*** This recap is not a full or thorough account of events from the episode btw. This is a culmination of the events as I made notes in one full watch of the episodes, excluding the scrub thru to get screenshots and gifs of the episode. Thanks for understanding***
Also screenshots and gifs will be uploaded later so be on the look out.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Planet K Side ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We start off with the boys entering the studio and the antics that ensue from trying to get the top seats first.
We are introduced to the ranking system for this season. All Stars, Two stars and One stars.
We have different categories for the trainees. Individual trainees from different regions, Those who are from agencies, and those who have debuted in some capacity.
It's revealed that after every mission going forward the lowest class will be eliminated.
We’re introduced to the Masters (mentors) of this season. For Vocals we have returned from season 1, Lee Seokhoon and Onestar. Along with a new vocal master this season, Hyolin of Sistar fame, now a soloist. For Dance Baek Kooyoung, returning from Season 1 and choreographer for this season's signal song, as well as KINKY, and Kany, an international choreographer who worked with Beyonce and other stars.
Another new rule, specifically for evaluations , is that if the masters believe that any trainees do not meet expectations, they’ll get no stars, and will be eliminated immediately. However later it’s revealed that the trainees can participate in an extra test, a way to prove themselves with a second chance. It is a risky choice as their class could go up, but can also go down if done poorly.
With that, Evaluations start!
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We start with the IST boys, Dong Gyu, Rensho ,Arctic, and Kim Sihwan. They perform “Misfit” and it’s a great performance. Donggyu is asked to sing as he said he was a vocalist in his bio and sings very soulfully which i was impressed by.
Everyone in this group gets All star class.
Next are the boys from the boy group MNCD, Song Minjae, Noh Huijun, and Bang Junhyuk. They perform Bang Bang Bang by Big Bang, which is good but the performance lacks the energy needed for a song like that.
Another major criticism is that they focused their eye contact on the moving camera instead of the Master which they are the ones they are performing for and not the camera, something they’re used to as idols who perform on stages more.
Song Minjae = Two star Noh Hui jun= two star and Bang Junhyuk = one star
They ask to do an extra test, but after a so-so performance their classes stay the same.
Next is some Cube babies with Na Yunseo and Kim Jaehyun with Boy with Love by BTS.
They both get two stars.
That being said, I'm really charmed by this duo. They make a lot of commentary during the episode and they are really funny.
Next up is a boy from Jeonju, Kim Geonwoo, a source and Cube trainee who almost debuted but ended up failing to.
He performs sweat by zb1 he comes off as good but desperate to the masters due to being a trainee for so long. Despite that he gets All Stars.
From Choco1 we have Yeon Yechan and Kim Jaejo, who are under the debuted category due to performing on stage once 2 years ago.
They perform HIP by Mamamoo, which is very cute and energetic. They both get all stars
We then have a little lunch break before getting back to more evaluation.
Back at it again, continuing with FNC Boys,Chuei Li Yu and Kenshiro with “If I’m S, Can I be your N?” by TWS.
They do an ok performance but it needs work. Chuei Li Yu has potential to improve in vocals but Kenshiro needs to improve overall.
Both get One star, but have the chance to improve with an extra test, but they decide against it, not taking the risk.
Next is Great M Lee Yoonchan and Park Nuri with Candy by Baekhyun.
Nuri doesn’t have the best vocals, while also forgetting lines during his parts.
Being asked about himself stating he’s a vocalist on his bio, he makes a joke about being a visual instead. To which no one, and i mean NO ONE take lightly.
Lee Yoonchan = One Star. Park Nuri = No star.
They take the extra test with vocals, and… Nuri is better but not by much. Before the results Nuri pleads with the masters for another chance but the mentors state they’ll make an accurate evaluation not based on his plea.
They’re rank stays the same, and Nuri is eliminated.
Our first elimination.
We then go through a bunch of no stars, that included The Winds’ Thanatorn.
After that is a Daegu boy, Baek Jaehyeon with Chk Chk Boom by Stray Kids.
He’s not good, but he’s got the spirit and is very fun to watch. He gets no stars.
Next up, Wakeone’s Shoya, Tatsuki, Ching Yu, Hwang Sunwoo, and Reeonn.
We get some nice footage of Taerae talking to the boys before they came on the show.
