Superband (TV program)

Superband is a South Korean talent show produced by JTBC in 2019, where indie musicians were invited to perform and eventually create a "superband", competing against each other.
The average viewership rating was around 3%, and the show received positive and negative feedback, as well. The concept and its genre diversity was praised, while the media heavily criticised the lack of female participants. Only involving the viewers in the decision process at the end of the show drew criticism, as well.
Besides the winning band, the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th place bands also signed with different production companies after the show.
The winner was Hoppipolla. The show was produced by the same production team of Phantom Singer and Hidden Singer.

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Concept

The show invited 121 indie musicians, from street performers to classical musicians, representing a variety of genres. The judges pre-selected a handful of participants, whose task was to create ad-hoc bands during the show and compete against each other. The main prize was a hundred million KRW, a recording contract, a world tour, and an SUV.
Out of the 121 participants, 53 were selected for the show, the pre-selection process was not aired. The selected musicians staged introductory performances during the first two episodes, during which some performances were only uploaded to an online platform. During the first two rounds, each stage consisted of one battle of two ad-hoc bands. 16 frontmen for these bands were picked by the judges, the frontmen then picked their desired team members. A musician could only be picked for one team. Stages were evaluated by judges, who gave points for each performance. At the end of the rounds, weakest musicians from the losing teams of the battles were eliminated.
The show was mainly pre-produced and recorded, and broadcast heavily edited. The finals were aired live. During the finals, points from the first and second semi-finals, online pre-voting and text message voting from viewers during the live broadcast decided final ranking.

Judges

The judges, named "Producers" in the show:

Performances

Episodes 3–5: 1st round

Episode	Battle	Team	Members	Song title	Original performer	Video	Producer points
3.	1	Jo Won-sang	Jo Won-sang Lee Gang-ho Im Hyeong-bin Kim Yeong-so	Adventure of a Lifetime	Coldplay		5:0
3.	1	Ha Hyun-sang	Ha Hyun-sang Shin Ye-chan Hong Jin-ho	Viva La Vida	Coldplay		5:0
3.	2	Hong Isaac	Hong Isaac Jeong Sol Lee Na-u Lee Ja-won	Childhood Memories	own composition		1:4
3.	2	Kevin Oh	Kevin Oh Lee Jong-hun Gang Gyeong-yun	Fireflies	Owl City		1:4
4.	3	Benji	Benji DPOLE Jo Han-gyeol	Fairy of Shampoo			3:2
4.	3	Im Geun-ju	Im Geun-ju Kim U-tak Nam Geun-hyeong Park Chan-yeong	Oh You Are My Beautiful Lady	Deulgukhwa		3:2
4.	4	I'll	I'll Kim Dong-beom Kim Chi-heon Park Ji-hwan	Spring Day	BTS		2:3
4.	4	Zai.Ro	Zai.Ro Sin Gwang-il Lee Yong-hun Yu Ji-sang	Hard To Say I'm Sorry	Chicago		2:3
4.	5	Yang Ji-wan	Yang Ji-wan Kim Ha-jin Jeong Gwang-hyeon Chae Bo-hun	Paradise Lost	Gain		1:4
4.	5	An Seong-jin	An Seong-jin Hwang Seung-min Kim Gyu-mok Choi Yeong-jin	Marble	own composition		1:4
5.	6	Kim Woo-sung	Kim Woo-sung Lee Chan-sol	Sign of the Times	Harry Styles		3:2
5.	6	Choi Sang-yeop	Choi Sang-yeop Park Jong-seong	Strange	Lee Juck		3:2
5.	7	Lee Ju-hyeok	Lee Ju-hyeok Kim Hyeong-u Nomad	O	Coldplay		4:1
5.	7	Mellow Kitchen	Mellow Kitchen Park Yeong-jin Chanhwi	Problem	Ariana Grande		4:1
–	–	Kim Ji-beom	Kim Ji-beom Sin Hyeon-bin Lee Si-yeong	5GLOVE	own composition		not broadcast
–	–	Jo Gon	Jo Gon Kim Jun-hyeop Hwang Min-jae	Kidult	own composition		not broadcast

