K-pop Survival Show History
With the fall of the great K-pop Produce 101 television series, many other similar competitions have sprung up in its absence, hoping to recreate the magic the show made, like Girls Planet 999 and now, My Teen Girl. For those of you who are new to the K-pop scene and don’t know, South Korea is most famous for its amazing music-making trainees that flock there from around the world in hopes of debuting as one of their idols. Unfortunately, despite training for years, most of these people will not make it or sometimes get overlooked constantly amongst the vast sea of others fighting for the same dream, which is where the concept of a survival show came into play. It all started when JYP Entertainment wanted to construct the ultimate girl group and, for the first time, was willing to accept international girls from countries like Japan. To make sure that this group would only have the best, they created the first K-pop survival show, Sixteen, where many young female trainees competed with performances in front of a live audience for 9 spots in a final lineup that would officially debut. This was strange for the industry because traditionally, group members are personally chosen by the company’s higher-ups then revealed to the public with no guarantee that they would be liked. However, Sixteen turned the tables by making the people the ones with the power to choose who debuted, making the finalists very popular and, as a result, led to the launch of the most famous girl group–Twice: a group that constantly shatters records and takes the world by storm.
After seeing how successful Twice became, the South Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ E&M decided that they were going to do the same thing on the Mnet Network. Still, instead of a firmly established lineup, they would only allow the group to be active for one year and then reboot the show all over again to make a new group. They could continue building hype around the group for promotional reasons and make more money since multiple entertainment agencies would send trainees to participate. That was how the boy and girl groups I.o.I, Wanna One, Iz*One, and X1 came to be, and for a while, the system did everything it wanted it to do. The show’s popularity became international, as people worldwide eventually voted for their favorite trainees. Other Asian countries even made their own variations. It wasn’t until a massive scandal broke out in South Korea that revealed how the network was manipulating the votes for money to determine who in the end would debut, tricking viewers into thinking it was fair. That was what finally slew the giant, causing Mnet to officially cancel the show allowing other competitions a chance to take over. Sure they tried to redeem themselves with their new K-pop survival show Girls Planet 999, which made Kep1er. However, many netizens are still reluctant to trust the show despite making everything transparent.
My Teen Girl Show
This is where My Teen Girl by the MBC network and the founder of the new girl group CLASS:y comes into play. Seeing how Mnet’s comeback with Girls Planet 999 wasn’t as big as before, they tried to compete with the same system but with a unique concept. In their reality survival show, teenage girls starting from the age of 10-years-old would compete against each other for 7 spots in the debut lineup and a 7-year contract. Also, the show’s concept was “an after-school club,” all the girls were divided into 4 classes (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors). At the same time, they performed against each other as a class until it was for individuals. As for how the show determined who was eliminated each round, there were 3 parts to the voting process. While there were four judges (or teachers as they called them on the show) giving their input, there were also people onsite watching the performances live while voting and international viewers who watched and voted online. 60% of the votes went to international viewers, while 40% went to onsite voters. The judges didn’t give their points until the final rounds, which led to the final lineup of CLASS:y. (Yay, we’re finally here! I know it took a while, but the backstory was needed to understand my mindset about this group. Thanks for bearing with me for this long.)
Out of all 83 contestants, the girls Jimin, Seonyou, Hyungseo, Hyeju, Riwon, Boeun, and Chaewon managed to snatch the final spots, and I’m going to tell you my opinion on it. Before I get into the nitty-gritty, I would just like to say that I have no animosity toward any of these girls. They have all trained very hard to get where they are now and are very talented. I would never take that away from them, but things about the show don’t add up, causing even more talented girls to suffer, which needs to be known. Therefore, this article had to be written starting with the final rankings. My opinions are based on all the girls’ performances, previous rankings, improvement, and teacher comments.