There’s also a little part showing the casting interviews of the boys, talking about wanting to be idols. It’s really sweet and earnest.
They’ll perform Oh Mymy:7s by TWS, and are asked if they know that the original choreographer of the dance is in the competition as well.
To which we learn that Ching Yu does know and is a huge fan of Yumeki. So much so that he looked for dance classes being held by him and attended to learn under him.
They perform really well, and Yumeki enjoyed it as well. Chinh Yu is asked to do freestyle dance, as he has stated he is a dancer on his bio, and is really amazing at it.
Chin Yu = All Star, Tatsuki and Shoya = Two Star, Reeonn = One Star.
From Boryeong, Kang Woojin. A busking singer songwriter who plays guitar.
He’s come to sing an original song he wrote and it’s really nice.
But, he’s on a show to be an idol, so the song he prepared for the show is BoA’s Atlantis Princess.
During the performance he’s incredibly stable singing while dancing.
There’s a small debate on if he’s good at dancing from Kany and Kooyoung, (to which I agree with Kany, he needs more training but it’s a nice start.)
Ultimately Woojin gets All star.
Next up, is VeriVery with Dongheon, Gyehyeon, and Kangmin.
Dongheon just came back from his enlistment and the group hasn’t been active since then. They are on this show to challenge themselves.
They perform We Most Love by ONF. (Which i think could be a nice little choice due to ONF and Verivery being on Road to Kingdom back in 2020, and the members became friends after the show. If so, that’s very cute!) They have a good performance. A little Shakey but ultimately well done and very well in sync.
They all get All Stars.
Next is GRID with Lee Leo and Lee Sangwon, two boys who were a part of Trainee A, a pre debut group from BigHit.
They gained a ton of attention when announced and revealed as fans waited for their debut.
Time went by and Sangwon quit as he didn’t want to be a trainee anymore and took a break. Leo called Sangwon to let him know he was going to try being on the show and they decided to go on together.
No Doubt by ENHYPEN is what they perform and it’s really great, and has a lot of energy. So much so Sangwon’s shoe falls off. Leo’s vocals are really stable as well.
They Both get All Stars.
They do the extra test to celebrate, to Come Back Home by Seo Taji and Boys and it's very cool. Crazy good in my opinion.
Last for this episode is Yumeki. A well known choreographer who worked with groups like SHINee, ITZY, TWICE, THE BOYZ, and as well as recently released works for ililt and TXT.
The dance masters are familiar with him, especially Kooyoung, who they competed on Stage fighter together.
From a young age, Yumeki always wanted to be an idol, but as choreographer and dancer, he’d always perform next to idols as backup.
As the wake one boy did Oh Mymy:7s earlier, he of course does the original choreo he made for the song.
And of course, it’s fantastic.
He’s gonna perform Rainism by Rain we leave on a cliffhanger. Ending episode 1 of the planet k side.
And here’s the voting rankings as of Ep 1 from the pre-show voting.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Planet C Side ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We start the show similarly to Planet k. Showing the trainees enter the studio.and antics ensure.
However, unlike the K side, the C side trainees have to vote on the first impressions of the trainees to see who sits in the top seats first.
The trainees on this side are grouped into categories as well. These are Amateurs, experienced (in agencies), regions, and kpop experience (in Korean agencies).
We’re introduced to the masters of C side. Like with K side we have Hyolyn, ONESTAR, Baek Kooyoung and Justhis, in Vocal,Dance, and Rap respectively. And for C side exclusively, for dance we have Jrick and Xiaoting from Kep1er.
We are also introduced to our Chief Master, Kim Jaejoong.
As for the rules for evaluations, pretty much the same as the K side.
With that, Evaluations start!
We start with amateurs Jiangzhehu, Zheng Kun, Yuan Wei and He Zhong Xing.
Zhong xing is very obsessed with being sexy. And saying the word sexy….
They perform On and On by Vixx.
Their performance is ultimately ok. Zhong Xing raps are good, but the vocals are a little spotty. And the masters don’t think zheng kun can dance either.
Zhong Xing = Two Star, Yuan Wei = One Star, and Zheng Kun = No Star.
Zheng Kun goes for the extra test with his vocals, and performs better than his initial test.
He is promoted to One star due to his efforts.
