R U Next? (알 유 넥스트?) was a 2023 girl group reality survival show created by Belift Lab. It premiered on June 30, 2023 and was broadcast every Friday at 8:50 p.m. KST on JTBC. The final five members debuted as ILLIT on March 25, 2024.
Background[]
On June 1, 2023, JTBC and Belift Lab announced that they have begun filming for the new survival program R U Next?, which aims to create the agency's next global girl group. The contestants will be assessed through seven rounds.[1]
On June 7, JTBC posted three film photographies along with a teaser video.[2] The premiere date was revealed to be June 30.[3]
Cast[]
MC[]
Coaches[5][]
- Lee Hyun
- Aiki
- Park Gyu Ri
- Jo Kwon
- Kim Jaehwan
- Vincenzo
- Mandrew
Special Coaches[]
Contestants[]
| Name | Age | Nationality | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Himena (히메나) | 15 | Japanese | TBA |
| Funa (후우나) | 21 | Japanese | Former Nizi Project contestant. |
| Hyewon (혜원) | 17 | Korean | Former member of Little Cheer Girl. |
| Haseul (하슬) | 15 | Korean-American | TBA |
| Jihyun (지현) | 18 | Korean | Former member of HOWZ. Former HOW Entertainment and Yue Hua Entertainment trainee. |
| Jiwoo (지우) | 21 | Korean | Oldest contestant. |
| Jeemin (지민) | 18 | Korean | Former Source Music trainee. |
| Jeongeun (정은) | 18–19[n 1] | Korean | Child actress. Former Source Music trainee. |
| Iroha (이로하) | 15 | Japanese | Former JYP Entertainment trainee. |
| Yunah (윤아) | 19 | Korean | Former Stardium and Source Music trainee. |
| Yuisa (유이사) | 16 | Japanese | TBA |
| Wonhee (원희) | 16 | Korean | TBA |
| Yewon (예원) | 18 | Korean | TBA |
| Youngseo (영서) | 17 | Korean | Former ADOR, Source Music and SM Entertainment trainee. |
| Ena (에나) | 12 | Japanese | Youngest contestant. |
| Iris (아이리스) | 15 | Thai | TBA |
| Seoyeon (서연) | 15 | Korean | TBA |
| Chanelle (샤넬) | 20 | Korean-American | Former Stage-K contestant. Former Yue Hua Entertainment trainee. |
| Minju (민주) | 19 | Korean | Former YG Entertainment trainee. |
| Moka (모카) | 18 | Japanese | Former HYBE Labels Japan trainee. |
| Moa (모아) | 21 | Thai | Former P NATION and SM Entertainment trainee. |
| Ruka (루카) | 18 | Japanese | Former Cube Entertainment and Source Music trainee. Pre-debut member of LE SSERAFIM. |
Rankings[]
Color key[]
The candidate was chosen for the final group through public voting.
The candidate was chosen for the final group through the company's picks.
| Name | Rankings by Episode | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ep.1 | Ep.3 | Ep.5 | Ep.6 | Ep.7 | Ep.8 | Ep.9 | Ep.10 | |||||
| Monthly Evaluation |
Round 3 | Global Voting |
Global Voting |
Global Voting |
Round 6 | Global Voting |
Final Live Voting | |||||
| Wonhee (원희) | Absent | 10 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 1 | |
| Youngseo (영서) | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | |
| Minju (민주) | 4 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Jeemin (지민) | 1 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 4 | Eliminated |
| Iroha (이로하) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 5 | |
| Jeongeun (정은) | 8 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 6 | Eliminated |
| Yunah (윤아) | 2 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 7 | |
| Moka (모카) | 6 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 8 | |
| Jiwoo (지우) | 5 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 9 | Eliminated |
| Himena (히메나) | 10 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Eliminated |
| Chanelle (샤넬) | 9 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 6 | Eliminated | |||
| Jihyun (지현) | 14 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 9 | Eliminated | |||
|
Funa (후우나) |
11 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 13 | Eliminated | |||||
| Seoyeon (서연) | Absent | 8 | 12 | 18 | 15 | 15 | Eliminated | |||||
| Hyewon (혜원) | 13 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 14 | 12 | Eliminated | |||||
| Moa (모아) | 15 | 16 | 14 | 12 | Eliminated | |||||||
| Ruka (루카) | 12 | 12 | 17 | 9 | Eliminated | |||||||
| Yewon (예원) | 18 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Eliminated | |||||||
| Iris (아이리스) | 16 | 19 | Eliminated | |||||||||
| Haseul (하슬) | 17 | 20 | Eliminated | |||||||||
| Ena (에나) | 20 | 21 | Eliminated | |||||||||
| Yuisa (유이사) | 19 | Eliminated | ||||||||||
Rounds[]
Round 1: Tryout[]
In the first round entitled "Tryout", units of 3 to 4 contestants were formed, each contestants of the unit was classified into High, Mid and Low level.
