I-Land (Korean: 아이랜드; stylised in all caps) is a South Korean boy group reality competition series produced by Mnet and organized by Belift Lab, which at the time of airing was a joint venture between entertainment companies CJ ENM and HYBE.[1]
Twenty-three male trainees participated in the show, of which seven were selected to debut as Enhypen in the show's finale on September 18, 2020. The winning contestants were Jungwon, Jay, Jake, Ni-Ki, Heeseung, Sunghoon, and Sunoo; the first six members were decided by global ranking, and the seventh by producer's choice.
A second season, I-Land 2, was expected to premiere in the first half of 2022 featuring female trainees;[2] however, on July 15, 2022, it was announced that it would be postponed.[3] Instead in 2023, HYBE partnered with JTBC to produce R U Next? featuring trainees who would debut in Illit signing with Belift Lab, becoming labelmates with Enhypen.[4]
On July 24, 2023, Mnet announced the second season of I-Land titled I-Land 2: N/⍺, not in affiliation with Hybe or Belift Lab, featuring female trainees. The show started airing in April 2024,[5][6] and is collaborating with The Black Label, with the final lineup debuting in WakeOne.[7]
Promotion and broadcast
On May 14, 2020, Mnet released the first teaser video for I-Land and introduced the participating producers and mentors.[8] Beginning on June 1, the contestants were revealed.[9]
The show premiered on June 26 on the cable channels Mnet, tvN Korea, Mnet Japan, and tvN Asia (Asia-Pacific). It aired in other countries via Mnet Smart, AbemaTV (Japan), Joox (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand); on the Mnet K-POP & Hybe LabelsYouTube channels and Rakuten Viki (worldwide except certain regions). The first part of the show ended on July 31. The second part of the show aired from August 14 to September 18.
A special episode, titled "I-LAND Special: The New Beginning", aired on August 7, with Hwang Kwang-hee, Apink's Kim Nam-joo, Momoland's JooE, vocal coach Kim Sung-eun and DOOBU as hosts. In addition to recapping the events of the first half of the show, the hosts previewed the second part, including increased participation of global viewers, more performances, and specials appearances by BTS and Seventeen.[10]
BTS and Tomorrow X Together appeared as guests on the final episode, broadcast live with an earlier time slot, at 8:00 p.m. KST.[11]
Concept
Twenty-two (twenty-three until episode 6) trainees are brought to a complex, called the I-Land, in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a lush green forest for 113 days.[12] The trainees will live together in the three-floor complex with modern living spaces, gym, dance studios, item room (for storage), and individual practice rooms; however, only 12 contestants can stay at any one time. The others will be on the "Ground", a simple building with a dance studio and dining area, and will have to commute to and from the I-Land building every day at set times. The two living spaces are connected by a gate and stage, where their skills will be evaluated. A key part of the show's concept is that both the participants' and producers' votes play a heavy role, as they decide who stays in I-Land and who goes to the Ground. Although the I-Land only accommodates 12 trainees, the trainees may be dropped and demoted to the Ground and promptly be replaced by trainees from the Ground.
While the show primarily focuses on the trainees and producers votes,[13] the audience can vote on who remains in the I-Land in the last part of part one of the show. Based on the results, any trainees in the Ground will be eliminated. From there, the I-Landers will compete among themselves in the second part of the series to determine who will debut in the final seven-member group. In the second part, only the producers and audience can vote.[14] Thus, the show was originally supposed to focus on trainee and producer votes without much audience influence, but in part 2 of the show, the trainees did not vote at all, and global votes were introduced.
The I-LAND logo (retouched)
Actor Namkoong Min served as I-Land's official host, commentator and narrator. The contestants were evaluated by main producer Bang Si-hyuk, CEO of Big Hit Music, as well as South Korean singer Rain and rapper Zico, both of whom rose to prominence in K-pop and K-hip hop, respectively, in the early 21st century. Rain and Zico will also mentor the trainees.
