#vote for na kamden

[juhakthings]

i hate mnet sm. so we get to see haobin and hui/gyuvins performances bc they got all star but not kuanjui and taerae?? theyre so against chinese/taiwanese trainees and im fr losing it. vote for kuanjui so mnet can get it thru their thick skull that the entirety of g group is talented too, not just zhang hao and matthew (no hate, theyre my picks).

[pink-horizon]

reasons why u should vote na kamden on boys planet:

he's good at rapping and writing raps ‧₊˚✧ ✧˚₊‧

good at dancing ＼(＾▽＾)／

main dancer + main rapper energy ♡̷̷

incredible stage presence 𐐒𐐚⁺ ✶˚

can be a great leader 𒊹︎︎︎➪

very patient ☕︎

has a cute personality ☁︎

good listener ⩩𓄹   ∿ ៸៸

relatable person 🥕🤓

amazing visual ꒰ ⛸ˎˊ-⁣

he's cool シ︎

no screentime but still able to catch our hearts <3

smart guy 👓

strong babie ⤷  ୨����୧࿐

very worth it to vote ᨳ ﹅♥︎₊˚

- so please vote na kamden on boys planet [mnet plus app] thank u so much 🍓🥢✨

💭🥢 his performances links:

[bp-zb1fics]

My heart keeps on

pairing: na kamden x secret s/o reader

pronouns: none used

genre: canonverse  (finale), angst ish, fluff

tw/tags: long distance relationship, very emo in general, a lot of tears LIKE A LOT, you surprise kamden twice, citing ep 12 as my ref for all this, kinda secret relationship, realities of dating a trainee/idol, reunions so more emo, cuddles, cheek kissing, using a pic as a page break, yes the title is fr kam’s rap in switch ty for noticing 💜

wc: 2178

summary: kamden hasn’t seen you in over a year. you surprise him.

a/n this was supposed to be a gift fic for 101 followers but y'all are 200 now 😭😱 omg so thanks so much for supporting my little blog!!! I know this took a little longer than expected so thanks so much for patiently waiting! 💜Special thanks to the anon who sent me an ask about missing kamden and especially to @seok02 for giving me the motivation to finish this fic and kinda just helping me with the overall process 💜💜💜

check my pinned for more fics!

“Star Creator, we always thank you and love you!”

They wrap up the pajama party livestream, thanking the staff and staying to chat as the cameras are switched off. (Or so they think, lol)

“The vibe was pretty good,” Kamden tells Matthew. The other boy agreeing instantly.

“I think we were able to show new sides of ourselves.”

Suddenly the staff play a recording, surprising them all. It’s video messages from Star creators all over the world for them to watch. Kamden grabs a fluffy pillow as he watches everyone slowly get emotional. Seungeon cries. Zhang Hao cries. Yujin cries. Almost everyone is crying. 

Kamden gets a message from a fan in Norway, which is pretty cool. Then, something he never expected happens. He recognises your voice before he even realises it’s you.

“Kamden, annyeong~”

The pillow falls off his lap.

It’s you. It’s really you. You who he hasn’t been able to video call in a few days because of practice and your schedule and the time difference. He almost calls out your name but it sits tight in his throat, unable to reach you. 

You’re on screen, wearing one of the shirts you’ve stolen from him, holding onto the plushie he bought for you at that silly little shop after you insisted it looked like him. God, he hasn’t seen you in over a year.

“Dude, you okay?” Jay asks him softly.

He must look like an idiot, eyes blown wide, mouth slightly open, hanging onto every word that comes out of your mouth.

“I’ve been watching Boy’s Planet since the teasers were released. And you’ve always been my favourite.”

Kamden knows. You’ve been spamming your chat with him with all these little clips from the PR videos to the behind the scenes footage. Screenshots of you voting for him on the Mnet+ app, comments you’ve left on his fancam videos, even the funny memes you found of him on Twitter all greet him when he opens his phone after practice.

Hope my favourite trainee is doing well and staying healthy! Take care of yourself and know I’m always rooting for you! I love and miss you so much! Hoping for your debut!

Your messages are his favourite. And speaking of:

“I’ve made a little compilation of photos right here. I hope you like how I decorated them, I really tried my best~”

All the trainees ooh and ahh over the handmade album you bring up to the screen compiled with photos of him from the program and cute little notes and stickers. Kamden can’t move, can’t talk. 

Because that’s your album, the one you had insisted on starting when he and you began dating. He knows that if you flipped to the other pages, it would be full of photos of both of you, dates, anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, awards that either of you might have won, events that were important to you or him or both of you, everything carefully labelled. It was one of your favourite things to print out all the photos and he’d help you decorate them.

He can’t believe you kept that up after he left for Korea.

“You’ve stood out to me in every performance. You’re so talented and so many people are cheering you on so please remember to have confidence in yourself.” Your voice wavers a little towards the end of the sentence and as slight as it is, he catches that. He knows you.

Kamden only registers the wetness on his cheeks when the tears are already going, fast and furious. He reaches up, trying to dab them away gently with his sleeve. On screen, you blink rapidly and he knows you’re trying your best not to cry either. Even thousands of miles away, on a video you probably recorded weeks ago, you and him are still in sync. Maybe the rest of the trainees don’t see it but he does. Of course he does.

“I hope you take care of yourself always. Make sure to eat enough and get enough rest. I’ll be voting for you everyday so just do your best in practice and performing and us Star Creators will take care of the rest. We’ll support you so you can achieve your dream of debuting~”

To everyone else, you were just a particularly supportive fan. But to Kamden, you were his person, the one he was devoted to and he can’t help it, sobbing a little into his sleeve. Several pats on the back as the other trainees around him try to comfort him. He can’t help but cry even more. Why were you so far away? Why couldn’t you be here where he could hug you and kiss you and just be with you?

“Na Kamden hwaiting! Saranghae~”

That’s it. He turns and buries his face fully into his hands as if doing that would soak up all the tears that won’t stop coming. Matthew and Jay have scooted over, voices overlapping as they rub his shoulders and back and ask what’s wrong. Even Zhang Hao’s hovering a little on the side, equally concerned.

Maybe he’ll say something later, when there are no mics and no cameras. He’s been training for years and you’ve both agreed that in a career like the one he aspires to get into, keeping it quiet would be the best. Idols don’t date. Idols don’t have a significant other in a whole other country that they call when they can find free time. Even when it comes to casual conversation where there isn’t a camera directly trained on them, Kamden just doesn’t say anything.

They do ask him later. And when he says you’re a close friend he hasn’t seen in awhile, their faces light up in recognition. He leaves it at that.

You walk into the arena with a little trepidation. 

It’s all been a blur. Packing your things, flying to Korea, meeting up with Kamden’s mom and brother who have been kind enough to get you a ticket pass for the family section. Of course, he has no idea you’re even here.

You’re quite a bit more nervous about surprising him than you thought. While you’d give anything to see him again, it was a little risky in such a public venue with so many people watching and cameras everywhere filming almost any angle. Maybe you can be discreet enough if you do break down but Kamden’s on stage, the spotlights bright and on him. Fans are probably filming him on their own devices.

At this point, you’ll just have to trust your boyfriend to keep his reactions to a believable level. You don’t stand too close to his family, trying to keep your distance but also staying near enough that you’d be in the same general direction if Kamden glanced your way.

You end up on the side, along with a few other people who seem to be dressed as discreetly as you, masks on too. The looks you exchange seem to come to a general understanding of why you’re all here and who you’re here for.

Kamden doesn’t notice you when the Top 18 first file in. You don’t expect him to but you see him though. There’s a growing knot in your stomach, emotions welling up from actually seeing him not through a screen but so close that you could walk on stage and touch him. You don’t do that, of course. But still, he’s so near that it almost hurts not being able to throw yourself into his arms for a hug.

You’ve wanted this so much, especially after more than a year of not seeing him. But right now, you feel frozen. You only watch as they start getting into positions for the signal song. Fans are cheering, even the family members and friends of the trainees are calling out words of support. Still, your voice sticks to your throat, as much as you want to shout out, something keeps you from doing it.

Good thing Kamden’s brother does it for you. It probably surprises you and his mom more than it should but who can blame you when he almost never does that? Kamden’s surprised too, maybe it’s a twin thing but he immediately stands up straighter looking for where his brother’s voice is coming from.

And then he sees you.

His eyes meet yours and they widen considerably. His mouth even drops open a little. You’re smiling so much and you’re sure it shows from how your eyes crinkle, just a little glossy. But you’re not going to cry just yet. Instead, you wave at him. He can’t do much more than give a little wave back before they seem to be ready to start filming. 

Suddenly, your heart feels just a little lighter. You step back and watch him dance the signal song. You’ve seen him do it a thousand times, every time you stream his video. It feels so surreal, being able to see it like this, right in front of you. When the song ends, you see his eyes flick back in your direction, searching for your face. When he finds it, his expression brightens.

It’s amazing, watching someone you love do what they love. Sure, you’ve seen Kamden dance, you’ve gotten him to sing and even rap for you a little before. But it’s different with the stage and the lights and the crowd and he looks so comfortable there. You laugh when you see the Jelly Pop teaser, maybe you’ll get him to wear that dress again, just so you can get photos. The final song is almost bittersweet and you try your best but a few tears do slip out.

He’s messaged you about barely making it to the finale, you’ve monitored the program, watched his rank. You both know his chances are slim. But they’re possible. Still, he’s told you that he’s prepared for the equal possibility of not debuting. His company should have plans, he assured you. You watch him walk over to every one of his fellow trainees who’ve made it to debut, offering hugs and congratulating them. And as the number of spots dwindle, you keep your hopes up but you begin to accept it as well.

By the time they’ve called third, you watch as he walks over to Matthew, one of the trainees he’s closest with from what he’s told you. Maybe he lingers a little longer. Maybe you catch his eyes as he looks over. Hwaiting! You mouth, shaking your fists a little in encouragement. The emotions are swirling inside you. When the camera pans over to him, he’s teary eyed, covering his face the way he always does when he gets like that. You can’t help it. The emotions are starting to spill over and you breathe between the occasional tears.

