''Girls Planet 999: The Girls Saga''; zh, s=少女星球999:少女們的盛典, p=Shàonǚ Xīngqiú 999: Shàonǚmen de Shèngdiǎn; ja, ガールズプラネット999:少女祭典, translit=Gāruzu Puranetto 999: Shōjo Saiten (simply referred to as ''Girls Planet 999'') was a South Korean
reality competition show created by
Mnet
M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
. It premiered on August 6, 2021 and was originally broadcast every Friday at 8:20 PM
KST for the first eleven episodes until its finale on October 22, which was broadcast live at 8 PM KST. It was aired on the Mnet channel,
IQIYI,
AbemaTV
Abema (, stylized as ABEMA) is a Japanese live TV streaming website owned by the entertainment company, AbemaTV, Inc. that provides over-the-top media services to customers in Japan. The website primarily acts as an online television network, ...
,
tvN Asia or
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
depending on the viewer's region.
A production by Mnet's parent company
CJ E&M
CJ E&M (Hangul: 씨제이이앤엠, an initialism for CJ Entertainment & Media) is a South Korean entertainment and mass media company created by CJ Group in 2011. As of July 2018, CJ E&M is a division of CJ ENM.
History
CJ E&M was established a ...
and its subsidiary Studio Take One, as well as in collaboration with game developer and publisher
NCSoft, the aim of the competition was to debut a new 9-member K-pop girl group consisting of trainees and idols from
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. Auditions for the competition were held from January to February 2021.
Out of 13,000 applicants, 99 final contestants were selected. These 99 contestants were split equally into three groups; the -Group, -Group and the -Group.
In the finale on October 22, 2021, which was broadcast live, the show announced the final 9 members who would debut as
Kep1er
Kep1er (; ) is a South Korean girl group formed through the Mnet (TV channel), Mnet Reality show, reality survival competition show ''Girls Planet 999'' in 2021 and managed by Swing Entertainment and Wake One Entertainment. The group is composed ...
.
A second season named ''Boys Planet'' is expected to premiere on February 2, 2023 featuring male trainees.
Concept and format
The "planet" theme of the show was derived from a new collaboration between
Mnet
M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
and
NCSoft's new platform called
Universe
The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...
which is centered around
K-pop
K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...
. It allowed votes from other countries outside of the participating three, and also hosted other promotional content for the show.
The show initially grouped the girls into groups of 3 which were called "cells." An entire cell of girls could be eliminated all at once, hence increasing the risk of elimination. To counteract this, the "Planet Top 9" is introduced. Contestants who are selected or voted to be the Planet Top 9 (designated P1 to P9) can reorganize cells to try and lower the chances of elimination. Cells were disbanded after the first elimination round. At the end of the competition, the top 9 most-voted contestants debuted regardless of nationality.
Promotion and broadcast
The show, as well as its auditions, was first announced on January 11, 2021, through Mnet.
Yeo Jin-goo
Yeo Jin-goo (, born August 13, 1997) is a South Korean actor. Yeo began his career as a child actor, debuting in the film '' Sad Movie'' (2005). Nicknamed "Nation's Little Brother", he went on to play the younger characters of the lead roles in ...
was announced as the show's presenter on June 8, followed by the reveal of the mentors and the name of the show's opening theme later that same month.
More promotional clips from the show were broadcast that month on Mnet.
The show's premiere date of August 6, 2021, was confirmed through a teaser video released on July 6, 2021. Another teaser video showcasing the faces of the 99 contestants was released on July 8, along with a promotional poster.
The theme song, “O.O.O (Over&Over&Over),” was released on July 12, 2021, accompanied by a performance by the Korean group with Kim Dayeon as Center. Another version of the performance featuring the Chinese group was released on July 14 with Shen Xiaoting as Center. The Japanese group's version was released on July 16 with Hikaru Ezaki as Center. The full version containing all three groups was released on July 29 during ''
M Countdown
''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul.
Bro ...
'', preceded by the contestants' profiles which were released from July 17 to 19 at 10 AM KST for each group. More teasers were released in July and August 2021 leading up to the show's premiere.
