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The popularity of idol survival programs are still running high in Korea. Following IOI's debut from Produce 101 Season 1, Wanna One's debut from Season 2, and Produce 48, this current round's Produce x 101 is finally at its end. The 11 members of the new group X1 have been brought together through viewers' votes and will be working together for the next five years. Their contract is longer than the past seasons' contracts.
Let's take a deep dive into Produce x 101!
K-pop Idol: Produce x 101 | Program Intro
Produce 101 is a survival program for K-pop idols-to-be. In the various seasons of the show, the K-pop groups IOI (2016), Wanna One (2017) and IZ*ONE (2019) had their debuts. The fourth series is now on in 2019, called Produce x 101. Trainees from various entertainment companies both in Korea and abroad become the contestants. The 11 that gain the most popularity through viewers' votes will become a real K-pop idol group under CJ Entertainment.
The initial reaction for Produce 101 was that of controversy. The idea that 101 trainees would be competing against each other on TV was something that hadn't been done before in Korea. However, as the show started gaining immense popularity, it is now an opportunity for trainees to show off their potential to the public and basically a gateway that all new K-pop groups must pass. The guy version, Produce 101 Season 2, far surpassed the popularity levels of the past season and ultimately led to the production of the future series as well as the export of the show to China, Japan, and Thailand.
Like Seasons 1 and 2, Produce X 101 will pick 11 members from the 101 contestants. The these 11 will be chosen, however, is very different from the past seasons. Rather than ranking the contestants and picking the 1st to 11th place winners, the the 11th finalist will be chosen by the number of votes they received over the course of the show. The title song's center member will also be chosen via the viewer's votes instead of the contestants' votes as done in the past. Finally, a revival round will be introduced where an eliminated contestant will get a second chance at survival.
K-pop Idol: Produce x 101 | The Final Debut Member
The final 11 members are: Kim Yohan, Kim Wooseok (TOP Media), Han Seungwoo (PLAN A), Song Hyeongjun (Starship), Cho Seungyeon (Yuehua), Son Dongpyo (DSP Media), Lee Hangyeul (MBK), Nam Dohyun (MBK), Cha Junho (Woolim), Kang Minhee (Starship), and Lee Eunsang (Brand New Music). These contestants will be working as members of the K-pop group X1 for the next 5 years. The members will focus on working as a group for the first 2 and a half years, and then will be allowed to hold additional roles in their own entertainment companies afterwards. Everybody is looking forward to see if X1 has what it takes to become K-pop superstars like the past Produce 101 group, Wanna One.
K-pop Idol: Produce x 101 | The Future of the Show
민중의소리ⓒ김슬찬 기자
The reason that Produce's K-pop groups are bound for success is that they are chosen by the public. Personal fans form fandoms for certain contestants even before their debut, and other viewers of the show are already familiar with the contestants by the time they are a real group. The groups naturally become popular due to the public's familiarity with them.
Smaller entertainment companies, however, are unfortunately at a disadvantage due to this show; it's much harder for them to successfully push the debut of new K-pop groups as they will most likely be undermined by the immense popularity of the Produce 101 groups.
The biggest controversy of Produce 101 is that the show fundamentally uses the desperation of the contestant trainees for entertainment. Many concerns about the ethical grounds of the show are consistently raised with each season. The strategic editing to stir up controversy and press coverage is also a serious concern as these practices almost always lead to victims. Even the show's synopsis is written as "the youth and the conflicts of idol trainees." It's difficult to make an argument against the fact that the program is ultimately a show that uses the hopes and dreams of real people for entertainment and profit.
The contract for X1 is five years; the contract is undeniably long compared to the 1 year contract for IOI, the 1 year 6 months contract for Wanna One, and the 2 years 6 months contract for IZ*ONE. Seeing the contract length, some are wondering if this may be the last series of Produce 101 as a five-year contract would get in the way of debuting a new group every year through the show; if the show were to continue despite the five-year contract of X1, then CJ Entertainment's groups would have to start competing against each other.
There has been other idol survival audition programs popping up ever since the success of the Produce series, but the public now seems to be getting tired of such survival programs. It's not easy to be so emotionally involved in a contestant's success and be worried for their future. Considering that survival programs of the past such as SuperstarK also became immensely popular but was cancelled after the seasons started to become repetitive, we'll have to see how much longer Produce 101 has until it follows the same fate.
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