Produce 101
RPF Fandom | |
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Name(s): | Produce, Produce 101, Produce 48 |
Scope/Focus: | fandom for the Korean survival show to produce idols and the various idols and trainees on the show |
Date(s): | 2016-2020 ? |
See also: | I.O.I, Wanna One, Iz*one, ? , Kpop |
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Produce 101 is a televised reality competition(a survival show) in which kpop trainees compete to debut, created by South Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ E&M. There are no judges; the public votes determine who debuts.
There were 4 seasons of the Korean original: Produce 101, Produce 101 Season 2, Produce 48, and Produce X. After a year or two as a debuted group, the group disbands and the trainees return to their original entertainment companies.
There are also a lot of franchise shows and spin-offs as the format became very popular throughout Asia.
Needs Updating: This page is out of date. Editors are encouraged to add more recent information. |
Format
Produce 101 was a large-scale reality television talent competition franchise created by South Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ E&M, based around the formation of a K-pop girl group or boy group. The show was produced in collaboration with at least 40 entertainment companies per season from both inside and outside of South Korea. At about four billion won (approximately $3.33 million), the first season had the second-largest budget out of all Mnet TV programs at the time. The format is noted for having no panel of judges, employing audience participation to make decisions, as well as for starting with a very large number of competitors, in the original format 101 competitors, narrowing that number down to the final 11 (the numbers however sometimes vary, but it's usually not the case, for example Produce 48 debuted 12 out of 96 trainees). The franchise began in 2016 and has since expanded to other Asian countries, China, Thailand and Japan. The franchise has attracted a wide following in the world. More than 10 million people cast votes during the finale of Season 2 in 2017, equivalent to a fifth of South Korea's population. In 2018, the eight episodes of Produce 101 China attracted more than 4.3 billion views on Tencent Video.
The show's concept hinged on audience participation: the viewers got to choose the final group's members, concept, debut song, and name. Out of the 101 contestants, they could select eleven girls to debut. The resulting unit would promote together for a certain period of time, at least one year, and after their contract period ended, the members were allowed to join any girl groups or projects that their agencies were planning. There is always one presenter, a known celebrity, of each season supported by a cast of mentors/judges who are also celebrities. Sometimes guest mentors will appear as special panelists.
Each season also has a signature song the first one being "Pick Me".
During the show the trainees have to pass a certain amount of challenges to make it to debut. As the trainees want to gain attention from fans the episode will usually show the groups assigning roles of the 'leader', 'center', 'main vocalist', 'sub vocalists', and 'rappers' through debate as some positions are more sought after than others. After each challenge the group with the highest overall points would usually later perform on M! Countdown.
The first two episodes are always for introducing the audience to the trainees and for evaluating the trainees through self-chosen performances. The contestants enter the studio where 101 seats are arranged in a pyramid, with the seat for the number one trainee at the top. The trainees are grouped together by their agencies and introduced. Every contestant then gets to choose one of the seats according to which rank they expect themselves to achieve. Afterward, they are asked to perform with their group, and each individual trainee is judged by the mentors based on their overall talent and assigned a class; A being the highest and F the lowest. Some participants are asked by the mentors to showcase any dancing, singing, or rapping skills for individual evaluation. After each trainee has been assigned a grade, the presenter announces that they will be performing the season's song. The A group trainees will receive the most screen time, while the F group trainees will merely serve as backup dancers. They are informed that they will have three days to practice, after which the trainees film themselves individually performing the song while their fellow grade members watch. Each video will be re-evaluated and re-assigned their final grades by the mentors. Usually, at the end of episode 2, the trainees are given their new grades and asked to move to their respective new practice rooms. After the announcement of the new batch of A ranked trainees, A rankers are given an hour to prepare a stage to appeal to the other trainees. The trainees, including those in the A group, have to vote for who they believe would be the best for the center position.
After the performance, the next evaluation in episode 3 and 4 is announced: the Group Battle. The trainees will form an even number of teams (for example twenty) and perform one (out of half the number of teams) song in front of a live audience, with two rivaling teams competing against each other with the same song. Each trainee will get voted on separately by the live audience and the members' combined scores will determine the winning group, which will receive a benefit. The live votes will also be added to their online votes before the first elimination. Depending on the season either A trainees or random trainees get to choose their teams. The trainees compete for their preferred song through a race. The faster teams also get to choose their opponents. Once the teams are formed, the trainees are shown rehearsing for their stages and eventually also performing on stage. The fifth episode is usually for announcing the eleminations, only 60 trainees will remain, and showing fun background stories/challenges/events leading up to the elemination surrounding the trainees.
In episode 6 the next challenge is announced and the trainees are tasked to perform live in groups based on positions they want to debut in: vocal, dance, or rap. Each position will have a certain amount of songs while each song has a member limit and would be picked by each trainee based on their ranks while not seeing what the others have picked until they have picked themselves. Only 35 trainees will remain in the next round and the winner from each category will receive 100,000 votes. The vocal teams are the first to perform and after each performance, they are ranked in their groups first and then overall in the category.
The beginning of the next evaluation in episode 8 is prior to the second round of eliminations, meaning that all trainees that have survived so far will continue to practice for the performances, but not all of them may get to perform. The evaluation is revealed to be a concept evaluation, and the trainees are given original songs to choose from. The winning team to receive a benefit of 150,000 votes. The trainees choose their teams based on their category and individual ranking from the last evaluation. However, as only 14 people can be on one team (twice the amount that will be on the team after the elimination occurs), the first trainee to have chosen a concept is given the right to kick out any extras, thus forcing them to choose another song. After practicing for the new songs, the trainees undergo the second elimination. In episode 9, following eliminations, the teams are reorganized; groups with more than 7 members voted on whom to send to groups with less than 7 members. Afterwards, the performances are shown.
In episode 10 another elimination happens with only 22 trainees advancing to the final stage. The trainees will be split into two groups (depending on the season they will also either perform two songs or they will be put together again for one song). In episode 11 reminiscent videos of the trainees' days on the show like audition tapes and final interviews/dreams will be shown. The group name will be revealed. The finale performance will be shown allowing the fans to vote for one last time. The top 35 perform with the winning team at a finale concert. Afterwards, the final ranking will be revealed.
Common tropes according to fans
South Korea
Produce 101
Produce 101 was a large-scale girl group unit project produced by CJ ENM and Signal Entertainment Group for Mnet. The show was produced in collaboration with 46 entertainment companies from both inside and outside of South Korea and started the Produce 101 franchise. The show aired from January 22, 2016 until April 1, 2016. The show's concept hinged on audience participation: the viewers got to choose the final group's members, concept, debut song, and name. Out of the 101 contestants, they could select eleven girls to debut as female trainees competed. The resulting unit would release their debut extended play under Stone Music Entertainment and promote together for a year being co-managed by YMC Entertainment. After their contract period ended, the members were allowed to join any girl groups or projects that their agencies were planning. The MC of the season was Jang Keun-suk, a popular singer and actor who would be "acting as a messenger and a representative of the viewers" while being supported by five vocal, dance, and rap mentors, the most recognizeable to K-pop fans being Brown Eyed Girls' JeA, Kahi, and Cheetah. The contestant appeared for the first time performing their popular song Pick Me at the M COUNTDOWN chart show EP.453 on December 17, 2015. This song is arguably the most popular song of the franchise among the general public (maybe because it started it all) even though it might not be the best liked and was covered a lot, especially by fans.
The winners debuted as the girlgroup I.O.I (아이오아이).
Rank | Episode 11 (Total votes) | ||
---|---|---|---|
Name | Votes | Company | |
1 | Jeon So-mi | 858,333 | JYP |
2 | Kim Se-jeong | 525,352 | Jellyfish |
3 | Choi Yoo-jung | 438,778 | Fantagio |
4 | Kim Chung-ha | 403,633 | MNH |
5 | Kim So-hye | 229,732 | RedLine |
6 | Zhou Jieqiong | 218,338 | Pledis |
7 | Jung Chae-yeon | 215,338 | MBK |
8 | Kim Do-yeon | 200,069 | Fantagio |
9 | Kang Mi-na | 173,762 | Jellyfish |
10 | Lim Na-young | 138,726 | Pledis |
11 | Yoo Yeon-jung | 136,780 | Starship |
Most memorable moments
The first season definitely had the most memorable and iconic audition performances. Fans favorites are Chungha's freestyle to Beyoncé, Jellyfish trainees' Something New, CUBE trainees' Crazy of 4Minute, Pledis trainees' Bang! of After School (which Kahi was a member of), Starship trainees' I Swear of Sistar, Somi's Lips are movin' by Meghan Trainor, MBK trainees' Bad Girl Good Girl by Miss A and Heo Chanmi's Don't Stop The Music by Rihanna. In general the trainees of the first season were perceived as being very talented (sometimes fans even claimed that they were more talented compared to other seasons by some disappointed fans).
Fans instantly recognized Somi because she participated from May 5, 2015 until July 7, 2015 in Mnet reality survival program "Sixteen", where she was pitted against fifteen other trainees from JYP Entertainment to secure a spot in its first girl group in five years (now Twice) after the debut of Miss A. She was in the major group 5 out 7 weeks. However, Somi was eliminated in the final round and continued as a trainee. JYP Entertainment founder Park Jin-young stated she had star quality but lacked preparation which is why he sent her to Produce 101 in January 2016 as the only representative of JYP. Because it hadn't been a long time since Sixteen had aired and because she was from one of "the Big 3", she was very popular and loved among fans never falling out of the top 4. Fans knew that she was still friends with the Twice members as they were label mates and Twice even reacted to Produce 101.[1] Because of the high expectations stemming from her Sixteen days some fans were initially underwhelmed by her Lips are movin' performance, but later she managed to convince everyone of her skills.
