Legendary Talent?
Even after my stage with Lee Hye-na wrapped up, four more performances followed.
Choi Seong brought out his usual safe ballad, and whether it was good condition or some real growth, he delivered a seriously impressive show.
In stark contrast, Baek Yuyeon put on a relatively lackluster one.
Her skills weren't bad at all—it was just the song she picked that sucked.
Guess she's used up all the decent retro drama-style tracks by now.
So Yujin and Han Seong-sik turned in middling performances, nothing to predict the winner from.
Still, Seong-sik's got those killer high notes, so he's probably got the edge.
"Next one's the highlight, huh."
"Yeah. The real battlefield?"
"Gotta be."
Yoo Seolha, Blooming's vocalist, had leveled up big time practicing this track.
She could hit notes she never reached before, and thanks to close coaching from Kayseop and Yoo Sanghyeon, her shifts between falsetto and chest voice felt way more stable.
Watching her evolve into a full-fledged vocalist up close filled me with unprecedented dread.
She's growing way too fast...
Whatever. Seeing a friend succeed is a good thing, so I decided to cheer her on with a smile.
But Blooming wasn't the only one improving.
Joo Jinwoo had clearly upped his stage game since the early rounds of Singer Star.
He always had that vibe like a regular engineering student who couldn't quite bring his A-game live, but now he was hitting 100% onstage, plus his vocals had gotten stronger.
He was already a monster of a complete vocalist, but he kept pushing further.
Blooming can still hang with him, though.
The song I gave them was pure competition fuel. Constant earphone abuse with piercing highs and noisy instrumentation, but live onstage? That explosive power was unmatched.
"Hehe..."
"Sis... you're coming off kinda pervy."
I eyed Lee Hye-na, who had me perched on her lap, fumbling around everywhere, as I tested out the unfamiliar term.
Her face lit up with that goofy grin—total opposite of her fierce stage persona earlier.
Unlike Yoo Seolha's plush softness, Hye-na's frame was slimmer, no pillow vibes...
But this works too.
Hell, being cradled by a beauty like this was unthinkable in my past life.
If I'd dated an idol back then, I'd have ended up buried in the hills—no doubt. Kept my distance from that crowd on purpose.
This life's different, maybe?
No clue what future-me will do.
Might ditch singing for producing, or keep belting it out.
Or both.
Probably both—that feels most likely.
Honestly, after all this stage time, I was getting hooked on the cheers and spotlight.
Starting to get why celebs stick around despite the hate.
"Next up is Blooming! Give a big round of applause for this powerhouse high school band full of fiery passion!"
"Here we go."
I hopped off Hye-na's lap and sat beside her.
I wanted to watch this one closely—my song was about to get played.
Why's she giving me that look...
I ignored Hye-na's sidelong glance full of regret.
Child of the Waves.
An anime OST from Japan—demands versatile range, nailing that signature soft-yet-rough emotion.
Not mine, obviously. Just ripped it off.
In my past life, it was the high-note vocal benchmark in Japan. Insanely tough.
But nail the live perfectly...
The chills it delivers rival any track out there.
Seolha's live wasn't flawless. The difficulty meant practice flubs galore.
But she stuck with it because...
"This song's brutal..."
"The payoff's worth it."
Land it right, and no matter what Joo Jinwoo brought, it'd crush. That intense.
They'd been promised a Hawaii trip for winning this round, so victory meant everything.
Feels like they want Hawaii more than the crown at this point.
Maybe hitting this far felt like success already—Blooming had started just enjoying the stage lately.
Made sense for a band, especially with some weaker links skill-wise. Better attitude, honestly.
This track was basically a vocal showcase anyway; the band just needed to follow Park Heesu's bass lead and finish clean.
Gentle piano waves washed over the stage like ocean sounds.
Seolha gripped the mic stand with both hands, eyes shut.
No trace of her usual playfulness—just an artist lost in the song's story.
Fragments of crashing memories, like foam slipping from my fingertips
The first lines exploded out, rippling the air in the waiting room.
Her airy falsetto, laced with breath, floated softly across the studio ceiling.
Seolha's boyish clear tone meshed perfectly with the song's poetry, sucking the audience right in.
