Those familiar with idol survival reality TV shows will know Mnet’s Boys Planet. Before the year ended, Mnet gave eager fans worldwide a treat to enjoy on 29th December 2022, dropping the performance video for the show’s theme song, Here I Am, as well as the profiles for all the contestants. While every one has their skills and charms, here are 12 Boys Planet contestants who have experience in the entertainment industry that might just give them the leg up they need to win.
Image credit: Mnet
Regular viewers of Chinese entertainment content may be familiar with contestant Chen Jian Yu. Also known as DeDe, Jian Yu is an actor with multiple roles already under his belt as of Boys Planet.
Image credit: mydramalist
Jian Yu played the main character Gu Ze Yi in the drama I Don’t Want To Fall In Love With Humans. Released in 2022, the drama tells the story of Gu Ze Yi, a merman prince, who tries his best to not fall in love with the human, Lu Miao Miao.
Image credit: mydramalist
Jian Yu also played a supporting role in the movie You Never Walk Alone (2018), which is about an abandoned children’s football team in the mountains who overcome their circumstances to achieve success.
Unfortunately, Jian Yu did not make the cut in the second elimination round.
Image adapted from: Mnet, Mnet
Fans of Taiwanese survival show Atom Boyz may find Chen Ren You and Qiu Sheng Yang familiar, as they were both contestants on the show.
Atom Boyz is a Taiwanese survival show, where 80 participants are divided into 8 “planets” based on their charms and skills, and these boys were in group Neptune for their cool and seemingly cold demeanour.
Video adapted from: 原子少年ATOM BOYZ
Unfortunately, Sheng Yang was eliminated in the 4th round along with the entire Neptune group.
Image adapted from: 原子少年ATOM BOYZ
Ren You, however, survived the group elimination and was moved to Team Venus. He then went on to clinched 3rd place in the show.
Both of them were put in G Group in Boys Planet but were eliminated in the first round.
Image credit: Mnet
Fans of iQiyi’s Youth With You may find Chen Yu Geng, also known as Crayon, familiar, as he was a contestant on the 3rd season where Blackpink’s Lisa was a mentor.
Image credit: @youthwithyou_official_
He ranked rather well throughout the season, but was eliminated in episode 20 when he ranked 21st, barely missing the cutoff by 1 position.
Image credit: iQiyi
He was commended by Lisa in episode 17, when he performed extremely well and gave his all despite his fever and stomach issues, showing everyone the strength of his determination.
Like Chen Ren You and Qiu Sheng Yang, he was also eliminated in the first round of the show.
Image credit: Mnet
Ikumi Hiroto is a familiar sight for fans of the Produce series and its spinoffs in other countries, as he has competed in 2 Produce spinoff survival shows prior to Boys Planet.
Image credit: Produce 101 Japan
He competed in the first season of Produce 101 Japan in 2019 and won the hearts of viewers with his age-defying cutesy charms. He placed 36th at the 8th episode, and was unfortunately eliminated.
Image credit: @producecamp2021
He also competed in China’s Produce spinoff, Produce Camp 2021, where he performed significantly better and placed 15th in the final episode, but did not make the cut to debut with the winning group INTO1.
Image credit: Mnet
Those who enjoyed Belift Lab’s survival show I-Land will recognise Jung Jae Beom, a.k.a EChan, who had competed in it prior to Boys Planet.
Image credit: @mnetiland
Unfortunately, he did not make it past the first voting phase. He didn’t get the break he needed in Boys Planet as he was eliminated in the second round.
Image adapted from: Mnet, Mnet
While most viewers would see Hwan Hee and Dong Yeol as just 2 contestants out of 99, Up10tion fans Honey10s would know these boys as precious members of their favourite group.
Image credit: @u10t_official
Hwan Hee and Dong Yeol, a.k.a Xiao, have been active for 7 years since the debut of Up10tion in 2015. They’ve released 11 mini albums and 2 full albums, and a variety of OSTs for many movies and dramas.
Hwan Hee dropped out of Boys Planet due to health problems, while Dong Yeol was eliminated in the second round of the show.
Image credit: Mnet
Up10tion are not the only idols competing in the show. Contestant Terazono Keita is also currently an idol who has debuted.
He is a member of the group Ciipher as their rapper and lead dancer, so he definitely already has some impressive skills waiting to be shown.