Heo Chanmi was also very recognizeable to fans as she had already debuted. She got to retell her story in the show as well which is why fans quickly dubbed her as "the unluckiest idol" missing out on popular groups and felt very bad for her. She was a former SM Entertainment trainee where she almost debuted with Girls' Generation (which was proven by pictures of her and the members pre-debut as there were a lot of those claims back in the days much to the annoyance of SONEs)[2], but was removed from the line-up due to being too young, and later she also almost got into the line-up of f(x), but didn't make it.[3] In 2010 she joined Core Contents Media, the label of T-ara, who had debuted just a year prior, now known as MBK Entertainment. She made her debut on October 11, 2010 as vocaliat of the group Co-ed School. The group debuted with a single "Too Late". However, by mid 2011, Co-ed School split into two sub units: Speed for the boys and F-ve Dolls for the girls due to scandals. The group would release more songs before Chanmi got into her own bullying scandal which really tainted her image and because of which she announced her departure from the group and Core Contents Media in 2012. Chanmi joined Pledis Entertainment as a trainee for a brief period of time in 2013 where she even filmed a performance video with later Pristin members who also participated in the show. Afterwards, she joined the show. In the first episodes she talked a lot about her regrets of missing out on Girls' Generation and her opportunities in general. Fans were also very impressed by her initial audition saying that this is the difference between someone who already debuted and a trainee. The good faith of the fans didn't last long though. In the first challenge she became part of the "avengers" team with all the popular trainees to perform "Into the new world", the debut song of Girls' Generation. She managed to convince her team to be the main vocal saying that it was her chance to relive her dream. However, in the actual performance she messed up the high note. According to fans this team only won because of Somi because the other team did way better. Chanmi was probably also a case of Mnet's "evil editing" while having a "resting bitch face" as fans started to hate her even though fellow participants seemed to like her afterwards.[4] All in all, her popularity drastically dropped landing her in 26th place as she was perceived to be kind of arrogant and highly competitive. Overall, she was seen as having an unlikeable personality.
The performance of "Into the new world" by the team against the "avengers" however started Yoo Yeon-jung's popularity as fans loved her high notes and the performance as a whole, especially in contrast to the other team. Throughout the show she would be able to prove her singing talent even further and eventually becoming one of the eleven I.O.I members.
The arguably best "avengers" performance of all seasons which fans loved and is to this date the one of the most iconic Produce 101 stages would be later performed by Choi Yoo-jung (3rd), Jeon So-mi (1st), Kim Do-yeon (8th), Kim Chung-ha (4th), Kim Dani (24th), Kwon Eun-bin (35th), and Kim Seo-kyung (30th) with the song "Bang Bang" by Jessi J feat. Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj. It was choreographed by Chungha who initially got instantly recognized by fans for her talent and dance skills because of her audition making her a fan favorite. This performance cemented her populartiy even further.
Choi Yoo-jung of Fantiago could also establish her popularity through this performance even further. At first she couldn't convince judges with her initial audition performance with Fantiago trainees receiving a D, but later got recognized as talented in the re-evaluation. As she performed better than some of the A trainees she instantly became popular and the "center" of the first performance "Pick Me" making her a beloved underdog story and because of this surprise her re-evaluation became the most popular among fans. She was also loved as a center. Because of her great stage presence (she had great facial expressions) she remained popular throughout the whole season and eventually was able to debut.
Kim Sohye's audition with Somehow by DIA was perceived as shockingly bad. She got an F for her audition also stating that her specialization was acting. This however made her relatable and cute as she was willing to improve and in fact improved a lot. Everyone loves a good underdog story. Throughout the entire show, she made noticeable improvements and she never gave up. She won the viewers that way. She became popular among the fans. She later also revealed that she never knew what Produce 101 Season 1 was until it all was revealed to her. Despite that she also received a lot of hate because people didn't believe that she belonged in the top 11. Kim Sejeong probably also received a lot of her popularity because of her. She obviously also had a phenomenal audition with the other Jellyfish trainees and she could prove her amazing vocals throughout the entire show for example in her "Let's Be Happy" performance by Zion.T, but her helping Sohye for their "Irony" performance (by Wonder Girls) skyrocketed her popularity.[5] After episode 3 she was seen as an amazing leader as she was able to win with a group of D and F trainees. She was seen as kind hearted and capable in addition to her talent which is why she would be rank one for a couple of weeks. On top of that, she was a contestant on competition show K-pop Star 2 in 2012 where she gained recognition prior to the show.
Another performance which stood out to fans was the "Hot Issue" by 4Minute performance, especially Hwang Soo-yeon (39th) ("OMG the shirt lifting and body role just killed everyone. i was not readyyyy. i love the blond girl she got so much charisma, no wonder she had the most individual votes out of everyone from both hers and the other team."; "My gosh I can't handle that rapper's hotness!!!!!!!")
The DIA members were also instantly talked about in fan spaces. They were heavily criticized for joining because they were probably just there to promote the group.[6] Despite the initial negative reception Chaeyeon managed to debut with I.O.I which is probably also because of her looks while Cathy who got also popular due to her "Rhythm Ta" performane by iKON managed to come in19th place.
DSP's Yoon Chaekyung (16th) was also very popular from the beginning as she began her career as a member of Puretty under DSP in Japan during 2012. The group later disbanded in January 2014. Following the disbandment, she also appeared as a contestant in Kara's reality show in 2014 searching a new member called "Kara Project". Similar to that, MBK's Kim Dani (24th) was also known to fans as was a former member of the girl group T-ara and its sub-unit T-ara N4, however, she never actually debuted with either group.[7]
Kim Ju-na (34th) gained popularity due to her singing abilities which she showcased since the beginning and due to her being the younger half-sister of South Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun, one of the highest-paid actors in South Korea. She ultimately didn't make it into the group, but fans would claim to be okay with it as she has an outstanding voice and they would love to hear her sing ballads and she also wouldn't fit into the group according to fans.
Pledis Nayoung got popular due to her "Stone Buddha" image making her stand out. Han Hyeri got popular because of her general aegyo.
Doyeon was always fairly popular, but managed to cement her populartiy as the "At The Same Place" center, this season's most popular song of the concept evaluation.
Park Soyeon (18th) was in the Top 10 in K-Pop Star in 2012 which made her popular. She gained more popularity as the leader of the infamous "Growl" performance by EXO.
Jeon Soyeon (20th) initially got popularity due to her amazing rapping skills as shown in her audition with the CUBE trainees where she also had to freestyle. She was recognized as one of the best rappers in the show. Her friendship with Somi was also popular. After some time however, she received a lot of comments throughout the show calling her "talented but ugly" to the extent that she agreed to kick herself out of a team.
Fans also claim that this season had the most iconic finale with the performance of "Crush". Fans claim that they were willing to stan 22 girls and that this song is better than the debut and later finale songs as it wasn't separated into two songs. Fans love this stage.
Aftermath and voting manipulation
I.O.I released its debut EP Chrysalis on May 4, 2016. "Dream Girls" gained wide popularity. On August 9, 2016, the sub-unit released a single titled "Whatta Man (Good Man)". This left many fans disappointed as some members were preparing to debut/promote with their respective groups (DIA, Cosmic Girls and gugudan) as it wasn't stated in the contract that they can't. Fans felt sad that not the whole group was present. In later shows it also wouldn't be allowed anymore because of that. The group disbanded on January 29, 2017 after the release of their final single titled "Downpour". After their disbandment fans felt sad especially since their following activities wouldn't be nearly as successful as their days in I.O.I. After IZ*One debuted many fans felt that it was unfair as I.O.I did not get promoted nearly as much as IZ*One and other Produce 101 groups. On top of that, I.O.I had a much shorter lifespan and not nearly as much music, tours and promotions in other markets. Therefore, I.O.I had domestic popularity as a group amongst the general public, but not enough for the gp to keep up with them afterwards which is why a lot of the groups of the girls failed according to fans.[8]
On July 1, 2019, Studio Blu confirmed that the group would return in October 2019 with nine members, excluding Yoo Yeonjung and Somi. On September 6, 2019 the planned comeback was postponed to December. On October 29, 2019 the comeback was canceled due to scheduling conflicts between the members and the ongoing Mnet vote manipulation investigation. On May 4, 2021, the 5th anniversary of the group's debut, the group (except for Mina and Jieqiong) held a reunion livestream. Jieqiong managed to join the livestream via video calling.
Several members of I.O.I resumed activities for their respective agencies:
- Chaeyeon (7th) (alongside label mate Ki Hee-hyun (Cathy, 19th)) returned to DIA for their first EP Happy Ending on June 14, 2016.
- Kim Sejeong (2nd) and Kang Mina (9th) would debut (alongside label mate Kim Na-young (14th)) as members of gugudan on June 28, 2016. The group officially disbanded on December 31, 2020. Kim Sejeong established a successful solo career though while being a sought after actress. Mina also established an acting career having participated in dramas like Hotel del Luna. In 2023 she left Jellyfish Entertainment.
- Yoo Yeonjung (11th) was announced as the newest member of Korean-Chinese girl group Cosmic Girls and released their 2nd EP The Secret on August 17, 2016.