After they announce the ninth place, everything suddenly starts moving so fast and so slow. They wrap up filming. The audience begins to file out. The cameras switch off one by one. You go backstage.

When he walks in, mic gone, still in that uniform that you keep teasing about, you don’t hold back. His arms wrap around you and you fall into him, holding him so tightly you wish you didn’t need to let go. And then both of you start crying.

“I missed you so much, Kam.” You’re holding onto the fabric of his jacket, gripping at it so desperately you’re almost afraid it might rip.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” He manages, his head somehow buried on your shoulder, tears soaking the cloth of your shirt.

“Surprise?” It comes out weak, a little shaky as you both laugh brokenly through your sobs.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” He holds you even tighter, like he’s afraid you might fade into thin air.

“I’ll be here for a while.” You tell him. “I wish I could’ve come sooner but-”

“It’s okay seriously, you’re here now.” If he squeezes you anymore, you feel like your heart might burst. “I’m so happy to see you.”

He goes back with you. There’s few brief introductions to Jay and Matthew and a few other trainees he’s grown close with, nudges and knowing looks and raised eyebrows. But it’s nothing to stress about, you manage to make it back under the radar.

You feel him watching you as you grab a few more things from your suitcase after both of you have showered and you’re wearing another one of his old shirts. Before you know it, your legs are tangled together, your head resting on his shoulder, your hands intertwined. 

“I don’t want to sleep,” he says quietly. “I don’t want to wake up and find out this is a dream and you aren’t here.”

“You aren’t dreaming, Kam.” You reassure him, lifting your head to kiss his cheek. Even in the privacy of this room, he blushes.

“Even if I didn’t make it, at least I have you.”

“You do, Kam. You always do.” And you know he will make it, one day.

[catch-me-hello]

Boys Planet, Episode 9: I think the showrunners might be raging alcoholics.

Let’s get started. I have to see how these teams, minus the Say My Name Team, are going to regroup. And what’s going to happen to the suddenly solo Haruto.

We’re back where we left off, with the surviving trainees saying goodbye to their eliminated friends. Lots of hugging and tears.  Then we cut to the dorms later that night. Several beds are empty now. Packed luggage lines the hallway. The remaining trainees are dealing with survivor’s guilt.

The next day, Team En Garde huddles in their rehearsal room. This is the team with Hui, Gun Wook, and Kim Gyu Vin. They’ve lost three teammates. I’m a little thrown when Gun Wook says they need to kick out one more. At first I think it’s gallows humor, but stay with me here.

We go on to the Over Me team, which has lost two people. This is the team with Keita, Jay, and Ricky. Yoon Jong Woo, who went up 23 spots to survive the eliminations, says the team should have five people, so three still need to leave. Okay, now I know what’s happening. Each group was originally supposed to have a specific number of people, just like in the 2nd Mission. But instead, all the trainees were split almost evenly among the groups. Now that the carnage is over, they need to reshuffle the teams. Okay, so then what was the point of putting these groups together right before the eliminations if the showrunners knew they were going to have to do this?

I am truly bewildered. This makes zero sense. This show has wasted everyone’s time. After putting in several days of hard work, these trainees need to start all over again.

Now we cut to the SuperCharger Team rehearsal room. I knew we’d get this visual of Haruto sitting all by himself, but I still can’t help laughing. The show made this poor guy sit in the middle of the floor by himself for this shot. They play a cawing crow on the soundtrack. All that’s missing is a tumbleweed rolling across the frame. At least he’s able to laugh about it, although I’m pretty sure he’s thinking he didn’t spend all those years studying ballet to wind up like this. Now, his team needs five more members.

Now on to Team Switch, and to my surprise, there are only two members left. I thought they had five survivors. But the only people sitting there are Na Kamden and Zhang Shuai Bo. I think I know what happened. First of all, the spelling of the trainees’ names keep changing in the translations, so I keep confusing the trainees for each other. Secondly, I suck at math. I don’t know how that second problem caused me to make this specific mistake, but I’m sure it somehow did. Anyway, the show tells us they need four more members.

All the trainees talk among themselves, guessing how the reshuffling will be done. That is, all the trainees except Haruto, who is probably staring at the walls and wondering why he didn’t just open a ballet studio instead.

Oh wait – here he comes. Haruto walks into Team En Garde’s rehearsal room with a clipboard and glasses, so you know he means business. He’s followed by Na Kamden and Zhang Shuai Bo. Haruto tells everyone he’s on the recruiting team of SuperCharger, which is funny because he’s the only member left, which means he’s also the  HR Director, Head of Marketing, Mailroom Manager, and Parking Lot Attendant. Shuai Bo and Kamden (whose name the translators are now spelling as “Camden” even though the correct spelling is right there on his name tag) are the recruiters for Team Switch.

Haruto asks Team En Garde if they know why he is here with Shuai Bo and Kamden. Smartass Kum Jun Hyeon asks if they’re here to clean the studio. Hui asks if they’re from the gas company. They’re a real laugh riot, these trainees.

Haruto tells them they need to vote out some members so those members can move over to join Team SuperCharger or Switch. (sigh) Okay. So. The Star Creators were given the privilege of organizing these teams in the first place, and then the show told the Star Creators to get bent and eliminated half the team members, and now they’re letting the remaining members choose their own teams. Fantastic. At the next live event, I hope the Star Creators show up with colorful signs depicting in graphic detail where this show can shove its voting rules.

Seriously, this really must have been confusing for the voting audience. The teams have to get reshuffled after sleepless nights of planning and grueling days of rehearsing because the folks at Mnet are too busy chugging vodka and coming up with more fake flashback storylines to give us a show that makes sense.

Right after I wrote that last sentence, Yoon Jong Woo flat-out says the exact same thing. As the leader of Team Over Me, he has barely slept over the past week, coming up with team assignments and choreography ideas, and now it’s all out the window. He’s so burned out, he pulls a Wild Idol Jooan move and leaves his own team.

Kamden begs his fellow American Jay Chang to join his team, but Jay winds up staying with Team Over Me. Keita leaves, so now this team has Jay and Ricky as the vocal and visual standouts. Probably a good choice on Jay’s part. Now he only has Ricky as his main vocal competitor instead of both Ricky and Keita.

Our sparkly angel Takuto leaves Team Say My Name, which is also a smart move. He does not want to be overshadowed by Sung Han Bin. Talented vocalist Tae Rae also leaves. The final teams will be better balanced.

Speaking of the final teams, here they are.

Yoon Jong Woo, Park Han Bin, Kim Tae Rae, Na Kamden, Zhang Shuaibo, and Keita

Seo Won, Cha Woong Ki, Haruto, Takuto, Wang Zi Hao, and Ollie

Lee Jeong Hyeon, Zhang Hao, Ricky, Jay Chang, and Chen Huan Jui

Sung Han Bin, Han Yu Jin, Kim Ji Woong, Yoo Seung Eon, and Soek Matthew

Kim Gyu Vin, Park Gun Wook, Hui, Kum Jun Hyeon, Lee Seung Swan, and Hiroto

These are all strong teams. The live performances will be exciting, and, and it will be easier for me to write about the individual members since there are only 28 of them now. In fact, instead of skipping past the rehearsal footage, I’m going to recap that as well so we can get to know these trainees better.

We’re starting with Team SuperCharger, and most of them are bummed because they were voted out of their groups. Also, the translators are still misspelling Na Kamden’s name, even though, just like before, IT’S RIGHT THERE ON HIS NAME TAG. IN THE VERY SAME FRAME AS THE TRANSLATION.

Cha Woong Ki, our sassy vogueing king, actually tells us in a confessional that he’s wondering if he doesn’t deserve to be loved, and I just want to hug him and give him flowers and ice cream and maybe have Takuto come hang out with him for a while to cheer him up. Wait, no. Takuto is also depressed. He was also voted off his team, and he tells us he hasn’t been chosen for a team at all during this show. He winds up on teams by default. He says, “There hasn’t been any trainee who’s wanted to join me so far.”

We see a clip from earlier in Team Say My Name’s meetings when Sung Han Bin tells the group, “Takuto is a bit of a slow learner,” and Takuto is SITTING RIGHT THERE. I hate seeing him like this. I hate what this show is doing to him.

All the other teams are busy practicing while Team SuperCharger is still trying to distribute parts. Because these teams are having to start over, they’ve lost a lot of rehearsal time and need to hurry this along. Decisions have to be made quickly. Everyone is tense, which makes for a stressful environment for trying to learn the steps. Takuto can’t keep up. The SuperCharger choreo is very fast-paced and difficult. Ollie is also missing some of the steps, and the others start making mistakes as well. Team Leader Haruto is frustrated.

Over on Team Say My Name, things are also tense. Seok Matthew is on the defensive, wondering if he should have joined a different team when he had the chance. He fights back tears and leaves the room. The others, including his best friend Sung Han Bin, sit on the floor in silence.

We learn that Matthew had originally been given the Sub Vocalist 1 part, which is what he wanted, but when they started rehearsing, Seung Eon sang it better. Sung Han Bin switches their parts. Matthew is upset about this. He really wanted the Sub Vocalist 1 part and thinks his friend must be joking about switching the parts. He says he’ll be doomed if he takes Seung Eon’s part, which I’m sure makes Seung Eon feel just great.

The change in vocal parts means a change in choreo as well. Matthew again thinks they’re joking and asks repeatedly if there’s a hidden camera. There’s a hint of spoiled kid in him, like he grew up being told how wonderful and talented he is, and this is the first time anyone has challenged him. His ego seriously doesn’t know how to handle it.

We cut over to Team Switch, so we’ll have to wait to see the breaking point that makes Matthew walk out. We’re on Na Kamden’s team now. Yoon Jong Woo has shot up in the rankings by performing Killer Parts perfectly, but the past week has shaken him up, and he’s not sure he can do it again. Park Han Bin wants the Killing Part. He’s never had that part before.

