Yesterday, the finale of Mnet’s survival show “Boys Planet” aired, which has accompanied us over the past weeks and months. Boys Planet is the male version of Girls Planet 999, the show that gave rise to the project group Kep1er in 2021!
The new season differed from its predecessor in several respects. In Girls Planet 999, for example, the 99 contestants were divided into three groups: K (South Korea), J (Japan) and C (China). In Boys Planet there were only two groups: K-Group (talents from South Korea) and G-Group (global talents).
After several castings that began as early as the end of 2021 and ended in August 2022, 98 trainees were set, who had been fighting for a spot in the nine-member project group in Boys Planet since February. After countless exciting performances and three eliminations, 18 finalists were set, who gave it their all once more in yesterday’s finale!
Besides the eliminated trainees and the finalists’ families, Kep1er was also there to cheer on the nervous contestants who will follow in their footsteps.
We’re introducing the nine winners who will debut in the boy group ZEROBASEONE!
The group’s name was announced yesterday and means that the members start from zero and become one on their journey. The name is abbreviated to ZB1. Do you like it?
Like Kep1er, ZB1 will be active together for two years and six months.
9th place: Han Yu Jin
As always, it was only announced at the very end who narrowly took the last rank and just barely made it into the project group. So fans had to worry about Yujin until the very end. At 16 years old, he is the maknae of ZB1, and by a wide margin. The next oldest member is more than two years older.
8th place: Kim Ji Woong
The eighth place was revealed first. Kim Jiwoong was thus the first official member of ZB1. Born on December 14, 1998, he is also the oldest member of the new group. As most viewers know, Jiwoong was already part of a boy group called INX, but it disbanded in 2017 after only one year. Now he can finally stand on stage again, hopefully with more success this time!
7th place: Kim Gyu Vin
The second member of ZB1 is Kim Gyuvin. His role models are San and Hongjoong of ATEEZ as well as Kai of EXO. Now he can finally follow in their footsteps and show off his talent!
6th place: Kim Tae Rae
Taerae was already seen once in 2020 in a show called Top 10 Student and gave his dream another chance in Boys Planet. This time he caught the viewers’ attention, and their votes earned him a spot in ZB1. In the weeks before, he had placed 4th and 7th, so he consistently stayed high up.
5th place: Park Gun Wook
Only in 2021, Gunwook fought for a debut in the survival show Wild Idol. However, he was eliminated in the finale and couldn’t debut in the project group TAN. But he didn’t give up and applied to Boys Planet the very next year. This time Gunwook’s efforts were rewarded, because he is now officially a member of the new boy group ZB1!
4th place: Ricky
After four Korean trainees from the K-Group were announced as winners, Ricky was the first member from the global G-Group! He was born in Shanghai but grew up in California. That’s why he speaks not only Korean and Chinese, but also English.
3rd place: Seok Matthew
With Matthew, another member from the G-Group was crowned a winner right after Ricky! He was born in Canada and is known as the “Happy Virus”. His cheerful nature and his talent went down well with the viewers, who diligently voted for him!
2nd place: Sung Hanbin
Hanbin showed at his audition that he is a real all-rounder who can both sing and dance extremely well. He was voted number 1 by the viewers throughout the whole show. After staying unchanged at the top for so long, it was a surprise that he ended up in second place. But the most important thing is that in the coming years he will be there for his numerous fans as a member of ZB1!
1st place: Zhang Hao
He started in seventh place and climbed continuously until he even claimed the top spot in the finale: Zhang Hao is the overall winner of Boys Planet and therefore the center of ZB1! He is Chinese and, as such, also belonged to the G-Group. With him, three members of the global G-Group made it into the top 9. Being in first place doesn’t just mean that Zhang Hao will be the center of ZB1. Furthermore, it was announced yesterday that he will get the so-called Killing Part (the highlight) in the debut song. But what’s especially exciting is that he gets to record a solo song for ZB1’s debut album! Are you already looking forward to Zhang Hao’s solo?
Are you one of the hundreds of thousands of fans who voted for their favorites one last time yesterday? Did your picks make it into the group? Let us know in the comments!
At the end of March, we at Nolae let you vote for your favorite on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok to find our own Top 9. After 500 votes, your winners were set: Yoon Jongwoo, Zhang Hao, Park Gunwook, Seok Matthew, Keita, Kim Jiwoong, Haruto, Ricky and Jay. Five of them actually made it. Unfortunately, fan favorites like Jay, Keita and Haruto didn’t make the cut, but we hope to see them again someday in other groups or solo.
If you didn’t watch Boys Planet, now you have the chance to get to know the members of the new boy group a little. On YouTube you’ll find numerous videos of their performances.
Kep1er was originally supposed to debut on December 14, not even two months after the finale of Girls Planet 999! However, the debut was postponed to January 3 because a staff member came down with Covid-19. But if things go similarly this time, ZB1 might already present their debut album in mid-June!
