Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
We are at long last in the final lap of our hectic journey through the cosmos of Girls Planet 999. For some contestants, Mnet has made it’s intentions very clear, but for others, the future remains murky. Furthermore, the interim results for the final week of voting have completely torpedoed any sense of rationality remaining in the show. So without further adieu let’s get on with it.
As we mentioned before, there’s a surprise opportunity for more bonus points being offered to the trainees. The O.O.O mission groups our 26 trainees into three teams, who will each decide on positions/parts and then perform the theme song of the show. The focus cam for each trainee will be uploaded to YouTube (already happened), and one member of each team who receives the most likes will receive a 90000/80000 point bonus. The voting for this had already finished at the time of the episode’s airing, so we just get treated to the content in retrospect.
In the gymnasium, Yeo Jin Goo tells each girl what team they’re assigned to. Team 1, which includes regular Top 9ers Choi Yujin, Ezaki Hikaru, Shen Xiaoting to name a few, looks like a prototype of the final group. Among heated competition Yujin wins the killing part, while Kawaguchi Yurina wins Vocal 1.
Team 2 is the #sadgirl team, a collection of contestants previously weighed down by evil edits (Cai Bing, Fu Yaning), Planet Passes (Kamimoto Kotone), no self-confidence (Kim Suyeon) and no screen time (Ririka Kishida). No one volunteers for anything.
Team 3 on the other hand is youthful energy and endless optimism. Nagai Manami wins the killing part and Kim Bora gets the Main Vocal. During the check-in, Team 3’s teamwork and never-say-die effort puts tears in the mentors’ eyes.
The three teams perform their stages without issue. After the third team performs, a medley of cover dances from fans all over the world plays behind them, followed by a select number of video messages from fans giving their support and love to the trainees.
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At the third elimination, 17 of the 26 trainees will survive, along with one trainee saved by the Planet Pass. Before the ranking starts, Yeo Jin Goo announces the winners of the O.O.O Mission. Huening Bahiyyih, Seo Youngeun and Choi Yujin all get bonus points.
The rankings are as follows:
17. Kim Suyeon
16. Huang Xingqiao
15. Kim Bora
14. Wen Zhe
13. Huening Bahiyyih
12. Kang Yeseo
11. Kim Chaehyun
10. Su Ruiqi
09. Seo Youngeun
08. Fu Yaning
07. Nonaka Shana
06. Kawaguchi Yurina
05. Choi Yujin
04. Ezaki Hikaru
03. Mashiro Sakamoto
02. Kim Dayeon
01. Shen Xiaoting
Planet Pass: Guinn Myah
No big surprises here. Not a single Korean trainee got eliminated, and a lot of the good-but-not great performers got tossed.
Top 9 has some surprises with the rising stock of Fu Yaning, and the falling fortunes of Kang Yeseo and Kawaguchi Yurina. If anyone was surprised by Kim Dayeon’s result, I don’t think trying to understand cause-and-effect is in your box of talents.
I’ll pour one out for International Voter’s darling Nagai Manami, and the steady Nizi Project veteran Ririka, who was greatly improved, never had a bad stage after the first episode and deserves much better than she got on this show. Also, the tragedy of Cai Bing is over, as she placed all the way at the bottom for this ranking. She can rest now.
On to the Finale.
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But wait!! In addition to a surprise mid-week livestream, Mnet had the balls to release an interim ranking, and the results are absolute pandemonium.
1 Kim Chaehyun
2 Choi Yujin
3 Kim Dayeon
4 Seo Youngeun
5 Huening Bahiyyih
6 Kang Yeseo
7 Kim Suyeon
8 Guinn Myah
9 Su Ruiqi
10 Fu Yaning
11 Kim Bora
12 Ezaki Hikaru
13 Kawaguchi Yurina
14 Sakamoto Mashiro
15 Nonaka Shana
16 Shen Xiaoting
17 Wen Zhe
18 Huang Xingqiao
That’s a lovely 8 out of 9 spots taken by Korean trainees. In addition, #1 queen Xiaoting is now 2nd from the bottom. Global girl group, we hardly knew ye.
It’s a midweek ranking without much data behind it, so who knows what this means. Could be entirely fake just to make sure international fans tune in for the finale (anything can happen!!). But yeah, if the group ends up with a ratio like this, the Great Global Experiment might finally be over. Also, poor Bora lol.
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Miscellaneous Thoughts
- Ririka can’t even buy a compliment while she’s getting snubbed for Planet Pass, even though she’s also from Team Shoot!
- CJ ENM inches closer to buying Lee Soo Man‘s SME shares. Not finalized, according the CJ ENM, but probably soon. It puts the closeness that SME’s top stars/teachers/contractors (Tiffany, Back Kooyoung, BoA, Taeyong) and Mnet programming (GP999, Street Woman Fighter) into some context.
- Bahiyyih has a company (apparently) and it’s Play M, home to Weeekly and APink.
- Ito Miyu and Manami did a video together. Miyu’s been back in Korea, and she might have joined 143 Entertainment, home to Mashiro and Yeseo.
- Many of the eliminated Chinese trainees, like Wang Yale and Xu Ziyin, have been very active on livestreams, vigorously discussing Girls Planet 999 news. Been really enjoying Liang Jiao’s work in the realm, her reaction to the interim ranking is pretty great.
- If you didn’t catch the midweek livestream you didn’t miss anything.
- Put Yeo Jin Goo’s stylist in jail.
- I have no idea what to do with these Produce 101 Season 0 rumors.
