In essence, flying to the South Korean draft is still scratching the itch in the boot, trying to quench the thirst of the moment.
After more than a year, show fans finally "came to work".
Because there were 22 Chinese trainees competing, the Korean talent show "BOYS PLANET" dominated the Weibo hot search as soon as it was released. Among them, there are Cai Xukun's former teammate Wumuti who participated in "Star Motion Asia", Wen Yechen, Xuan Yong, Chen Yugeng, Wang Nanjun, many trainees of Lehua Entertainment who were exposed for the first time, and Wang Zihao from Zhang Yixing.
Entertainment Studio has previously communicated with the trainees and agencies involved, but has not been able to obtain much, and each company strictly abides by the requirements of the Korean producer, does not disclose any information about the program, and even the trainees' social accounts are "controlled".
This closed recording process also has a feeling of desperation and backwater.
SCREENSHOT FROM THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF BOYS PLANET
On September 2, 2021, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television officially issued a notice requiring that idol cultivation programs should not be broadcast, and the "Qingyou" and "Creation Camp" modeled on South Korea's "101 series" draft model disappeared. So far, there is still no large-scale draft in domestic entertainment. As a result, overseas drafts have become a way for many brokerage companies to "save the country with a curve".
But now it seems that this method really works?
The draft of the Koreans
The Korean draft "BOYS PLANET" is no stranger to many show fans, and its predecessor is "PRODUCE 101", which helped the domestic entertainment idol industry open a new page.
Based on the Korean idol market, "PRODUCE 101" can be successful for many reasons, the most important of which is to break the long-standing restraint of the three major entertainment companies on the idol industry.
As we all know, Korean idol groups, whether boy or girl groups, have to go through a long, nameless trainee period before debuting. When I was a teenager, I signed into the company, from the weekly examination, monthly examination to the phased assessment, vocal music, dance, performance, and physical screening, and those who could stay could finally debut.
Before becoming an EXO member, Jang Ye-heung trained for 4 years and 8 months at SM Korea and group captain SUHO (Kim Jun-mian) for 7 years.
This complete and mature packaging process is destined to have a huge upfront investment. The longer the training time and the more people to train, the more the company's upfront investment, which gradually develops into an internal game of the head company. Domestic netizens are more familiar with H.O.T, Oriental Shenqi, SuperJunior, Girls' Generation, BIGBANG, EXO, Twice, BLACKPINK and other popular groups are all from the three major entertainment companies in South Korea - SM, JYP, YG. Generation after generation, they dominate the share of the idol market.
So what about small and medium-sized brokerage companies? Without strong financial resources and promotion capabilities, we may only rely on discernment to pick good seedlings, but there are too few such examples.
According to reports, in the ten years from the debut of Girls' Generation in 2007 to the popularity of "PRODUCE 202" throughout South Korea, there are as many as 436 local idol groups debuting in South Korea, and few can be truly remembered by fans and the market every year. The "101 series" draft, which provides huge exposure for trainees, has made it possible for more unknown companies to give it a go.
Just by virtue of the two points of competition between debut trainees and all handed over to the audience to choose, the "101 series" allows M-net to have an "eye-catcher", of course, it is also a veritable "big gold absorber".
ACCORDING TO KOREAN MEDIA REPORTS, WINNA ONE, WHICH DEBUTED IN THE SECOND QUARTER, EARNED 80 BILLION WON IN ONLY 18 MONTHS, AND HER NET PROFIT AFTER DEDUCTING COSTS WAS 44 BILLION WON, ABOUT 260 MILLION YUAN. Among them, CJ E&M, the parent company of M-net, which single-handedly built its debut, will share 25%, about 65 million yuan.
It's just that the good times don't last long. On the one hand, no matter how good the draft is, it can't resist the fate of the aesthetic fatigue of the N generation, and the ratings and attention of "PRODUCE 303" have always been inferior to the previous two seasons; On the other hand, doubts about tickets from "PRODUCE 303" finally broke out after the final of "PRODUCE X 101" ("404" in the mouths of netizens).