The show was available through Mnet in South Korea,
iQIYI internationally,
AbemaTV
Abema (, stylized as ABEMA) is a Japanese live TV streaming website owned by the entertainment company, AbemaTV, Inc. that provides over-the-top media services to customers in Japan. The website primarily acts as an online television network, ...
and Mnet Japan in Japan,
tvN Asia in Southeast Asia, and
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
in the rest of the world through Mnet's YouTube channel, Mnet K-POP.
Cast
The series was presented by
Yeo Jin-goo
Yeo Jin-goo (, born August 13, 1997) is a South Korean actor. Yeo began his career as a child actor, debuting in the film '' Sad Movie'' (2005). Nicknamed "Nation's Little Brother", he went on to play the younger characters of the lead roles in ...
,
dubbed as the "Planet Master." The rest of the mentors, also dubbed as "masters," were:
*K-Pop Masters:
**
Lee Sun-mi
**
Tiffany Young
Stephanie Young Hwang (born August 1, 1989), known professionally as Tiffany or Tiffany Young, is an American singer-songwriter. Born and raised in California, she was discovered by South Korean entertainment agency SM Entertainment at the age ...
*Dance Masters:
**Baek Koo-young
**Jang Juhee
*Vocal Masters:
**Lim Han-byul
**Jo A-young
*Rap Master (Episodes 6–7):
**
Woo Won-jae
Woo Won-jae (; born December 23, 1996), also known as Woo, is a South Korean rapper. In 2017, he released his debut single "We Are" () which had commercial success and widespread acclaim. He has released one studio album: ''Black Out'' (2020) on ...
Contestants
There was a total of 99 contestants participating in the competition. 33 were Korean, and 33 consisted of Chinese, Taiwanese and Hongkongers, and the last 33 were Japanese.
The English names of K-Group and C-Group contestants are presented in Eastern order in accordance with the official website while J-Group contestants' names are presented in Western order.
;Color key (In order of contestant's group rank on the show)
Ranking
Planet Top 9
The Planet Top 9 was either selected by the mentors (Episode 2) or voted by viewers of the show; those selected to be the Planet Top 9 in Episode 2 were given the ability to reshuffle and organize cells.
Color key:
Planet Pass
Planet Pass was a vote by the mentors, in which eliminated contestants could be brought back to the show.
The first two elimination rounds included a Planet Pass for one eliminated contestant from each group. The third elimination round included only one Planet Pass which could go to any eliminated contestant regardless of group.
First voting period
The first voting period took place from August 13, 2021 to August 28, 2021.
Voters (viewers and mentors) voted for three cells, as well as three girls of each group.
Eliminations were based on cell points, while the Planet Top 9 was based on individual points.
Color key:
Second voting period
The second voting period took place from September 3, 2021 to September 18, 2021.
Voters voted for three contestants of each group.
Eliminations were based on individual points within K-Group, C-Group and J-Group.
Color key:
Third voting period
The third voting period took place from September 24, 2021 to October 9, 2021. Voters could only vote for one contestant from each group.
Eliminations were based on individual votes regardless of group.
Fourth voting period
The first round of the fourth voting period took from October 15, 2021 until 10AM KST on October 22, 2021.
The second round was open during the finale live broadcast on October 22, 2021; all live votes were doubled.
Voters could only vote for one contestant out of the eighteen remaining.
The members of the debut lineup were decided based on individual votes regardless of group.
Result
The finale was held and broadcast live on October 22, 2021.
Yeo Jin-goo
Yeo Jin-goo (, born August 13, 1997) is a South Korean actor. Yeo began his career as a child actor, debuting in the film '' Sad Movie'' (2005). Nicknamed "Nation's Little Brother", he went on to play the younger characters of the lead roles in ...
announced the newly formed girl group name to be
Kep1er
Kep1er (; ) is a South Korean girl group formed through the Mnet (TV channel), Mnet Reality show, reality survival competition show ''Girls Planet 999'' in 2021 and managed by Swing Entertainment and Wake One Entertainment. The group is composed ...
(
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: ).
Episodes
Discography
Extended plays
Singles
Ratings
In the table below,
turquoise numbers represent the lowest ratings and
magenta numbers represent the highest ratings.
* ''
This show airs on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters.''
Aftermath
Kep1er
Kep1er (; ) is a South Korean girl group formed through the Mnet (TV channel), Mnet Reality show, reality survival competition show ''Girls Planet 999'' in 2021 and managed by Swing Entertainment and Wake One Entertainment. The group is composed ...
was supposed to debut on December 14, 2021 with the mini album ''
First Impact
''First Impact'' is the debut extended play (EP) by South Korean girl group Kep1er, a project group formed through the 2021 Mnet reality competition show '' Girls Planet 999''. The album was released on January 3, 2022, by Wake One Entertainmen ...