Park Han Bin and Na Kamden battle for the Killing Part

But Kamden wants it too, so they compete for it. After all, he had the Killing Part on this team before the reshuffling. But after the dance-off, and after Park Han Bin says he joined this team specifically so he could get the Killing Part, Park Han Bin gets the Killing Part.

On to Team En Garde. This is the team with Gun Wook and Hui. Again, the translators are tripping me up because they keep referring to Kim Gyu Bin, and his name, clearly spelled out on his name tag, is Kim Gyu Vin. He and Gun Wook, along with Lee Seung Hwan, are competing for the Killing Part. Gun Wook wins the part. In a confessional, he tells us, “I’ll dance until my bones break and sing until my throat explodes.”

The team starts rehearsing the choreo, and Lee Seung Hwan is having trouble remembering the steps. He’s not focused. When the group stops to see what’s wrong, he says he really wants the Killing Part, even though he lost fair and square to Gun Wook.

This has to be staged. Is this really what K-pop rehearsals are like? How do bandmates resist the urge to beat each other senseless with the chart position poster? Come on, Hui. It’s right behind you, on the wall. You know you want to.

Gun Wook agrees to do another dance battle. Guys, we don’t have time for this. They battle again. The rest of the team huddles to vote again. They give the part to Lee Seung Hwan. What is happening?

Gun Wook is crushed. Then Lee Seung Hwan wants to change the rest of the parts. The team takes a break because Gun Wook is upset. Um, guys? What the hell? We’ve lost so much time this week, and now we’re waiting while you let a fragile ego run your rehearsal, and now Hui says he wants to try out for the Killing Part.

Just as my brain is about to explode, we find out it’s a joke. This whole thing was a practical joke.

Okay, Boys Planet, are the stakes high or not? How does this group suddenly have time to pull a stunt like this? You realize this episode is two hours long because you’re padding it with filler and staged conflicts, right? I no longer care what happens in rehearsals. I’m so annoyed, I kind of hope Team En Garde loses the mission.

Over to Team Over Me. They have to pick a new leader because they’d voted theirs out and whatever. Let’s just skip ahead to the performances.

Fast forward, and it’s the day of the Artist Battle. The fans are lined up at the CJ ENM Production Center in Ilsan. It’s good to see them because I’m irritated with this bloated mess of a show and need some cheering up. The good news is that we see Haruto’s mom in the crowd, who came here all the way from Japan. And hey, the eliminated trainees showed up as well! Hello again, Wumuti!

The Star Master walks out onto the stage, and it’s SM Key! The crowd loves him and starts chanting his name. I’m starting to feel better. I’m ready to see some exciting live performances. But first we have to see the judges again in their awful white room of sadness, and I’m done with this as well. These recaps will no longer include their reactions. I’m convinced the judges are actually being filmed on location from prison.

Back to our Star Creators in the audience. They will be using those cool LED concert light voting machines again. Hopefully the button for Team En Garde has been disabled.

Showtime! But wait, no. We need to flash back to earlier in the week when the 28 trainees went outside on a nice spring day to do a scavenger hunt, and I’m officially done with the show’s timeline jumping around like this. Time to fast forward again.

The trainees get a nice surprise when their parents show up for a special showcase, and I know this sounds heartless, but I fast-forward through that as well. Maybe I’d have more patience if the show had skipped all the team reshuffling and rehearsal drama and focused more on stuff like this. But by the time we finally get back to the venue for the first performance, we are about an hour and a half into this episode, and I’m just tired.

SuperCharger is the first team up. This is Haruto’s team, with Cha Woong Ki, Wang Zi Hao, Ollie, Takuto, and Seo Won. The crowd is excited, I’m ready for a performance to actually start, but then we get yanked back into another flashback. No. Just no. Fast forward. On with the show.

The stage setup is an alley with motorcycles, which is very cool. I love these visuals.

I’m not a fan of the song, but the crowd seems to love it, singing along with them. Ollie and Takuto are too cute and sweet for these motorcycle bad boy visuals, but overall, this is a solid performance. The best part is when they pantomine tossing a lighter, and a wall of fire shoots up in front of the stage. Very impressive pyrotechnics.

Haruto bursts into tears onstage after the performance ends. The stress from the past two weeks is finally breaking him down.

The Star Creator votes come in, and the SuperCharger team first finds out which team member came in last. It’s Takuto. He has been voted last in every single mission. Oh, this poor kid. He takes it like a professional, but the past couple of weeks have done a number on him, too. The playful sparkle is gone. He just looks tired and sad. He’s looked tired and sad for this entire episode, and I think it would have been way better for him if he hadn’t survived the last round of eliminations. His dream isn’t the only thing dying. His spirit is too.

Haruto wins the top spot.

First place on this team goes to Haruto. He went from being the only person left on his team to being the top vote-getter.

Next up is the En Garde team. It’s Hui, Gun Wook, Lee Seung Hwan, Kum Jun Hyeon, Kim Gyu Vin, and Hiroto. The show cuts to another flashback, and I fast-forward through it.

Fire frames the stage again, and our team is all in black. The song is a dark vibe pop track with a lot of drama. Gun Wook is clearly standing out. This is his stage.

The votes come in. The top vote-getter is Kim Gyu Vin, which surprises me because I thought for sure it would be Gun Wook.

Next up is Say My Name. We don’t have time for another performance, so I guess we’re closing out with the flashback. We go back to the scene in the practice room where Seok Matthew walks out. We learn that he has accepted the role-switching for the good of the team, but he’s upset and needs some alone time.

Matthew tells us in a confessional the main reason he’s disappointed is because half the lyrics of SubVocal 1 are in English (he’s Canadian), and he wanted to sing that part so his mother could enjoy it. He doesn’t seem like such a spoiled kid anymore. He has a valid reason to be upset.

When we return to the venue, Matthew is on the stage with his team. We also get a great shot of Yujin.

We end the show with the current rankings. The boxes appear on the screen, but most of them are filled with question marks, which pretty much sums up how I feel about this whole episode. Just … why?

We do get some rankings:

18. Cha Woong Ki

17. Yoo Seung Eon

16. Kim Gyu Vin

15. Lee Jeong Hyeon

14. Park Han Bin

7. Ricky

6. Keita

Only three more episodes left.

[sweetmastermind]

Final lineup for Boys Planet 999 ~ Prediction

Disclaimer: This is based on tarot, reading done the 2/04 (03/04 Korean time), this lineup can suffer changes before the last episode of the program since energy constantly shifts. I don't watch the program so sorry for any mistakes in the names.

Final 9 update: Sung Hanbin - Zhang Hao - Kim Jiwoong - Kim Taerae - Kim Gyuvin - Han Yujin - Keita - Ricky - Lee Hoetaek

Last check-up before the final: 17/04

(The ones that have more possibilities of ending up on the final debut: Park Hanbin - Jay -Park Gunwook)

-----------------------------------

Here the reading to reach the conclusion:

Sung Hanbin (10c) yes

Zhang Hao (temperance - QW rev. - 6c): yes but is not going to be easy for him, probably will descend some places on the ranking before the debut date

Han Yujin (7c rev. - 7w - 6s rev. - 8s rev. - KNS rev.) low changes of debuting (4p) Yes

Seok Matthew (emperor - wheel fortune): yes, they will try to make him debut (9s - 9w) Feels quite negative

Kim Jiwoong (PC) yes

Kim Gyuvin (PW) yes (2s - death rev.) He may or may not reach the final lineup, the votes really can change his results.

Kim Taerae (moon rev) probably not. (3p - KnW - magician) yes

Keita (QS - 10s) maybe not, he could be a surprise (sun - 10p) yes

Park Gunwook (PW) yes (5w rev) no

Kum Jun Hyeon (Empress - AceP) yes

Lee Hoetaek (10s) no (let that man debut and have another opportunity!) (10p) yes

Jay (Strength - High priestess) possible but nothing concrete (ace pentacles rev.) no

Park Hanbin (5w) no

Ricky (PW) yes (QS rev. - Empress - PageP rev.) 50/50 change, it feels more positive

Yoon Jongwoo (KNP rev) he has a possibility

Haruto (Wheel fortune) big changes

Yoo Seungeon (KC rev) maybe

Seo Woo (Strength - 5p rev) maybe

Wang Zihao (KS rev.) big possibility but really on a fine line

Na Kamden (PW) yes

Lee Seunghwan (3c rev) no

Chen Kuanjui (5w) no

Zhang Shuaibo (ace cups) yes

Lee Jeonghyeon (6w) no

Takuto (10s rev.) no

Cha Woongki (3p) yes, with effort

Ollie (7w - lovers) yes, people could show a lot of support

Hiroto (magician) yes with some effort

[boysplanetrecaps]

Boys Planet Eps 9-10 Recap: Switch

Hello, lovies! As you may know, I already wrote a recap/master post for episode 9, and another one for episode 10. This recap focuses just on the stuff that’s relevant to team “Switch” -- so their rehearsal period in episode 9 as well as their rehearsal footage and performance in episode 10. But you’ll have to switch to the full post first, which is my cheesy way of saying to click read more! 🙂

The Trainees Here’s a list of the trainees in this group along with their rank as of episode 8 and their two previous missions:

Kim Tae Rae 7 / Back Door -K / Man in Love

Keita 8/ Kill This Love - G / Zoom

Park Hanbin 13/ Hot Sauce - K / Law

Yoon Jong Woo 15 / Back Door - K /Home

Na Kamden 20 / Back Door - G / Law

Zhang Shuai Bo 23 / Back Door - G / Feel Special

The First Rehearsal Segment

At 31:45 of episode 9, we visit with team Switch for four whole minutes!

They start by deciding who would get the killing part, and Yoon Jong Woo says he doesn’t want it because it’s all about confidence, and he has none. Also, I kind of get the feeling that he's a little over the whole thing. Can't blame him, but I hope he shakes that off.

But you know who does want the killing part? - the formerly blue haired Park Hanbin. 

Surely, though, he won’t be able to do a good audition? He can’t learn the choreo that fast? 