Official CLASS:y Lineup and Rankings (from first to last place)
- Won Jimin (Sophmore)
Now I’m not saying that this girl should not have made it into the lineup. Won Jimin does work really hard and has an amazing voice. Her part in TTS’s “Twinkle” proves this as it effectively displayed her voice’s range, making her stand out amongst all the sophomores. I just don’t think she should have been ranked first, especially when she made her team lose the chance to challenge the top 7 by making a mistake on stage during the semi-finals. I believe that when it comes to the highest rank, the person should have been perfect or at least the closest to it throughout the entire competition as well as have been able to stand out. I say this because I feel like the top girl should be a role model for all the other members and, therefore, should’ve been an all-rounder. Up until “Twinkle,” I didn’t really notice her at all after her first entrance audition. She never did poorly or was extremely prominent in her performances, making her seem like a lukewarm or neutral performer, which was why before that specific song, her rank was always in the middle toward the bottom.
- Kim Seonyu (Freshman)
As for this little firecracker, she absolutely deserved to be ranked second despite being one of the youngest girls competing. Not only can this girl dance and rap, but she can sing– and I mean SING! She was one of the main reasons the freshmen team got so far and always had to pick up the slack from others. She even beat out a very popular sophomore in a one-on-one battle on her first try without even batting an eyelash, proving to viewers like myself that the girl was ready to debut. That’s why throughout the entire competition, she’d always rank as one of the highest freshmen. The only reason she lost her spot in the first hypothetical lineup was that the person who challenged her for her spot had caused Kim Seonyu to mess up her voice before the performance. Both girls were supposed to sing (G)-Idle’s “Lion” together, allowing viewers to decide who sang it better. Whoever did the best would start in the final lineup for the finale. Before the live show, Kim Seonyu had been given very high notes and was killing it throughout the rehearsals. Still, because the other girl kept messing up, causing the duo to keep restarting, Kim Seonyu suffered a strain in her throat from singing the note too much, which as a result impacted her final performance (which was still amazing, I may add, but not as epic as her practice stage). It was as if the other girl kept forgetting her part intentionally to sabotage Kim Seonyu, knowing she was a better singer (but that wasn’t proven just appeared to be the case). That’s why I was so relieved to see her win back her chance and finish off the competition in second place because she really did earn it.
- Myung Hyungseo (Senior)
When it comes to Myung Hyungseo, I’m not going to lie. I was really happy she made it. She had been through so much up to this point that she deserved a silver lining since the first group she had officially debuted in Busters was forced to disband due to their lack of popularity. But that was not the only reason as to why I thought she definitely should’ve been in the group. Myung Hyungseo has a beautiful voice that many people overlooked throughout the competition, just like Won Jimin. The only difference is that she never once disappointed us in her performances, especially toward the end when she sang “Time for the Moon Night” and “Feel Special.” That was when she really allowed her voice to pop off and really shine, showing people how bad she really wanted to be an idol again. My only problem with her was that I don’t think she should’ve been third. Just like Won Jimin, she didn’t really begin to stand out until toward the end, when there weren’t many competitors left like she drifted her way to the end (even though I know she worked hard to get there). Again, not trying to belittle her talent, just stating the obvious. Just like Won Jimin, she should definitely be on this list, but not so high up due to their lack of stage presence in the beginning, but good for them for getting better toward the end.
- Hong Hyeju (Senior)
Hong Hyeju, on the other hand, I believe should never have been in the final lineup because she barely sings, and her rapping is just okay. Her dancing skills give her notoriety, allowing her to easily teach others and do tricks that no one else can. That’s the only reason she made it to the end. People were intrigued by her extreme flexibility. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love her as a person. She’s also a good performer, but compared to other rappers and dancers that didn’t get in like Kim Hyun-hee and Kim Yunseo, the girl can’t hold a candle to them. Literally, the only reason she could steal the position from Kim Yunseo was that she danced better. Her rapping and singing were not on par with Kim Yunseo’s, and even the teachers said so during their preparation. Therefore, I don’t think she should’ve made it into the final lineup. She took the space from a girl who deserved it more based on talent, skill level, and demeanor.