'', but due to one of their staff members testing positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, their debut was delayed to January 3, 2022. The group's debut performance at the
2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards
The 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards ceremony, also known as 2021 MAMA, organized by CJ E&M and broadcast through its music channel Mnet, took place live on December 11, 2021. The ceremony was held at CJ ENM Contents World in Paju, South Korea. The ...
on December 11 was also cancelled as a result, as well as some members testing positive for COVID-19. The group officially debuted on January 3, 2022.
*Some contestants returned to their original groups:
**Ma Yuling
(C24) and Wang Qiuru
(C32) returned to
SNH48
SNH48 is a Chinese idol girl group based in Shanghai. Following AKB48's creator Yasushi Akimoto's concept of "idols you can meet", the group features dozens of female members around the age of 20, who perform regularly in the group's own thea ...
.
**Liang Jiao
(C10) and Liang Qiao
(C20) returned to
GNZ48
GNZ48 is a Chinese idol girl group established in Guangzhou, Guangdong in 2016. It is a sister group of SNH48, belonging to Guangzhou Star48 Culture Media Group Co., Ltd. GNZ48 currently has members ( regular members and trainees, , informatio ...
.
**Su Ruiqi
(P13) returned to Chic Chili.
**Wen Zhe
(P17) returned to Hickey.
**Sim Seungeun
(K21) returned to
Bvndit and joined group promotions for their third mini album, ''Re-Original'', in May 2022. Bvndit disbanded on November 11, 2022 after all the members terminated all their contracts with MNH.
**Lee Rayeon
(K23), Chiayi
(C16) and
Kim Doah (K10) returned to
Fanatics
Fanaticism (from the Latin adverb ''fānāticē'' ren-''fānāticus''; enthusiastic, ecstatic; raging, fanatical, furious is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal or an obsessive enthusiasm.
Definitions
Philosopher George Santayana ...
.
**Huh Jiwon
(K16), May
(P23) and Kim Bora
(P15) returned to
Cherry Bullet
Cherry Bullet () is a South Korean girl group formed by FNC Entertainment and managed under their sub-label FNC W. They debuted on January 21, 2019, with their first single album titled '' Let's Play Cherry Bullet.'' The group currently consists ...
and rejoined group promotions for their second mini album, ''Cherry Wish'', in March 2022.
* Some trainees left their agencies/joined new agencies:
**Chang Ching
(C23) and Lee Yunji
(K26) left
Yuehua Entertainment
Yuehua Entertainment (Chinese: 乐华娱乐, Korean: 위에화 엔터테인먼트) is a privately held Chinese multinational entertainment group and talent agency based in Beijing. The company was founded in June 2009 by former Huayi Brothers empl ...
and
Cube Entertainment
Cube Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean entertainment company. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production company, and music publishing house. Cube are known for h ...
respectively. Later, they signed with FC ENM, the same agency of contestants Ririka Kishida
(P22) and Hana Hayase
(J18).
**Ruan Ikema
(P19) and Hina Terasaki
(J28) signed with KISS Entertainment.
**Jeong Jiyoon
(K12) signed with KM Entertainment.
**You Dayeon
(K19) left
Highline Entertainment
Highline Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company founded in 2017 and a subsidiary of Starship Entertainment.
History
In 2017, Starship Entertainment launched another subsidiary label House of Music, which focused on recruiting ...
.
**Han Dana
(K33) signed a contract with Beats Entertainment.
**Miyu Ito
(J19) signed a contract with 143 Entertainment, the company that manages Kep1er members Kang Yeseo
(P6) and Mashiro Sakamoto
(P8).
**Li Yiman
(C11) signed a contract with FLEX M.
**Shihona Sakamoto
(J14) left
Jellyfish Entertainment
Jellyfish Entertainment (), is a South Korean entertainment company established by composer and producer Hwang Se-jun in Seoul, South Korea.
Jellyfish Entertainment is the home of artists including Jang Hye-jin, VIXX, Verivery and formerly gug ...
.
**Kim Yeeun
(K25) left
Fantagio Music.
