Mnet’s 'Boys Planet' claims to be most-diverse audition program ever

K-pop

Published: 02 Feb. 2023, 13:56 Updated: 02 Feb. 2023, 15:35

Mnet’s 'Boys Planet' claims to be most-diverse audition program ever

Celebrity coaches pose during the online press conference for "Boys Planet" on Feb. 2, 2023. [MNET]

Mnet’s multinational audition program “Boys Planet,” a male version of “Girls Planet 999” (2021), airs its first episode on Thursday. Its producers and panel of celebrity coaches sat down for an online conference that morning to introduce the show’s ambitions.

Striving to be the most global audition show by Mnet so far, “Boys Planet” saw more than 200 agencies in 84 countries submit hopefuls. A total of 98 contestants made it on the first episode, 49 each in the “K Group” of Korean contestants and “G Group” of global contestants.

Producers Kim Shin-young behind “Girls Planet 999” and Ko Jeong-kyung of “Show Me The Money Season 9” took the reins of the new audition show. Kim is also the producer behind other hit audition shows “Dancing Nine” (2013-15) and “I-LAND” (2020).

“A large team of writers and directors, each an expert in a wide array of fields, worked together to create this program,” said producer Kim. “We are doing our best to discover contestants’ talents from many different angles.”

“Mnet has consistently strived to introduce K-pop to the domestic and global audience,” said producer Ko. “Since we have ample experience in hosting large-scale auditions, we hope to create an environment where contestants can fully exhibit their skills.”

Celebrity coaches pose during the online press conference for "Boys Planet" on Feb. 2, 2023. [MNET]

The show also features singers Lee Seok-hoon, Lim Han-byul and Solji of girl group EXID as “vocal masters”; rapper pH-1 as “rap master”; and choreographers Lip J, Choi Young-joon and Baek Gu-young as “dance masters.” Lip J rose to stardom through Mnet dance competition show “Street Woman Fighter” (2021), and Choi and Baek — known for creating choreography for star K-pop boy bands like Exo, Seventeen and The Boyz — rose to public prominence through last year’s “Street Man Fighter.”

“I’ve joined once again following ‘Girls Planet,’” said Lim. “I found the contestants’ sparkling eyes inspiring. I’m sure this show will produce the biggest stars.”

“There are so many talented contestants on this season,” said Choi. “They’re going to show you performances that shine, along with the help of brilliant coaches,” he laughed.

“The show has a K Group and G Group, which motivated the participants to feel a rivalry and improve their skills faster,” said pH-1.

Viewers dubbed “star creators” around the world will submit their votes to determine the final lineup of contestants who will debut as a K-pop idol group.

“The viewers’ votes will 100-percent determine who gets to debut,” said producer Kim. “For ‘Girls Planet 999,’ the votes went to one of the three groups — Korea, China or Japan — but this time, each votes go to an individual contestant, fully reflecting what a star creator wants.”

A teaser photo of Mnet's audition show ″Boys Planet″ [MNET]

Votes from Korea will account for 50 percent of the tally, and the other 50 percent will be determined by votes from abroad.

The contestants will go through four missions; including the final episode, set to be aired live. Each mission has a host dubbed “Star Master,” the first of which will be actor and former boy band Wanna One’s member Hwang Min-hyun, who also debuted through the Mnet audition show “Produce 101 Season 2.”

For better transparency during the viewer voting process, the show has partnered with accounting firm Samil PwC. The firm will verify each step of the voting process, a first for a K-pop audition show.

Although all of the contestants in G Group are also from Asia or of Asian descent, producers assured that it is still the most diverse K-pop audition show to date.

“Contestants from 84 nations applied to our show, and it is true that most of them are from Asia,” said producer Ko. “However, it is certain that we have the most diverse participants compared to audition shows in the past that include contestants from Japan, China, the United States, Canada and Vietnam. We think an even more diverse pool will join us in the future.”

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]