YANG HYUN SUK asks, “what do you prefer?” – YG’s battle begins for its new boy group
[서울=뉴스1 유기림 기자] “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.
2013. 8. 20.