A first in South Korean survival programs, Big Brother-style live cameras display multi-camera footage from inside the I-Land and Ground in a one-hour, video on demand segment called I-LAND Cam. New videos released every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday on the Weverse app and its website.[15] In the last week of the show, I-LAND Cam streamed live in real-time, every day for one hour starting at 6PM KST; on the final day, for the final episode, I-LAND Cams streamed live starting at 5AM KST.
Seventeen (episode 12, via AbemaTV Japan's I-Land K-pop Special)
Eliminated contestants (episode 12)
Contestants
Originally, there were a total of 23 contestants who participated in I-Land; however, as the show progressed, one contestant (Kim Yoon-won) voluntarily dropped out in the fifth episode of Part 1 due to a worsening ankle injury.
Selected from Belift 2019 auditions; former YG Entertainment trainee under the name Kim Dong-kyu
Missions
Part 1
Entry test
Trainees must perform a song either in the small groups in which they arrived or alone if they arrived as such. The contestants already present raise their hands to decide whether the new arrivals are worthy to be in the I-Land. If a trainee receives 12 or more votes, they are allowed to be on the I-Land; otherwise, they will be on the Ground. There is no limit to the number of times any one trainee could raise his hand. However, if more than 12 contestants were voted to the I-Land after the entry test is complete, they must choose one or more to be moved to the Ground until only 12 remain.
The trainees, who are only just getting to know each other, begin their first official mission with the theme "encounter". The I-Landers and Grounders must perform the show's theme song "Into The I-LAND" (original version by IU). There are 12 parts in the song, and each trainee chooses which part they want to perform. The I-Landers are evaluated individually by the producers and directors, and the entire group's average score determines the number of contestants who move out of the I-Land.[f] The Grounders each submit a daily performance video to be reviewed by the producers and directors to determine who will replace the demoted I-Landers, although they do not actually perform on stage.
Lee Hee-seung is appointed as leader and assigned the part 1 position by the contestants but later gives up both to Ni-Ki. Rain evaluates their performance two days before their performance. The I-Landers receive an average score of 59 and therefore choose six contestants to be moved out of the I-Land.
Color key
Contestant from the I-Land later moved to the Ground
The trainees' second mission is designed to test and develop their teamwork. Both the I-Landers and the Grounders must perform a remix of "Fire" by BTS, and are given six days to prepare. The scoring system from the theme song mission will be used; however, the highest individual scoring I-Lander is given a dropout exemption card, which can be used on any of the I-Landers, including himself. If the card is used, the next dropout candidate will automatically be demoted to the Ground. If there are no dropouts from I-Land in this round, the Grounders will not be able to perform at all.
Jay and Ni-Ki become the leaders of the Grounders, while Lee Hee-seung is the leader of the I-Landers. Two days before the test, Rain and DOOBU evaluate the Grounders, and Zico, Pdogg and Son Sung-deuk evaluate the I-Landers as a midpoint check. The I-Landers receive a teamwork score of 80 and an average score of 78 and therefore choose four contestants to be moved out from the I-Land. Having received the highest individual score, K uses his dropout exemption card to save Yang Jung-won, and Taki moves to the Ground instead. Both received five votes; however, Taki's higher individual score initially saved him from being dropped.
Contestant from I-Land that received the highest score thus received the dropout exemption card
The trainees' third mission involves picking representatives for vocal and dance battles between the I-Landers and Grounders to test their sacrifice and ability to directly compete. If the Grounders win, six contestants will be dropped from the I-Land. If I-Landers win, no contestants will be dropped. The trainees are given six days to prepare.
Rain and Son Sung-deuk evaluate the I-Landers, and Zico, Pdogg, and DOOBU evaluate the Grounders as a midpoint check, three days before the test. The I-Landers won the battle; therefore, no I-Landers were moved to the Ground.
The fourth and last mission of the first part of the show decides the final 12 contestants. The trainees must perform an original song titled "I&credible" with the theme "Awakening". Similar to "Into the I-LAND", there are 12 parts, and each trainee must choose which part they want to perform. They are given seven days to prepare.