But he gets up and does the killing part for his team and does it flawlessly. Better than Kamden, who has had a week to prepare. TaeRae, comparing Hanbin’s dance to the video on the tablet, says, “how much did he practice?” (We’ll come back to that in a second….) 

What happened is this:

Park Hanbin looked at the numbers. He knew his initial team, En Garde, would almost certainly lose all or most of Ji Yun Seo, Lee Ye Dam, Oh Sung Min, and Hiroto. Hanbin knew that if Hiroto or one of the other three survived elimination, then his team would have one extra trainee. They’d probably vote out Hiroto, or whoever else survived, which would mean that Park Hanbin would be stuck with his 10 seconds of subvocal 3 as his only contribution to the team. There was a vanishingly slim chance that Kum Jun Heon or Park Gunwook was going to yield the killing part to him, or that his team would award it to him from merit. So, betting on the chance that at least one of Hiroto, YunSeo, YeDam, or Sungmin would make it, Hanbin learned the choreography to Switch, while also learning the choreography to En Garde, with the plan of volunteering to switch to Switch. 

You guys, I told that story to my fella, and he was like, “that is some Rian Johnson, Knives Out, Poker Face level of machination and plot surprise,” and I was like, yeah. Accurate. 

I don’t think that Park Hanbin liked Switch better the whole time or anything like that. He asked the Star Creators to put him in En Garde. But Hanbin wanted a Killing Part, and he was willing to work twice as hard as anyone else in order to get it. 

Now, what about Kim TaeRae? I think that Hanbin and TaeRae talked about this ahead of time. Remember, they’re both with WakeOne. They auditioned together at the Star Level Test. TaeRae is a vocalist and probably relies on Hanbin to help him with choreo when needed, at the agency. Hanbin knows that TaeRae isn’t a hyper-social butterfly, nor is he hyper-audacious, pushing for the parts he wants. TaeRae somehow or another didn’t get main vocal in Backdoor. Like, what the fuck? So Hanbin knew that someone other than TaeRae was likely to end up with that juicy subvocal-1 part in Say My Name. Not great for TaeRae. But meanwhile, Hanbin also knew that TaeRae is much beloved by the Star Creators, and is an excellent singer and a decent dancer. Hanbin knew that he, Hanbin, would be able to teach anyone how to dance. He also knew that having TaeRae on his team will benefit both his team and TaeRae, because it’ll ensure that TaeRae gets a main vocal part and it’ll ensure that his team has at least one top-9 trainee and at least one trainee who can sing really well. It’s win/win/win for Hanbin, TaeRae, and their team. Also, having TaeRae on his team meant that he’d have one more chingu who would be sure to vote for him to have the killing part. And also also, since TaeRae and Hanbin are both at WakeOne, what’s good for one is good for the other, because they’re undoubtedly going to debut together eventually and their fame and future success is tied together.

Notice how TaeRae asked, “How much did he practice?” when Hanbin did the killing part -- not “how does he know this?” or “did he practice this?” TaeRae already KNEW that Hanbin had been practicing this. He was only surprised as to the extent of it. That’s further proof that they talked about this in advance. 

I love this so much, and I just love Park Hanbin. That kid is the Jeon Soyeon of this batch of trainees. I mean, not necessarily in terms of song composition or whatnot, but in terms of brilliant strategy. Whether he debuts in Bepler or not, he’s going places. 

Also, Na Kamden is just a sweet guy, isn’t he? Losing the killing part, he just says, well, Hanbin is really good. You’re good too, Kamden! This whole team is pretty strong, and this is the performance I’m actually looking forward to the most at this point. 

So here’s the part distribution -- wait, Keita is sub rapper 3? At first I thought that Keita must have been planning something, but as I watched more, I became less sure. Oh no...

Anyway, they start practicing, and the editing focuses on how TaeRae is having a little trouble learning the choreo. It's! Shocking! That a Main Vocal! Would have a little trouble! Learning choreo!!!! 

Even his hair won't cooperate. Don’t worry. He has Hanbin there to beat the steps into him! 

Now, let’s skip to 30:00 in to Episode 10.  It’s D-Day and the boys come out on stage, all dressed in super bright colors.

Key asks Hanbin about rehearsal, and we jump back to the team’s first meeting with the psychopath dance teacher. We’re reminded of how the team ended up together, and the dance teacher says that this is a good team, with several trainees who got a good result in the second challenge mission -- Hanbin came in first for Law, TaeRae came in first for Man in Love , JongWoo came in first for Home, and Keita came in first for Zoom. 

But their dancing isn’t perfect, how dare they not be perfect after like 12 hours of rehearsal?

Especially TaeRae, who at some points didn’t dance at all but just sort of walked because he is a VOCAL and was going to be SINGING at that point. (1) Aren’t they allowed to adjust the choreo? Isn’t that part of the assignment? And (2) Let me get this straight, you fucking psychopath -- you want TaeRae to be dancing “powerfully” WHILE HITTING THE B ABOVE MIDDLE C? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? That’s several notes higher than that high F# they made the boys hit in Na BiNa. This is fucking falsetto territory, and you want him to dance “powerfully” AT THE SAME TIME? I hate these dance teachers so much sometimes. Human beings have human bodies. Jesus Christ. This is why singing in Kpop is going down the drain -- because they want people to dance “powerfully” while hitting B4. 

The judge guy actually helps a bit (shocker, right?) by suggesting a modification for the choreo for TaeRae, but TaeRae doesn’t understand, so he makes him do it over and over like 19 times before getting off his lazy evil ass and showing him. 

That night, Hanbin asks Keita why Keita didn’t go for a bigger rapping part…

Hey, I know what you readers like. 

… and Keita says, “I don’t have any energy left.” Keita interviews that he’s lost a lot of confidence. Oh no, Keita!! Oh NO!!!!  

Back at rehearsal, Na Kamden, who is really a good guy, hands over leadership to Park Hanbin, because he thinks -- no, he KNOWS -- that Hanbin will do a better job. Everyone at home is like, “wait, Hanbin wasn’t already the leader?” 

They work on the dance, both the big picture and the details, sometimes over and over and over. 

Then, like the fucking genius and sweetheart that Hanbin is, he gets Keita involved in fixing up the choreo, which does two things: (1) re-energizes Keita and (2) utilizes their resources! Yes. 

Just a little nudge from a friend seems to spur Keita back into action, and soon they’re all involved, all dancing. 

40:30 The Performance

So we skip to D-day. 

The judges are looking over the stage, which is set up to look a bit like an arcade, with bright day-glow colors. There’s an elevator door that is going up to the 9th floor -- referencing their desire to go up to the top9. 

Out in the audience, Wumuti is spoiling it to the audience that the concept of the performance is that the boys are stuck in a video game world. The fact that he knows that is an indication of how much of the performance was determined by the boys who were in each group before The Great Reshuffling. This implies that a lot of the stuff the various teams are doing might be the result of the hard work of trainees who aren’t in that group anymore. This is all really messed up, MNET. 

And the boys come out on stage to perform. It’s time!

My Take:

I know I’ll be in the minority here, but I actually like this song. I know, I know. But listen to the studio recording of it and maybe it'll grow on you. It's like a weird NCT song mated with a Black Pink song and had a child that mostly took after its father. But I'm fine with that. I also really liked the dance practice. I feel like I can focus more on how good their dancing is -- especially Yoon JongWoo, who is wearing white here, and seems to be trying his best to remind us that he would have been fucking fantastic in Over Me. They look like they���re having fun, like I just sort of want to jump up and join them dancing. They just have good chemistry and seem like friends. It’s one of those things that makes Twice so fun to watch, is the feeling that you’re watching a group of friends having fun rather than a group of coworkers forced to work together.

As for the Stage Performance: 

Overall, they do a great job. I wish we saw more of Keita, and I wish the camera work and outfits let us more easily see their dancing, but it was a cute, fun, lively performance. I don't have a ton to say about it, but I enjoyed it. Hanbin was the standout for me in the live performance -- though I'm telling you, Yoon Jongwoo stands out in the dance practice I linked above, and I think he would have stood out a lot live as well. Kamden, Keita, and Z-Bo did well too. I thought it was all really cute and cheerful.

TaeRae’s live vocals sounded great, because I love his vocal color, but still, they are just a bit shaky here and there. I hope he gets some more vocal training because he really could be great. Baekyhun wasn’t perfect when he debuted either and with more time, he has better learned how to control that powerful instrument he was born with. TaeRae needs to work on his mix, and his agility, but I know he can get there. 

Afterwards, we find out that Zhang Shuai Bo got the lowest score, with an obviously punitive 402 points. You and I and he and all the other trainees know that this is the audience punishing Z-Bo for his “bad behavior” in earlier episodes, and I’m really sad for him, actually. I’ve come around to him -- yeah, it wasn’t cool to be passive aggressive with Solji, or to leave Woongki to sing the whole chorus by himself. Not cool, Z-Bo. But on further review of the situation, I think I was wrong to think that Z-Bo was being rude to Woongki in general -- Woongki has no animosity toward Z-Bo, so why should I? Plus, Z-Bo did a good job in his Switch performance and didn’t deserve such a low score. This was actually the first time that I really understood why some people are big fans of his -- he looked great on stage, actually! The dumb hair extensions really worked, the ugly pants looked good on him, I don’t know, he made it all work. But he seems resigned to his fate. 

Who came in first? Well, obviously Park Hanbin, with 741 points. 

This is his third straight time coming in first in the mission.

He’s slightly less amazed each time it happens.

He interviews that he’s starting to gain confidence. Well, I should hope so, lovey! 

That brings us pretty much to the end of this recap, but I do want to say that if you like slightly weird kpop songs, give Switch another try, ok? Listen to the official studio audio and use headphones. It’s actually a pretty cool song. It’s ok if it’s not your thing, I totally respect that, but I think the live performances on this show are consistently hampered by a poor mix -- the vocals stand out like it’s karaoke, and that’s not great for your overall enjoyment of the song. So it really can’t hurt to just give the song another try when you can really hear all the cool touches on the low and high ends. I’ve come to really like it. 

And that’s really the end! 

See you in the next one, lovies! It's Say My Name .

