Mnet dropped the very first special stage for the second season of their wildly popular idol survival program, Produce 101, today!
If you’ve hit play on the video out of curiosity and managed to sit through the entire 4 minutes and 46 seconds thinking there’s no harm in talented, young boys chasing their dreams, you’re dead wrong. Veteran audience members of the first season, who remember the bloodthirsty fanwars and desperate voting countdowns will tell you firsthand Produce 101 is no picnic.
The gist of the show is pretty self-explanatory – 101 trainees gather to audition and compete against each other for the coveted 11 spots on the final lineup of an Mnet-produced boy group. But take 11 away from 101 and you get a whopping 90 kids who have just lost another incredibly valuable opportunity to join the industry. Stock up on tissue boxes while you can, because no one is going to walk away from this season with dry eyes.
Like the previous season, everyone would’ve fought for the much sought over ‘center’ position but the “Pick Me” performance reveals a trainee from the company, Brand New Music, came out on top and earned himself the biggest spotlight of the stage.
Following the “Pick Me” stage on M Countdown, online communities have blown up with more stories and pictures to share of the trainees. Several have become a hot topic.
First there’s 29-year-old, Park Sung-woo, who got caught tiptoeing in a clip and smiled disarmingly anyways. Then there’s 18-year-old, Park Ji-hoon, whose freshly charming wink from the performance video is currently breaking hearts. And let’s not forget Jang Moon-bok, or should we say the ‘Second Jung Chae-yeon’, who swept his long hair to the side and ended the performance video memorably with a lip lick-turned-bite.
Clips, gifs and pictures of these trainees are quickly making their way around the good ol’ Internet, but there are a couple of familiar faces in the crowd of trainees, too. Upsettingly, members of already established but unpopular boy bands have joined the competition to boost their names. Make sure to show a lot of love to the NU’EST and Topp Dogg members who have put a pause on group activities to make the most of this opportunity!
The first episode of the cutthroat competition will be airing April 7 at 11pm (KST) on Mnet, following the conclusion of School Rapper on March 31. Don’t forget to tune in and help produce the nation’s next boy group!
#Peace.Love.Produce101