Rain and Son Sung-deuk evaluate the Grounders, and Zico, Pdogg, and DOOBU evaluate the I-Landers as a midpoint check. Jay and Jake help the I-Landers with the details of the choreography, and Ni-Ki helps the Grounders. From the I-Land, three contestants are voted out by the I-Landers themselves, and another three from the producers. Six trainees from the Ground, including the demoted I-Landers, are selected to fill the six remaining spots in the I-Land by the global fans through voting. The six remaining I-Landers automatically advance to the second part of the show. After the eliminated I-Landers arrive on the Ground, they must perform again with the Grounders, and they are given three days to redistribute parts and prepare.
I-Landers K, Lee Hee-seung, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Jung-won, Jake, and Jay were saved from being dropped to the Ground and therefore will continue on the second part of the show.
Contestants that later moved from I-Land to Ground
Kim Yoon-won withdrew from I-Land due to a worsening leg injury.
Part 2
BTS Test
The first test of the second part of I-Land and the final 12 contestants is performing songs by BTS. The 12 contestants are divided into three units, with each one performing a different song. BTS announced the mission themselves in a message recorded from the living room of the I-Land complex while the contestants watch from the lobby. The producers choose a contestant who will be eliminated based on individual scoring. The unit with the highest team score will be exempted from elimination; if the contestant with the lowest individual score is in the winning unit, the trainee with the next-lowest score will be eliminated. They are given seven days to prepare. Son Sung-deuk and DOOBU evaluate the I-Landers as a midpoint check.
Choreographers Bae Yoon Jung and Son Sung-deuk give a mini-mission, a freestyle dance battle, with those ranking first through third serving as leaders of each unit and choosing either their unit lineup or song.
The "Fake Love" unit ranks first. Taki receives the lowest individual score but is saved from being eliminated as he is a member of the winning unit. Lee Geon-u, who places 11th, is eliminated instead.[17] The contestants placing first through third based on individual scores earn the opportunity to spend one day of outside of the I-Land.
BTS Test Mini-Mission: Freestyle Dance Battle
Rank
Contestant
1
Taki
2
K
3
Yang Jung-won
Unit with the highest score and is exempted from elimination
Unit with the lowest score
Contestant that was eliminated
Contestant that was originally eliminated but was saved by the winning unit's exemption card
The second test of the second part of the show is about the chemistry between the contestants and global fans. The contestants are divided into two units and must perform two new singles: "Flicker" and "Dive Into You", the former later being released as a part of ENHYPEN's first EP "BORDER: DAY ONE". The eliminations for this round will be determined by global votes. The contestant who is chosen by the producers as first place will have their votes in the 24 hours before global voting ends doubled.
Lee Hee-seung, the first-place contestant, selects his song and unit lineup. Each unit has six days to prepare. Son Sung-deuk and DOOBU evaluate the units' performances, while vocal coach Kim Sung-eun evaluates the vocal performances of the I-Landers as a midpoint check. Jake was the I-Lander picked by the producers.
First place contestant picked by the producers
Contestant that was eliminated
Chemistry Test (Episode 9 & 10)
Part
"Flicker"
"Dive Into You"
1
Lee Hee-seung
Jay
2
K
Kim Sunoo
3
Yang Jung-won
Hanbin
4
Jake
Ni-Ki
5
Park Sung-hoon
Taki
6
Daniel
Concept Test
The third test of the second part of the show is about concept performance and features a mini-mission to form teams. The trainees cover two songs by Seventeen, "Pretty U" and "Hit". They are given one day to practice. The8, Jun, Dino and Hoshi of Seventeen visit the I-Land to administer the mini-mission themselves, which was won by Team "Pretty U". Kim Sunoo places first and selects his song and lineup for the main mission. The contestants are divided into two units to perform new singles: "Chamber 5 (Dream of Dreams)" as a refreshing concept and "Flame On" as an explosion concept. The producers then choose the contestant who will be eliminated based on individual scoring.