[outsidereveries]

Could you do a reading on Boys Planet Lineup? Thanks!

uploaded some predictions on twitter but just to say that i decided to do my math.

disclaimer: i know nothing about boys planet except that (slang word for male organ in bulgarian) is participating. my readings might be inaccurate because of changing energies and misinterpretation.

first, i will write about “math research” and what might be realistic and later i will talk about my tarot answers.

according to 8th episode, assuming korean vote will value more than the global, surely will debut sung hanbin, zhang hao, han yujin, seok matthew, kim jiwoong, kim gyuvin and kum junhyeon. less likely might be kim taerae, keita, jay and haruto while park gunwook is LITTERALY IN THE MIDDLE. so allegedly 7 could debut at 100% while 2 are questionable who.

according to ninth episode:

- keita got 6th place

- ricky got 7th place

- park hanbin got 14th place, which means he dropped 1 place since 8th episode, but he is kinda stable for now

- lee jeonghyeon got 15th place, which he got 9 places higher since the same episode and he might be at risky placement next week

- kim gyuvin got 16TH PLACE which .. might mean he could drop out in 11th episode

- yoo seungeon got 17th place (he’s stable for now but he might also drop out too)

- cha woongki got 18th place (he was 26th in 8th episode) which could mean he could survive, however he’s at risky placement

mathematically, almost every member seem to have questionable results if they’ll be in the final or not. there are 100% members that will be in the final but it’s kinda certain they won’t debut (hoetaek, pentagon’s leader and i am not saying his stage name on purpose and yoon jungwoo) as well as members who will be eliminated (seo won, chen kuanjui, takuto, cha woongki, ollie and hiroto). the rest of them are questionable to either debut (kim taerae, keita, park gunwook, kum junhyeon, jay, ricky and haruto) or make it into finals (yoo seungeon, wang zihao, na kamden, lee seunghwan, zhang shuaibo, lee jeonghyeon).

with some of the revealed placements of the ninth episode gyuvin, jeonghyeon and woongki have risky placements. possibly seungeon too.

according to my cards however, there’s some rigging and shuffling.

they’re saying to me that (asked multiple times so i got lazy to note all cards) there are certain members that will debut:

* sung hanbin

* han yujin (however, he might rank at lower place than third: i saw seven)

* kim jiwoong

* kim taerae

* zhang shuaibo (bahiyyih card?)

there are members who are questionable of their placements in general:

* park gunwook (my cards confirmed he’s in the middle between debut and 10th place for real)

* ricky (questionable for debut)

* seo won (questionable for final)

* chen kuanjui (questionable for final)

* takuto (questionable for final)

* cha woongki (questionable for final)

there are also members who are certain they won’t debut:

* zhang hao (i am shocked /gen, /srs)

* seok matthew (his place will be rigged, i saw #10 for some reason)

* kim gyuvin (the drop in the placements between 8th and 9th episode…)

* keita (his place could also be rigged and probably might be because he’s in ciipher, i felt it with bora when she was in gp999)

* kum junhyeon (also will be rigged)

* lee hoetaek (into finals, probably won’t debut, assuming that he had higher placements in earlier episodes..)

* jay (into finals, questionable for debut)

* yoon jungwoo (into finals, won’t debut)

* haruto (into finals imo, won’t debut though)

* yoo seungeon (if he makes into the finals, he won’t debut)

* wang zihao (might not make it to the final; assuming he’s in global category, he probably won’t knowing mnet and korean entertainment industry and their preferences)

* na kamden (might not make it to the finals, same as wang zihao)

* lee seunghwan (might not make it in finals)

* lee jeonghyeon (assuming the ninth episode, questionable for final, if he makes it, won’t debut)

* ollie (not making in the finals, i assume)

* hiroto (same as ollie)

that’s it. sorry if i wrote their names wrong.

[kalinubis]

my final vote has been casted…

may the best trainees debut 😖

na kamden, you did well <3

[livinglifeonpause]

BP Mission 3 during switch up

SWITCHED TEAMS BITCH OH SHIT! they have to kick someone out??? so they’ll kick the weakest naur? and then the weakest will have to learn a whole new fucking thing? BRUTAL

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

ZHANG SHUAI BO (22, 6'0")/P/F/F/F/F NA KAMDEN (23, 6'0")/F/P/F/P/F

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

HARUTO (19, 5'7")/F/P/P/P/P -omfg, the CROW sound effect!

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

ZHANG HAO (24, 5'11")/F/P/P/P/P JAY CHANG (23, 5'9")/P/P/P/P/P RICKY (20, 6'0")/F/F/F/F/P CHEN KUAN JUI (23, 5'9")/F/F/F/F/F - i honestly dont get why they kept this kid, LEE JEONG HYEON (22, 6'1")/F/P/F/F/F KEITA (23, 5'5")/F/F/P/P >>voted out >> Switch YOON JONG WOO (24, 5'9")/F/P/P/P >> voted out >> Switch WANG ZI HAO (23, 5'10)/F/P/F/P >> voted out >> Super Charger

Oof, these bitches voted!

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

SUNG HAN BIN (23, 5'10")/P/P/F/P/F HAN YU JIN (17, 5'10")/F/P/P/P/F SEOK MATTHEW (22 5'7")/P/P/P/P/F - sir, i dint really understand why the fuck you’re crying?? – omfg “i felt like it was my fault.” - um, it 100% was sir. KIM JI WOONG (25, 5'10)/P/P/P/P/F YOO SEUNG EON (20, 5'10")/F/P/F/F/P KIM TAE RAE (22, 5'8")/F/P/P/F >> volunteered >> Switch SEO WON (23 5'7")/F/F/F/P >> kicked out >> Super Charger TAKUTO (16, 5'5")/F/F/F/F >> kicked out >> Supercharger OLLIE (18, 6'0")/F/F/F/F >> kicked out >> Super Charger CHA WOONG KI (22, 5'8")/F/F/F/F >> kicked out >> Supercharger

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

KIM GYU VIN (20, 6'0")/F/P/F/F/F HUI (31, 5'7")/P/P/P/P/P PARK GUN WOOK (19, 6'0")/P/P/P/P/P KUM JUN HYEON (22, 5'11")/F/P/P/F/P LEE SEUNG HWAN (24, 5'10")/P/P/P/P/P HIROTO (22, 5'9")/F/F/F/F/F PARK HAN BIN (22, 5'9")/F/P/P/P >> Switch (voluntary)  - I get that. I get why he left.

haha, KIM GYU VIN (20, 6'0") goes to PARK GUN WOOK (19, 6'0") "you can be smart sometimes"

Also KIM GYU VIN (20, 6'0") thinks he can do better than Gunwookie? Bitch plz.

——————————————————————————

[prclns]

do you guys know this song?

[luvgranger]

voting for na kamden on bp>>>>>>

[pink-horizon]

na kamden [very talented, good at rapping & dancing + amazing visual and personality] ᨳ ﹅♥︎₊˚

please vote him on boys planet! <3 [at mnet plus app] ଓ ◡̈ ♡̷̷ ⋆͛

[stuckinakillingjar]

i will watch ep 6 tomorrow but here are my votes for the ep 7 groups!

switch- dang honghai, han yujin, ji yunseo, na kamden, sung hanbin, zhang shuaibo

supercharger- choi woojin, haruto, keita, krystian, park jihoo, wumuti

over me- (i literally saw this choreography and wrote "ANYTHING BUT JIWOONG" into my notes. i need this man to perform a non-sexy song for once) chen kuanjui, jay, lee hoetaek, ricky, zhang hao

say my name- (this was the first song i listened to and i was begging that this would be an ateez cover but anyways...) anthonny, cha woongki, ollie, seok matthew, takuto

en garde- kim gyuvin, kim taerae, kum junhyeon, lee yedam, park gunwook, park hanbin

for some reason i couldn't imagine jiwoong performing any of these songs so i just didn't vote him lmaoooo

[kinowhere]

Me! I'm watching Boys Planet! My top pick is Wang Zihao! I'm also voting/rooting for Zhang Hao, Jay, Keita, Park and Sung Hanbin, Lee Hoe Taek, Oh Sungmin, Cha Woongki, Na Kamden, and others I can't think of atm. Who are your picks?

ooooo we have some picks in common!! my top pick is sung hanbin, but i'm also rooting for matthew, haruto, taerae, sungmin, gunwook, woonggi, jongwoo, keita, jiwoong....honestly i like so many of the guys. i wasn't even going in expecting to pick up anyone new!

[boysplanetrecaps]

Boys Planet Dual Position Battle, final bits and thoughts

This recap will cover the final point reveals from the end of episode 7, as well as my final thoughts on the performances, including my own ranking and my analysis of MNET screentime allocation (I have the numbers, my loves). 

Ranking announcement from the end of ep 6

Ok, here’s the ranking announcement from the end of episode 6. At this point, ep 8 is probably out, so this is out of date, but it’s still kind of interesting. 

What I did is, I put the votes in my spreadsheet and found the average number of votes per trainee, which turned out to be 818,005. Then I had the spreadsheet calculate what percent of the average vote each person’s vote was. I think that helps put the number of votes in perspective. For example, international sweetheart Sung Hanbin’s 3.3 million votes represented 404% of the average (in other words, more than four times the average!). Meanwhile, poor Feel Special member Lee Donggun’s 81,739 votes represents about 10% of the average. Ouch. 

What’s kind of interesting is that the top 15 were all 123% or more of the average or higher, while from 16 to 51, they were all 89% or lower of the average. It’s really a kind of haves and have-nots situation here. 

People who were on a team that got the 100,000 benefit will be marked in blue. People who also got the 150,000 personal benefit will be marked in purple. Members of Zoom are marked in green (because I think they should have won.)

