K.Will → Shownu as trainers… Starship completes 21 members of New Kids, the ‘debut preparation group’

While Starship is carrying out the large-scale global project ‘Debut Plan’ to complete a new little brother group, they have completed 21 members of New Kids, the ‘debut preparation group’ out of 33 Starship trainees.

‘Debut Plan’ released ‘EP.0 Episode’ on the 14th at 9:30 PM through the ‘New Kids on the Starship’ YouTube channel, garnering the attention of K-pop fans around the world. ‘EP.0 Episode’ contains the process of 33 Starship trainees trying to get into the ‘Debut Preparation Group’ of a boy group that will debut this year.

On September 2nd last year, all 33 Starship trainees, from ‘Shining Visual’ Lee Jun-seo to ‘Legendary Trainee’ Kim Ji-yong, gathered in one place in Seoul. From a trainee who showed his confidence and momentum toward his debut by picking his predicted ranking as number 1 out of the 33, to a trainee who passively chose his own ranking, saying number 1 would be burdensome, the trainees‘ strong first impressions caught everyone’s attention.

Starship‘s core members of the ‘Debut Plan’, centered around Vice President and General Producer Seo Hyun-joo, decided to select the ‘Debut Preparation Group’ that would suit the New Age and New Generation. Depending on the total training period of the trainees, they were divided into three groups: beginners with less than 1 year of training, juniors with 1 to 3 years of training, and seniors with 3 years or more. The 21 members who would join the ‘Debut Preparation Group’ were comprehensively evaluated for their skills and charm.

Amidst expectations of fierce competition, the last monthly evaluation song and the theme song of the ‘Debut Plan’, ‘ImPerfect’, was revealed. ‘ImPerfect’ has the lyrics, ‘We are imperfect alone, but we can be perfect together’, and is a song that cheers on the journey of the still imperfect trainees to become perfect idols. The last monthly evaluation was conducted 77 hours later with the filming of individual video evaluations of the trainees, and the trainees expressed their determination to give it their all.

The team of trainers who will help the trainees grow into perfect idols also captivated viewers. Starship Entertainment’s representative vocalist and ballad singer K. Will and Cosmic Girls‘ main vocalist and idol main vocalist Yoo Yeon-jung served as vocal trainers, while K-pop’s representative idol Monsta X‘s Shownu and hit choreography maker Choi Young-jun served as choreography trainers.

The trainers checked the trainees’ skills by group and held individual classes. The tension was heightened by the extreme temperature difference between the trainees who showed unexpected skills that exceeded expectations and the trainees who disappointed with their skills that did not live up to expectations. The trainers sharply pointed out each trainee‘s shortcomings while also praising their strengths and generously sharing useful tips, cheering on the trainees’ leap forward.

The junior group received favorable reviews for being more stable overall than the senior group. As a result, the trainees realized that the total training period does not have a decisive impact on the evaluation. Especially, Miyata Haru, who was chosen as the junior group member and the trainee they wanted to debut with, immediately rose to stardom as trainer Choi Young-jun‘s prospect, stimulating the competitiveness of Suzuki Kaira, who is acknowledged by the trainees as a ‘dance expert’. On the other hand, the senior group, who made many mistakes, began to feel a sense of crisis.

The rivalry between the trainees, led by Haru and Kaira, as well as the self-proclaimed ‘all-rounder’ trainees Kim Min-jae and Jang Yong-hoon, and the ‘youngest’ trainees, Jung Jun-hyun and Lee Woo-joo, who are 14 years old and the youngest out of the 33 trainees, raised interest. Kim Ji-yong, who had the longest training period of 5 years and 9 months, and Park Won-bin, who had 4 years and 4 months, came in 2nd in terms of trainee experience, and their friendship of supporting each other with all their heart just like their long training periods moved viewers. Jo Min-jae of the junior group and Jeong Se-min of the beginner group were praised by the trainer team as trainees who stood out as leaders.

The trainer team relieved the tension of the beginner group, which had less than a year of total training, with customized training. They gave generous praise to the senior group trainees who had a sense of crisis and began to demonstrate their skills. All the trainees prepared for the final end-of-month evaluation to enter the ‘Debut Preparation Group’ after going through the trainer team’s incubation.

After the 77-hour countdown, individual video evaluations were filmed in a tense atmosphere. The trainees who were at the crossroads of survival and elimination performed the songs and dances of Kim Ji-yong and ‘ImPerfect’. Trainer Choi Young-jun expressed his joy after seeing the unexpected skills of trainees who had not been noticed in class, such as Kim Min-jae and Kaira, through individual video evaluations. Trainees who had received evaluations that fell short of expectations in class, such as Chu Yoo-chan, Kim Yoon-seo, and Park Won-bin, also showed stable skills. The struggling Seok-jun and Park Jun-hwan, who came from a youth baseball team, showed their potential for growth by being recognized for their tenacity and perseverance.

The 21 New Kids who were selected as the ‘Debut Preparation Group’ through the final month-end evaluation were revealed, and the first plan for the first episode, which will be released on the 18th (Tuesday), will be the evaluation of strength positions. Who will be the 7 selected as the ‘New Kids Seven’ through the evaluation? The scene of the ‘It Was Pretty’ team collapsing after receiving harsh criticism in the strength position evaluation is also foreshadowed, adding to the curiosity.

Meanwhile, the ‘Debut Plan’, which will contain the debut process of the new boy group that Starship plans to present this year, will be revealed through the ‘New Kids on the Starship’ YouTube channel, and the first round of voting will be held on the official website until 10 a.m. on April 3rd.

Jeong Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.