- Zhou Jieqiong (6th) and Lim Nayoung (10th) debuted as part of girl group Pristin alongside fellow label mates Jung Eun-woo (21st), Park Si-yeon (25th), Kang Yae-bin (29th), Kim Min-kyeung (42nd), and Gang Gyeong-won (48th) and released their first EP Hi! Pristin on March 21, 2017 with the lead single "Wee Woo". Pristin officially disbanded on May 24, 2019. Zhou Jieqiong stayed with Pledis Entertainment while making her solo debut in China with the single "Why" on September 6, 2018 and also being a coach on the Chinese show Idol Producer, while Lim Nayoung departed from the label.
- Somi (1st) signed an exclusive contract with JYP Entertainment in January 2017 for solo activities and participated in variety shows like Sister's Slam Dunk. She left JYP in August 2018, and signed with The Black Label in September 2018. She debuted as a soloist on June 13, 2019 with single "Birthday".
- Chungha (4th) appeared in soundtrack Strong Woman Do Bong-soon OST part 5 on March 17, 2017 and solo debuted EP Hands on Me on June 7, 2017 with title track "Why Don't You Know" featuring Nucksal. She left MNH Entertainment after seven years with the company on April 30, 2023.
- Yoojung (3rd) and Doyeon (8th) (with label mates Lee Seo-jung (85th) and Jung Haerim (47th, she also participated in Queendom Puzzle)) debuted with girl group Weki Meki and released their debut EP Weme on August 8, 2017.
- Kim Sohye's (5th) family decided to buy out her contract with RedLine Entertainment, and then set up a new agency, S&P (Shark & Penguin) Entertainment. She also opened a coffee shop, Penguin's Café. Nowadays, she is an actress.
Han Hye-ri (12th), Lee Su-hyun (13th), Kim So-hee (15th), Yoon Chae-kyung (16th), and Lee Hae-in (17th) formed I.B.I, which was known as I.O.I's "sister group" under LOEN Entertainment. They released their first single "MOLAE MOLAE" on August 18, 2016. Sohee and Chaekyung later debuted in the project group C.I.V.A, with Sohee joining Nature on October 8, 2019. The group disbanded in 2023. Chaekyung joined April on November 11, 2016. The group disbanded on January 28, 2022.
Jeon So-yeon (20th) released her debut single "Jelly" under Cube Entertainment on November 5, 2017, participated in the Mnet reality rap competition show Unpretty Rapstar 3 and later debuted with (G)I-DLE under Cube Entertainment on May 2, 2018. She is believed to be the most successful contestant of Produce 101 Season 1.
Kim Si-hyeon (40th) participated in Produce 48 alongside future group mate Wang Yiren and Choi Yena where she placed 27th and later debuted with Everglow under Yuehua Entertainment on March 18, 2019.
Kim Seo-kyoung (30th) debuted with GWSN under Kiwi Pop.
Kim Tae-ha (50th) joined Momoland under MLD Entertainment on April 4, 2017. She left the group on November 30, 2019.
Kim Su-hyun (69th) debuted with Billlie under Mystic Story.
Kwon Eun-bin (35th) officially joined CLC in June 2016. According to Cube Entertainment, Kwon was originally due to debut with CLC in 2015, but her debut was postponed after the release of the group's third EP was delayed. On May 12, CLC opened their V Live channel, this was followed by a live broadcast with the whole group, including Kwon. She began full promotional activities as a member of the group with the release of Nu.Clear in May 2016. CLC's activities were officially ended in May 2022.
Ng Sze Kai (23rd), Park Hae-young (38th), Lim Jeong-min (57th), Kang Si-hyeon (61st), Kim Si-hyeon (69th), and Kim Yun-ji (84th) joined the JTBC and YG Entertainment reality competition show Mix Nine. Lee Soo-min (31st) participated in the sixth and final season of K-pop Star. She also appeared on the JTBC and YG Entertainment reality competition show Mix Nine, where she finished 2nd. She later left the entertainment industry after failing to debut under several companies and is pursuing a university degree instead.
Huh Chanmi would return to her label MLD Entertainment (formerly known as Duble Kick Company) and would go on to be quite unlucky.[9][10] In 2016, her label announced the reality show Finding Momoland to debut Momoland and fans expected her to participate, however many were shocked when the label stated that she would not participate as she is preparing to debut in a vocal group.[11][12] Many fans stated that they feel bad for her. Additionally some speculated whether it is even possible anymore for her to debut in a girlgroup as she is quite old now.[13] In 2016, she debuted in the four-member group High Color. The four-member group joined YG Entertainment's survival show Mix Nine the following year where she recorded a song produced by MC Mong titled "Like a Star" and was eliminated in the 13th episode with her final rank at 20th place. After the show ended, she left High Color. In 2020, Huh Chanmi made her solo debut on July 23, 2020, with the single album "HIGHLIGHT" and its lead single, "Lights." From 2020 to 2021, Chanmi competed on "Miss Trot 2" after releasing a trot album. During the show, she released several songs and ultimately ranked in 11th place. Afterwards, she appeared in variety shows like episode 345 of "The King of Masked Singer" on March 6, 2022. She performed under the alias "New Student" and was ultimately eliminated in the second round of the episode. In February 2023, Huh announced through her SNS account that her contract with FirstOne had expired.
Park Min-ji (71st) participated in Produce 48 where she landed in 53rd place.
Lim Hyo-sun (99th) who left the show due to unknown reasons participated in The Unit where she placed 19th.
In July 2019, during the final episode of the Produce 101 series' fourth season, Produce X 101, several viewers suspected that the total votes were manipulated after noticing numerical patterns. On November 18, 2020, the court revealed the show was manipulated. The trainees Kim Suhyun of Mystic Entertainment (69th) and Seo Hyelin of SS Entertainment (65th) were eliminated in the 1st elimination despite having originally passed. Mnet had changed their ranks/votes to eliminate them. It is neither known what their true rank was supposed to be when they were eliminated nor who got in instead.[14][15]
Produce 101 Season 2
The second season aired on Mnet from April 7, 2017 until June 16, 2017. The difference to the previous season was that male trainees competed. In the final episode, 11 out of the top 20 contestants were chosen to form the show's "project group" through a national fan voting system during which more than 16 million people cast their votes, equivalent to around 30% of South Korea's population. Bigger agencies, including SM, YG, and JYP chose not to send trainees to participate in the second season, merely YG's subsidiary YGKPlus sent four models. BoA was taking on the MC role during this season and would be "acting as a messenger and a representative of the viewers". The contestants appeared for the first time on Episode 514 of M! Countdown on March 9, 2017 performing the EDM theme song "나야나 (Pick Me)". The "center" role was given to Brand New Music's Lee Daehwi. Some participants had previously debuted through NU'EST, JJCC, HOTSHOT and Topp Dogg. Other participants quickly also gained attention from National Producers.
The winners debuted as Wanna One. The public was also able to chose the group's concept, debut song and group name.
Rank | Episode 11 (Total votes) | ||
---|---|---|---|
Name | Votes | Company | |
1 | Kang Daniel | 1,578,837 | MMO Entertainment |
2 | Park Ji Hoon | 1,136,014 | Maroo Entertainment |
3 | Lee Daehwi | 1,102,005 | Brand New Music |
4 | Kim Jae Hwan | 1,051,735 | independent |
5 | Ong Seong Woo | 984,756 | Fantagio |
6 | Park Woo Jin | 937,379 | Brand New Music |
7 | Lai Guan Lin | 905,875 | CUBE |
8 | Yoon Ji Sung | 902,098 | MMO Entertainment |
9 | Hwang Min Hyun | 862,719 | Pledis |
10 | Bae Jin Young | 807,749 | C9 Entertainment |
11 | Ha Sung Woon | 790,302 | Ardor & Able |
Memorable Moments
Fans were very excited for another season especially after the success of I.O.I. Early recognition amongst fans after their first performance received mainly the early center Daehwi, ONO Entertainment's Jang Moon-bok with his long hair (although over time some fans found him quite irritating), Maroo Entertainment's Park Ji-hoon with his wink, Fantagio's Ong Seongwoo, Kang Daniel with his pink hair, Bae Jinyoung (also nicknamed "the grumpy kid" as a popular picture of him started to circulate), Joo Haknyeon, the Chinese trainee Justin and the youngest participant from Media Line Entertainment's Lee Woojin as well as the trainees who previously debuted under different groups.[16] Especially Jihoon managed to steal the spotlight from Deahwi with his wink in the "나야나 (Pick Me)" performance at around 5:04 minutes. He instantly became popular among fans of the show for his wink and cuteness and set a lot of "cute trends" during the show even though he didn't have a lot of screen time.[17] His cute image was perceived by fans as being very unproblematic. After the first episode the "CUBE twins" also got quite popular despite their F ranks because of their cuteness.
