Korea’s version of “American Idol”, “Superstar K 2”, is preparing for a new season! The number of aspiring singers hoping to use the show as a launch pad for their musical careers has surged and surpassed the number from last year. Many people may be familiar with the popular singer Seo In-gook, who was the winner of the last Superstar K.

As of April 6th, just within about a month since the auditions first started, 715,184 people reportedly tried out. This is in comparison to the 713,503 people that tried out during the two month audition period last year.

The largest number of applicants that have tried out so far this year were said to have come from Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju, Chuncheon, and Jeju (in that order).

The audition period will end on June 3, 2010 so officials are expecting that number to only increase. The regional finale contests will start off in Daejeon on June 17th.

The last Superstar K boasts having attracted as much as 8.47% of television viewers.