- Kim Riwon (Sophmore)
This goes for Kim Riwon as well, but the fact that she made it angers me more than Hong Hyeju. Once again, she is a nice person personality-wise, but what I don’t like about her is the reason behind why she was always in the top rankings–. That’s right, people; from the very beginning, this girl had been ranking in votes around the world for being pretty. Not for her singing, dancing, or stage presence because if that were true, Won Jimin would’ve been at the top of the sophomore class since she always sang the most complicated notes. But no, just because she was nice to look at, international fans would use their 60% of the votes to always push her over the others despite being an okay performer. She doesn’t sing badly but always tries to seem older than she is, and that’s what screws her over. For example, when the first hypothetical lineup was revealed, and she was in it, the girls in the group were told to choose a song that they were confident no one could beat them in because it displayed all their charms and skills. Then, the girls who weren’t in the top 7 had the opportunity to challenge them using the song. However, instead of choosing a song that was compatible with her own charms and voice, she chose Twice’s “Feel Special” because she thought her body looked good doing the choreography, completely ignoring the emotional connection people have with it and the sad story it portrays. That was why it wasn’t a surprise when Myung Hyungseo, a person who went through the pain the song talked about, snatched her spot from right under her by expressing the song’s purpose instead of trying to look seductive. That whole situation just proved to me that Kim Riwon was not ready to debut yet because she thinks appearances are the most important part of a girl group instead of being capable. She’s too shallow and naive. Therefore, someone else should’ve had this spot, not her.
- Park Boeun (Freshman)
As for Park Boeun, what can I say? We all knew she was going to debut in the final lineup the moment we witnessed her perform Jennie’s “Solo” with such attitude and maturity beyond her years like a true professional. Of course, it also helps that she had always been in the top 7 from the very beginning, proving how formidable the little girl truly was. It didn’t matter that she competed with girls almost twice her age. In the end, she always brought her A game and pulled through. My only complaint was that she ended up being sixth because this girl clearly deserved a high ranking for never getting beat by anyone throughout the whole competition.
- Yoon Chaewon (Senior)
This leads me to talk about the very last girl to make the cut, Yoon Chaewon, because even to this day, what happened to her still makes my blood boil almost a month later. How on earth does she go from consistently being first from the beginning to dropping to the bottom, barely making the cut when she never made a mistake and performed perfectly? It doesn’t make sense at all, especially if they put Kim Riwon and Hong Hyeju before her. Yoon Chaewon is literally the total package with her looks, voice, dancing, and personality, so I don’t understand how this happened. It’s like what happened to Shen Xiaoting in Kep1er (she went from dominating the competition to barely making it last minute). And if that wasn’t enough to drive a person crazy, she was almost beaten by Kim Yooyeon: the girl who was literally only there because of her looks since she couldn’t sing, dance, or express anything! I mean, yes, this may sound like my reasoning, not like Kim Riwon, but at least she had more of a presence and could sing. Kim Yooyeon was like a lifeless doll that could only be trusted with a few lines because she couldn’t stay on beat, hold a pitch for too long, or change expressions (basically the complete opposite of a K-pop idol). Therefore, the fact that they almost let her in over Yoon Chaewon shows me that something very sketchy is going on during this competition. Yoon Chaewon deserved better and had been beloved by the audience and the judges since she appeared on stage. So the fact that they dropped her so low and moved her so close to Kim Yooyeon is just disrespectful, and all his performances prove it.
The lineup I think should’ve debuted (ranked from first to last in order):
- Yoon Chaewon (Senior)
- Kim Seonyu (Freshman)
- Kim Hyun-hee (Junior)
- Park Boeun (Freshman)
- Kim Yunseo (Junior)
- Won Jimin (Sophmore)
- Myung Hyungseo (Senior)
Why? Look up all their performances on YouTube, and you’ll see why. The answer is clear once they get on the stage. Also, I think it’s wrong that they advertised creating a group of 4 different grades when there are no juniors in their final lineup. Did you notice that?
Side Note: Does anyone else find it ironic that in the beginning all the other classes voted the seniors as the weakest grade and the juniors the strongest when in the end, the seniors claimed most of the positions and the juniors none? Yikes, talk about awkward.