Crea Studio

‘2026 Korea-Japan King of Singers’ MC Shin Dong-yeob declares that a drastically changed ‘Korea-Japan King of Singers’ begins right from the preliminaries, throwing the TOP7 of both countries into confusion.

Premiering on the 14th, MBN ‘2026 Korea-Japan King of Singers’ is the only Korea-Japan national music showdown in the world, where the TOP7 from ‘Active King of Singers - Gahee (Japan edition)’, produced directly by Crea Studio, and the ‘Active King of Singers 3’ TOP7 from Korea face off on behalf of their nations with duty and pride at stake.

Above all, ‘Korea-Japan King of Singers’ has been meaningful for creating a stage that expands genres across borders and generations, blending everything from trot and R&B to rock and J-pop. Japanese singers belt out Korean songs, and Korean singers deliver Japanese songs, creating new stages; going beyond a fierce battleground, the show demonstrates the power of musical and cultural exchange and, furthermore, has established itself as a one-of-a-kind music competition that gives rise to new global stars.

Amid this, entering its third season, ‘2026 Korea-Japan King of Singers’ once again introduces a bold rule, seeking a fresh transformation that electrifies the scene. First, appearing to cheers from the two countries’ TOP7, MC Shin Dong-yeob conveys his emotion by saying, “It is already the third year,” and captures the first face-to-face moment of the Korea-Japan TOP7 with the words, “As if they are feinting mind games, yet as if they are welcoming one another, yet slightly awkward.”

He then surprises everyone by announcing that, before the best-of-three main showdown, there will be a scouting period called ‘100-second round’. In the ‘100-second round’, the active members of the two countries’ TOP7 each take the stage for exactly 100 seconds, about 1 minute and 40 seconds, then step down. Through this stage, the TOP7 from both sides size up one another’s singing style, character, and identity. And the MVP of the 100-second round is granted the privilege to perform one full song at the ‘Korea-Japan King of Singers Gala Show’.

With the advent of this unconventional rule, the Korea-Japan TOP7 are wide-eyed and unable to close their mouths, yet show anticipation by saying, “What kind of monsters will appear?” Some reveal anxiety, saying, “It is too short,” while others strategize, “It might be better not to show too much,” displaying how they scramble to adapt to the rule.

Meanwhile, on this day the 100-second round proceeds as an in-house evaluation in which Japan evaluates the Korean team performances and Korea evaluates the Japanese team performances. As a result, tension rises as fierce checking and mind games erupt, to the point that the TOP7 of both countries say, “Let us judge very fastidiously.” In particular, watching these Korea-Japan active TOP7, Park Seo-jin and Yudai shake their heads and spark laughter, saying, ”Why is it so fierce from the preliminaries? Their competitive drive is hotter than ours“.

MBN ‘2026 Korea-Japan King of Singers’ premieres on April 14.