Sung Han Bin 3,307,923 404%

Han Yujin 2,909,883  356%

Seok Matthew 2,825,146 345%

Zhang Hao 2,673,322 327%

Kim JiWoong 2,529,910  309%

Kim Gyuvin 2,283,675     279%

Kim TaeRae 2,172,772  265%

Keita 1,881,172  230%

Jay 1,376,663 168%

Hui 1,338,595  163% 

Park Gunwook 1,327,449 162% 

Kum Jun Hyeon 1,315,229 160% 

Park Hanbin 1,138,119  139%

Ricky 1,131,856 138%

Haruto 1,002,517 123%

Yoon Jong Woo 728,860 89%

Wang Zi Hao 654,985 80%

Zhang Shuai Bo 645,683 79%

Yoo Seung Eon 627,720  77%

Seo Won 609,101 74%

Takuto 573,842 70.15%

Na Kamden 573,627 70.13%

Chen Kuan Jui 570,537 69.75%

Lee Seung Hwan 550,610 67%

Cai Jin Xin 453,496 55%

Ollie 439,284 54%

Hiroto 425,135  52%

Ma Jing Xiang 397,838   49%

Lee Jeong Hyeon 382,238   46%

Mun Jung Hyun 366,626    45%

Anthonny 309,114     38%

Jung Mingyu 290,220   35%

Brian 285,579   34%

Cha Woongki 282,786   34%

Chen Jian Yu 266,785    33%

Lim Jun Seo 265,140   32.4%

Dang Hong Hai 257,333    31.5%

Lee Yedam 248,293   20%

Park JiHoo 238,539   29%

Cong 238,039    29%

Ji Yun Seo 230,839   28%

Wumuti 219,507   27%

Bak Doha 204,607   25%

Oh Sungmin 198,846   24.3%

Krystian 196,543  24%

Lee Da Eul 177,458   21.7%

Lee Dong Yeol 172,206   21% 

Park Hyun Been 123,848   15%

Jeong IChan 113,935   14%

Choi Woojin 103,062   12.6%

Lee Donggun 81,739   10%

The Performances, the votes, and the rankings 

In the last ten minutes or so of episode 7, they gather the trainees together in what might be the space where the audience usually stands, and torture them for a bit before finally revealing how many votes each team got. The winner within each category gets to perform on MNET countdown, each member gets 100,000 extra points, and the number one ranked team member on that team gets an extra 150,000 extra points. 

Below, I list the songs, the audience votes they received, and the total screen time (adding up the episode 6 segment and the longer segment in episode 6 or 7). I list them in order of audience vote.

Vocal and Rap

Tomboy 860 votes, 27 minutes of screentime

Man in love 752 votes, 14.5 minutes of screentime

Limousine 719 votes, 13.5 minutes of screentime

Not Spring… 617 votes, 15 minutes of screentime

Winner: Tomboy; Zhang Hao gets the extra benefit

My thoughts:

My favorite is easily Limousine. I just loved this performance. Man in Love and Not Spring were about tied for me; each had one singer I quite enjoy and a few singers I don’t enjoy as much, and neither was a song that I exactly want to listen to over and over. I guess Tomboy actually came in last for me -- I would rather listen to any of the other three again than listen to Tomboy again. If I’m watching the performances, then I’d rather watch Limousine the most -- the performance is so emotional and so good -- but after, that I’d obviously choose to watch Man in Love to see TaeRae’s weird elf face that I like so much. So, putting all that together, my rank is:

Limousine

Man in Love

Not Spring…

Tomboy 

Vocal and Dance

Love Killa 840 votes, 20.5 minutes minutes of screentime

Home 716 votes, 19 minutes of screentime

Feel Special 677 votes, 19 minutes of screentime

Butterfly 664 votes, 19 minutes of screentime

Winner: Love Killa; Kim Gyuvin gets the extra votes

My thoughts:

None of these performances exactly floated my boat. Love Killa was marred by sort of blank performances, in my opinion (though it’s cool with me if you liked it, hope I’m not yucking your yum). Home was lovely at times but marred by tight, strained vocals here and there. Feel Special was a mess, brightened by Woongki's cuteness and, honestly, Z-bo's cheerful performance (I'm not his biggest fan, but it's not like the audience vote came out of completely nowhere). And Butterfly just sort of fell apart, as beautiful as Chen Kuan Jui's dancing was. I don’t really want to watch any of these performances again, or listen to them either.

I tried thinking, ok, which one would I want to watch a fancam of? For example, if it was a fancam of Gyuvin from Love Killa vs. a fancam of Woongki from Feel Special vs. a fancam of Chen Kuan Jui from Butterfly vs. a fancam of Yoon Jong Woo from Home, which would I prefer? And I found myself just ranking them based on how much I like the song itself. So my ranking is meaningless. They're all tied for 2nd place. No one is in first. First place is held in reserve for how good Love Killa would have been if Yoon Jong Woo and/or Ricky had been in the group instead of Matthew and/or Seo Won. (Sorry! I love Seo Won and want to get fro-yo with him, but the song didn't really suit him.)

Rap and Dance

Law 846 votes, 19 minutes of screentime

Zoom 813 votes, 14 minutes  of screentime

Gang 798 votes, 12 minutes of screentime

Rush Hour 742 votes, 20.5 minutes of screentime

Winner: Law; Park Hanbin gets the extra votes

My thoughts:

This one is easy. Zoom. Zoom is my winner, hands down. 

I can see why Law won. It was exciting and sexy and the boys looked good. I like all five of these trainees a lot and think they're great performers. But here’s the thing about Law -- it’s so fucking good the first few times you watch it, but then it gets kind of dull. It’s just all kind of monotonous dancing, you know? Yeah, there’s the stupid flag wave, but there’s nothing else to break it up. 

In contrast, I keep noticing more cool things about Zoom as I watch it over and over. Like, the detail of how, when Wumuti does that kind of lifted leg butt wiggle on the line, “Wumumutiti!,”  the other trainees do a far scaled down version of the move, so that they’re supporting him but your eye still stays on Wumuti. It’s so subtle, but it’s cool because it controls where your focus is. I like being led around visually as I watch a dance -- tell me where I should look, choreography! Also, and I’m aware that this isn’t a unique take, but I love the way that the end of each rap section connects to the beginning of the next one. It makes it all feel like this is a real team, not just trainees who got stuck with each other. And I get so excited when I hear Wumuti’s awesome screech “Lights Camera Action baby!” and I know it’s Haruto’s dance break. YES!!!! Haruto, hit that breakdance pose and hold it for the camera click sound! It’s also so fun to watch Haruto’s fan cam and see him cheerfully clowning around with the other trainees when they were on the sidelines, during the performance. Ollie's cute rap, Hyunbeen saying "braggadocious," it's all so charming. They’re just all having so much fun. They’re IN the performance. 

For the record, I assume it was Keita behind most of what’s good here. From what I’ve heard, he did basically everything for this song, and did a lot in previous challenges, too. Keita’s so good that even MNET’s editing can’t hide him. The judges won’t shut up about him and every single other trainee respects him. I’m so glad that the audience sees it too.

So, Law won over Zoom in part (in my opinion) because Law was sexier -- I have a whole other post about how I think that Zoom’s styling really brought them down. But it may also have been the scheduling. I saw someone talking (in the comments section of The Bias List) about how she was in the audience for the taping of these performances! Jealous. According to her, it took ages and ages, with lots of time in between performances. She says Zoom was the last performance and by then, it was midnight and the audience was exhausted by then. But the team started performing and it was so energetic and fun that everyone in the audience jumped into life again. This is all according to a person on the internet, I can’t substantiate it, but I don’t know, it kind of rings true. 

It would be like MNET to try to sabotage Keita. Production had to know how good Zoom was and that it was likely to win, which would give 100,000 points to Ollie, Wumuti, Haruto, and Park Hyunbeen, and almost certainly would mean 250,000 points for Keita. If you look at the vote list above, you can see how much 100,000 points would mean for most members on this team. Yes this is just an interim vote and the final tally would be bigger overall, but even so, 100,000 points would help lock Haruto into safe territory, it would probably ensure Ollie's survival, and it would give Wumuti and Hyunbeen a fighting chance. 250,000 more votes might also move Keita up one space in the top 9. Scheduling Zoom last meant that it was an exhausted, cranky crowd who were voting, and that probably hurt it.

Anyway, enough about Zoom and Law. What about the other two groups?

As for Ggang, I think it was never going to appeal to me much because the song itself isn’t really my style. It’s not the trainees’ fault at all -- they did a decent job. But nothing about this performance specifically grabbed my attention to where I’d want to watch it over and over, and my little cousin Kum Jun Hyeon's shirt lift joke didn’t strike my fancy. 

And of course, Rush Hour just drags my spirit down when I try to watch it. I don’t know if I’d feel differently if I didn’t know the back story, but I do know the backstory, and I can’t turn that part of my brain off. 

So in the end, I guess my rank is:

Zoom

Zoom

Zoom

The other teams

Oh, and here’s my pie chart of the number of minutes devoted to each team. It’s kind of wild to see how little time was devoted to Zoom compared to Tomboy, isn’t it? 

As for the new songs that they’re going to be performing for the “Artist Battle”...

Oriental Pop “Switch” - sounds like a lost NCT Dream song

Sentimental Hip Hop “SuperCharger” - fast paced, kind of like Law

R&B Pop “Over Me” is sexy and charismatic

New-tro synth pop “Say My Name” is cute and lighthearted 

Funk Pop “En garde” is sort of weirdly forgettable.

Based on my theory on how important sexiness is, I think most of them will want #3, whether it suits them or not. Dancer types like Wang Zi Hao will probably want #2, and cutie pies like Woongki will probably want #4. It’ll be fun to see who ends up in which group, and whether it was the song they wanted or not. I’ll especially be interested in where the fans put Matthew, because he keeps trying to do sexy concepts and I think he’d be much better suited for something more like #4. 

Ok! We're finally done! And episode 8 is out. In fact, it's been out for a week if you knew where to look, and I did know where to look, but I have held back and didn't spoil myself.

Hope you're having a lovely day, hope that good things happen to you, and hope that all your pants are real sparkly. See you in the next one!

[boysplanetrecaps]

Boys Planet, Post Episode 8 Analysis: What Next for the Eliminated Trainees? 