NU'EST in contrast was especially in the beginning heartbreaking for fans to watch (it got better since the NU'EST members were quite successful). Fans hated that all of them except for Aron had to participate for the survival of the group and really felt for them. They were coming from the most popular group among the trainees who had previously been idols which is why some fans of the show also claimed that it was unfair for NU'EST to participate since they already had a fanbase and on top of that their own group to fall back on.[18] They received a lot of hate.[19] Fans of NU'EST (called ㄴㅇㅅㅌ (also stylized as LOVE or L.O.Λ.E)) mourned their unsuccessful career despite their good songs blaming it on mismanagement by Pledis. Everyone was shocked that they felt the need to participate. Dance trainer Kahi being formerly part of the Pledis group After School was quite close with NU'EST during their early days which was an open secret amongst fans. She started crying during their first performance in Episode 1.[20] Most fans felt for both parties since the boys were obviously affected as well, but a few fans blamed Kahi for the badly received performance since she affected them so much. They received the grades D except for Minhyun who managed to get a C (which also led to some fans questioning their talent). Most of the fans were also heartbroken over the comments NU'EST made in the interviews during the show stating they wanted to "be like Seventeen". This was especially heartbreaking for fans as they are from the same company (Pledis) and their more successful juniors. Seventeen would later share their affection for NU'EST and Samuel in an interview.[21] After episode 1 it was also clear to fans that Mnet was "evil editing" Dongho. He got the image of a "badboy" even though fans claimed that he was a sweetheart. It didn't sit right with fans. Despite that, Dongho managed to become quite popular among Produce 101 fans while adopting the nickname "Sexy Bandit". His scary tough guy persona made fans worry in the end though if he would mix well with the members if he were to debut. On top of that, fans felt that their first performance was overcriticized (as Dongho's mistake was replayed over and over again) and that they deserved better grades. Jonghyun soon became dubbed as "Angel leader" and "the Nation's leader" by fans, a role he first didn't like since he thought that he failed NU'EST as a leader and felt uncomfortable as a leader.[22] However, he displayed outstanding leadership qualities (called "leader charms" by fans) during the show which made a lot of fans fall in love with him. Even intially in his first class with all Ds he filled the role as a leader for the class. Afterwards, he became consistently the leader for all the challenges he participated in as the trainees trustworthyly voted for him. Through their seemingly infinite trust it seemed like Jonghyun managed to become more confident in his role as a leader again which made fans happy.[23] Fans initially believed that the only reason he didn't make it in the final group was that Mnet showed the pictures on facebook before the voting of who supposedly made it and everyone thought they didn't have to vote for him anymore since he was "safe" especially because he received high rankings during most of the show. Later, fans started to believe rumors that NU'EST needed him as a leader more than Wanna One needed him which is why Pledis asked Mnet for him not to debut with Wanna One. Pledis however stated that they were just as shocked.[24] To support Jonghyun and give him strength post Produce 101 fans ran bus advertisements.[25] He was later spotted leaving post-it notes on his ads.[26] Minhyun got the nickname "nation's CEO" since he consistently managed to create popular teams. It started with the infamous performance of Super Junior's "Sorry Sorry". He got to be the second after Deahwi to create his team afer him. While Daehwi picked all the trainees which were popular at that time (there were articles about them), Minhyun picked a cohesive team which managed to grab the attention of fans even more than Daehwi's self-proclaimed "avengers" team and helped Jonghyun to shine as a leader even more. All the members of his team became really popular among Produce 101 fans and the Sorry Sorry performance is to this day the most popular of this challenge. Fans claimed that Minhyun has an amazing sense for spotting trainees and talent. Minhyun also managed to grab fan's attention because of his looks and his vocals. Minki also managed to get quite popular among Produce 101 fans being called "Lady Gaga's #1 fan". Throughout the show NU'EST therefore became more and more popular and fans started to recognize the talent of the members. Most fans were really bitter that only Minhyun made it[27] and heartbroken when videos started to surface of him crying at the reveal of the votes.[28] At first fans were also claiming that Wanna One doesn't feel right without Jonghyun (who sat on the #1 spot the previous weeks, it was considered a "big plot twist") and that they would stan individually/be a casual fan.[29] Despite that Wanna One developed a huge fandom.
A reoccurring theme during that season is also that the supposed "avengers" teams initially never became the most popular performances among fans. Sorry Sorry was significantly more popular than BTS' Boy in Luv by the "avengers". In the end, the team of Park Wodam with Seventeen's Mansae managed to score the special stage though. Park Wodam's elimination (35th) also angered international fans leading to them claiming that Korean fans would always eliminate talent while keeping trainees only for their looks. After the second challenge fans also talked a lot more about the "Fear" performance as the lyrics (especially Jonghyun's) really touched the fans. Nowadays, the "Get Ugly" performance of the "avengers" team of which the creation was hilarious according to fans is more popular. Probably because almost all of the members managed to debut in Wanna One. At the time the episode first aired "Shape of you" was also more popular than "Get Ugly" as fans claimed it was the more cohesive dance. "Shape of You" ranked highest among all performances. Another performance which stood out to fans was the vocal performance of Blackpink's Playing with fire. In the third challenge the "Never" performance also didn't win the special stage over "Open Up" which consisted largely of trainees who were the "left overs" of their former groups. (Fans were also heartbroken when the final results were revealed as they wanted the whole of the Never team to debut, however Jonghyun didn't debut making him the only exception from that team. Nowadays, Never is also definitely more popular) The only exception to that is the last challenge as most of the trainees who made it into Wanna One also were in the "Hands On Me" team. A lot of international fans though prefered the "Super Hot" performance as it had the better dance with "more character". The trainees managed to include a lot of easter eggs for fans in the choreography and fans thought the dance and song was overall more fun. This team also consisted of a lot of trainees which were "wronged" according to international fans as they were fan favorites of them (e.g. Kim Samuel who international fans loved or Kim Jonghyun who was beloved by everyone).
Daehwi, the early center in the very first performance, was quite the controversial character. While he was very popular in Korea, international fans were unsure about him often calling him overhyped. He was definitely not as popular among them. Many thought he was too competitive always wanting to recreate the popular Bang Bang performance of Season 1 as "avengers" which made him unlikeable in the eyes of some fans (he picked all the popular members during the first challenge which was regarded as an unfair advantage, but others argued that this is indeed the point of the competition and Daehwi was being smart). Others felt that he wasn't pretty enough for the center position. After debuting with Wanna One he became a beloved figure though. During the show it was revealed that Daehwi and Somi of the first season are actually old friends as the two used to be trainees together under JYP Entertainment.[30]
Kim Samuel was also instantly loved by fans as they recognized him from the first three seasons of Seventeen TV which shows the band Seventeen pre-debut in the entertainment industry. He was also a member of the disbanded duo 1Punch. To some however he seemed to desparate and "hogged" a lot of screen time. Still, fans were heartbroken when he didn't debut, but he also definitely had a bigger following internationally than in Korea which could be the reason he didn't make it. Soon fans would start to compare his case to that of Heo Chanmi of season one as they are both quite unlucky. He trained with Seventeen, but didn't make the lineup being called to young, the hip hop duo 1Punch he debuted with got disbanded after eight months, he lost his father at a young age, he missed the debut with Wanna One and would then proceed to sue his company Brave Entertainment and the Brave brothers themselves after his debut under the label which he at least won.
Hotshot's Noh Taehyun (25th) and Ha Sungwoon (11th) received first recognition after their first evaluation performance where they both received rank A showcasing their talents. Especially Taehyun could shine with his krumping. Fans compared them to NU'EST's performance and were quite impressed (and in return even more disappointed by NU'EST. They claimed that this was the performance a veteran idol should strive for while some tried to defend NU'EST by saying that they were very discouraged and insecure because of their lack of achievements as a band). Fans recognized the talent of the two and were saddened because of the lack of success of their band. BTS' Jimin who is friends with Sungwoon (as Sungwoon is part of the friend group which includes the two of them, EXO's Kai, SHINee's Taemin, VIXX' Ravi, Hotshot's Timoteo and a non-celebrity friend callend the "Padding Friends") also asked Army to support him. After the finale, Jimin and Ravi also wrote supportive messages for him.[31] In the end, after only Sungwoon debuted, fans felt like Taehyun got underappreciated as had so much dancing talent as shown in his evaluation performance and through him choreographing the famous "Shape of You" performance.
Toppdogg's Kim Sanggyun (former stage name A-Tom) ranked 26th in the end while JJCC's members got eliminated in episode 5 ranking 78th (Kim Chan-yul) and 85th (Choi Ha-don). While both groups didn't receive nearly as much screen time as the NU'EST or even the Hotshot members, Kim Sanggyun still became decently popular among fans. He was known for his rap skills especially after performing Simon Dominic, G2, BewhY, and One's "Who You" and became later apart fan project group JBJ and afterwards of the duo JBJ95 with Kenta.
Some other trainees had also already been exposed to the spotlight before participating in Produce 101 Season 2 such as Kim Jaehwan (4th) who was part of the second season of Korea's Got Talent, Lee In-soo (57th) who was part of the group A6P and the competition show Boys24, Lee Gwang-hyun (44th) and Kim Tae-dong (30th) appeared on that show as well and Lee Eui-woong (23rd) appeared on Hello Counselor. Others appeared on various other singing shows such as I Can See Your Voice and Superstar K2, however it didn't seem like it was as huge of an advantage as Samuel's to most of them.
Fans were very commited throughout the season going as far as buying subway ads for contestants.[32] The season was a lot more popular than the last (which is probably also thanks to the success of I.O.I). Fans loved the goofiness of the contestants.[33][34] However, the first Pick Me song charted better than this season's.
