Lee Sang-won of Grid Entertainment comes out top
Amid much anticipation, the second season of Mnet's male audition program, "Boys Planet," ended Thursday night with eight winners declared in the final episode.
The top eight contestants were chosen by a popular vote, which took place during the final live broadcast. A total of 160 K-pop idol wannabes had participated in the show, which started on July 17.
Contestant Lee Sang-won, signed with Grid Entertainment, topped the ranking by winning over 7.2 million votes, followed by Nouer Entertainment's Zhou An Xin and He Xin Long, a member of Boy Story, a Chinese boy group under JYP Entertainment.
"Even though the filming period was about three months, it felt like a year. I want to show my deepest gratitude and respect to the product staff for their hard work," Lee said as he shed tears, thanking fans and his parents.
Kim Geon-woo, an independent trainee, came in fourth place by garnering over 4.8 million votes, while Nouer Entertainment's Zhang Jia Hao clinched fifth place. Lee Leo, an Australian Korean trainee with Grid Entertainment, landed sixth, while WakeOne Entertainment's Chung Sang-hyeon took seventh place. Kim Jun-seo, a member of WEi, secured eighth place.
The eight winners will debut as a project idol group named Alpha Drive One. The name represents a team with strong unity and passion, inspired by the power of K-pop, and determined to become the very best in the music scene under the name ALD1.
Amid rumors that Alpha Drive One is set to make its debut early next year, a senior official at Mnet told The Korea Herald that "nothing has been decided yet," with details to be announced at a later time. The group's contract period is reported to be five years.
junheee@heraldcorp.com