In this post, I’ll give you the full analysis of the Korean vs. Global vote for the top 30. Then I’ll tell you the ranking of the eliminated trainees (ranked 29 through 51), and I’ll discuss what I think will happen next for each of the eliminated trainees! I also found a few last notes from eliminated trainees posted on social media that I can share with you. I think it’s all decently interesting so click Read more or Keep reading or whatever, get your spreadsheets and calculators ready (jk, I already did that) and let’s go!!!!

Voting analysis:

Spreadsheets are the best, my friends. 

Here is the top 30 as it would be if only Korean votes counted (no benefits). The number after the name is the trainee’s real rank in episode 8. Trainees whose “Korean only” rank is five or more spaces different than their real rank will be marked in bold.  

Sung Hanbin               1

Han Yu Jin               3

Kim Tae Rae               7

Kim Gyu Vin               6

Kim Ji Woong             5

Zhang Hao               2

Seok Matthew            4

Kum Jun Hyeon 10

Wang Zi Hao             19

Park Gunwook   9

Hui                         11

Park Hanbin             13

Yoo Seung Eon 17

Yoon Jong Woo 15

Ricky                       14

Keita                         8

Na Kamden             20

Zhang Shuai Bo 23

Lee Jeong Hyeon 24

Seo Won             18

Mun Jung Hyun 29

Lee Seung Hwan 21

Ma Jing Xiang 30

Jay                       12

Takuto                         25

Cha Woong Ki            26

Chen Kuan Jui 22

Hiroto                         28

Haruto                        16

Ollie                         27

It’s kind of interesting that the Korean population really likes Wang Zi Hao, but is comparatively cold towards Keita, Jay, and especially Haruto. Given the way that the show works, it’s more important to have Korean support than global support, so expect Wang Zi Hao to have a decent chance at making the Top9 at the end, and brace yourself to lose Keita, Jay, and Haruto. I know, I’m bummed too.

It’s also kind of interesting that if the Korean population was in charge, the two “evil edited” trainees, Ma Jing Xiang and Zhang Shuai Bo, would be much higher ranked, and in fact, MJX would have survived this elimination. You’d think that the sinophobia that MNET manifests again and again would influence Korean voters, but it doesn’t seem to. 

And here is the inverse -- the top 30 as it would be if only Global votes counted (again, no benefits). Again, the number after the trainees’ names is their real rank. Particularly noteworthy differences are marked in bold.

Zhang Hao                 2

Keita                             8

Seok Matthew     4

Sung Hanbin                 1

Kim Ji Woong                5

Han Yu Jin                 3

Jay                           12

Haruto                           16

Kim Gyu Vin                 6

Park Gunwook     9 

Ricky                           14

Kim Tae Rae                 7

Hui                           11

Wang Zi Hao               19

Yoon Jong Woo   15

Park Hanbin               13

Kum Jun Hyeon   10

Chen Kuan Jui   22

Ollie                           27

Seo Won               18

Lee Seung Hwan   21

Hiroto                           28

Takuto                           25

Yoo Seung Eon   17

Cha Woong Ki             26

Na Kamden               20

Zhang Shuai Bo   23

Lee Jeong Hyeon   24

Mun Jung Hyun   29

Ma Jing Xiang            30

Obviously, just that top 4 is interesting -- Zhang Hao in number 1, and Sung Hanbin sinking to 4th place behind Keita and Matthew. It’s also kind of interesting how the international community doesn’t seem to be super into Kim TaeRae, my little cousin, Kum Jun Hyeon, or titanium voiced Yoo Seung Eon. This does suggest that if any of them make it into the final lineup, they may end up not as popular down the road, though who really knows -- I mean, did anyone see Chaewon from Iz*one ending up where she is now? Or Yunjin, who didn’t even make the Iz*one lineup? 

I think the varied support is actually kind of good news for a lot of the trainees -- if they don’t make the final lineup in Korea, they might be able to go a more ATEEZ/Everglow route of being popular globally, even if they’re not super popular in Korea. It’s still making a living through singing and dancing, and I think a lot of them would be glad for that. 

Eliminated Trainees: Final Ranking and What’s Next 

29. Mun Jung Hyun 30. Ma Jing Xiang 31. Cai Jin Xin 32. Anthonny 33. Park Ji Hoo 34. Wumuti 35. Oh Sung Min 36. Lee Ye Dam 37. Brian 38. Jung Min Gyu 39. Chen Jian Yu 40. Lim Jun Seo 41. Ji Yun Seo 42. Dang Hong Hai 43. Cong 44. Lee Dong Yeol 45. Krystian 46. Bak Do Ha 47. Lee Da Eul 48. Park Hyunbeen 49. Jung I Chan 50. Choi Woo Jin 51. Lee Dong Gun

I found that ranking online, and while I can't confirm it, it strikes me as accurate. Below, I'll discuss what I see ahead for the various eliminated trainees, including a few who were eliminated in the first cut. I got out my crystal ball and tarot cards and watched the crows outside for a while and then typed up what came into my head. Let's go!

The WakeOne trainees: Anthonny(32),  Mun Jung Hyun(29) and Oh Sung Min (35)

I’m optimistic for these trainees because WakeOne has a serious pool of talent on their hands. They sent ten trainees to the show, and we can hope that most of them will make it into the WakeOne group, which will be called, oh I don’t know, Won1One or something. 

Wakeone trainees Kim Tae Rae, Park Hanbin, and Haruto are both doing really well on the show, and seem to me quite likely to make it through the next cut. Lee Jeong Hyeon and Cha Woongki are a little lower ranked but are both getting noticed, in different ways.  Anthonny, Mun Jung Hyeon, and Oh Sung Min at least survived the first cut, and Anthonny and Mun both almost survived the second. And Anthonny had a lot of early support -- he was ranked 8th i the first episode. So he certainly got some viewer’s attention, even if their gaze strayed later on.

The two trainees who were cut in episode 5 are less certain to debut in Won1One, but it’s not impossible. Park Min Seok, who you may have forgotten, was the leader of the blighted K-leftovers team in Eps 3-4 and ended up shooting up in the rankings from 84 to 61. I think if the voting period had gone a little longer, he might have survived. Min, who you may also have forgotten, was chosen by Keita for the Kill This Love team, and I trust Keita’s assessment of him, so Min must have some skills -- but he wasn’t particularly popular, so he’s the one I’m most worried about seeing again. 🙁

It seems likely that at least one of TaeRae or Park Hanbin will make the final Bepler lineup, so if so, while he or they are performing with Bebler, I’m hopeful that Wakeone will be getting some songs ready to debut their team as soon as they’re done. I’m looking forward to seeing them all again. Won1one, fighting! 

The Yuehua trainees: Brian (37) and Ji YunSeo (41)

Yuehua sent eight trainees -- remember the two “Kick It” groups? Only Brian and Ji YunSeo have been eliminated; the other six --  Ollie, Ricky, Zhang Hao, Han Yu Jin, Kim Gyu Vin, and Yoo Seung Eon are all obviously doing pretty well on the show so far. I think it’s fair to say that at least two of those are going to make the final lineup (Hao + at least one of Yujin and Gyuvin), and I think Ricky is at least going to pass the next cut. SeungEon might as well, but Ollie probably won’t, in part because he jammed his smelly finger into the camera during the “Planet Camp” bit this episode and that will make viewers associate him with bad smells, subconsciously, and they won’t want to vote for him as much.

But regardless, Yuehua is 8 for 8 in terms of having trainees pass the first cut, and 6 for 8 in trainees passing the second, and that’s pretty good. I don’t see any reason for Yuehua not to debut a team of eight and call it, oh, I don’t know, Everboy, or Boyglow. No real reason to leave out Brian and Ji YunSeo. I mean, YunSeo was in that Backdoor team that performed on M-Countdown, and that video is still getting plenty of views -- so even though his popularity wasn’t super strong, he is going to continue to get exposure. He also is a really solid vocalist. And Brian is a cutie-pie who is also a native speaker of English. So I feel pretty good that Brian, YunSeo, and all the rest will land on their feet, just fine. Everboyglow, fighting! 

The houses: Bak Do Ha (46) and Jung Min Gyu (48)

Both of these trainees are actors. Mingyu (the red house) already been in some minor dramas and stuff, and DoHa (the blue house) was in this webseries with Jiwon from Cherry Bullet. I think both of them left a good impression in terms of their personality and looks -- Mingyu is a bit more lovable, and Doha is a bit more “sexy”, but I think both were likable, and that’s important. I neither think nor hope that either will debut as idols, but I think both will do well as actors, and that’s cool for them and us! K-dramas, fighting!

Krystian:

Krystian’s going to be fine, ya’ll. 

Check out his insta -- @krystianwang. I think the “I’M FREEEEE!!!!!” caption says it all. He also has a post with the Limousine performance with the caption “LIMOUSINE (R.I.P크리스티안)” - - that a R.I.P. for the Korean spelling of his name. He has another post with a selfie and the caption “No rush, no rush.” So yeah, I think he’s fine. 

My prediction? I think he’ll go more of a B.I. / Jackson Wang route of just making the music he likes and releasing it through Youtube. I hope he does, in fact. I don’t think he’s made to be a team player.  

Krystian, Jiayou!  加油!

The other Chinese trainees: Cai Jin Xin, Chen Jian Yu, Ma Jing Xiang, and Wumuti 

I think Ma Jing Xiang will probably go into modeling. He’s 6’2 and 19 years old, and I just think modeling will be easier for him. I’m sure he’ll be fine! 

Cai Jin Xin is signed with an agency called TopClass, which also manages Xiaoting from Kep1er but not really anyone else. Like MJX, he’s also 6’2 and 19 years old. I think he’s demonstrated that he has a lot of trouble with both vocals and dancing, and I think he’ll end up going into modeling as well. 

Chen Jian Yu is a little bit of a different story. He seems really heart-set on becoming an idol -- he did Youth With You 3 before he came to Boys Planet. Problem is, though, that on his intake form he said that he is still looking for his specialty, and that seems to be the case, even though he’s 24. He’s signed with an agency called Star On Entertainment, about which I can find NOTHING online. So…  I don’t know what will happen for him. But it’s not like he was notably dreadful, but he missed his cue in the Star Level test, and made a few obvious dancing mistakes in the GGang performance. I wish him well, and it’s not impossible that he’ll eventually land on his feet, but I’m not super optimistic. 