| Song | Unit Name | Contestants | Classification |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Bad Boy" by Red Velvet |
Bad Me Girls (뱃미걸즈) |
Jeongeun (정은) | High |
| Chanelle (샤넬) | Mid | ||
| Jiwoo (지우) | Low | ||
| "Dalla Dalla" by ITZY |
Powerful Kittens (파워꼬양이) |
Iroha (이로하) | High |
| Hyewon (혜원) | Mid | ||
| Jihyun (지현) | Low | ||
| "Dreams Come True" by aespa |
16,200,000 | Iris (아이리스) | High |
| Seoyeon (서연) | High | ||
| Wonhee (원희) | Mid | ||
| Ena (에나) | Low | ||
| "Tomboy" by (G)I-DLE |
I Want (아이원) |
Youngseo (영서) | High |
| Moka (모카) | Mid | ||
| Moa (모아) | Low | ||
| "Dumhdurum" by Apink |
N/A | Ruka (루카) | High |
| Haseul (하슬) | Mid | ||
| Funa (후우나) | Low | ||
| "Bad Girl Good Girl" by miss A |
MISS TOP | Yunah (윤아) | High |
| Minju (민주) | Mid | ||
| Jeemin (지민) | Low | ||
| "When I Move" by KARA |
N/A | Himena (히메나) | High |
| Yuisa (유이사) | Mid | ||
| Yewon (예원) | Low[n 2] |
Round 2: Death Match[]
The theme of the mission is the titles of the 4th generation idol groups of HYBE. Within the three levels formed, 2 units will be formed. Two units will perform together with the same song. The unit that wins will get a benefit of extra points. Starting from this mission, there will be eliminations. Trainees in the Low Level will become elimination candidates.
The coaches chose the 1st and 2nd places by level after Round 1. The 1st and 2nd place of each level has the advantage of choosing the members of their unit. In selecting the songs the Low Level team chooses first, however higher teams can push aside the lower ranking teams if they want to select the same song.
A mini mission was carried out to decide the killing part for each song. Each contestant will carry out an expression audition in front of a camera to see how well they can leave an impression with the first verse of their mission songs and test their expressive skills. The contestants will vote amongst themselves to choose who gets the killing part.
Each coach will give scores to the individual trainees from 1 - 100 (up to a total individual score of 700). The average of the individual scores will be the overall team score, where higher team score will be the winner for each song. The winning unit receives an extra 50 points added on their individual score.
Color key[]
Winning Team
Killing Part
Highest individual score on the team.
Lowest individual score on the team.
Contestant who picked the team members.
| Contestant | Result | Contestant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | Team | Individual | |||
| MID-A | LOW-B | ||||
| Minju (민주) | 572 | 550 | 536 | 540 | Moa (모아) |
| Haseul (하슬) | 440 | 519 | Funa (후우나) | ||
| Hyewon (혜원) | 626 | 550 | Yewon (예원) | ||
| Wonhee (원희) | 564 | ||||
| Contestant | Result | Contestant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | Team | Individual | |||
| HIGH-A | MID-B | ||||
| Yunah (윤아) | 581 | 589 | 527 | 517 | Moka (모카) |
| Jeongeun (정은) | 603 | 626 | Chanelle (샤넬) | ||
| Himena (히메나) | 599 | 438 | Yuisa (유이사) | ||
| Seoyeon (서연) | 575 | ||||
| Contestant | Result | Contestant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | Team | Individual | |||
| HIGH-B | LOW-A | ||||
| Iroha (이로하) | 607 | 550 | 545 | 552 | Jeemin (지민) |
| Youngseo (영서) | 591 | 573 | Jihyun (지현) | ||
| Ruka (루카) | 539 | 606 | Jiwoo (지우) | ||
| Iris (아이리스) | 463 | 449 | Ena (에나) | ||
Round 3: All-Rounder[]
As a checkpoint to assess the trainees' genre adaptability, they must demonstrate their own temperature difference on stage.
Coach Jo Kwon appeared in front of all the trainees wearing heels, and he revealed that the first theme for the third round is "Heel Choreo" (a genre where they perform choreography while wearing high heels) and they must also incorporate one additional prop into their performance.