Park Sung-hoon and Kim Sunoo were appointed as team leaders. Taki, who placed 11th in global votes for the previous Chemistry Test, is eliminated. Kim Sun-oo replaces Taki with Park Sung-hoon, and K replaces Park Sung-hoon as leader of "Flame On". Both units have five days to practice, and Son Sung-deuk evaluates them as a midpoint check.
K places first in the main part of the Concept Test, and Hanbin is eliminated by virtue of placing tenth.
The last test of the show will determine the lineup of the debut group, which will have seven members. The top six trainees will be selected from global votes, while one trainee will be chosen by the producers. The trainees perform a new single titled "Calling (Run Into You)" during the live broadcast. Son Sung-deuk and DOOBU evaluate the I-Landers as a midpoint check. The I-Landers will also get to film their own PR video, the duration of which is based on their ranking; trainees placed first, second, and third will have 60, 50, and 40 seconds, respectively, and the remaining will have 30 seconds.
The 13 previously-eliminated trainees return to the I-Land and reunite with the current contestants to practice their first song, "Into The I-LAND", together and perform it on live broadcast for the first time.
The debut group name is revealed as "Enhypen", derived from the hyphen (-) symbol, which implies connection, discovery, and growth. The final lineup consists of Yang Jung-won, Jay, Jake, Niki, Lee Hee-seung, Park Sung-hoon, with Kim Sun-oo as the producer's pick.
Debuting contestants voted by global fans
Contestant that was picked by the producers to be in the debut lineup
A scoring system was introduced in Episode 2. Each I-Lander is evaluated individually and scored from 0 to 100. These scores are displayed anonymously, so any particular individual's score is unknown, and then averaged to calculate the team score. Based on the team score, a certain number of I-Landers be moved to the Ground and replaced.
In Episode 3, a separate "teamwork" score was also given and factored into the overall average score.
Team score system
Average team score
Number of I-Landers dropped
96-100
0
91-95
1
86-90
2
81-85
3
76-80
4
71-75
5
70 and below
6
Global voting
A global voting system opened after Episode 5 on July 24, 2020 at 12:00 a.m. KST and ended on August 2, 2020 at 12:00 a.m. KST. Viewers vote once per day for six contestants out of the total 23 that they wish to see progress to the second part of I-Land.
The second global vote started on August 1, 2020 at 12:00 a.m. KST, after Episode 6, and ended on August 2, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. KST. Viewers vote for six contestants out of the 16 Grounders, excluding the top six I-Landers, that they wish to see progress to the second part of I-Land. Every vote is multiplied by three.
The new system was introduced in Episode 7. Each I-Lander is evaluated individually and ranked from one to 12. The top seven I-Landers will wear a badge symbolizing the debut group, and the ranks can change after each skill test. Identical to Part 1, there are four tests; on each test, one or more contestants will be eliminated according to their ranks. In Test 1 and Test 3, eliminated contestants are selected by producers only, while in Test 2 and the Final Test, global votes from viewers will be added to determine the eliminated contestants and final debut lineup.
Global voting
Another global voting system was introduced to select the seven debuting members. For the first part of voting, each viewer can vote up to two contestants per day from August 15, 2020 12:00 a.m. KST to August 29, 2020 11:59 p.m. KST. Votes for contestants who were eliminated during the voting period are disregarded.
The second part of voting started on September 5, 2020 and ended before the final episode on September 18, 2020. Viewers can select only one contestant per day. Votes for contestants who were eliminated during the voting period are disregarded.
Another voting period occurred during the live broadcast of the show's finale. Viewers can select only one contestant, and voting is only open for an hour.
In the ratings below, the highest rating for the show is in red and the lowest in blue. Some ratings have already been rounded off to one decimal place, as they are usually of lower ranks. Despite low domestic TV ratings, the international simulcast on online video platforms generated an accumulated 13.6 million views per episode.[19]
This show airs on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters.
NR rating means "not reported".