Image credit: @ciipher_official
Compared to Up10tion, Ciipher is a relatively young group, having debuted rather recently in 2021. The group has released 3 mini albums so far, their latest comeback being in May 2022.
Image credit: @yg.treasurebox
Keita also has survival show experience, having competed in YG Treasure Box that formed the group Treasure. He was in Team J, the Japanese team, but unfortunately, he did not make the cut for the final teams.
Image credit: Mnet
Another contestant with idol experience is contestant Lee Seung Hwan, who was part of the group 1the9 as their lead dancer and vocalist.
Image credit: @official_1the9
1the9 was formed through the survival show UNDER 19, and the group had released 4 mini albums until their disbandment in 2020.
This means that not only does Seung Hwan have idol experience, he also has experience winning a survival show, which would definitely be an advantage in Boys Planet.
Image credit: Mnet
Contestant Wumuti was also a survival show winner and former idol, having been part of the champion team B.Swan during the 1st season of Super Idol. From that win, he debuted in the group SWIN and the sub-unit SWIN-S. SWIN stood for Super Idol Winner, which he was.
Image credit: Baidu
On top of winning Super Idol, Wumuti received guidance and advice from many entertainment industry experts from both Korea and China during the competition, including Turbo & Running Man’s Kim Jong Kook, S.H.E’s Ella, Miss A’s Jia and Fei, and EXID’s Solji.
He was put in G Group in Boys Planet, but was unfortunately eliminated in the second round.
Image credit: Mnet
Contestant Nozaki Yutaka comes into Boys Planet with experience in the Japanese idol scene, being part of the Japanese boy group, Dress_No..
Image credit: @DRESS_No_OSAKA
While there was no explicit announcement, he seemed to have departed from Dress_No. around June 2017 when he stopped appearing in their promotional images.
Image credit: @DRESS_No_OSAKA
Despite his early departure, his time with the group has definitely helped him be more comfortable performing on stage and showing off his skills. However, he has also been eliminated from Boys Planet.
Image credit: Mnet
When it comes to careers prior to Boys Planet, contestant Krystian Wang has arguably one of the most interesting careers, spanning multiple countries and industries.
Image credit: NOW UNITED
Krystian was selected as a member of Simon Fuller’s group Now United, a global pop group where each member is a representative of their country.
Simon Fuller is the creator of a plethora of well-known shows such as American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. He was also the former manager of worldwide sensation The Spice Girls.
Image credit: @krystianwang
Krystian was elected as China’s representative in the group, where he was active up until October 2020, when he stopped activities with the group to pursue Youth With You Season 3.
Image credit: @youthwithyou_official_
Speaking of Youth With You, Krystian had made it all the way to the final selection for the show, but unfortunately did not make the cut to debut in the final group.
He also has his own solo career, and released songs titled Divo and Lucifer. Like many of the contestants on this list, he has also been eliminated from the Mnet show.
Image credit: Mnet
Contestant Lee Hoe Taek has one of the most unique experiences prior to the show that no other contestant has. Prior to Boys Planet, Hoe Taek was a member and leader of MBC’s project trot group Super Five, alongside other idols such as Astro’s MJ.
Image credit: @favourite_ent
His skills are undoubtedly top-notch, as he was handpicked by Korea’s trot queen Jang Yoon Jung on MBC’s Favourite Entertainment to be a part of Super Five.
Image credit: MBC Entertainment
Super Five released 2 songs, All Eyes On Me and Hello, before they disbanded that same year.
Image credit: presented.live
Hoe Taek also has experience in musicals, having starred in a musical called Sonata Of A Flame, a psychological thriller about a composer who only manages to compose when he witnesses death.
Image credit: @cube_ptg
With such a diverse portfolio, Hoe Taek is definitely someone who will shake things up in the show.
Image credit: @cube_ptg
Hoe Taek is also Pentagon’s Hui. Leader, main vocalist, lead dancer, and producer of Pentagon’s biggest hits such as Shine, as well as other iconic songs such as Wannaone’s Energetic. Hui’s skills are definitely top-notch in the industry, and it’s exciting to see what he brings to Boy’s Planet.
With 98 contestants from all over the world and all sorts of backgrounds, it’s no wonder that Boys Planet has geared up to be an exciting and popular show. We wish these contestants all the best, and we look forward to seeing how their prior experiences lend themselves to their performances.
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