Mnet 'Girls Planet 999': Meet mentors and Master Council who will evaluate the 99 trainees
Survival shows in the K-pop industry tend to be slightly different from those in the West as they take the concept of harsh elimination and talent shows to create new groups. Many of our favorite groups, in fact, have been made through survival shows like ENHYPEN through 'I-LAND' or Iz*One through 'Produce 48'. Well, now the latest survival show that everyone has their eye on, happens to be Mnet’s 'Girls Planet 999'.
'Girls Planet 999' is already being talked about even though it’s a month away from airing. With a unique concept, they plan to take 33 participants each from South Korea, China and Japan. Some of the notable trainees happen to be CLC’s Choi Yujin, Cherry Bullet’s Bora and Jiwon, TXT Kai’s sister, Huening Bahiyyih and 'Youth With You 2’s' Roada Xu Ziyin. Along with them, the judging and mentoring panel is equally reputable. While Yeo Jin-goo of 'Hotel Del Luna' fame will be hosting the show, the two mentors happen to be second-gen stars, Sunmi and Girls’ Generation’s Tiffany. Here's what you need to know about the mentors and Master Council.
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The Master Council
Along with the two K-pop idols as mentors, there is a judging panel of professionals in different fields called the Dance and Vocal Masters. Jang Juhee known for her association with JYPE and Baek Koo-young who has worked with SM will be looking at the dance aspect. Finally, former Monday Kiz member, Lim Han-byul and former Dal Shabet member, Jo Ayoung will be the vocal judges. However, all six will work together as the Council to fairly judge the overall aspects of the trainees.
Except for the mentors, the rest of the Masters’ panel got to see the audition clips of the 99 girls that were selected. While describing it for the mentors, the four only had good words to share. They noticed that the average quality of all the girls was solid. However, Han-byul was very strict as he still had some constructive criticism for some of the trainees. The Korean participants were grouped together as the K group, the Chinese girls became the C group and the Japanese girls are in the J group.
The 3 groups
K group girls showed a lot of power, had fierce facial expressions and impressed the panel with their physique. The Masters realized that the girls were good at K-pop, choreography due to high exposure and had a deeper understanding.
The C group was charismatic. The girls were committed and the panel was touched as they saw how extreme the girls went in their audition to be the best, like the girl using a bottle as a mic. The girls were energetic, outrageous in a good way and everything they did seemed effortless.
The girls of the J group seemed tough and intensely danced in their audition clips. They wowed both the Vocal and Dance Masters who found that a lot of the girls could, in fact, have several ace positions if they debuted in a group. Overall, the J group made a great impression on the Masters.
Additionally, the production gave the Council a first look at the ‘signal song’ of 'Girls Planet 999' which is titled ‘O.O.O’. The choreography was made by the Dance Masters who were inspired by the circles of the planetary concept of the show as they emphasized the beauty of curves. Their focus is for the girls to show strength and toughness. With making sure that the girls have a progressive journey on the show, the Council titled the participants' story the ‘Girls’ Saga’.
The bottom line was that all of the girls were good at singing and some, even without any practice gave the Masters goosebumps. At first, the Council was worried that if all the members were from the K group, it would feel that there was a degree of bias. However, this doesn't seem like an issue after the Masters watched the audition clips. Everyone is convinced that the girls from all the groups did well and stated that it will be a tough competition. The show will air on Mnet's channel in August 2021 with 12 episodes.
Watch the video below.