Since the Produce 101 started to air on Mnet back in 2016, idol survival shows like Produce 101, Unpretty Rapstar, and The Unit have became a pretty common and popular way to form and debut K-pop idol groups.
Now, another Idol survival show has come out, called Under Nineteen. The new show has the same format as the Produce series and its first season aired on MBC, and began with more than fifty male trainees under the age of 19 who were competing with each for a chance to debut as a member of a boy-group.
In addition to there being a lot of interest in the trainees, the new show also received attention because two of their mentors were members from to very popular boy-groups, J-Hope from BTS and Kai from EXO. Let’s take a look at Under Nineteen!
Under Nineteen Concept and Theme
The idol survival show Under Nineteen (언더나인틴) ran its first episode on November 23, 2018 at MBK station, as the first of 14 episodes.
With 57 trainees who were under the age of 19 and from various companies, the participants competed with each other for the chance to become a member of a group called 1THE9. The newly-formed project group would sign a contract for 12 months and be managed under MBK Entertainment.
But once the trainees reached the final stage of the competition, with 19 trainees remaining, only 9 of them would be chosen to be the new members of 1THE9.
Here is the teaser for Under Nineteen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8t0HFMOVRc
EXO’s Kai, Teaching the EXO GROWL Dance
Under Nineteen brought in popular and talented idols to be one-day special coaches for the trainees on the show. One of the most outstanding episodes is the one when members from two of the biggest boy-groups on the scene today came to the show. One of those coaches was Kai from EXO, who is widely acknowledged to be one of the best dancers in the K-Pop industry. On the show, he surprised the trainees with his sudden appearance during the dance class.
In that episode, Kai taught the Under Nineteen trainees the dance to one of EXO’s legendary songs, Growl. Kai’s dance background has a ballet influence, so as he taught the trainees, he did it step by step. EXO’s main dancer demonstrated the dance to the smallest detail.
As well as sharing the choreography, Kai also had some advice for the trainees, as well. There is also a moment when Kai makes little jokes to make the situation become more comfortable. The main dancer also hoped that his Growl team could get higher points and win at the evaluation match.
Take a look how Kai taught the trainees in the video, below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ly5HJw-Skw&t=5s
BTS’s J-Hope Teaching the BTS Fake Love Dance
Kai wasn’t the only really big-name idol on that episode. Another of the most popular boy-groups right now is BTS, and that group’s best dancer, J-Hope, also came to surprise the Under Nineteen trainees. The dance captain was there to teach the trainees the choreography for BTS’s 2018 hit song, Fake Love.
While the trainees were practicing Fake Love by themselves, J-Hope entered the classroom which really surprised the trainees. J-Hope taught some of the moves, one of which was marionette dance (a puppet-like move) and the opening of the Fake Love dance.
Not just that, J-Hope also did a group evaluation where the trainees danced to Fake Love as a group, with him monitoring the choreography. At the end, he offered advice and his support towards the group. He also hoped that would win the group match.
Take a look at how J-Hope taught the Fake Love choreography to the Under Nineteen trainees, below:
