Pick Me, Pick Me, Pick Me Up!
Korea is looking to create the best girl group that they can. By pulling trainees from various companies, totaling up to 101 candidates, the stage is set to debut the 11 best among them. This group will be given contracts to promote for 10 months. But first, these trainees have 4 months to prove their worth to the judges, who aren’t hired by the show, but is the viewer at home.
This is an amazing feat, and first of its kind. The music industry in Korea is huge and are big on the girl group, boy group scene. Being from America, we don’t have this kind of scene, at least not since the 90s. As it’s constantly pointed out in throughout the show, individuals devote themselves for periods up to several years, just to catch their break. Giving this chance to several of these individuals is great, but with 101 of them, it proves difficult to stick out.
***Warning: Spoilers***
Other than the fact that some trainees may have advantages compared to others due to their background (agency, internet presence, etc.), 101 girls is a lot to cover. To create an engaging program that follows this large group over the course of 4 months, you’ve got to pick and choose what you show. There are probably hundreds of thousands of footage on the cutting room floor. With this, it felt like if you didn’t stand out as a character or showed a great skill, and in some occasions, lack-thereof, you probably faded to the background. Those who didn’t stick out were pretty much left at the cutting block, as they couldn’t appeal to viewers to vote for. There were times that the trainees mentioned that they watched episodes and commented on how much screen time they had.
Growing up with american reality/competition shows, I was pleasantly surprised by this program. Honestly, I can’t stand these kind of shows, at least in America, because it feels so staged sometimes. I’m not too familiar with these shows in Korea, but I wonder if this is as “written” as the ones that I’m used to. I may be biased because I am a new fan of the group, but I was completely engrossed in it.
From the beginning, characters started to emerge to create an intriguing story. Protagonists, villains, underdogs and even the stunningly beautiful girl that has little skill, it’s all here. As viewers you instantly developing who you want to vote for and who you want to root against. But even with these roles starting to attach to certain individuals, everyone is helping each other succeed.
This is a competition show, and delighted to see how loving and supportive the contestants were. Aside from helping just because they were teammates on some challenges, everyone was doing it to push each other closer to their dreams of debuting. Whenever a higher ranking dedicated their time, even with their own rank at stake, to help the others, I was just floored. The prime example of this is that of Sohye, the acting trainee who was curious of this competition. She constantly was challenged at learning aspects of dancing and singing, but never gave up. The instructors and other trainees dedicated time to helping her grow.
The show definitely knows how to tailor situations for the screen. This, in a way posses another genre of Korean Drama. Almost every scene resulted in the participants, instructors, and me in tears. You’d think I’d get tired of tearing up in public as I watched on my devices, but that’s one of the aspects that kept me hooked.
Speaking of drama, I can’t help but feel for the trainees. The evaluation process was brutal, right out of the gates. I’ve had my experiences of evaluations, but this show took it to a whole other level. Whether it’s choosing a numbered seat as soon as you enter the room, picking roles in groups, or the drawn out announcement of the final group, there was tension everywhere! It was fun and exciting for us as viewers, but I can only imagine how the trainees felt.
If you haven’t looked it up, yes this already happened almost 2 years ago, but it was a fun to watch, even if I knew most of the results already. I’m mostly interested in girl groups, but this program has generated enough interest in me to watch season 2, an all male version. There are talks of a season 3 with with another girl group, so I’m excited to see it and participate in the voting.
Produce 101 is probably the first of its kind. Fans of Kpop will cling to this right away. It may even drum up interest in those who haven’t yet given the genre a chance. This is filled with drama, good music, and fun to hold anyone’s attention. I may even rewatch it to see how each member was from the beginning.