Next up is an experienced boy from EXO LAY’s company, Chromosome, Chen Kai Wen.
He performs RIIZE’s Get a Guitar. He’s warned about the steps.
He does a great job at the dance, but he needs more training in vocals.
He gets two stars.
Next up are amateurs from Shanghai. Chen Bo Wen, Fan Zhe Yi, Hu Han Wen and Yang Jia Peng.
They perform Devil Game by ZEROBASEONE.
For amateurs they’re really good. Chen Bo Wen has a really good voice and the dance from them overall is very sharp.
Chen Bo Wen and Fan Zhe Yi = All Stars , and Hu Han Wen and Yang Jia Peng = Two stars.
Team Beijing experienced Sun Jia Yang, Qi Lin, Chrisen Yang, and He Jun Jin do Pump !t Up by Boy Story.
Jia Yang goes to the Boy Story boys to ask for advice. Very Cute!
The performance is very solid and very cute.
Jia Yang = All star, He Jun Jin = Two star, Chrisen Yang = One star, and Qi Lin = No star.
Team Ningbo experienced Lin Qiu nan Dong jing Kun, Zhang Shun Yu, and Chen Yu Qi.
Lin Qiu Nan has been practicing Tae Kwon Do since he was 6 and won over 300 medals and been in a movie with Jackie Chan.
They perform TURN UP by . Oh wow…. That was something!!
Qiu Nan did fall on the first flip, but the fact that he did well the rest of the performance REALLYmakes up for it.
Dong Jing Kun = All star, Zhang Shun Yu = 2 star Lin Qiu Nan and Chen Yu Qi = One Star.
The first Kpop- experienced boys from YS and TM . Wong Sik Hei and Phoenix.
They perform Earth wind and fire by Boynextdoor.
And oh man this isn’t really the song to perform unless you bring that specific cute and fun energy to the table. Anything less ends up making the performance not reach the level of the song.
One star for both of them???
Next, another kpop experienced boy, Xe Bing Hua, who does Candy by NCT DREAM.
It’s not very good….
Next Kpop Experienced INKODE boys from Jaejoong’s own company. Sen and He Jia Hao.
They do CROWN by TXT.
Sen is pretty solid with stable vocals, but Jia Hao falls short in comparison.
Jia Hao does an extra test on guitar, but to no avail, as that performance isn’t as great either.
Sen = Two Star. Jia Hao = No star.
It's break time and we see more interactions between the trainees.
Next is kpop experienced individual trainee Su Heng Yu, who debuted in the group BLANK2Y.
He’s been working a part time job ever since the group disbanded and now he wants to try again.
He performs NEVER by Wanna One and he does a really great job.
He gets All Star.
Next is Li Zheng En, Wang Can Ruo, Zhang Yu Xi, and Han Jiang Yu, with Super Girl (chinese ver)
And oh dear, it’s a mess.
They all get no stars except Zhang Yu Xi, who gets One star.
Next is Lin Xin Rui, and Zeng Shang Xuan with Naughty Boy.
The choreo is off kelter and the vocals are rough.
Alongside them we get Yeung Yuk Him, who performs Bang Bang Bang by BIGBANG.
…. At least he got the spirit?
They all get no Star.
Next is the kpop experienced Lim Jack and Nian Bo Heng from BILL & NEEDSLAB
Lim Jack is very talkative and noisy, telling everyone that he’d like to look cool. Jack seems very easy going to a fault, as he has the least training experience out of the two.
They perform TAP by Taeyong.
They do unexpectedly well, as prior to the performance. Bo Heng and Jack were practicing a few more times before the evaluations.
The dance and facial expressions from them are both really great.
They both get All Star.
Next up, another Kpop experienced duo, from NOUER, Zhou An Xin and Jiang Jia Hao.
As they were labeled Kpop Experienced, they were very nervous, as the expectations for them were high.
They perform Fever by EHNYPEN.
They totally live up to the expectations well in my eyes. Incredible dancing and very stable vocals, even when executing the choreo very well.
Both get All stars.
Next it's the Boy’s Story Boys. Jia Han Yu, Li Zi Hao, and He Xin Long.
We’ll get their performance of Stray Kids Backdoor and the reason why they're on the show in the next episode.
And here’s the real-time voting rankings as of Ep 1 from the pre-show voting.