Episodes 5–7: 2nd round

Episode	Battle	Team	Members	Song title	Original performer	Video	Producer points
5.	1	I'll	I'll Kim Yeong-so Nomad Hong Jin-ho	Castle on the Hill	Ed Sheeran		3:2
5.	1	Chae Bo-hun	Chae Bo-hun Jeong Gwang-hyeon Lee Na-u	Stop Crying Your Heart Out	Oasis		3:2
6.	2	Jo Won-sang	Jo Won-sang Lee Gang-ho Jeong Sol Ha Hyun-sang	Virtual Insanity	Jamiroquai		0:5
6.	2	Kevin Oh	Kevin Oh Gang Gyeong-yun Sin Gwang-il Park Chan-yeong	Is There Nobody?			0:5
6.	3	Kim Ji-beom	Kim Ji-beom Sin Hyeong-bin Jo Gon	Love Me Through the Night	own composition		2:3
6.	3	Benji	Benji Kim Dong-beom Lee Ja-won	TEASER	own composition		2:3
6.	4	An Seong-jin	An Seong-jin Kim Gyu-mok Choi Yong-jin Hwang Seung-min	F=ma	own composition		2:3
6.	4	Park Yeong-jin	Park Yeong-jin Kim Ha-jin Yang Ji-wan Hong Isaac	Royals	Lorde		2:3
7.	5	Kim Woo-sung	Kim Woo-sung DPOLE Mellow Kitchen Kim Hyeong-u	ILYSB	LANY		1:4
7.	5	Lee Jeong-hun	Lee Jeong-hun Hwang Min-jae Lee Chan-sol	Skyfall	Adele		1:4
7.	6	Lee Ju-hyeok	Lee Ju-hyeok Im Hyeong-bin Kim Jun-hyeop	Adolescence	Yoon Sang		4:1
7.	6	Sin Ye-chan	Sin Ye-chan Kim U-tak Nam Geun-hyeong Im Geun-ju	Days of Our Past	Yu Jae-ha		4:1
7.	7	Park Ji-hwan	Park Ji-hwan Lee Yong-hun Yu Ji-sang	There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back	Shawn Mendes		1:4
7.	7	Zai.ro	Zai.ro Jo Han-gyeol Lee Si-yeong	Smooth	Santana		1:4

Episodes 8–9: 3rd round

Episode	Battle	Team	Members	Song title	Original performer	Video	Producer points
8.	1	Kevin Oh	Kevin Oh Gang Gyeong-yun Kim Jun-hyeop Nomad	Halo	Beyoncé		0:5
8.	1	Zai.ro	Zai.ro Lee Si-yeong Jo Han-gyeol	Sucker	Jonas Brothers		0:5
8.	2	I'll	I'll Kim Hyeong-u Ha Hyun-sang Hong Jin-ho	1000x	Jarryd James		5:0
8.	2	Lee Na-u	Lee Na-u Kim Yeong-so Kim Woo-sung	Home	Park Hyo-shin		5:0
8.	3	DPOLE	DPOLE Kim Dong-beom Im Hyeong-bin Hwang Seung-min	Ghostbusters	Ray Parker Jr.		0:5
8.	3	Choi Yeong-jin	Choi Yeong-jin Park Chan-yeong Lee Chan-sol	Say Something	A Great Big World		0:5
9.	4	Lee Jong-hun	Lee Jong-hun Jeong Gwang-hyeon Chae Bo-hun	The Dance in the Rhythm	Kim Wan-sun		0:5
9.	4	Lee Ju-hyeok	Lee Ju-hyeok Sin Gwang-il Sin Ye-chan	Hold Back The River	James Bay		0:5
9.	5	Park Ji-hwan	Park Ji-hwan Kim U-tak Lee Ja-won	Yo Soy Maria	Astor Piazzolla		2:3
9.	5	Benji	Benji An Seong-jin Yu Ji-sang	Sing	Pentatonix		2:3
9.	6	Park Yeong-jin	Park Yeong-jin Kim Ha-jin Yang Ji-wan Hong Isaac	The Time Of My Life	Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes		4:1
9.	6	Sin Hyeong-bin	Sin Hyeong-bin Kim Ji-beom Jo Won-sang Hwang Min-jae	You In The Vague Memory	Hyun Jin-young		4:1

Episodes 10–11: 4th round

Episode	Battle	Team	Members	Song title	Original performer	Video
10.	1	Kim Yeong-so	Kim Yeong-so Jeong Gwang-hyeon Park Chan-yeong Park Yeong-jin	Arirang Fantasy	own composition		90	75	422
10.	2	Hwang Min-jae	Hwang Min-jae Kim Woo-sung Kim Ha-jin Park Ji-hwan	Cake by The Ocean	DNCE		86	75	408
10.	3	Kim Jun-hyeop	Kim Jun-hyeop Gang Gyeong-yun Lee Chan-sol Im Hyeong-bin	Still Fighting It	Ben Folds		95	89	455
10.	4	Lee Na-u	Lee Na-u Yang Ji-wan Kevin Oh Hong Isaac	With You	own composition		90	78	423
10.	5	Kim Hyeong-u	Kim Hyeong-u I'll Ha Hyun-sang Hong Jin-ho	Creep	Radiohead		98	82	443
11.	6	Jo Han-gyeol	Jo Han-gyeol Zai.ro Yu Ji-sang Lee Si-yeong	Tears in Heaven	Eric Clapton		88	85	430
11.	7	Lee Ju-hyeok	Lee Ju-hyeok Sin Gwang-il Sin Ye-chan Jo Won-sang	Swim	Fickle Friends		93	88	453
11.	8	Benji	Benji Sin Hyeon-bin Lee Jong-hun Choi Yeong-jin	Dancin	own composition		95	87	452
11.	9	Hwang Seung-min	Hwang Seung-min DPOLE An Seong-jin Chae Bo-hun	Umbrella	own composition		90	79	429