In the end, the show PD Ahn Joon-young embarked on the "prison road" and admitted to cheating the rankings in the two seasons of "404" and "303". South Korean media reported that he had also been entertained by entertainment planning companies more than 40 times, involving more than 100 million won. Then, X1, which debuted from "404", announced its disbandment, and the "101 series" draft, which once set off a heat wave, was also forced to stop.
Despite the chicken feathers, M-net has never given up the dividends of the harvest draft.
The platform has turned its attention to the active groups that have debuted, let them compete with each other, and successively created "Queendom" focusing on the girl group and the "Kingdom" of the boy group, but the degree of discussion and out-of-circle of the show cannot be compared with the "101 series".
Therefore, the undying M-net simply played bigger and pulled China and Japan to do the big business of the China, Japan and South Korea draft - "GIRLS PLANET 999". In the program, there are Chinese groups, Korean groups, and Japanese groups, and the trainees not only represent their own brokerage companies, but also represent the training level of their respective countries. NOW, THE SERIES IS ALSO USHERING IN ITS SECOND SEASON, WHICH IS CALLED "BOYS PLANET" AT THE BEGINNING.
SCREENSHOT FROM GIRLS PLANET 999
However, it must be pointed out that M-net's "open door draft" has not been able to save its weakening draft power.
Last year, the ratings of the first episode of "GIRLS PLANET 999" were only 0.46%, the lowest record since the launch of "101 Series". The debut group Kep1er failed to be at the forefront in the current girl group war, and the latest return bumped into the members' love, and the response was mediocre. At the "2022 MAMA Awards Ceremony" held by his own M-net, Kep1er "equalized" with IVE, NMIXX and le sserafim for one most popular newcomer award.
The bottom line is to lose at the "starting line" at the beginning.
Chinese joined
But the draft still has to be done, and Chinese must continue to be invited to participate.
For South Korea's M-net, the decline of "101 series" since the third season has not dissipated, and the search for novelty has become their demand, and trainees from foreign countries can certainly make more new stories. At the same time, the almost annual draft speed also makes the show too fast for local small and medium-sized company trainees, and like the previous domestic entertainment draft, good seedlings are hard to find.
For domestic entertainment agencies, after bidding farewell to "Qing", "Chuang" and all large-scale drafts, how to debut trainees who have been trained for many years has become the biggest problem. A crucial part of this is, where can I get high exposure? Without a platform to build momentum, it becomes more difficult for brokerage companies to directly launch idol combinations.
At this time, invitations to the Korean draft became extremely precious. After all, not only drafts, domestic entertainment agencies often cooperate with South Korea, which has a more mature industry chain, in all aspects.
"Girls Planet 999" Chinese trainee Shen Xiaoting and others appeared, the on-site mentor and other trainees sighed
Last year, the company that had sent trainees to "Youth Has You" and "Creation Camp" many times told Entertainment Studio that they were currently planning a business cooperation with South Korea's SM Entertainment. Although it has not yet taken shape, the company's choice represents the thinking of many bosses of domestic entertainment: "The market demand for idol newcomers still exists. More importantly, 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, and exchanges between the two countries should gradually resume in the future. ”
Similarly, the favorite season, which has participated in "Qing" and "Tron" for many years, has also actively sent people to South Korea. At the end of 2021, the company sent two girls, Wei Yi and Zhuang Yihan, to South Korea to participate in the MBC Women's Team Talent Show "Heartbeat After School". Although the final results were not satisfactory, in the view of founder Liu Sichen, this matter has practical significance for the company and even the newcomers themselves.
"When we were in China, we often told newcomers 'to work hard' and 'your business level has not reached the basic level of others', but they have no quantitative concept, and only after living and competing with overseas trainees can they understand what kind of efforts they have to make and re-examine their shortcomings.
For our team, this is also the first time to deal with overseas producers, and absorbing each other's strengths through cross-border cooperation, especially in publicity and marketing, will give us more new thinking. ”
Wei Yi, Zhuang Yihan
Looking back, the "101 Series" draft has never lacked Chinese trainees. Zhou Jieqiong and Lai Guanlin are both members of the finals night debut, and after the dissolution of the limited group, the initial stage of their return to China to open up the local market was smooth. Zhou Jieqiong turned around and became the mentor of the review trainees of "Idol Trainee", and Lai Guanlin partnered with Zhao Jinmai to shoot the Chinese version of "The Little Thing of First Love".
