Girls Planet 999 contestant Shana Nonaka to debut with MLD Entertainment’s rookie girl group
The nine members of Kep1er who were picked from Mnet Girls Planet 999’s Top 9 contestants — the show's winners — are yet to make their official debut. Kep1er who were to debut in December 2021 are now looking at a launch in January 2022 now.
The postponement comes after Covid-19 cases sprung up among the staff who manages the group. Two members, namely, Mashiro and Xiaoting, also tested positive for Covid-19, delaying the girl group's much-awaited debut. Meanwhile, other contestants from the show, who grabbed the attention of labels due to their skills, are now announcing their debut with other upcoming rookie groups.
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MLD Entertainment picks Shana Nonaka
According to the reports from December 22, it was announced that Shana Nonaka who was a contestant on Mnet’s Girls Planet 999 will debut with MLD Entertainment’s upcoming rookie group. After making a lasting impression on the label, Japanese trainee Shana Nonaka will now become the second GP999 trainee to be recruited by agencies after the Top 9 members became part of Kep1er.
It was announced that MLD Entertainment is looking to launch a new girl group in the first half of 2022 and Shana Nonaka is expected to officially debut in the music industry by joining the new girl group early next year. The upcoming group will be the first girl group to be introduced by MLD Entertainment since Momoland.
Out of the 33 girls that were trainees from Japan, Shana Nonaka was officially the fourth Japanese trainee on the final leaderboard. Hikaru Ezaki as well as Mashiro Sakamoto took the Top 2 spots among J-Group members (Japanese Trainees) while trainee Yurina Kawaguchi ranked third before Shana Nonaka.
Trainee Kim Soo-yeon joins Billlie
Shana Nonaka is not the only trainee that did not make it to the Top 9 and still got recruited by another label. Kim Soo-yeon was the first trainee who could not make it to the top 9, nixing her chance to debut with Kep1er. But despite that, she was selected by Mystic Story, the label that manages the rookie group Billlie that made their debut in November of 2021.
Billlie debuted as a six-member group but with the addition of Soo-yeon (known by her stage name Sheon), the group is now a septet. In addition, Sheon joined the group as their main dancer and lead rapper. Billlie last released ‘Snow Night’, their winter single on December 14 where Sheon joined the six members of the group, which was heralded as a successful debut. With the announcement of Shana Nonaka’s recruitment, fans expect the Japanese trainee to make a lasting impression on K-pop listeners in the future.