On April 29th, SBS's 'K-Pop Star' has finally come to a close with its final live broadcast of the season. Down to its Top 2 finalists Park Ji Min and Lee Ha Yi, it was Park Ji Min who was crowned winner.

The two battled it out during the live broadcast, each performing a powerful rendition of the two mission songs.

For the first round, the two were given the freedom to sing a song of their choice. Lee Ha Yi was the first to stand on stage with her cover of "Killing Me Softly With His Song" by Roberta Flack and earned herself a total of 291 points from the judges. Park Ji Min was up next, performing Lim Jung Hee's "Music is My Life". She was able to win over Lee Ha Yi for the first round with a total of 292 points, only a point difference.

The second round was to sing each other's hit songs. Lee Ha Yi went up first and performed Park Ji Min's outstanding cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep". Despite having a deep, husky voice, Lee Ha Yi managed to pull off the song in her own version. Finally, Park Ji Min performed Duffy's 'Mercy" and has once again drew the audience on their feet with her powerful vocal ability and lively atmosphere.

After combining 60% on judges' scores, 30% on viewer mobile votes, and 10% on online votes, Park Ji Min topped Lee Ha Yi and was crowned winner for the 1st season of 'K-Pop Star'.

Park Ji Min who has become the first female winner and the youngest of an audition program in Korea remarked, "I'm happy because I feel like I'm receiving the reward for all the hard work up until now. I would like to thank my parents and the three judges."

With a bright smile on her face, Lee Ha Yi also shared her thoughts saying, "I'm so happy that I can finally let go of all the pressure. I also wanted to cry during this journey but I refrained myself. I'm happy it's finally over, but I'm also a bit sad."

Park Ji Min will be awarded 3 hundred million Won (~ $264,584 USD) along with the opportunity to release an international album under SM, YG or JYP Entertainment.

To celebrate the final broadcast, judges BoA and J.Y. Park stood on stage for a special congratulatory performance as well as performances by the Top 10.

Congratulations to Park Ji Min!

-

< Lee Ha Yi - Killing Me Softly With His Song (Roberta Flack) >


< Lee Ha Yi - Rolling in the Deep (Adele) >


< Park Ji Min - Mercy (Duffy) >


< Park Ji Min - Music is My Life (Lim Jung Hee) >


< Special Stage - No.1 + One Dream >


< Special Stage - J.Y. Park >


Source & Image: Newsen via Nate