Boys Planet was also the second survival show for Wumuti -- he participated in Under19, but he left the program right before the final episode citing “personal issues.” He did well there, and actually did pretty well here, finishing in 34th place. I think he has an amazing work ethic, as shown in the first hour of Episode 8. I bet he impressed all the industry people he met in those producer meetings, and maybe something good will come out of that. He’s devoted to this, and I don’t think he’s going to give up. Between his hard work, his sweet attitude, his charm, and his singing voice, I think he could find a place for himself. I’m not sure if China will embrace him, due to his status as an ethnic minority, but I hope so. Hey, go follow him on Insta! He’s @wumutit . He posted this note:

Chinese trainees, Jiayou!  加油!

The Vietnamese trainees: Cong (43) and Dang Hong Hai (42)

Vietnam is for sure into kpop -- when I was there a few years ago, I remember seeing a big billboard for GWSN (oh, GWSN! 🙁) -- but it absolutely does have its own music scene. I don’t know much about it -- I only know Love Charms by Bich Phuong, which is a complete BOP. I’m low key obsessed with it. If you listen to it and hate it, I will personally mail you some cheese crackers as an apology for having wasted your time. In any case, my point is that Vietnam is building its own music scene. Cong and DHH are both super popular in Vietnam, especially DHH, and if things don’t work out for them in Korea, I think they could easily make a good living as idols in Vietnam. DHH probably has a better shot -- he was more popular than Cong, and also is signed to Fantagio, while I don’t think Cong is signed at all. It’s not impossible that Fantagio will sign Cong and they’ll debut together. Fighting, guys! 

The wunderkinds: Park Ji Hoo(33) and Han SeoBin (60)

I always think about this moment in episode 1, when Hui stole the first chair seat from Park JiHoo. That’s all we knew about JiHoo then, that he had just gotten that seat. What did he do to get it? Knowing him like we do know, I bet he challenged whoever it was to a rap battle or something. Did we see whatever he did? Nope. 

I’m so glad we got to know him a bit more in later episodes. We also got a glimpse of his friend, Han Seobin, who seems to have earned the respect of the judges and trainees alike. 

I think JiHoo and SeoBin probably would have hated being on Bepler anyway. They’re signed to H1GHR MUSIC, which is where the judge pH1 is signed, among a bunch of rap artists I’d actually heard of, like Sik-K, and producers I actually recognize as well --  GroovyRoom and Woogie. Go make your own music, you teenage geniuses. I believe in you. 

The babies: Lee Da Eul(47), Lim Jun Seo (40), and Lee Dong Gun (51)

Lee Da Eul and Lim Jun Seo are both signed to 143 Entertainment, which is also home to iKON, as in, yes, that iKON, the one that used to be at YG. iKON moved there only a few months ago, when their contract expired at YG. So 143 must be doing something right. 

143 is also home to a small girl group called Limelight, which features MiU, a Japanese trainee who was eliminated from GP999 in the first round. Their song Eye to Eye isn’t terrible, by the way. And Lim Jun Seo is in the video, if that’s a draw for you? Also, it’s not impossible that Kang Yeseo and Mashiro will end up in that group when their term of service is done with Kepler.

So what I’m saying is that 143 Entertainmnet seems to be on the way up, and has demonstrated a willingness to debut groups relatively soon after their members leave reality shows, even if they don’t do stunningly well. 

I think people will forgive DaEul, because he’s a boy and boys get forgiven in Korea. And people always liked JunSeo just fine despite his obvious need for more training. So I predict that 143 Entertainment will put them in a group with one or two more boys -- maybe an ex Youth With You-3 trainee they dig up, or a few other lost lambs from LOUD or even Boys Planet -- and they’ll call it, oh I don’t know, BoyStage or something, and they’ll put out a pre-debut single that fuses trop house with both synth pop and yelling, and the video will get 1 million views over the course of 6 months. After that, my crystal ball goes dim. But fighting, boys! I wish you both well. 

As for Lee Dong Gun, he is apparently a member of a pre-debut group called Rare House, so he’s being managed, though who knows if anything will come of that. He’s really pretty, and a good dancer, and is still really young. His singing obviously needs a lot of work. He didn’t exactly thrive on this show, but he certainly had some fans. We’ll just see what the future holds for him. Fighting!

The Dongsaengs: Park Hyunbeen (48) and Choi Woo Jin (50)

Park Hyunbeen is signed to Jellyfish, along with General Gunwook and his two sergeants who he lost in episode 5,  Han Yu Seop (85) and Jang Yeo Jun (62). 

Choi WooJin is signed to RedStart Media, along with my little cousin, Kum Jun Hyeon, and the two trainees who were cut in episode 5, Hong Keon Hee(84) and the talented Kim Min Seoung(58).

So in both cases you have one popular trainee in a group of four, with only one of the other three surviving to the second cut. But also in both cases you have some talent in the trainees who got cut. Park Hyunbeen is actually pretty charming on stage, Hong Keon Hee just sort of makes me smile, and Kim Min Seong, though completely ignored by MNET, is really great, you guys. He was on the Backdoor-K team! He’s the one who does the flip right at the end of Backdoor -- and you know that MNET hates him because they only showed it once. THEY ONLY SHOWED A BACKFLIP ONCE, YOU GUYS. (Right before he does the flip, the whole team shouts MINSEONG-AH! affectionately. Watch it again!)

Anyway, it’s hard to know what will happen, but I fear that both these groups of four will debut post-Bepler, and it’ll be like WekiMeki and Gugudan, or Astro or CIX or even IVE, where a few extremely popular trainees vastly overshadow the rest of the group. 

So here’s what I propose, Redstart and Jellyfish, and hear me out. Put all eight of these trainees on a group together! Gunwook can be the leader and center, Jun Hyeon can be main vocal, and the rest can be sub vocals and rappers. You can name the group, oh, I don’t know, R.J.A.S.F., pronounced “Raz” (the J and the F will be silent). It’ll stand for “Red Jellyfish Always Swim Free” and the group concept will be that they are encouraging their fans to swim through life’s troubles with bright cheer. I mean, I’m on board, aren’t you? RJASF, Fighting! 

The Nugus: Lee Dong Yeol (44), Lee Hwanhee (46*), Jang Ji Ho (63), and Winnie (80) 

*Lee Hwanhee withdrew after episode 5, but was ranked 46 at that time.

I don’t know what’s going to happen to either Up10tion or NINE.i in the future. It’s not impossible that being on this show will boost these two groups. It happened for Nu’est when 4 of their members went on Produce101 Season 2. But it doesn’t strike me as super likely in this case. 

So I hope for good things, but don’t expect them. 

Seo Won, who is on NINE.i with JiHo and Winnie, is still on the show, but it seems extremely unlikely that he’ll make the final Top9. Neither JiHo nor Winnie made much an impact, unfortunately. So we’ll have to see.

Up10tion’s contracts are all up in 2023 and a bunch of them have already left the agency, but not the group. Will they start to get better songs now, if they have more control in the future? Will people give them a chance? I don’t know. But I do know that Spin Off by Up10tion is a great song that just gets better the more you listen to it. Lee Hwanhee’s vocals are all over that thing. Go give it a listen. It can only help. Fighting, guys! 

The Conundrums: Lee Ye Dam (36) and Jung I Chan (49)

These are two who are a bit tougher to know what to do with.

Jung I-chan, who I think prefers to call himself E-Chan, just doesn’t seem set up to be a K-pop idol. His facial expressions show every stray thought he has. He seems to lose focus quickly and seems to lack self-control or a sense of what he might seem like to other people. On the other hand, he has some musical talent and a lovely singing voice. Please go check out his Youtube Channel. He posts a lot of covers that he’s clearly making in his bedroom on a little Casio keyboard or something, but they’re good. My hope for him is that he gets to make OST songs (those are soundtracks for dramas -- a good reliable source of income for people who can actually sing but can’t really dance or perform), because really, that’s what he can do: sing. Good luck, hon. 

As for Lee Yedam, oof, this is tough. I think his agency wants to push him as a soloist, but it’s not going to work out for him as a soloist. Yeah, it breaks my heart. I think he’s so effing talented, you guys. And a cutey! Shorter guys are sexy too! I don’t know what the obsession is with height. Shorter people are better on airplanes! They eat less so they’re climate friendly! Hurray for short people!

Anyway, I don’t think his agency can field a whole boy group to put him on, so I hope that he breaks his contact and goes to another agency where he can be put in a boy group. Just as there are visual members, and sexy members, and cheerful members, a lot of boy groups have “unthreatening” members. You know, the boy who is a little more approachable than the others, and who girls can daydream is their boyfriend that they cheat on with the sexy member. On Exo, it’s Xiumin. On SHINee, it was probably Onew (when they debuted). On NCT, I’d say it’s probably Doyeon, but I don’t know NCT too well. On TXT, it’s probably Taehyun. You know what I mean? Often the approachable member is also super talented, too, and it’s not like they’re unpopular, but they’re just not usually people’s bias.

Lee Yedam would be ideal for that kind of role. He's a super talented all-rounder who would be a good addition to basically any team. He can pull off cute concepts and sexy concepts. He would be unlikely to be people’s biases, but fans of the group would be protective of how talented and sweet he is. So Yedam, if you’re reading this -- go find a bigger agency that can put you on a big team. Maybe go approach Jellyfish or Redstart! 

Lee Yedam, fighting!

Everyone, fighting!

So that brings me to the end of this post. I can’t really see the future, but as always, I hope everyone find a soft place to land. I really, really, do.

And you, too, dear reader. May your bed be comfortable at night, may your coffee be hot in the morning, and may your afternoons be lazy and bright. 

See you next time! 

(And btw, sorry for the lack of images in this post, but it would have taken a long time to add them and I just want to try to keep up with the episodes!)