Chapter 155: Produce48
On February 23rd, DM Entertainment, S.M. Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment successively released announcements, officially declaring that the large-scale girl group survival show, "Produce48," spearheaded by DM Entertainment with S.M. Entertainment and JYP Entertainment participating, had officially begun filming.
Forty-eight trainees from the three entertainment companies participated in this survival show. In this variety show, the three companies would each debut a girl group, and it was guaranteed that each girl group would be led by a seasoned artist from DM Entertainment.
As soon as this news broke, people immediately thought of IVE, which had just disbanded less than a month ago.
Xu Suizhen was embroiled in a bullying scandal; even though a lawsuit had been filed, it had not yet officially gone to court, and the outcome was still unknown.
Choi Yunjin and Kim Garam had withdrawn from the group, so it was naturally impossible for them to be the leaders. DM Entertainment was not a charity, so it was impossible for them to keep them. So, who else could be considered for the leading members of these three groups?
Karina, Zhang Yuanying, Lily!
The former IVE twin stars were now separated. Fans of the twin stars often argued, claiming what they would do without the other. Now that they were truly separated, and even facing each other as rivals, such a scene was something many people had never imagined.
False nurturing of juniors: Filming videos to boost the popularity of junior groups.
True nurturing of juniors: Directly leading and reforming new groups.
As soon as this news was released, it quickly caused a huge stir in the K-pop world, and various television stations quickly contacted DM Entertainment, S.M., and JYP, attempting to secure exclusive rights to "Produce48."
Do not underestimate the long-standing television stations' keen sense for hot topics; they could see the huge business opportunities hidden behind "Produce48."
Among other things, the massive fanbase left behind by the now-defunct IVE would be the most direct audience for this variety show.
Although IVE had only debuted for eight months, they had been a top-tier group for those eight months.
Even one month as a top-tier group can attract a large number of fans, let alone eight full months of top-tier popularity?
As soon as the show was announced, the originally fragmented IVE fans immediately rose from their graves, resurrecting on the spot.
Especially the solo fans of Liu Zhimin and Zhang Yuanying, these two groups of fans constituted the real majority.
In addition to IVE's fans, the names of S.M. and JYP also attracted many people.
Not everyone knew that JYP was half-dead; those who didn't really care about company operations had no idea that JYP was actually on the verge of delisting. In their eyes, JYP was still one of the invincible Three Greats entertainment companies.
Now, two of the Three Greats were doing a girl group survival show with DM Entertainment. What else was there to say?
Explosive!
As the news was announced, trainees from the three companies also began filming for "Produce48."
The judges for the show were Jiang Shu, Park Jin-young, and Min Xizhen. For each performance, popular groups would be invited to cast guest votes, and the results of these guest votes also had the chance to influence the three main judges' rating selections.
Jiang Shu and Park Jin-young both came as chairmen themselves. Li Xiuman did not come personally but arranged for Min Xizhen, who had previously collaborated with DM Entertainment, to come.
Min Xizhen, who had not yet left S.M., was still seen by Li Xiuman and Kim Young-min as the leader of the neutral faction, completely unaware that her rebelliousness was no less than Fang Shihe's.
While Jiang Shu was filming the show, Li Duohui's phone was bombarded with calls from the heads of various television stations.
When the television stations called S.M. and JYP, both told them to contact DM Entertainment. Then they called Jiang Shu, and Jiang Shu told them to contact Li Duohui.
As a result, ever since the news of "Produce48" was announced, Li Duohui received calls from television stations every day. Either the head of one television station invited her to dinner, or the head of another television station found her a male model…
It was all about business entertainment.
Li Duohui rejected all of them and finally chose to sell the exclusive rights through bidding to JTBC.
Initially, SBS's offer was similar to JTBC's, but SBS did not agree to DM Entertainment retaining the overseas broadcasting rights for "Produce48," while JTBC only wanted the exclusive broadcasting rights in Korea. Therefore, Li Duohui chose JTBC instead of the Three Greats television stations with wider audiences.
It wasn't that Li Duohui didn't want to choose the Three Greats television stations; the main reason was that the overseas accounts still needed "Produce48" to sustain them. Just like DM Entertainment's accounts on Bilibili, Weibo, and Douyin, they all needed to post videos. SBS wanted them to delay broadcasting, which Li Duohui certainly wasn't happy about. She knew how much Jiang Shu valued the Chinese market, so she ultimately chose JTBC, which was willing to agree to simultaneous updates.
...
DM Entertainment Studio.
S.M. and JYP, two entertainment companies ranked among the Three Greats, were undoubtedly much more frugal compared to the emerging company DM Entertainment. DM Entertainment, which owned an entire building, was the most suitable company among the three to serve as the filming location for "Produce48."
As the main judge, Jiang Shu basically had to participate in the recording of every episode, though his level of participation wasn't that high. Sometimes, one recording could be used for two episodes, but for the first two episodes, where trainees made their debut, he had to be present for all of it, as each of the forty-eight trainees needed to be rated.
And now, the studio was recording the first-performance level evaluation.
Jiang Shu, Min Xizhen, and Park Jin-young sat at various points around a round table. Behind them, various cameras were aimed at them, recording their conversation at that moment.
"This Jeon Soyeon, her abilities in all aspects qualify her for Class A, but her appearance is a disadvantage," Min Xizhen said, looking up at Jiang Shu. "You are her teacher; you decide her class."
"Put her in Class B. Jeon Soyeon's appearance is indeed a major flaw. Lower than that would be unfair to her strength, and higher would not be appropriate," Jiang Shu said casually.
"Mhm."
"I think Ahn Yujin is good. Her singing and dancing are both excellent. Should she be in Class A?" Park Jin-young said to the two, holding Ahn Yujin's material.
"Let's hold off for now. There are only six spots in Class A; we need to select the best of the best," Jiang Shu said.
"That's right."
Park Jin-young put Ahn Yujin's information aside. The three discussed back and forth, and soon, the first ratings for the forty-eight trainees were released.
"It's quite unexpected, actually," Min Xizhen said, looking at the ABCD class groupings in her hand, somewhat surprised.
"The initial grouping doesn't represent the final debut positions," Jiang Shu said, shaking his head and speaking with a hint of meaning, "It just so happens that the initial evaluation can make some trainees who are very confident in themselves sober up."
Min Xizhen and Park Jin-young both laughed at his words.
"By the way, when will the show air?" Min Xizhen suddenly asked. Although it was being recorded, they could just edit it out later.
"April 1st," Jiang Shu replied.
Min Xizhen and Park Jin-young both nodded at his words. That was very soon.