The outstanding achievements of the "seniors" are there, attracting future trainees and their companies to follow.
Zhou Jieqiong, Lai Guanlin
Probability of success
But does this trick "crossing the ocean" necessarily work?
If you take it as an opportunity to debut and catch fire, it is inevitable to be too optimistic, many times we only see examples of successful people, but ignore how many people are drowned in the figure of successful people.
After all, the draft is just a variety show, and whether it can be successful and become a hot new star is sometimes like the phrase that insiders often hang on their lips - "watch fate".
Playing with Lai Guanlin in "PRODUCE 202" that year were Huang Minghao (Justin) and Zhu Zhengting from Lehua Entertainment, both of whom were eliminated in the second pick, and are still far from the final. Huang Minghao cut brand-name clothes into pajamas to wear, leaving a name of "Jia Fugui" circulating in the rice circle. It was not until the appearance of "Idol Trainee" the following year that the two really ushered in an outbreak.
Huang Minghao, Zhu Zhengting
Looking back at "GIRLS PLANET 999", it can only be said that there are still too many frustrated people. In the third pick, Shen Xiaoting of the Chinese group was ranked first, Fu Yaning was eighth, Su Ruiqika was in tenth place, and Cai Bing, who was in the top nine in the first two picks, was directly eliminated. On the night of the final, the pick was shocked again, and only Shen Xiaoting was the Chinese girl who successfully debuted.
Speaking of which, I have to mention that breaking into the Korean draft often has to bear the pressure of being badly cut, and even Korean local trainees have exposed to the media more than once that there are malicious editing of the "101" series draft, and some trainees even wear their own hand jewelry of different colors to ensure that their day's behavior will not be taken to mess around.
In "GIRLS PLANET 999", there are Chinese players who are used as "topics". The first issue of Fu Yaning provoked the senior CLC on the spot was criticized as rude, and this "sparkling" question and answer even became a famous scene of the show, which was repeatedly used in the later stage of South Korea.
After the show, Fu Yaning, who returned to China, personally responded to the controversy in an interview, saying that the atmosphere was not what the audience saw, and she had no intention of mentioning her predecessors, but the mentor on the judges' bench had to let her "say a cruel word". Even if he later relied on his stage strength and real, unpretentious domineering character to circle many fans, the pain caused by being cut by himself could only be silently dissolved, and not everyone could get out of this shadow.
Fu Yaning
Previously, some insiders frankly told Entertainment Studio: "Liu Yuxin and Yu Shuxin can receive such great attention precisely because they are 'surprisingly new'. In idol selection, not being able to remember the name and appearance at all is the worst. ”
In the final analysis, the draft is a colorful reality show, the program team always spares no effort in order to catch people's attention, and it is often not only the singing and dancing strength of the trainees that attract the audience's vote. Perhaps before sprinting to the debut position, internal entertainment trainees should see this clearly.
There is also a slightly heart-wrenching question, go to South Korea to participate in the draft, and then what? Even if people have been sent to South Korea, does it mean that they can get a piece of the pie in domestic entertainment in the future.
Trainees who have not debuted back to China still have to face today's domestic entertainment environment, participating in the Korean draft can add a stroke to their resumes, but it is difficult to become a stepping stone, the Chinese girls who did not debut in the above-mentioned "GIRLS PLANET 999" are still tepid at the moment, and they are still amateurs in the eyes of "passers-by" who have not seen the draft.
And Shen Xiaoting, who debuted smoothly, because of the last place, can get very few Parts in the group, and fans can only ridicule a "tone word responsibility", and the original brokerage company obviously can't help much.
Shen Xiaoting
The objective environment that can be seen is that the "honeymoon period" of the end of Sino-Korean cultural exchanges has not yet resumed, and "GIRLS PLANET 999" itself is not as popular as its predecessor. When the group is disbanded, this Korean group experience may not be able to bring Shen Xiaoting to the height of Lai Guanlin and Zhou Jieqiong.
In essence, flying to the South Korean draft is still scratching the itch in the boot, trying to quench the thirst of the moment.
So be in it, don't use it as the only lifesaver.