“What do you prefer?”
On August 20, the Production Sneak
Preview of ‘Who Is Next:WIN’, which will determine the formation of YG’s
new boy group was held at Conrad Hotel in Seoul Yeouido.
With Yoo In Na as the MC of the
conference, YG’s founder Yang Hyun Suk said, “I always wanted the public
to make the decision. If you ask me to choose between Team A and B, I
can’t. I wanted to ask the viewers for an answer.”
‘WIN’ is a program that divides YG’s 11 trainees into two groups A and B (with 5 and 6 members respectively) to form the first boy group in 8 years since BIGBANG’s debut in 2006 and 2NE1’s in 2009. It will be aired every week on Friday on the cable channels Mnet and tvN.
From episodes 1 to 10, there will be 3
battles in total, and the result will depend solely on the voting of the
viewers. The final winning team receives the name WINNER to make a
debut, while the losing team’s debut will be postponed indefinitely.
Founder Yang said, “There has been a lot
of changes in the last 8 years since BIGBANG’s debut. BIGBANG helped us
become a mainstream company. WINNER will be the next boy group that
will maintain YG’s reputation for the next 8 years.”
He added, “The groups will be judged by
fans across the world, going beyond Asia. It could look harsh and cold
but it is something everyone has to go through in the professional
world. It’s like people taking the exams for university entry. The
results depend on their talents and what they’ve got. It’s not the
system that decides who becomes the next boy group.”
Team A is consisted of members with the
average age of 20 include leader SONG MIN HO, YG’s longest trainee KIM
JIN WOO, K-Pop Star’s LEE SEUNG HOON, group’s youngest NAM TAE HYUN and
Superstar K’s KANG SEUNG YOON. SONG MIN HO and LEE SEUNG HOON will sing,
while others rap. Team B has 6 members with the average age of 17—the
oldest KIM JIN HWAN, group clown BOBBY, MC Mong’s Indian Boy rapper
B.I., the well-rounder SONG YUN HYUNG, K-Pop Star’s KOO JUN HOE, and the
persistent vocalist KIM DONG HYUK.
YANG commented, “Team A, on the surface
looks like they are in a more advantageous position because of some of
the members who are already well-known to the public, but Team B is more
competitive. Team A is afraid of Team B.”
He added, “They are simply remarkable
teams. But the losing team will not make a debut after the program
finishes. There may be member change or debuting them in a different
way.”
He continued, “Many gave me a nickname
of being an ‘angelic’ judge on K-Pop Star, which I don’t think suits me,
so they will wonder why I’m being so harsh. I’m not an angel when it
comes to my children who are in YG.
“Many say that if you could draw
popularity, why not wait for another 3 or 4 more years, but I wanted to
change that perception altogether. I thought, the longer the training
period is, the better. When you make a debut, the time you put into
preparation shortens. They become too busy to rehearse their
performances.”
“BIGBANG was not so popular in 2006 when
they released their first album. It was after about 2 years since their
debut, when they released the song by G-DRAGON called ‘LIE’. Through
WIN, I am going to let the members find their own colors. I don’t
spoon-feed them. That is what makes YG competitive.”
YG was initially planning to reveal a
girl group before a boy group. “Frankly, I did want to produce a girl
group just like them. Pretty and talented, that’s what people want.” He
initially chose scores of attractive girls, but now remains just six
because the rest lacked the talent he wanted. “I am still not 100%
satisfied with what we have, and we don’t know if the group will consist
of 6 or 5 members.” The new girl group will be revealed this year at
the earliest, and the beginning of next year at the latest.
“I actually had SBS in mind. But because
YG was producing the program, I thought this might create some
misconception like we had something to do with the result of the
program. There were numerous regulations for national TV as well. So,
instead of going through them on national TV, we decided to be more
truthful to the contents by going with Mnet and tvN.”
The program WIN, which depends on the
viewers completely for the formation of YG’s new boy group, will be
aired for the first time on August 23 at 10p.m. on Mnet and 11:20 on
tvN. It will also be broadcasted simultaneously on portal sites.
Source: YG Life Blog & YGunited