Other memorable moments during the show include the friendship of Kang Daniel and Lee Woojin (little Woojin). Fans also started to notice a lot of hilarious, but also unfortunate coincidences between the two first seasons, for example the cursed 14th place of Kim Nayoung and Kim Jonghyun or that the center will debut (some of these would even be true to the reast of the Korean produce series).[35][36]
Fans of The Boyz are enraged when being confronted with the show due to feeling that Joo Haknyeon has been wronged. He was initially very popular, despite seemingly lacking skills/screen time. Mnet decided to "evil edit" him, and he was very quickly bombarded with a mass amount of hate like death threats and threats against family members which broke fan's hearts even more since he is a beloved The Boyz' member. At one point a lot of his fans even stopped voting for him so he would get eliminated due to the hate he was getting being too severe. Even after The Boyz had debuted there were still obsessed Haknyeon haters trying to start shit to damage the group with rumors and similar things for the longest time.[37]
Controversies
International fans were quite upset that they couldn't vote again. Oftentimes, their opinion would differ quite drastically from the opinion of Korean fans, but they couldn't do anything about it which frustrated a lot of them. Some even accused the Korean fans of sabotaging the ranking.[38]
Ilgan Sports reported that trainees encountered discrimination, such as level-determined permission to go to the bathroom and eat different meals. Also, there are issues about boys who bullied other students and plagiarism of choreography.
Maroo Entertainment's Han Jong-youn left the show due to a serious bullying and sexual assault scandal. An alleged former classmate accused Han Jong-youn of making him masturbate in front of his friends, forcing him to fight with his friends, and locking him in the cleaning equipment room.[39]
YGKPLUS's Kwon Hyun-bin (22nd) deleted all of his Instagram posts after they were flooded with negative comments. This was in response to the show's fourth episode, in which he was seen as unmotivated and received harsh criticism from the trainers for a lack of practice (which NU'EST's Jonghyun took responsibility for as he was the Sorry Sorry team's leader), but despite this his team won the live performance battle and he received the highest score out of both teams.[40]
Vibe Label's Ha Min-ho allegedly tried to engage in sexual relationships with minors. Screenshots of Instagram and Facebook conversations between him and minor fans were posted online, and he was also accused of sexually harassing and bullying an ex-girlfriend in middle school. After discussion with Mnet, he left the show and canceled his contract with his label.[41]
In the concept song round of the show, four contestants were accused of cheating by trying to manipulate a vote to determine which song they would perform. Mnet decided to penalize the trainees that failed to follow the rules by banning them from choosing the songs in question. Kang Daniel (1st) reportedly indicated which song he preferred by altering the number of cat emojis in his Instagram biography at the request of a fanpost on a community site[42]. Kim Dong-bin's (58th) father asked his fanclub's president to promote "Never" or "Open Up" as the concept song for him. Lim Young-min's (15th) brother had asked his friend to inform the fans in the chatroom that Lim wanted the songs "Never" and "Oh Little Girl" for his concept song. As this incident was not caught until after the recording of concept evaluation, Lim was penalized with a different penalty during the following evaluation.[43] Lee Ki-won (53rd) was accused of hinting at his song preference by posting on Instagram which led to him being banned from social media until the show was over.
Jeong Joong Ji (64th) took his won life on September 9, 2022, just 4 days after his 30th birthday.[44] Fans blamed his company for making up a fake sexual harassment story in 2017. After he fought back and said that it was indeed made up by the company nobody believed him. He claimed that the company ruined his life with their "noise marketing" strategy. The company said that he is lying.[45][46]
Lee Jihan (98th) passed away due to the Itaewon Tragedy on October 29-30, 2022.[47]
Voting Manipulation
Director Ahn Joonyoung admitted during questioning of the police investigation in 2019 to also having swapped rankings for two trainees from Produce 101 Season 2 in addition to his other manipulations, all of whom had originally passed the specific elimination. After Ahn Joonyoung admitted the first two seasons of the show were rigged, an image that Mnet had posted on their official Facebook account coinciding with the finale of Produce 101 Season 2 went viral. The image had originally included Kang Dong-ho, Samuel Kim, and Kim Jong-hyun as the winners of the show instead of Yoon Ji-sung, Kim Jae-hwan and Ha Sung-woon, but Mnet had stated it was a mistake and deleted it shortly after posting it. The court commented, “The harmed trainees being revealed through a fair criminal trial can be the starting point towards them receiving true compensation for damages.” It was revealed that Seong Hyunwoo wasn't supposed to be eliminated in the first round. Kang Dongho wasn't supposed to be eliminated in the final round. The benefitting trainees were not revealed due to them not knowing the manipulation was happening and it causing unnecessary harm to them.
Fans believe to this day that not everything was revealed and that more trainees were "rigged out", for example Jonghyun and Samuel.[48]
Aftermath
Wanna One debuted on August 7, 2017, became hugely successful (the group was also chosen as Best K-pop Artist of 2017) and disbanded on January 27, 2019 after a 4-day final concert at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. Despite knowing that the band would disband fans were still heartbroken. Some even tried to have them stay together. The band reunited in a reunion stage at the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards except for Lai Guanlin on on December 11, 2021 which made fans very happy and nostalgic. Ha Sungwoon later debuted as solo artist after the disbandment of Hotshot. Minhyun returned to NU'EST for the release their sixth EP in April 2019. NU'EST disbanded on March 15, 2022 as well to mark the group's 10-year anniversary turning Minhyun into a solo artist. Ong Seongwoo and Park Jihoon both became actors as well as solo artists. Lai Kuanlin as well. Woojin and Daehwi debuted on May 22, 2019 as AB6IX alongside fellow trainees Youngmin (15th, he later had to leave the band following his DUI) and Donghyun (28th) of Brand New Music. Bae Jinyoung debuted on July 23, 2019 with the group CIX. Jisung also debuted as solo artist before enlisting into the military. Jaehwan also became a solo artist. Daniel also became an actor and solo artist while establishing his own company. He also had a dating scandal with Twice's Jihyo.
JBJ was formed by fans of the show and debuted on October 18, 2017 with six members: Kim Yong-guk (21st, later solo artist), Kwon Hyun-bin (22nd, later solo artist), Kenta Takada (24th, later duo with Kim Sang-gyun, JBJ95), Noh Tae-hyun (25th, later solo artist after the disbandment of Hotshot), Kim Sang-gyun (26th, later duo with Kenta, JBJ95), Kim Dong-han (29th, later solo artist and member of the group WEi). The band disbanded on April 30, 2018. As they were made up of fairly popular members the group received a huge amount of recognition and received a music show win. Their fans loved them dearly.[49] Kim Yongguk later got into a controversy though which made many despise him.[50] Noh Tae-hyun later participated in the South Korean dance competition show Street Man Fighter (Korean: 스트릿 맨 파이터), the second season of the Street Woman Fighter franchise which revolved around eight male dance crews fighting for the position of Korea's best male dance crew to represent street dance in the country, as part of the team Mbitious along former INFINITE member Hoya where his crew came third.[51] Fans are saddened as they feel like he is underappreciated.[52]
NU'EST formed sub-unit Nu'est W (W as in "waiting for Minhyun") and became highly successful. They had revived their career. After Minhyun's return the band found even more success. In the end NU'EST disbanded on March 15, 2022 to mark the group's 10-year anniversary. Fans were very saddened by the disbandment of the group especially after their recent success.
Rainz was formed by 7 eliminated trainees and released their EP Sunshine on October 12, 2017. They actively promoted for over a year and disbanded on October 28, 2018. Rainz however never got as popular as JBJ which made fans quite sad.
FNC Entertainment's Yoo Hoe-seung (39th) joined N.Flying.
RBW's Lee Keon-hee (33rd), Yeo Hwan-ung (41st) and Lee Gun-min (94th) (after changing his name to Lee Seo-Ho) debuted as a members of ONEUS on January 9, 2019 with a release of their EP "LIGHT US" and went on to be quite successful.
Kim Samuel became a solo artist.
Produce 48
The third season aired on Mnet from June 15, 2018 until August 31, 2018. The all-girl season's contestants were a mix of Korean trainees and Japanese members of the J-Pop group AKB48 as it was a collaboration of Mnet and the J-Pop band. Another difference was that there were only 96 trainees competing, but 12 trainees would debut in the temporary group which would promote for two and a half years. The 12 winners debuted as Iz*One. Only Korean citizens were allowed to vote on the show, which made many fans of the Japanese contestants upset.
F.T. Island's Hongki saving the program
Rank | Episode 12 (Total votes) | ||
---|---|---|---|
Name | Votes | Company | |
1 | Jang Won-young | 338,366 | Starship |
2 | Sakura Miyawaki | 316,105 | HKT48 |
3 | Jo Yu-ri | 294,734 | Stone Music |
4 | Choi Ye-na | 285,385 | Yuehua |
5 | Ahn Yu-jin | 280,487 | Starship |
6 | Nako Yabuki | 261,788 | HKT48 |
7 | Kwon Eun-bi | 250,212 | Woollim |
8 | Kang Hye-won | 248,432 | 8D Entertainment |
9 | Hitomi Honda | 240,418 | AKB48 |
10 | Kim Chae-won | 238,192 | Woollim |
11 | Kim Min-ju | 227,061 | Urban Works Media |
12 | Lee Chae-yeon | 221,273 | WM Entertainment |
Produce X
Male contestants competed. The winners were due to debut as X1 (Band). However, the group disbanded before releasing any music after it was uncovered that the votes had been manipulated.
