Have you heard what the new trending show is? SBS has premiered a new K-Pop competition program called “The Player: K-POP Quest,” and I know K-Pop fans like me are so excited to watch this!
Most of the popular K-Pop acts you know and love today actually got their start on K-Pop reality shows. You’ve probably heard of “Produce Groups” like the legendary groups IOI, Wanna One, IZ*ONE, X1, and 4th generation groups such as Kep1er, Treasure, Enhypen, and Fromis_9. However, you may not be aware that many other K-Pop groups, like TWICE, Stray Kids, Monsta X, WINNER, IKON, Pentagon, and Momoland, originated through K-Pop survival competition shows too!
In that case, let’s define a K-Pop survival competition show. Trainees (of varying types, as defined by the show’s premise) compete to win the hearts of viewers by showcasing their skills and character. When it comes down to it, fans usually get to decide who makes the cut and who will end up in the debut lineup!
So, I’m going to introduce to you this new K-Pop survival program, and who knows, they might also be the next big thing in K-Pop, just like the groups I mentioned above!
“The Player: K-POP Quest“
SBS’s newest K-Pop reality show is titled “The Player: K-POP Quest,” and it features trainees from KQ Entertainment as the game characters who go on quests and face challenges alongside the best musicians in their respective fields.
This is very different from other survival shows we’ve seen in the past because here, the top artists of the day have been brought together to create the next big K-Pop sensation, and now the idol trainee must compete in a series of challenges to make it into the debut group. We can follow them as they develop and mature on the road to their debut with this show.
Master Defconn and Jo Jung Sik serve as hosts, while Lyn, Kim Sung Kyu, EDEN, HANHAE, and Honey J instruct them in singing, rapping, and dancing. I really have a feeling that they will be super rookies!
Other K-Pop Survival Shows You Can Watch and Which Group They Produced!
“My Teen Girl” – CLASS:y
“My Teen Girl” is a recently concluded program that produced the super rookie CLASS:y! Hosted by Yun Kyun Sang, the show’s concept is to put together a global female group of seven people to chart on Billboard! With over 30,000 applications from aspirants all over the world, 83 contestants were chosen. The 83 contestants were separated into four groups based on their ages!
This female K-Pop survival show has amazing mentors with SNSD Yuri, (G)-Idle Soyeon, former Fin.K.L member Ock Joo Hyun, and Aiki joining the lineup! The mentors helped the contestants train their vocals, dance, and rap! “My Teen Girl” has an amazing concept because it uses the school terms in the show such as “Entrance Exam” for the name of the mission, and the girls were grouped into 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Grades based on their ages!
“UNDER NINETEEN” – 1THE9
“UNDER NINETEEN,” which the name suggests is for trainees under the age of 19 years old. The goal of the MBC competition show hosted by actress Kim So Hyun was to showcase aspiring singers, rappers, dancers, and choreographers. A total of 57 boy band members competed to earn the spot in the debut lineup of 1THE9!
Just like other survival shows, the show started by dividing the trainees into three groups of 19. With the help of the mentors (called the “Directors”), they are separated in their skills in Vocal, Rap, and Performance! Aside from the Directors, they also gained help and support from special directors and guests such as TVXQ’s Yunho, Block B’s P.O, EXID’s Hani, GFriend’s Yerin, BTS’s J-Hope, and EXO’s Kai!
“LOUD“
Many fans of K-Pop have been anticipating this reality competition show ever since they learned that it was a joint venture between Psy (of P.Nation) and J.Y. Park (of JYP Entertainment). The program involves 75 contestants from different countries with artistic talents competing for a spot in the two debuting groups: one under JYP Entertainment (Home to Twice, Stray Kids, ITZY) and one under P. Nation!
This Korean reality show was created specifically for people who are not currently represented by a talent agency. It seeks contestants with artistic talents in various fields, including art, creativity, singing, dancing, rapping, songwriting, arranging music, and playing musical instruments. Lee Seung Gi also joined the program as a Special Agent whose task is to provide guidance and support to the remaining contestants as they prepare for the finale!
No, the “LOUD” boy groups haven’t debuted yet, but their expected debut date is in 2023!
“The Unit” – UNB and UNI.T
The objective of this program is to build male and female unit groups, of nine members each, from among idols who have already made their debut, and this is one of my favorite survival shows because of this. The purpose of this program is to provide them with a platform from which they can showcase skills they may not have displayed previously.
“The Unit” has Rain, Hwang Chi Yeul, Hyun A, Tae Min, San E, and Jo Hyun A in their mentor lineup, which helped them showcase their talents once again! This KBS survival competition show produced the well-loved and now disbanded UNB and UNI.T! If you’re familiar with Lee Junyoung, you know that he made his debut with UKISS before moving on to UNB after placing first in “The Unit.”
In addition to my love for Korean dramas, I’ve found that I enjoy watching a number of K-Pop-themed survival competition series. It’s thrilling and meaningful to know that we’ve been there for the trainees from the beginning, and to witness their debut is a wonderful sense of fulfillment. Let’s go ahead and turn on KOCOWA to watch “The Player: K-POP Quest” right now!