The coaching staff will assign each trainee a personal score between 1 and 100. The sum of individual scores forms the unit score, and the combined unit scores determine the final score.
The unit members of the winning team will all receive a bonus score of 100 points, while the members of the second-place unit will be awarded differentiated bonus points of 50 each.
All trainees at the low level are candidates for elimination, and this round will see three trainees being eliminated.
The third round consists of 1 unit with 7 members, regardless of their level. It will be a unit vs unit vs unit battle.
Heel Choreo mission results[]
The heel mission songs and props have been confirmed as follows: f(x)'s "4 Walls" with fans as the mission prop, Girls' Generation's "The Boys" with hats as the mission prop, and Chung Ha's "Dream of You" with canes as the mission prop.
Color key[]
Winning Team
Team Leader
| Contestant | Result | |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | Team | |
| "Dream of You" by Chung Ha | ||
| Yewon (예원) | 500 | 3660 |
| Wonhee (원희) | 529 | |
| Jeemin (지민) | 613 | |
| Ruka (루카) | 509 | |
| Moka (모카) | 543 | |
| Funa (후우나) | 504 | |
| Haseul (하슬) | 462 | |
| "4 Walls" by f(x) | ||
| Seoyeon (서연) | 547 | 3688 |
| Minju (민주) | 566 | |
| Moa (모아) | 505 | |
| Jiwoo (지우) | 598 | |
| Himena (히메나) | 611 | |
| Iris (아이리스) | 413 | |
| Ena (에나) | 448 | |
| "The Boys" by Girls' Generation | ||
| Hyewon (혜원) | 632 | 4419 |
| Iroha (이로하) | 613 | |
| Yunah (윤아) | 636 | |
| Chanelle (샤넬) | 657 | |
| Youngseo (영서) | 640 | |
| Jeongeun (정은) | 616 | |
| Jihyun (지현) | 625 | |
Hip-hop mission results[]
The second part of the Round consists of the units performing a Hip-hop song. Among the choices are Lisa's "MONEY," (G)I-DLE's "My Bag," and CL's "Tie a Cherry."
Color key[]
Winning Team
Team Leader
| Contestant | Result | |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | Team | |
| "My Bag" by (G)I-DLE | ||
| Yewon (예원) | 569 | 3862 |
| Wonhee (원희) | 600 | |
| Jeemin (지민) | 593 | |
| Ruka (루카) | 525 | |
| Moka (모카) | 580 | |
| Funa (후우나) | 521 | |
| Haseul (하슬) | 474 | |
| "Tie a Cherry" by CL | ||
| Seoyeon (서연) | 566 | 3855 |
| Minju (민주) | 579 | |
| Moa (모아) | 569 | |
| Jiwoo (지우) | 575 | |
| Himena (히메나) | 639 | |
| Iris (아이리스) | 453 | |
| Ena (에나) | 474 | |
| "MONEY" by Lisa | ||
| Hyewon (혜원) | 605 | 4254 |
| Iroha (이로하) | 631 | |
| Yunah (윤아) | 581 | |
| Chanelle (샤넬) | 603 | |
| Youngseo (영서) | 634 | |
| Jeongeun (정은) | 588 | |
| Jihyun (지현) | 612 | |
Round 4: The specialists[]
This is the gateway to evaluate the vocals and dance of trainees. They focus on their respective strengths and unfold missions. Trainees are divided into two vocal teams and two dance teams to showcase their performances. The units were formed through a draft process, where the leaders of the vocal and dance positions took turns selecting in A, B order.
Color key[]
Winning Team
Bold denotes the contestant whose part distributions were chosen and acts as the team's leader.
Vocal Battle Results[]
| Song | Contestant | Result | Contestant | Song | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | Group | Individual | |||||
| "Across the Universe" by Yerin Baek |
Jiwoo (지우) | 894 | 3305 | 3105 | 628 | Yewon (예원) | "Spark" by Taeyeon |
| Yunah (윤아) | 835 | 863 | Minju (민주) | ||||
| Jeongeun (정은) | 813 | 838 | Chanelle (샤넬) | ||||
| Wonhee (원희) | 763 | 776 | Seoyeon (서연) | ||||
Dance Battle Results[]
| Song | Contestant | Result | Contestant | Song | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | Group | Individual | |||||
| "Bang!" by After School |
Youngseo (영서) | 938 | 3897 | 4237 | 902 | Jihyun (지현) | "Tell Me" by Wonder Girls |
| Iroha (이로하) | 884 | 862 | Jeemin (지민) | ||||
| Hyewon (혜원) | 830 | 831 | Himena (히메나) | ||||
| Ruka (루카) | 577 | 853 | Moka (모카) | ||||
| Moa (모아) | 668 | 789 | Funa (후우나) | ||||
Round 5: Concept game[]
This round consists of two missions, testing how well the contestants digest songs of different concepts that are represented through colors. The final results for this round is composed of 50% Color mission and 50% Black Mission.