Rank | Episode 12 (Total votes) | ||
---|---|---|---|
Name | Votes | Company | |
1 | Kim Yo-han | 1,334,011 | OUI Entertainment |
2 | Kim Woo-seok | 1,304,033 | TOP Media |
3 | Han Seung-woo | 1,079,200 | Plan A Entertainment |
4 | Song Hyeong-jun | 1,049,222 | Starship |
5 | Cho Seung-youn | 929,311 | Yuehua |
6 | Son Dong-pyo | 824,389 | DSP Media |
7 | Lee Han-gyul | 794,411 | MBK Entertainment |
8 | Nam Do-hyon | 764,433 | MBK Entertainment |
9 | Cha Jun-ho | 756,939 | Woollim |
10 | Kang Min-hee | 749,444 | Starship |
X | Lee Eun-sang | 689,489 | Brand New Music |
Chuang franchise
Idol Producer
Idol Producer
Idol Producer (simplified Chinese: 偶像练习生; traditional Chinese: 偶像練習生), is a 2018 Chinese reality boy group survival show, which premiered on January 19, 2018, on iQIYI and was presented by Lay Zhang of EXO.[53] The program boasted some of the biggest names in Chinese entertainment among its judges/mentors, including two Chinese-born K-Pop stars, Jackson Wang of Got7 and Zhou Jieqiong (Kulkyung) of I.O.I/Pristin.
The show was seemingly heavily inspired by Produce 101, but not part of the franchise, which caused plagiarism accusations:[54][55] The show took 100 trainees from 87 entertainment agencies all over Asia, which represented their companies and 8 of whom were independent trainees. The trainees were evaluated multiple times throughout the show by the audience's votes with trainees being eliminated (even the voting system was similar to the one of Produce 101). In the final episode, the nine most-voted-on trainees got to debut as a boy group and were set to promote for 18 months. The group that debuted was called Nine Percent. On top of that, the show also had a theme song that the trainees would perform as first mission called "Ei Ei" which reminded people of the Produce 101 songs as it looks and sounds the same (it hinges on the line: “Hey You, Hey You, Hey, Pick Me, Ei Ei.”).
A lot of these issues were raised before the show even premiered. Mnet made a statement about the plagiarism: "iQiyi’s show Idol Producer closely resembles Produce 101 in ideology, composition, system, visual design and more. It caused a lot of misunderstanding and speculations among the Produce 101 fans and viewers. With this in mind, Mnet did not take part in producing iQiyi’s Idol Producer in any way. We are making it clear that we didn’t cooperate in any form. At the same time, we are saddened by the fact that Mnet’s intellectual property rights have been infringed."[56] The Format Recognition and Protection Association revealed results of its comparative analysis of Idol Producer and Produce 101. The analysis concluded that the Chinese show scored 88% on FRAPA's scale of infringement when compared with the Korean show – it was the highest score ever recorded for an alleged infringement.[57]
Some fans were actually shocked that the show wasn't part of the franchise as it was so similar to the original and also because especially Zhou Jieqiong of the first season of Produce 101, but also Lay were part of the cast. Nevertheless, fans loved the show especially because there wasn't much "evil editing" and was overall a more wholesome show ("Nothing could ever come close to Idol Producer’s impact. The show had minimal evil editing and good trainee-mentor relationships. You could see both the struggles and the breakthroughs of numerous trainees and almost everyone had screen time."[58] "Idol Producer was honestly amazing in terms of talent, stages, and friendships. Lay was a fantastic MC, I adore Jackson from GOT7, there was a big emphasis on dance but also there were phenomenal singing performances because You Zhangjing is an amazing singer. Highly recommend!"[59]) Fans claimed it was compelling to watch, some even calling it the most fun trainee survival show they have ever watched.[60] During its run, the idol trainees received over 100 million votes, as fans attended the show’s live concerts and bought sponsored items in order to support their favorite participants.[61] The first place Cai Xukun received 47.64 million votes by the show’s finale. Other fans however didn't care for the wholesomeness/the trainees and couldn't connect with the Chinese program as they covered a lot of Chinese songs which they didn't know and always felt like the stages of the show were somehow lacking. The censoring also turned some fans off. Others claimed that those trainees are the first Chinese trainees they are invested in.
Fans loved the show creating a lot of edits like "Idol Producer in A Nutshell.", "Idol Producer is weird." and "idol producer moments that make me laugh" where they would lovingly put their favorite moments of the show together. Lay who was initially remarked for his scrutiny and strictness towards the contestants would soon be seen having a good trainee-mentor relationship[62][63] with the trainees which fans loved. They also loved his relationship with Jackson. He would also become one of the memes of the show ("Balance")[64]. Jackson himself was also beloved for his funny relationship with fellow rapper MC Jin.[65][66] Fan favorite Cai Xukun (1st) would also become a meme with his audition as he performed a self-composed song with cringey lyrics ("My baby girl you already know if you call me baby I will come so fast if you need me baby I will be your side [...]") after stating that he wrote the song when he was in a dark place (Lay answered that he could tell that he was in a dark place which was hilarious to fans). It didn't take away from his popularity though as he was already known to the public beforehand and everyone seemed to think that he is hot. Dong Yanlei's (37th) audition was also hilarious to fans. Fans also recognized Justin (4th, Huang Minghao) who had participated in Produce 101 Season 2 for Yuehua Entertainment at the age of 15. His notable stages include "Replay" and "Shape of You", with him taking the center position on the stage of "Replay". He was eventually eliminated on episode 8 placing 43rd. He would end up debuting in Nine Percent. Zhu Zhengting (6th) shared the same fate. He is currently the leader and main dancer of Yuehua's NEXT in which Justin also is a member and Bi Wenjun (10th). Xiao Gui's (8th, Lil Ghost) audition[67] also gained wide recognition as he participated in the iQIYI Hip-Hop music audition show "The Rap of China" in 2017, won the top 70 in the country, and officially entered the entertainment industry. Throughout the show he was perceived as one of the best rappers of the show. The other trainees which debuted in Nine Percent were Chen Linong (2nd), Fan Chengcheng (3rd), Lin Yanjun (5th), Wang Ziyi (7th) and You Zhangjing (9th, Azora Chin). Qian Zhenghao (11th, Jefferson) was also known to the public as he participated in China's New Voice Generation Season 2 in 2014 at the age of 13. His first performance was a cover of "City of Stars", receiving a "B" in ranking evaluation and impressing the judges with his vocal skills. The trainees of Qin's Entertainment[68] (aka BC221) also gained attention, especially Bu Fan (12th), because of their reactions being hilarious and relatable in episode 1. Bu Fan would go on to be loved by fans for being hilarious and unbothered.[69][70] Jeffrey Tung (17th) also managed to gain recognition despite not revealing that he is the nephew of Jackie Chan.[71] There were also former The Legend, 24K and M4M members participating. Some trainees had to leave due to controversy.
Nine Percent debuted on April 6, 2018 with "Rule Breaker" and was hugely popular during the band's 18 months of promotions. Their first album To the Nines earned more than 10 million RMB in China alone. In August and October 2018, many netizens criticized iQIYI for failing to provide more opportunities for the group. The lack of group performances, as well as the members' tendency to work on their own, led fans to suspect that the group Nine Percent might exist in name only. Although they were incredibly popular in China, the total number of days they worked as a group calculated by fans was only about 60.[72] Most fans blamed the company for mishandling the group's activities. The group "disappeared" after promoting one album and practically didn't promote for one year. Others claimed that it was hard to promote them in the first place as solo stan culture is very prominent in China and group fans are kind of rare which is why solo activities are to be expected. And the reason why not so many groups can perform as a group and could only go to variety shows is that there is almost no music show in china except for "Idol Hits" (which doesn't exist anymore). Fans were devastated after the disbandment of the band on October 6, 2019. Everyone was shocked about the early disbandment, especially since they basically had done nothing as a group. The group held a farewell concert on October 12, 2019 called Limited Memories.[73] After the split, the band’s former members posted a group selfie on Weibo with the text “Forever?,” while the group’s official Weibo account posted a “graduation photo.” Many fans took to Weibo to post tributes to their beloved boy band and express sorrow over the breakup.[74] Nowadays, most members of the group are fairly popular in China.