Episode 12: 1st semi-final

	#	Team	Members	Song title	Original performer	Video
12.	1	Hoppipolla	I'll Kim Yeong-so Ha Hyun-sang Hong Jin-ho	Hoppípolla	Sigur Rós		950	860	4,590	2,660	7,250
12.	2	Aftermoon	Kevin Oh DPOLE Lee Jong-hun Choi Yeong-jin	Time After Time	Cyndi Lauper		930	830	4,480	2,600	7,080
12.	3	Lucy	Lee Ju-hyeok Sin Gwang-il Sin Ye-chan Jo Won-sang	Cry Bird	Tennyson		980	830	4,640	2,820	7,460
12.	4	Moné	Zai.ro Kim Woo-sung Benji Hong Isaac Hwang Min-jae	Take Me Away	own composition		980	850	4,610	2,430	7,040
12.	5	Purple Rain	Yang Ji-wan Kim Ha-jin Lee Na-u Jeong Gwang-hyeon Chae Bo-hun	Dream On	Aerosmith		990	850	4,590	2,750	7,340
12.	6	People on the Bridge	Lee Chan-sol Gang Gyeong-yun Kim Jun-hyeop Kim Hyeong-u Im Hyeong-bin	Best Of You	Foo Fighters		990	850	4,590	2,540	7,130

Episode 13: 2nd semi-final

	#	Team	Members	Song title	Original performer	Video
13.	1	People on the Bridge	Lee Chan-sol, Gang Gyeong-yun, Kim Jun-hyeop, Kim Hyeong-u, Im Hyeong-bin	Find You Again	own composition		950	880	4,580	2,120	6,700
13.	2	Moné	Zai.ro, Kim Woo-sung, Benji, Hong Isaac, Hwang Min-jae	Wooing	own composition		970	930	4,740	2,660	7,400
13.	3	Aftermoon	Kevin Oh, DPOLE, Lee Jong-hun, Choi Yong-jin	Before Sunrise	own composition		960	880	4,590	2,170	6,760
13.	4	Lucy	Lee Ju-hyeok, Sin Gwang-il, Sin Ye-chan, Jo Won-sang	Snooze	own composition		980	950	4,860	2,360	7,220
13.	5	Purple Rain	Yang Ji-wan, Kim Ha-jin, Lee Na-u, Jeong Gwang-hyeon, Chae Bo-hun	Never Enough	The Greatest Showman OST		980	900	4,690	2,550	7,240
13.	6	Hoppipolla	I'll, Kim Yeong-so, Ha Hyun-sang, Hong Jin-ho	Wake Me Up	Avicii		990	900	4,690	2,730	7,420

Episode 14: Final

Finals were broadcast live and viewers could vote for each team via text message.

	#	Team	Members	Song title	Original performer	Video	Online pre-vote	Text message voting
14.	1	Purple Rain	Yang Ji-wan, Kim Ha-jin, Lee Na-u, Jeong Gwang-hyeon, Chae Bo-hun	Old And Wise	The Alan Parsons Project		1,974 points	22,498 points
14.	2	Hoppipolla	I'll, Kim Yeong-so, Ha Hyun-sang, Hong Jin-ho	One More Light	Linkin Park		2,958 points	30,711 points
14.	3	Moné	Zai.ro, Kim Woo-sung, Benji, Hong Isaac, Hwang Min-jae	idc	own composition		1,844 points	22,172 points
14.	4	Lucy	Lee Ju-hyeok, Sin Gwang-il, Sin Ye-chan, Jo Won-sang	Flare	own composition		1,562 points	24,682 points

Reception

The program was generally well-received by viewers, it got positive notes for not limiting genres, thus enabling the creation of a variety of ad-hoc bands. It was also highlighted that the show gave indie musicians a chance to shine, as they generally get less opportunities on television than popular Korean idols or trot singers. The show had an average viewership of around 3%, which is considered good for pay cable channels in South Korea.
On the other hand, the show received criticism that the production team decided to only accept male musicians and this was also a criterion in the call for participation. The background of this decision may have been the assumption that most viewers are women, and therefore the production aimed to create a male "superband". During the marketing, however, there was no mention of the show being male-only, only the creation of a band was highlighted, thus the original intention could be misinterpreted as if a band naturally could only be made up of men. The show enlisted only one woman, Lee Su-hyun of duo Akdong Musician, who was a member of the jury. Her role, however, was not well-perceived. Money Today noted that the very young singer was much younger than other members of the jury, and had much less experience as an artist, as well. She was criticized for failing to judge participants' musicality or talent and rather show cutesy moves and praise their external appearances, as if representing female fans. The author of the article suggested that a more experienced female musician like Kim Yoon-ah of Jaurim fame could have been a better choice.
The show was also criticized for heavily relying on judges' decisions and only allowing viewers to choose at the end of the run.

Aftermath

The winner of the show, Hoppipolla signed with Dreamus Company and their first single was released in November 2019, titled "About Time". Second-place Lucy signed with Mystic Story of Yoon Jong-shin and released a single titled "Flowering" in May 2020. The original singer during the show re-joined his previous band Gift, and Lucy chose a new singer, Choi Sang-yeop. Third-place finalist Purple Rain signed a contract with JTBC Studio and their single "The King Must Die" came out in February 2020.