I’ve watched my fair share of K-pop survival shows, and honestly, most of them follow the same brutal formula: either you survive till the last round and debut, or you pack your bags and go home. At its core, there’s no glitter, and it’s just raw survival mode from day one. Yet, ‘BOYS PLANET’ hit differently, and I actually enjoyed the show.
To this date, it is still one of the best survival shows I’ve seen. From the great lineup and outstanding performances to iconic moments and friendship dynamics between contestants, the show was a total standout. But, above all, the audition phase played a huge role in creating the hype that made people remember the show.
As ‘BOYS II PLANET’ is set to premiere tomorrow — K Planet on July 17 and C Planet on July 18 —let’s look back at some of the most unforgettable audition performances by ‘BOYS PLANET 1′ contestants.
ONF’s ‘Beautiful Beautiful’ Cover
Surely, you can’t talk about ‘BOYS PLANET 1’ without remembering Sung Hanbin’s legendary cover!
Usually, doing a solo is considered harder than a group performance as it’s tougher to capture the audience’s attention alone. Yet, he commanded the whole stage alone, and did it effortlessly — reason why he was the number one trainee, I guess.
His stage presence was magnetic, the dance – mixing tutting and waacking – was top-notch. And the vocals? Amazing. Seriously, why didn’t he check the vocal box?
Maybe that’s why, with the show’s season 2 ongoing promos, his audition keeps resurfacing and going viral on social media. Oh, and did I mention that the video has more than 6 million views on YouTube?
TVXQ’s ‘Mirotic’ Cover
Um, what do I say about this audition? It was hotness and charm combined, but still on a whole other level.
‘Mirotic’ is a K-pop classic that’s been performed countless times. But when trainees – namely Jongwoo, Jiwoong, Seunghwan, Ichan, and Hwanrok – delivered such a beautiful performance, it’s really impressive. Especially Kim Jiwoong, who rocked that dark blue open-chest vest and stole hearts. His entrance, in that incredibly sexy suit, was total heartthrob material, but this audition performance definitely sealed his image.
That said, one cannot ignore the other members who performed as strongly. They are good at dancing and singing with facial expressions.
NCT 127’s ‘Kick It’ Cover (K Group)
Being able to cover NCT songs is already a major accomplishment, but bringing a new and fresh element to the song, like how the K group did, is the essence of performing. Two teams from Yuehua performed ‘Kick It’, but in my opinion, K Group’s version was solid and had personality induced in the performance — though I can’t ignore that Zhang Hao’s high note was pure bliss.
In this group performance, all members — Han Yujin, Kim Gyuvin, Yoo Seungeon, Ji Yunseo— stood out with their distinct presence. At such a young age, I see a lot of body control and groove in Yujin’s dancing. His hand movement and the way he caught the beat at the beginning of the performance were amazing. Meanwhile, even with his long limbs – but great body proportions by the way – Gyuvin managed to catch everyone’s attention. Usually, you’d expect awkward dancing with such long limbs, but he handled that impressively. And, when it comes to Seungeon and Yunseo, they are indeed great vocalists.
Truly, an electrifying performance!
Super M’s ‘Tiger Inside’ Cover
This stage isn’t mentioned much when people talk about ‘BOYS PLANET’s’ best audition performances, but I had to bring it up. The group included Chen Kuan Jui, Chen Ren You, Dong Dong, and Qiu Sheng Yang, and vocally, they were all on point. I was somehow surprised that some got 2 stars.
However, one member who deserves a mention is Chen Kuan Jui. It’s obvious that he’s incredibly flexible, and he moves with smoothness.
Jay Park’s ‘All I Wanna Do’ Cover
Seriously, I can’t listen to ‘All I Wanna Do’ anymore without instantly hearing Seok Matthew’s iconic “Girlll” in my head.
He showed up in simple clothes, with no grand gestures or flashy moves, and still managed to sweep us away. Though Canadian-Korean, he performed that K-pop song with such ease, and on top, he added his own flair to it. According to me, he was surely one of the most stable vocalists throughout the entire season.
CRUSH’s ‘Rush Hour’ Cover
Many viewers were drawn to the show when they accidentally stumbled upon Jay Chang’s and Kamden’s ‘Rush Hour’ performance. It was truly a very, very satisfying performance. But, not gonna lie, cutting Kamden’s rap part in the performance was frustrating and drew much criticism.
However, in my opinion, Jay has an incredible vocal range that not many idols have. With his “Hey ladies and gentlemen. Do what you wanna do baby, Ooh” he devoured the whole performance and still, we couldn’t get enough of his voice. With his soulful voice, he paid genuine respect to the original singer.
NCT Dream’s ‘Glitch Mode’ Cover
With Haruto, Min, and Anthony, this team delivered a powerful and electrifying performance. Right after introducing themselves, it was funny how they asked to have a moment to check their formation. I mean, it’s rare to see trainees asking to rehearse on the stage before their audition performance.
While the performance had some high kicking and acrobatics, I did appreciate the rap parts. Haruto obviously stood out with his dancing skills, and I agree with his All-Star rating.
Bonus Parts
2PM’s ‘My House’
I can’t summarise ‘BOYS PLANET 1’ best audition performances if I don’t mention the legendary “It’s alright, uri jibeuro gaja”. Park Doha and Jeong Mingyu were a handsome and hilarious combo.
SEVENTEEN’s ‘Hot’
And of course, I saved the best for last. As Choi Youngjoon said, “Aigooyaaa…” —that ‘Hot’ performance definitely won us over. Don’t lie, didn’t we all laugh out loud?
So, what was YOUR favorite ‘BOYS PLANET 1’ audition performance? Comment below!
Written by Diksha Gangadeen
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my forever fav remains Hanbin Byu Byu