Controversies
June 2020 : During shooting, the staff fell on the stage, and one of the performers had an arm fracture.[20]
On August 12, 2020, a staff of the cleaning service company of I-Land contracted COVID-19. Mnet cancelled all production and schedules of the show indefinitely while contestants and staff were tested for the virus.[21] Filming resumed on August 17, 2020, after the production set was disinfected over the weekend; by then, most staff and all contestants tested negative for the virus, while other staff members were still waiting for their results.[22]
I-LAND raised many ethical questions surrounding the hidden cameras constantly filming the trainees throughout the show. Cameras were hidden behind two-way mirrors, in bathrooms, and in dorms. Trainees were often seen changing behind doors to avoid cameras or looking inside walls or mirrors for cameras. Ex-contestants of the show expressed trauma from hidden cameras after the show.[23]
Belift Lab created two spin-offs of the show, "Summer Training Camp" and "TMI Q&A", featuring all 22 contestants. The first spin-off premiered on September 25, 2020 on Hybe Labels' YouTube channel, and the second was uploaded on September 28, 2020.
On January 1, 2021, Bighit Labels, now known as Hybe Labels announced that they would launch the "Bighit Japan Global Debut Project" to search for artists to debut as a group in Japan. Former I-Land contestants K, Nicholas, EJ and Taki were confirmed as members of the new group, and participated in survival show &Audition – The Howling to determine its additional members in 2022. After Hybe's rebranding, the project was called Hybe Japan Project.
Hybe’s Belift Lab partnered with JTBC to create the girl-group survival show R U Next?, which premiered on June 30, 2023.[25]
K, EJ, Taki, Nicholas and Jo Kyung-min joined Hybe Labels Japan.[29] However, on May 31, 2021, it was announced that Kyung-min had left Hybe Labels Japan due to differences in the direction of the debut project.[30]
Choi Jae-ho opened a personal Instagram account.[36]
Jung Jae-beom changed his legal and stage name to Jeong E-chan and opened an Instagram account. He is currently part of the music production team Youth.[37][38]
Kim Tae-yong opened a now-deleted personal Instagram account.[39]
Lee Young-bin opened a now-deleted personal Instagram account.[40]
Cho Kyung-min opened a now-inactive personal Instagram account.[41]
Kim Daniel opened a personal Instagram account.[42]
Some trainees joined survival shows:
Jung Jae-beom joined Mnet's Boys Planet under the name Jeong Ichan.
Some trainees left their groups:
Lee Young-bin departed from Blank2y on February 25, 2023.
Kim Yoon-won returned to the K-pop dance crew Matchpoint Crew.[43]
^"CJ ENM-하이브, '아이랜드2'로 걸그룹 제작" [CJ ENM-Hybe to produce girl group with 'I-Land 2']. isplus.live.joins.com (in Korean). 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
^Kim, Minji (2022-07-15). "[단독] 엠넷 '아이랜드2', 편성 잠정 연기…올해는 어려울 듯" [[Exclusive] Mnet's 'I-Land 2', the formation temporarily postponed... This year will be difficult]. news1.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-08-11.
^"'I-LAND' 블록버스터 스케일 티저, 남궁민 스토리텔러로 활약" ['I-LAND' blockbuster scale teaser, Namgoong-min is active as a storyteller]. entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-09-12.
^"[종합]방시혁X비X지코 뭉친 '아이랜드', 진화된 오디션으로 Mnet 신뢰 회복할까" ['I-Land' with Bang Si-hyuk X Rain X Zico, will Mnet's trust be restored through an evolved audition?]. 스타투데이 (in Korean). 24 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
^"하이브, JTBC 손잡고 새 걸그룹 론칭 'R U Next' 30일 첫방[공식]" [Hybe, JTBC join hands to launch a new girl group 'RU Next' First broadcast on the 30th [Official]]. Star News (in Korean). 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
^Lee, Jae-hoon (February 14, 2018). "그룹 템페스트, 멤버 7명 전원 코로나 확진…데뷔 연기" [Group Tempest, all 7 members confirmed Corona... Debut postponement]. Newsis (in Korean). Retrieved February 15, 2022.
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