SBS audition project “Our Ballad 2” opened recruitment for “Top 100 Ears,” the on-site audience judging panel for the second round. The application period was announced as August 19–28, 2026, and those selected by lottery were scheduled to attend the second-round recording on Saturday, September 12. As of September 4, the original application period has ended, so applicants should check the official SBS program page again for application availability and any updated announcements.
Key Changes
The key point of this recruitment is that it sought viewers to participate in the actual recording as audience judges, rather than asking viewers to evaluate broadcast results online. SBS News described “Top 100 Ears” as the on-site judging panel for the second round of “Our Ballad 2.” The recruitment announcement should therefore be understood as a schedule for selecting an audience evaluation panel to attend filming before the program airs, not as an announcement of contestant rankings or elimination results.
Applications were announced as online submissions through the official “Our Ballad” website. However, the publicly available reports did not confirm details such as the number of recruits, compensation, or recording venue. Because the selection method was reported as a lottery, applicants should rely on the latest instructions posted on the official page rather than assuming it was a first-come, first-served process.
The key schedule is applications through August 28 and participation in the second-round recording on September 12.
Current Status
The originally announced application details were as follows:
- Application period: August 19–28, 2026
- Application route: Online submission through the official “Our Ballad” website
- Selection method: Lottery
- Recording schedule: Saturday, September 12, 2026, at the second-round recording
Because the announced application deadline has passed, applicants should confirm whether new applications are still possible and whether the selection notice remains unchanged. The official SBS program page has been confirmed to exist, but the details of the second-round recruitment were not sufficiently visible in the indexed text of the search results. Readers who were considering applying should check the recruitment notice and subsequent updates directly on the official website for the most accurate information.
“Our Ballad 2” has been reported as an audition project jointly produced by SBS and SM C&C. The program is scheduled to premiere on SBS in October 2026, and its first recording was reportedly completed on August 8 and 9, 2026. The second-round Top 100 Ears recruitment is part of this production schedule ahead of the premiere.
Impact
The composition of the Top 100 Ears representative panel is another major point of interest in the recruitment announcement. According to reports dated August 19, 2026, the eight representatives were Jun Hyun-moo, Jung Jae-hyung, Cha Tae-hyun, Park Kyung-lim, Jung Seung-hwan, Moon Geun-young, Joo Woo-jae, and Roy Kim. Recruiting general audience judges separately from the named representative panel suggests that the program may combine evaluations centered on experts and broadcasters with reactions from the on-site audience. However, the representatives’ episode-by-episode roles and detailed operating structure cannot be interpreted beyond the facts currently confirmed.
The first recruitment also shows the on-site participation structure of Season 2. The first Top 100 Ears recruitment, conducted in July 2026, ran from July 7 to 26, and those selected were invited to participate in the first recording for Round 1 on August 8–9. Like the second recruitment, it was based on participation at a specific round’s recording. This indicates that Top 100 Ears functions as a round-specific audience judging panel recruited as part of the program’s production process.
Next Checkpoints
The first items to verify are the September 12 second-round recording schedule and the notice for selected participants. Since the recruitment period ended on August 28, readers should look for official updates regarding application results, participant notices, and any schedule changes. Because the program has not yet premiered, the premiere date, recording schedule, and the representatives’ specific roles may change later.
The verification process is straightforward:
- Check the latest announcements on the official SBS “Our Ballad 2” program page.
- Confirm the application status and selected-participant notice for the second-round Top 100 Ears recruitment.
- Confirm whether the September 12 recording schedule remains unchanged.
- Check for follow-up announcements regarding the October premiere window and programming schedule.
Based on the information currently confirmed, the “Our Ballad 2” Top 100 Ears recruitment was an open call for a second-round on-site judging panel that ran through August 28, with selected participants scheduled to attend the recording on September 12. The program is scheduled to premiere on SBS in October, and reports identified an eight-member representative panel. Application details and subsequent schedules should be checked against the latest information on the official SBS program page.