Jung Jae-hyung on Australian Star Im Bada in 'Our Ballad 2': "He is the person we've been looking for"

Im Bada brought Joo Woo-jae to his feet.

On the October 5 broadcast of SBS's 'Our Ballad Season 2' (hereafter 'Our Ballad 2'), Korean-Australian Im Bada earned rave reviews from the panel of music experts.

On this day's broadcast, Korean-Australian Im Bada appeared as a contestant. Given his background of performing in the finale of Australia's famous festival 'School Spectacular' and even captivating the British King, Cha Tae-hyun expressed surprise, asking, "Is this a bigger world? Why come here?"

When King Charles III visited Australia in 2024, Im Bada performed his own self-composed song, having been invited as a composer to the celebration event where he even greeted the British King.

For his first Korean ballad, he selected 'Kim Sung-ho's Reminiscence', raising everyone's expectations. And those expectations were met just as anticipated.

When his song ended, Joo Woo-jae gave a standing ovation. Cha Tae-hyun called out his name, shouting "Bada!", while Joo Woo-jae showed his fandom by saying "I love you," drawing attention. In addition, Jun Hyun-moo exclaimed, "It's truly spectacular."

Expressing initial concerns about the song choice, Cha Tae-hyun said, "Without any worries at all, it was so refreshing. Among all the remade stages since the original song, this is the best," predicting it would generate the highest view count.

Roy Kim went on to lavish praise, saying, "I felt that this kind of voice is needed in South Korea because, even while showing a slight awkwardness in Korean, he captures the emotional lines of the Korean language so well. It makes me think that another ballad singer has emerged to continue the lineage of senior artists Lena Park and Kim Jo-han."

Jung Seung-hwan stated, "Should I call it a boyish charm? We are deeply moved when a sense of purity is felt in a song," adding, "Every single measure is a sound produced by a pure person. It doesn't feel like a veteran singer; he sang all the way to the end with a voice unique to Im Bada, and I think everyone was moved at that point. Furthermore, I am certain that whatever song he sings in the future, he will do so in Im Bada's own color."

Following this, Jung Jae-hyung praised him, saying, "To be honest, I had many worries until the recording. I worried whether people with fresh perspectives were still out there. But after listening to Bada's song, I thought, 'This is the person, this is the person we've been looking for,'" and added, "It was a stage that provided immense catharsis. I hope Bada shares his stories one by one from now on." Joo Woo-jae also chimed in, saying, "I want to hear the next song quickly," drawing attention.

On this day, Im Bada received 147 out of 150 votes, breaking the record for the highest vote count from the previous season. Sharing his thoughts, Im Bada said, "The only reason I came to Korea was 'Our Ballad'. So I thought if I failed this, I would immediately go back to Australia and give up my dream, so I practiced really hard. Thank you for rewarding that effort."

(Photo courtesy of SBS Entertainment News, Edited by Kim Hyo-jung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.