**Choi Hyerin
(K27) left
MNH Entertainment
MNH Entertainment (Korean: 엠앤에이치엔터테인먼트) is a privately held multinational entertainment group and talent agency based in Seoul. Founded in November 2014 by Lee Ju-seop, a former manager at JYP Entertainment. The company was f ...
.
**Chien Tzuling
(C27) left Yuehua Entertainment.
**Kim Hyerim
(K15) signed with Doubling Music.
**Xia Yan
(C19) joined Real Show Culture Company.
**Lee Yeongyung
(K22) joined Come & Funny Corporation.
**Risako Arai
(J15) and Yume Murakami
(J24) left Biscuit Entertainment. Then, Risako signed with iME Korea
**An Jeongmin
(K13) left TOP Media.
**Sim Seungeun left MNH Entertainment.
*Some contestants debuted in new groups or debuted as soloists:
**Kim Suyeon
(P10) debuted as a new member of
Mystic Story
Mystic Story (formerly Mystic Entertainment, , abbreviated as MSTSTR) is a South Korean entertainment company established by South Korean singer-songwriter Yoon Jong-shin. It has four subsidiaries, including Mystic Actors (formerly Family Actors ...
's girl group,
Billlie
Billlie (; stylized as ''Bi11lie'' or ''Billlǃə'') is a South Korean girl group formed by Mystic Story. Billlie debuted on November 10, 2021, with the extended play (EP) '' The Billage of Perception: Chapter One''. The group originally consis ...
, under the stage name "Sheon". She debuted on November 27, 2021. She had her first release with the group on December 14 with their first digital single album ''The Collective Soul and Unconscious: Snowy Night''.
**Su Ruiqi
(P13) released her 8th digital single on December 14, 2021.
**
Fu Yaning (P12) released her second digital single titled ''Starlight'' on December 27, 2021. She also starred in the
iQiYi dramas ''My Heart'' and ''The Flowers Are Blooming''.
**Ririka Kishida
(P22), Hana Hayase
(J18), Chang Ching
(C23) and Lee Yunji
(K26) debuted under FC Entertainment in a six-member group called
ILY:1 on April 4, 2022. Lee Yunji and Chang Ching use the stage name "Ara" and "Rona" respectively while Ririka Kishida and Hana Hayase use their birth names.
**Shana Nonaka
(P16) debuted in MLD Entertainment's new girl group,
Lapillus, with the single "Hit Ya!" on June 20, 2022.
**Kim Hyerim
(K15) debuted as a soloist on January 24, 2022.
**Yurina Kawaguchi
(P14) debuted as a soloist on March 21, 2022 with her first single ''Look At Me''.
**Kim Bora
(P15) starred in the web-drama ''Jinx''.
**Huh Jiwon
(K16) starred in the web-drama ''Heart Way''.
**Wen Zhe
(P17) debuted as an actress.
**Yoon Jia
(K11) debuted in Yes Im Entertainment group
MiMiiRose on September 16, 2022.
**Miyu Ito
(J19) debuted in 143 Entertainment's group Limelight on September 29, 2022.
**Jeong Jiyoon
(K12) joined
Ichillin' and made her debut with the group on November 10, 2022.
**Ruan Ikema
(P19) and Manami Nagai
(P20) will debut in Kiss Entertainment's Japan-based girl group Kiss Girl's.
*Some contestants are going to participate in other survival shows:
**Moana Yamauchi
(J13) participated in the Japanese survival show ''iCON Z''.
**Zhou Xinyu, Cui Wenmeixiu, Gu Yizhou, and Cai Bing participated in the Chinese survival show, "Great Dance Crew".
**Lee Sunwoo
(K24) participated in Channel A's "Youth Star".
Notes
References
External links
*
''Girls Planet 999''on
TVING
TVING () is a South Korean online streaming service operated by TVING Corporation, a joint venture of CJ E&M (CJ Group), Naver and JTBC. It is a platform that streams dramas, entertainment shows, exclusive television films and specials.
Histor ...
''Girls Planet 999''on
iQIYI
{{CJ E&M Music and Live
Girls Planet 999
Music competitions in South Korea
K-pop television series
Reality music competition television series
Mnet (TV channel) original programming
Korean-language television shows
South Korean music television shows
2021 South Korean television series debuts
2021 South Korean television series endings