Superstar K 4
Superstar K4 is the fourth season of the South Korean television talent show series Superstar K, which premiered on 17 August 2012 on M.net and airs every Friday night at 11PM KST. Lee Seung-Chul and Yoon Mi-Rae returned as judges, and were joined by singer/songwriter PSY who replaced Yoon Jong-Shin who had been a judge in the last two seasons.
2,083,447 applicants were recorded for this season, surpassing the record set by the previous season.
This program ended on November 23, 2012 with the announcement of Roy Kim as the winner and DickPunks as the runner-up.
Selection process
As with the previous seasons, applicants were able to apply via the internet, phone or in person. However, with this season, the options of applying via KakaoTalk and karaoke also became available.Auditions
Preliminary Auditions for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Regionals were held in these cities:- The Daegu, Daejeon and Jeju audition episodes were not aired due to scheduling changes.
- The 3rd Regional auditions for the Los Angeles and New York were held together.
- Participants of the Sydney audition who made it to the 3rd Regional's were judged at Seoul instead.
SuperWeek
Finalists
TOP 12
Finals
Due to the adoption of 12 finalists in Superstar K4 compared to 10 and 11 finalists in the previous seasons, the format was changed by which three finalists are eliminated in the first week, and two in the following three weeks till the Top 5 is reached. Judge PSY was replaced from the Top 9 week by singer Yoon Gun, due to his decision to commit to promoting his song 'Gangnam Style ' overseas. The elimination of a contestant will be determinant upon who has the lowest number of points: with 60 percent of the points from a live text poll, 30 percent from the judges' decision and 10 percent from a pre-broadcast online poll.Top 12 – First Love
| Order | Contestant | Song | Year | Result |
| 1 | Kye Bum-Joo | "Girls' Generation" | 1989 | Eliminated |
| 2 | Lee Ji-Hye | "천일동안 " | 1995 | Eliminated |
| 3 | Volume | "Now" | 2000 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Eddy Kim a.k.a. Kim Jung-Hwan | "버스안에서 " | 1996 | Safe |
| 5 | Honey G | "비켜줄께 " | 2010 | Safe |
| 6 | Yeon Kyu-Sung | "예술이야 " | 2010 | Safe |
| 7 | DickPunks | "울릉도 트위스트 " | 1968 | Safe |
| 8 | Hong Dae-Kwang | "노래만 불렀지 " | 1996 | Safe |
| 9 | Yoo Seung-Woo | "My Son" | 2003 | Safe |
| 10 | Roy Kim | "다시 사랑한다 말할까 " | 2001 | Safe |
| 11 | Ahn Ye-Seul | "전설 속의 누군가처럼 " | 2000 | Safe |
| 12 | Jung Joon-Young | "매일매일 기다려 " | 1987 | Safe |
- Group performance: "사랑 만들기 "
Top 9 – Rivalry
| Order | Contestant | Song | Year | Result |
| 1 | DickPunks | "고추잠자리 " | 1981 | Safe |
| 2 | Yeon Gyu-Sung | "어둠 그 별빛" | 1988 | Eliminated |
| 3 | Hong Dae-Kwang | "이미 넌 고마운 사람" | 2003 | Safe |
| 4 | Honey G | "왜그래" | 1995 | Safe |
| 5 | Roy Kim | "휘파람 " | 1985 | Safe |
| 6 | Ahn Ye-Seul | "Sk8er Boi" | 2002 | Eliminated |
| 7 | Jung Joon-Young | "Bed of Roses" | 1992 | Safe |
| 8 | Eddy Kim a.k.a. Kim Jung-Hwan | "Love Story" | 2008 | Safe |
| 9 | Yoo Seung-Woo | "열정 " | 2004 | Safe |
- Group performance: "마지막 승부 "
Top 7 - Go Back
| Order | Contestant | Song | Year | Result |
| 1 | Eddy Kim a.k.a. Kim Jung-Hwan | "I'll Be There" | 1970 | Safe |
| 2 | Honey G | "오래된 친구 " | 1994 | Eliminated |
| 3 | DickPunks | "같이 걸을까 " | 2007 | Saved |
| 4 | Hong Dae-Kwang | "가족" | 1997 | Safe |
| 5 | Jung Joon-Young | "그것만이 내 세상 " | 1985 | Safe |
| 6 | Roy Kim | "청개구리 " | 2012 | Safe |
| 7 | Yoo Seung-Woo | "말하는대로 " | 2011 | Safe |
- Group performance: "고백 "
Top 6 - My Style
| Order | Contestant | Song | Year | Result |
| 1 | Roy Kim | "서울의 달 " | 2005 | Safe |
| 2 | Hong Dae-Kwang | "뜨거운 안녕 " | 2007 | Safe |
| 3 | Eddy Kim a.k.a. Kim Jung-Hwan | "아름다운 강산 " | 1972 | Eliminated |
| 4 | DickPunks | "Muzik" | 2009 | Safe |
| 5 | Jung Joon-Young | "아웃사이더 " | 1995 | Safe |
| 6 | Yoo Seung-Woo | "Butterfly" | 2008 | Eliminated |
- Group performance: "그대에게 "
Top 4 - Audience Song of Choice
- Special Stages: DickPunks and Hong Dae-Kwang: "Girl" ; Jung Joon-Young and Roy Kim: "Creep"
Top 3 - Judge's Mission / Contestant's Favourite Song
| Order | Contestant | Song | Year | Result |
| 1 | Roy Kim | "힐링이 필요해 " | 2012 | Safe |
| 2 | Jung Joon-Young | "잊었니 " | 2005 | Eliminated |
| 3 | DickPunks | "떠나지마 " | 2009 | Safe |
| 4 | Jung Joon-Young | "첫사랑 " | 2003 | Eliminated |
| 5 | DickPunks | "Big Girl " | 2007 | Safe |
| 6 | Roy Kim | "잊어야한다는 마음으로 " | 1992 | Safe |
Top 2 - Song Rendition / Self-Written Song
Ratings
Ratings
- TNmS
| Episode | Broadcast Date | Nationwide Viewership |
| 1 | 17 August 2012 | 8.4% |
| 2 | 24 August 2012 | 9.2% |
| 3 | 31 August 2012 | 9.6% |
| 4 | 7 September 2012 | 9.3% |
| 5 | 14 September 2012 | 9.2% |
| 6 | 21 September 2012 | 9.9% |
| 7 | 28 September 2012 | 10.6% |
| 8 | 5 October 2012 | 9.9% |
| Episode | Broadcast Date | Nationwide Viewership |
| 1 | 17 August 2012 | 6.3% |
| 2 | 24 August 2012 | 9.1% |
| 3 | 31 August 2012 | 8.3% |
| 4 | 7 September 2012 | 7.3% |
| 5 | 14 September 2012 | 7.7% |
| 6 | 21 September 2012 | 8.9% |
| 7 | 28 September 2012 | 10.6% |
| 8 | 5 October 2012 | 10.6% |