Cai Xukun, the most popular trainee of the season who ranked 1st and would go on being the MC of Youth With You Season 2 would also become one of the most controversial characters of the show. On February 10, 2017, Kun filed a lawsuit against his then-company, Shanghai Yihai Entertainment, for poor treatment and the right to terminate his contract. Yihai responded with filing another case in March 2018 to countersue him for breach of contract soon after the broadcast of Idol Producer. In October 2018, the Court of First Instance rendered a decision favouring Kun, prompting Yihai to submit an appeal. In January 2019, a second trial was held. The court didn't announce the verdict until February, with the final ruling issued on February 19, 2019. iQiyi released an exclusive report stating that the two-year dispute between Kun and Yihai has finally been settled, with Kun winning the case, hence being free from his contract. On January 18, 2019, the NBA announced that Kun would be their first Chinese New Year greeting ambassador and released a holiday commercial featuring him as a basketball fan alongside three NBA star players which led to subsequent rumours, including a false claim that Kun was appointed the Ambassador of the NBA. This enraged a lot of people who are dubious about his celebrity status. He is a young celebrity, his singing and dancing skills are dubious in many people’s eyes, he has a band of fanatic followers and always took the spotlight, thus he represents what many Chinese think is wrong with the celebrity. Such shitposts are so hilarious people joined in and started a festival of editing such clip and making fun of Cai. Parody videos based on an earlier basketball clip from Kun's time on Idol Producer circulated in response while his song Just Because You are Beautiful (只因你太美) with lyrics the same lyrics plays in the background, but he sang “只因 (zhǐ yīn)” too fast that everyone mistakens it as “鸡(jī)”(chicken) which is why it sounds like ‘chicken you are so beautiful’ creating the meme.[75][76][77] Most videos of the shitpost festival were originally posted on the Chinese video website Bilibili, to which Kun's Studio subsequently issued a legal notice to facilitate the possibility of legal recourse against the creators of the videos, arguing that they amounted to harassment, defamation and an infringement of Kun's rights. However, the legal threat escalated the controversy; the seriousness in the response spurred further memes and shitposts such as ‘warning, lawsuit submitted(律师函警告)’ and further shitpost creation and real-life enactments; "to issue a legal notice" quickly became a popular internet meme on Chinese social media sites. On June 26, 2023, a user on Baidu alleged that Kun had sexual intercourse in 2021 with an adolescent female called "Ms. C".[78] She reportedly aborted their baby several months later, with Kun paying her 500,000 Yuan (approximately 70,000 USD) in compensation. The same user also accused Kun's mother of hiring a private detective to stalk Ms. C for fear of her blackmailing Kun, and the matter was settled only after Ms. C found out and called the police. Following the leak, Kun's videos were removed from China Central Television's streaming platform. On July 3, 2023, Kun posted a message on Weibo, stating that the relationship was between two consensual adults and that the abortion was voluntary. He then apologised to fans and the public, and promised to practice self-discipline in the future. On the same day of the statement, Kun was accused of sleeping with a fan when she was still 17. He denied the allegation and lodged a police report. His lawyers said they would hold slanderers accountable. The fan, whose photograph with Cai had been circulating online, later stated that the rumours were false and spread by paparazzi, which used "fake" information despite her objections.[79] Online discussions in China have drawn heated comparisons between the Cai controversy and another scandal involving Chinese-Canadian superstar Kris Wu, who was sentenced to 13 years in jail last year after being found guilty of date rape. His popularity dropped over night. His first performance of the self-composed song in Idol Producer also didn't sit right with fans anymore.[80]
Youth With You
Originally called Idol Producer Season 2 before filming, the show changed its name to Youth With You (Chinese: 青春有你), also known by its Chinese title Qīng Chūn Yǒu Nǐ or simply QCYN, but kept the same producers, competition and voting system. It was therefore the second edition of the 2018 male competition show Idol Producer, and the first edition of the survival show Youth With You. Youth With You would go on to have 3 seasons airing in 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively. The first season of Youth With You was still presented by Lay Zhang of EXO, with Seventeen's The8 (Xu Minghao) and others serving as the coaches.[81] On April 6, 2019, the final nine contestants debuted as the boygroup UNINE. UNINE shared the same controversy of no promotions as Nine Percent. The second season of Youth With You featured female trainees. The show was presented by Cai Xukun, the winner of the first Idol Producer season, with Blackpink's Lisa (Lalisa Manoban), Jony J and Ella Chen of the Taiwanese girlgroup S.H.E serving as the mentors. Lisa became soon known as a tough mentor which was widely discussed among fans as some believed that she is too strict while most people argued that it is the right amount as a mentor. The Top 9 trainees with the most votes in the final episode debuted in the Chinese girl group THE9. Lisa would return as dance mentor for season 3. The boygroup IXFORM formed in season 3 officially debuted on 25 July 2021.
Chuang Series China
Produce 101 China
Produce 101 China was a Chinese spinoff of the show that aired in 2018. The show featured female contestants and the winners debuted as Rocket Girls 101. Wang Yibo was one of the mentors. Lelush, a Russian contestant, became a short-lived internet phenomenon because he so clearly did not want to be on the show.
Soon after Idol Producer, iQiyi’s competitor Tencent released a similar idol show, “Produce 101,” bearing the same title as its Korean counterpart. The show was a massive success, even beyond what was experienced by “Idol Producer.” It totaled 4.3 billion views and received over 90 million mentions on the popular Chinese social media platform Weibo. To this day, it is still one of the most watched shows on Chinese television.
Produce Camp 2019
Tao
Produce Camp 2020
Tao, Luhan, Victoria,[82] Kris Wu
At the time, fans and especially EXO-Ls were overjoyed as the whole EXO lawsuit line was together again. As they didn't think they would see them together again fans were yearning for interactions. Victoria of f(x) is also a former SM Entertainment idol which is why the former EXO members also knew her creating cute interactions. Fans loved the dynamics creating a lot of video compilations. Nowadays, the series is overshadowed by Kris Wu's rape allegations. In 2021, after rape allegations emerged on the Chinese social media, Wu was investigated by the Chinese authorities. He was subsequently sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment for forcing three intoxicated women to have sex with him on November 25, 2022, by the Chinese courts, and was separately fined CN¥600 million (US$84 million) fine for tax evasion. In November 2023, he lost an appeal of the rape trial.
Tao x Luhan moments all three[83] Tao and Victoria
Produce Camp 2021
Amber Liu, Jackson as guest mentor
Chinese Bans on Idol Shows
The success of the idol industry met its first hiccup with censorship. If one looks closely at the ears of certain trainees throughout “Idol Producer,” they will see blurred orbs over the trainee’s earlobes, an editing technique typically reserved for the profane. It seems that China’s conservative media regulator—the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television of the People’s Republic of China—took issue with the use of earrings by men, and mandated action post-production. Only a year later, in 2019, fans of iQiyi’s show “Youth With You” found an episode’s release delayed with no explanation besides the supposed implementation of “better stage effects.” When the episode was eventually released, all contestants with dyed hair were either cut out or were edited to have black hair. The production crew made no acknowledgement of these changes. This practice of editing dyed hair occurred before in 2017, but the decision in 2019 was still sudden and seemingly isolated to “Youth With You.” Both moves seem consistent with the CCP’s attempts to construct an ideal image of its men, related to their own conceptions of masculinity. Censorship increased, and in 2021, the Chinese government completely banned “niang pao,” an insulting slang word for effeminate men. Cai Xukun, winner of “Idol Producer,” was one of the individuals specifically given as an example of the look. Idol survival shows took another hit in 2021 as China cracked down on fan behavior. In August, the National Radio and Television Administration launched a review of variety shows, promising reforms including “strictly restraining idol trainee shows.” The programs had become infamous for some of the irrational behavior of its “super fans.” Large fan clubs operate like for-profit companies, generating publicity, taking photos, and paying for subway advertisements in order to support their favorite trainees. One of the most important tasks of these groups is sourcing funds to buy extra votes. These extra votes come with the purchase of goods from sponsors, often leading to waste. The third season of “Youth With You” was canceled halfway through at the request of the government after videos of individuals pouring out yogurt drinks into street gutters went viral. The cartons came with QR codes for consumers to support their favorite idol trainees, but when fan bases bought the drinks in bulk for the sole purpose of buying votes, the perishable items went to waste quickly. Waste is not the only harmful manifestation of this powerful teen love. Accounts dedicated to idol trainees sometimes began controversy for the sole purpose of gaining social media traction for the idol. Considering the importance of social media control for the CCP’s agenda, the purposeful instigation of controversial discourse was an especially important factor in its crackdown. Hacking was not an uncommon practice. Fights were frequent among different fan groups and even within them. The very format of the shows manipulated young girls for profit. By the end of filming “CHAUNG 2021,” over 100 million yuan had been spent supporting the top eleven trainees. The Chinese government condemned the programs for neglecting their social responsibility, and advocating inclinations such as “money worship, hedonism, quick success, and instant benefits.” The idol era was forced to meet its end.[87]
Chuang Asia Series
Chuang Asia: Thailand (2024)[91]
Jackson, Ten of NCT
Japan
Produce 101 Japan
Produce 101 Japan was a Japanese spinoff of the show. Notable is that the winners debuted as a permanent group, JO1 ,rather than a temporary one. It featured all-male contestants.
all individual trainees, no company push for anyone
Produce 101 Japan Season 2
Rino Nakasone
Produce 101 Japan: The Girls
Hongki[93] in Season 3
Fan regret over disbandment + groups on hold
Selection controversy
It was later revealed that the voting was tampered with by the companies.
