In 'Mr. Trot 3', Son Bin-ah ranked first in the first round of the semifinals.
According to Nielsen Korea, the ratings for the previous day's broadcast of TV CHOSUN's 'Mr. Trot 3' recorded a nationwide rating of 14.5%.
The highly anticipated semifinals took place on this day. Out of a total of 14 trot contestants, 4 will be eliminated without any additional passes or revival rounds. The first round mission of the semifinals was a legendary song battle. Two trot contestants shared a legendary song, and the 13 judges and 200 national representatives voted for the one they thought performed better.
Above all, the face-off between Son Bin-ah, considered the strongest candidate for victory this season, and Kim Yong-bin drew intense attention even before the broadcast. Among the semifinalists, these two were identified as the top targets to watch, and they unexpectedly met on a narrow bridge as they were not pointed out by other trot contestants. Son Bin-ah and Kim Yong-bin sang Jin-sung's 'I'm a Fool' with a nasal technique in the chorus.
As expected from trot masters, Son Bin-ah and Kim Yong-bin completed a legendary stage that showcased their individual charms. The judges deliberated deeply. Kim Yeon-ja remarked, "It was perfect with no flaws," while composer Park Hyun-jin praised, "Son Bin-ah was like a drizzle, and Kim Yong-bin was like a light rain." The original artist Jin-sung gave an extraordinary review, saying, "This stage is something I learned from both of them." The result was Son Bin-ah with 110 points and Kim Yong-bin with 40 points. The score from the 200 national representatives, which awards 20 points for each additional vote received, also went to Son Bin-ah.
Choi Jae-myung chose Park Ji-hoo as his opponent and sang Oh Seung-geun's 'Do Well While You Can.' Choi Jae-myung, who had shown boldness on stage, received praise for his performance, even though his vocal condition was not perfect, as he turned his mistakes into a charm with a metallic sound. As a result, there was an unprecedented score gap in the semifinals, with Choi Jae-myung scoring 140 points and Park Ji-hoo scoring 10 points.
In the first round of the semifinals, Choi Jae-myung ranked first with 140 points. In contrast, Kim Yong-bin, who was considered a candidate for victory, only managed to score 40 points, placing him in 11th place. The lowest score went to Park Ji-hoo, who received 10 points.
In this first round of the semifinals, the scores from the national support votes were reflected. The online voting scores are applied to both the first round of the semifinals and the finals. The first place receives 350 points, while the second to fourteenth places receive 10 points each in a tiered scoring system. Consequently, the combined scores from the first round song battle and the national support votes were revealed, showing Son Bin-ah in first place with 450 points, Choi Jae-myung in second with 430 points, Chun-gil in third with 420 points, and Chu Hyuk-jin in fourth with 400 points. Kim Yong-bin, who was in 11th place in the first round, climbed to 5th place thanks to the full score from the support votes.
As the rankings for the top 10 fluctuated, Lee Ji-hoon, Hong Seong-ho, Lim Chan, and Kang Hoon remained in the lower ranks, facing elimination. However, with only a 20-point difference from the joint 8th place holders Yoo Ji-woo, Park Ji-hoo, and Namgung Jin, a comeback is still possible.
