The Oct. 14 episode of SBS’ ‘The Ballad of Us’ staged Round 2’s head-to-head showdowns.
One matchup paired 16-year-old standout Cho Soo-ah with Min Soo-hyun, who clearly inherited his father’s musical flair.
Cho took on Sumi Jo’s “If I Leave,” navigating the demanding classic with poise. Judge Danny Koo raved, “I’ve heard Sumi Jo’s version up close, and yours never once felt like a copy. Your color came through, and the control was phenomenal.”
Cha Tae-hyun―who withheld his pass last round―added, “You were so technically perfect before that it felt almost too polished. Today, even with that near-AI-level precision, it was thrilling, not mechanical at all.”
Going second, Min delivered Im Chang-jung’s “Soju Hanjan,” accompanying himself and bringing the room to its feet. The Top 100 panel gave a full standing ovation.
Cha was floored: “It was like watching Lee Sedol beat AlphaGo. I thought nothing could top that AI-level performance―but this did. Im Chang-jung never even crossed my mind.”
Judge Jung Jae-hyung was moved to tears. “I couldn’t stop crying listening to this,” he said. “I never realized how heartbreakingly sad this song could be. It felt like it pierced right through me―like he was singing it for me.”
In the end, Min beat Cho by a commanding 68-vote margin. After barely scraping into Round 2 with 100 votes last time, he became the first Round 2 contender to break triple digits this round―earning even louder applause.
A teaser for next week showed Jeju native Lee Ye-ji calling out Choi Eun-bin, who recently battled through a slump―pitting Round 1’s No. 3 against its No. 1 finisher and setting up a can’t-miss showdown.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Hyo-jung)