Fans believe that more trainees were rigged out than revealed (Jonghyun, Samuel, Japanese trainees)
Fandom examples
- Produce 101 on Ao3
- Produce 101(China) which has majority Chinese Language fic
Fannish Resources
External links
Spinoffs
The format was so successful that other reality shows have become popular, such as Idol Producer, Youth With You, MixNine, etc
References
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/45uh8b/twice_react_to_somi_in_produce_101/
- ^ https://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/304590/20220208/female-idol-who-became-snsd-recalls-members-react-debut-another.htm
- ^ https://www.koreaboo.com/news/netizens-react-to-this-chanmi-revealing-she-could-have-been-in-girls-generation/
- ^ https://www.allkpop.com/article/2020/08/huh-chanmi-addresses-evil-editing-claims-on-produce-101
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN5bxQMd_oo ([Produce 101] Kind Teacher Se Jeong (Focused Training for Trainee Kim So Hye) EP.03 20160205)
- ^ https://www.koreaboo.com/article/netizens-criticize-dia-members-for-joining-produce-101/
- ^ https://www.allkpop.com/article/2013/07/dani-to-take-ahreums-place-in-t-ara-n4
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/kpophelp/comments/w1jtua/why_did_the_post_izone_groups_hit_it_big_but_the/
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_O5ysJNXLI (The Tragic Career of Chanmi | KPOP's Unluckiest idols #1)
- ^ https://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/305581/20220323/huh-chanmi-activities-former-produce-101-contestant.htm
- ^ https://www.allkpop.com/article/2016/07/heo-chan-mi-of-produce-101-to-skip-out-on-survival-search-for-momoland
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/4tkcig/chanmi_will_not_participate_in_mnets_finding/
- ^ http://netizenbuzz.blogspot.com/2016/09/chanmi-shows-her-support-for-momoland.html
- ^ https://www.soompi.com/article/1438578wpp/court-reveals-produce-101-series-contestants-who-were-eliminated-due-to-voting-manipulation
- ^ https://www.koreaboo.com/news/court-reveals-12-produce-101-series-trainees-unfairly-eliminated-ahn-joon-youngs-manipulation/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/5yfjdx/produce_101_pick_me_%EB%82%98%EC%95%BC_%EB%82%98_mnet_m_countdown_170309/
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9tpXNu0tfk ([KOCOWA-MADE] "I’ll save you in my heart!" (WannaOne, SNSD, SuperJunior))
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/Broduce101/comments/6frva4/why_are_people_salty_on_having_34_of_nuest_in_the/
- ^ https://wartortlekjh.wordpress.com/2017/06/02/pann-the-most-goosebump-inducing-thing-about-pledis-evidence-that-its-not-resale-official-news-article/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/641hsx/kahi_cries_seeing_nuest_come_out_on_produce_101/
- ^ https://www.soompi.com/article/995745wpp/seventeen-talks-seeing-nuest-samuel-kim-produce-101-season-2
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w60-p5jf8Vs ([ENG SUB] Produce 101 Angel Leader Kim Jonghyun | 프로듀스2 천사 리더 김종현)
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/gg9mkr/jr_nuest_i_am_a_leader/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/Broduce101/comments/6icire/article_pledis_felt_shocked_when_jonghyun_failed/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/Broduce101/comments/6jogf0/jonghyuns_post101_bus_advertisements_are_running/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/Broduce101/comments/6eg3pj/kim_jong_hyun_spotted_leaving_postit_notes_on_his/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/Broduce101/comments/6ho1fk/comment/dizv8pd/
- ^ https://twitter.com/taeckenbytaec/status/875777785649782784
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/Broduce101/comments/6ho1ok/now_that_we_know_the_final_lineup_will_you_stan/
- ^ https://www.koreaboo.com/news/somi-revealed-deleted-pre-debut-pictures-produce-101s-daehwi/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/Broduce101/comments/6how1a/btss_jimin_and_vixxs_ravi_write_sweet_supportive/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/Broduce101/comments/6ebxsl/subway_ad_for_kim_sanggyun_is_now_up/
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NdZxeUEDiw (My Favoitre Produce 101 Season 2 moments [ep 0-11])
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30tTD_dGQHI (PRODUCE 101 SEASON 2 ON CRACK)
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/Broduce101/comments/6hut13/hilarious_and_unfortunate_coincidences_for/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/BroduceX101/comments/cg7mw4/coincidences_that_have_been_kept_and_broken_in/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/comments/u6teg9/i_will_never_forgive_mnetpd101_for_what_they_did/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/Broduce101/comments/6czi1l/get_ugly_ranking_sabotage/
- ^ https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=076&aid=0003064408
- ^ https://www.insight.co.kr/newsRead.php?ArtNo=103555
- ^ https://www.allkpop.com/article/2017/05/ha-min-ho-leaves-produce-101-and-ends-contract-with-current-label
- ^ https://www.allkpop.com/article/2017/05/produce-101s-rank-5-kang-daniel-accused-of-foul-play-apologizes-for-his-actions/
- ^ https://www.allkpop.com/article/2017/05/produce-101s-lim-young-min-accused-of-cheating-and-breaking-no-spoiler-rules
- ^ https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/09/produce-101-contestant-jung-joong-ji-takes-his-own-life
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/Broduce101/comments/6kuran/trainee_jeong_joong_ji_says_sexual_harassment/
- ^ https://www.allkpop.com/article/2017/07/wayz-company-says-jeong-joong-ji-is-lying-about-the-label-making-up-sexual-harassment-story-will-be-taking-legal-action
- ^ https://www.koreaboo.com/news/produce-101-season-2-contestant-lee-ji-han-passed-away-itaewon-tragedy/
- ^ https://metro.co.uk/2019/12/06/nuests-jr-dropped-wanna-one-line-x1-izone-members-pre-decided-produce-101-11280783/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/comments/rw85j4/jbj_a_beautiful_unprecedented_destiny/
- ^ https://www.allkpop.com/article/2018/11/more-controversy-surrounding-kim-yong-guk-surfaces-including-derogatory-comments-about-jbj-promotions
- ^ https://www.soompi.com/article/1534308wpp/former-infinite-member-lee-ho-won-and-former-hotshot-member-roh-tae-hyun-named-to-street-man-fighter-project-dance-crew-mbitious
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/StreetWomanFighter/comments/vsn744/noh_tae_hyuns_journey/
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20180106174224/http://chinachristiandaily.com/2017-12-21/culture/-exo-s-lay-takes-on-mc-role-in-chinese-survival-program--idol-producer-_6533.html
- ^ https://www.koreaboo.com/stories/chinas-new-trainee-idol-show-looks-exactly-like-produce-101/
- ^ https://www.koreaboo.com/stories/chinas-ripoff-of-produce101-even-their-trainees-are-copying-korean-trainees/
- ^ https://www.koreaboo.com/news/mnet-explains-stance-chinese-survival-show-plagiarized-produce-101/
- ^ https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/frapa-cj-allegation-copyright-infringement-china-1202746943/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/qcyn3/comments/ndlui8/i_just_rewatched_idol_producer_and_realized_how/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/qcyn2/comments/gmf9kr/is_idol_producer_or_youth_with_you_1_worth/
- ^ https://watchmendailyjournal.com/2018/02/14/overlooking-idol-producer-controversies/
- ^ https://hir.harvard.edu/the-politics-of-the-chinese-idol-industry/
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDk8tQR7tk4 (lay teasing his hoobaes on idol producer for 3 minutes straight)
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DWwkg98z7Y ([Eng Sub] Yixing's Dancing Intimidates Trainees - 180401 Idol Producer bts LAY)
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1_B-hUvJGw ([Eng Sub] Yixing on Balance - Idol Producer Ep 1 Behind the Scene Yixing Cut)
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s27w4j7vmLU ([ENG] 180108 Idol Producer: Jackson & his friends?)
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw_SpOAq-24 ([ENG] 180112 Idol Producer Preview - Jackson and MC Jin Teach Each Other Chinese)
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2_vkPJ00rI (Idol Producer Individual Showcase: Xiao Gui demostrates his dancing & rapping skills)
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=braOqzS2YEU (iQiyi Idol Producer Ep.01 BC221 Cut)
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHCB1DwBZRk (Bu Fan (Idol Producer) Funny Moments)
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ew8ySWY9Ag (bu fan being unbothered for a minute and a half)
- ^ https://www.jaynestars.com/news/jackie-chans-nephew-hid-their-relationship-during-idol-producer/
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5HbEkOUf54 (NINE PERCENT: The Group That Deserved More)
- ^ https://38jiejie.com/2019/08/27/nine-percent-disbandment-and-farewell-concert-confirmed-for-october/
- ^ https://radii.co/article/major-boy-band-nine-percent-is-no-more-and-fans-are-crying-like-rainfall
- ^ https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2023/03/words-of-the-week-chicken-you-are-so-beautiful-%E9%B8%A1%E4%BD%A0%E5%A4%AA%E7%BE%8E-ji-ni-tai-mei/
- ^ https://www.quora.com/Why-is-chicken-you-too-beautiful-%E9%B8%A1%E4%BD%A0%E5%A4%AA%E7%BE%8E-so-popular-in-China-recently
- ^ https://cubegraph.xlog.page/cai-xu-kun
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muAzdJ-EU9U (China’s Top Idol Disappeared After AB*RTION Scandal)
- ^ https://mothership.sg/2023/07/cai-xukun-allegations-forced-abortion/
- ^ https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2023/07/07/no-forced-abortion-chinese-pop-idol-cai-xukun-insists-fling-with-fan-was-proper-relationship-denies-girl-was-a-minor-at-the-time
- ^ https://www.hellokpop.com/news/seventeen-the8-exo-lay-idol-producer/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/gc6270/produce_camp_2020_with_fx_victoria_former_exo/
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/gkyx61/produce_camp_2020_kris_luhan_tao_exexo_recall/
- ^ https://www.vice.com/en/article/4avv33/chinese-pop-idol-contest-milk-vote-youth-with-you
- ^ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/31/pop-star-kris-wu-detained-on-suspicion-of
- ^ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/02/china-bans-reality-talent-shows-to-curb-behaviours-of-idol-fandoms
- ^ https://hir.harvard.edu/the-politics-of-the-chinese-idol-industry/
- ^ https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202109/1233741.shtml
- ^ https://www.asiaone.com/entertainment/bye-dyed-hair-hello-volunteer-work-chinas-idol-producer-2-heralds-new-era-socially
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh2RIQmwtQ4
- ^ https://www.nme.com/en_asia/news/tv/jackson-wang-lead-mentor-chuang-asia-thailand-3559431
- ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/Broduce101JP/comments/oenov9/produce_101_japan_season_2_most_iconicmemorable/
- ^ https://www.allkpop.com/article/2023/05/ft-islands-hongki-announced-as-produce-101-japan-season-3s-vocal-trainer
- ^ https://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/300424/20210802/mnet-compensates-11-12-contestants-victimized-produce-101-voting-manipulation.htm