But the real magic started now.
Mid-song, drums kicked harder, and her style flipped 180.
Fragile girl voice layered with razor-sharp energy.
In the bursting screams, become the wave that swallows me!
The high-note onslaught hit—mid-to-high third octave madness, relentless.
That devilish section that plagued her practices. I leaned toward the monitor unconsciously.
Shipwreck here, and it's all for nothing.
As if mocking my worry, Seolha threw her head back and unleashed explosive chest voice.
No cracks.
The higher it climbed, the denser it got—straight piercing through the instrument chaos, goosebump city.
"...Whoa, insane."
Hye-na beside me muttered, mouth agape.
I felt the chills too.
Even stronger than her practice peaks—this live was rock-solid.
Aaaah—!
Highlight hit: triple highs in a row as she dashed stage center.
Crisp third-octave sol climbing free.
Band backed her with massive wave-wall sound; she surfed it like a girl owning the sea.
I won't go back, beyond that shining horizon!
The final ultra-high ripped through the studio speakers like it might shred them, then scattered into silence.
Lights blacked out, leaving just Seolha's silhouette heaving for breath.
The applause that erupted after that split-second hush? Hottest and longest of any contestant.
"...Flawless."
I murmured low.
She'd pulled over 100% out of the song's potential. As the writer, the thrill hit hard—and the pressure on Joo Jinwoo to top it crawled under my skin.
Can he handle that weight?
After a legendary—hell, iconic—stage like that, could a guy who'd ignored stages months ago pull through?
Not easy.
Victory was already mine in my head.
Judges, public—no way they wouldn't side with Blooming this time.
Joo Jinwoo's turn came right after.
For the first time across all Singer Star stages, he went with a curveball pick.
"Band song. Unexpected..."
"Yeah? He's always done ballads."
Come to think of it, he'd been an indie band vocalist originally, right?
Not a bad call, maybe. Banking on his vocal edge over Seolha, picking same genre to dominate.
But this time? Total misread.
Seolha's vocals held firm here—no giving ground to him.
Average over 100 stages? Jinwoo's clearly better, easy.
Even with her growth, the gap's real. Dude hits mid-third octave as a guy—monster.
But like they say, soccer balls are round. Stages are chaos: condition, setup, neighboring acts.
"Time to announce Group 4 results!"
Tension peaked in the studio as the MC gripped his cue sheet, light glinting off it.
Jinwoo swallowed hard, face tight; Blooming clutched hands, eyes glued to the screen.
Seolha especially—pale from pouring everything out, biting her lip.
"Final tally: viewer votes plus judge scores!"
482
488
"Ah..."
A soft sigh escaped beside me. Yeah, judges favored Jinwoo's precision and polish. Six points—tiny gap, but viewer votes could flip it.
"Now, final scores with viewer votes!"
Bar graphs shot up under their names.
Jinwoo's peaked first; Blooming's surged past, ferocious.
924
891
"Waaaaaah!"
Blooming screamed and hugged onstage.
Seolha collapsed, hands over her face in disbelief; Heesu pumped her bass-fisted arm skyward.
"Group 4 winner: Blooming! Congrats on straight to TOP 6!"
Waiting room buzzed. Joo Jinwoo, top contender, down—this was the round's biggest upset.
"We really won..."
Jinwoo's stage was great, but Blooming's peak stole the public's hearts clean.
His face onstage? Complicated. Bitter smile conceding defeat, clapping for them—but that hollow glint in his eyes slipped through.
TOP 6 Straight Advance Confirmed
Group 1: Seo Siyeon
Group 2: Choi Seong
Group 3: Han Seong-sik
Group 4: Blooming
My matchup with Hye-na ended in my win too—viewer votes crushed it.
Her performance ruled, but couldn't top Starry Night's emotional punch.
"Now, only the losers' revival left. Out of today's four eliminated, just two rejoin TOP 6 by public vote."
Onstage lined up Hye-na, Jinwoo, Baek Yuyeon, So Yujin—names too stacked for "losers."
Tallied votes flashed on the board.
Pure viewer power for revival.
"Huh?"
I had to widen my eyes at the result.
Way too unexpected on the monitor.