Ears’ who are ballad enthusiasts. Songs by Won Mi-yeon, Jeong Il-yeong, Harim, Kim Jang-hoon, Kim Sung-ho, the late Wheesung, and Yang Hee-eun were performed on stage, and participants sang with memories and interpretations tied to the songs. In the first round, three participants surpassed the highest vote record of the previous season's winner, with Im Bada and Heo Chae-min receiving 147 votes each.

Metropolitan Area Ratings 4.7%·6.2%, Peak Minute Rating 7.1%

According to Nielsen Korea, the ratings for the 1st episode of ‘Our Ballad 2’ in the metropolitan area were 4.7% for Part 1 and 6.2% for Part 2. The peak minute rating rose to 7.1%. The 2049 ratings were recorded at 1.2% for Part 1 and 1.7% for Part 2, and SBS announced that the program ranked first in its time slot and among Monday variety shows in this category. The ratings for Part 1 and Part 2, as well as the peak minute rating, are as follows.

SBS explained that the ratings for Part 1 and Part 2 of the first episode exceeded the first broadcast ratings of the previous season. It also stated that the 2049 ratings broke the record for the season's first broadcast. The first broadcast was scheduled for last Monday the 5th, and the program airs every Monday at 10 PM. This season began with participants with an average age of 17.9 years choosing and singing songs released from 1989 to 2002. The stage was set in a way that participants reinterpreted the selected ballads in their own styles.

Round 1 Decorated with Ballads from 1989 to 2002

The theme for the first round was ‘The Song That Made Me Cry’. The songs introduced on stage were by Won Mi-yeon, Jeong Il-yeong, Harim, Kim Jang-hoon, Kim Sung-ho, the late Wheesung, and Yang Hee-eun. The program proceeded with participants re-singing masterpieces of singers who made a mark in the Korean music industry. SBS reported that songs by singers who are recently gaining attention again among the younger generation, such as Won Mi-yeon and Kim Sung-ho, also drew interest. The selection years ranged from 1989 to 2002, and participants chose songs that held personal memories.

The 150 ‘Top 100 Ears’, who love and enjoy listening to ballads, listened to the participants' songs and cast their votes. In the previous season, the winner Lee Ye-ji recorded the highest votes with 146 votes in the first round. In this first broadcast, three participants appeared from the start who surpassed that record. Among the revealed participants, Im Bada and Heo Chae-min each obtained 147 votes. While evaluations and votes for each participant's stage continued, the ‘Top 100 Ears’ expressed different opinions regarding the skill and freshness of the songs.

Im Bada and Heo Chae-min Surpass Last Season's Record with 147 Votes

The first participant to receive 147 votes was Korean-Australian Im Bada. Stating she became a fan from the moment she first saw the program, Im Bada sang ‘Reminiscence’ by Kim Sung-ho, released in 1989. The original text introduced this song as one that recently recorded 15.02 million views. Im Bada's votes were a figure that surpassed the 146-vote record set by the previous season's winner Lee Ye-ji.

15-year-old participant Heo Chae-min, who sang the late Wheesung's ‘Can't It Be?’, also received 147 votes. After finishing the song with a clear tone, standing ovations broke out throughout the venue. Joo Woo-jae said, “I see a winner candidate.” Park Kyung-lim, who had a special relationship with the late Wheesung, said, “It feels like Wheesung's longing is being filled.” The stages of Im Bada and Heo Chae-min both recorded 147 votes, and in the first episode, besides these two, there was one more participant who surpassed the highest vote record from the previous season. While the original text reported that three people broke the record, the cases where names and scores were revealed in the first broadcast introduction are Im Bada and Heo Chae-min.

Kim So-yeon's Stage and the Advancing Participants

16-year-old girl from Yeoju, Kim So-yeon, selected ‘About the Loneliness of Love’. Stating she wanted to show her perspective on the world through music, Kim So-yeon was introduced as having comforted the absence of her father, who passed away recently, through song. A voice filled with loneliness followed on stage, and Moon Geun-young shed tears while listening to the song. Moon Geun-young offered support, saying, “I felt like I wanted to give her a big hug.” SBS reported that Kim So-yeon's stage contained deep loneliness and drew attention at the scene.

Other participants also sang their respective songs in Round 1. Min Ji-yu chose Won Mi-yeon's ‘farewell trip’, known as a breakup ballad, and Ra Yu-jeong sang Jeong Il-yeong's ‘Ki-do’, an OST from the drama ‘Autumn in My Heart’ in which Moon Geun-young appeared, receiving a passing vote amidst the support of the ‘Top 100 Ears’. Jeju youth Lee Min-woo advanced to Round 2 by singing Harim's ‘Incurable Disease’. Moon Geun-young said of Lee Min-woo's stage, “From the first note, I was just blown away.” Han Roi, who sang Kim Jang-hoon's ‘Even If the World Deceives You’, heard an evaluation of “it's cliché” from Jung Jae-hyung, but advanced to the next round after being chosen by the ‘Top 100 Ears’.

In the first broadcast, participants re-sang ballad songs from 1989 to 2002, and the 150 ‘Top 100 Ears’ evaluated the stages according to their own standards. ‘Our Ballad 2’ airs every Monday at 10 PM on SBS. In the first episode, Im Bada and Heo Chae-min each received 147 votes, and the stages of Kim So-yeon, Min Ji-yu, Ra Yu-jeong, Lee Min-woo, and Han Roi, along with the Round 1 results, were also revealed.

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