Mission 1: Color mission[]
Starting from lower-ranked contestants to the higher-ranked contestants, the contestants choose their desired songs based on the color of the room, which indicates the concept of the song, as well as the artist pictured on the outside of a door. The higher-ranked contestants must push out a member if there are more than five people in a room.
Within each group, each contestant will each decide how the parts should be distributed. Each contestant in the group then votes on which distribution they think is the most ideal, which ends up being the final part distribution. The contestant whose part distribution will also be the leader.
Each coach will give scores to each individual contestant from 1 - 100 (up to a total evaluation score of 700). Each contestant's total score calculated will consist of 700 evaluation points from the coaches, 200 points from the on-site audience, and 500 points from the 2nd votes voting round. When each contestant's total scores are added together, there is a maximum of 4500 points possible to be scored per unit.
Color key[]
Winning Team
Green Team
Purple Team
Red Team
Bold denotes the contestant whose part distributions were chosen and acts as the team's leader.
| Song | Contestant | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | Team | ||
| "I Don't Care" by 2NE1 |
Youngseo (영서) | 771 | 3483 |
| Jihyun (지현) | Not shown | ||
| Jeemin (지민) | 706 | ||
| Minju (민주) | 815 | ||
| Hyewon (혜원) | Not shown | ||
| "The Fifth Season (SSFWL)" by OH MY GIRL |
Wonhee (원희) | Not shown | 3536 |
| Moka (모카) | Not shown | ||
| Chanelle (샤넬) | 695 | ||
| Himena (히메나) | Not shown | ||
| Seoyeon (서연) | Not shown | ||
| "Monster" by Red Velvet - Irene & Seulgi |
Jiwoo (지우) | Not shown | 3723 |
| Iroha (이로하) | Not shown | ||
| Yunah (윤아) | Not shown | ||
| Jeongeun (정은) | Not shown | ||
| Funa (후우나) | Not shown | ||
Mission 2: Black Mission[]
The second tests involves each team choosing one contestant as a representative and performing.
| Team | Contestant | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Total Points | ||
| "Shut Down" by BLACKPINK | |||
| Youngseo (영서) | 3910 | 7393 | |
| Himena (히메나) | 3770 | 7306 | |
| Iroha (이로하) | 3925 | 7648 | |
Classifications[]
| Name | Classifications by Episode | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ep.1-2 | Ep.3 | Ep.5 | Ep.6 | Ep. 8 | Ep. 9 | Ep. 10 | ||||
| Round 1: Tryout | Round 2: Death Match | Round 3: All-Rounder | Round 4: The Specialists | Round 5: The Concept Game | Round 6: Image Training | Round 7: Finish Line | ||||
| Iroha (이로하) | High | Next Zone | Next Zone | Debuted in ILLIT | ||||||
| Minju (민주) | Mid | Next Zone | Next Zone | Debuted in ILLIT | ||||||
| Moka (모카) | Mid | Low | Mid | No Level | Next Zone | Debuted in ILLIT | ||||
| Wonhee (원희) | Mid | Low | Mid | Next Zone | No Level | Debuted in ILLIT | ||||
| Youngseo (영서) | High | Next Zone | Next Zone | Debuted in ILLIT | ||||||
| Yunah (윤아) | High | Mid | Next Zone | No Level | Debuted in ILLIT | |||||
| Himena (히메나) | High | Mid | Low | No Level | No Level | Eliminated | ||||
| Jeemin (지민) | Low | Mid | High | No Level | Next Zone | Eliminated | ||||
| Jeongeun (정은) | High | Mid | Low | No Level | No Level | Eliminated | ||||
| Jiwoo (지우) | Low | Mid | High | Next Zone | Next Zone | Eliminated | ||||
| Chanelle (샤넬) | Mid | High | Mid | No Level | Eliminated | |||||
| Jihyun (지현) | Low | Mid | High | High | No Level | Eliminated | ||||
| Funa (후우나) | Low | Eliminated | ||||||||
| Hyewon (혜원) | Mid | High | Low | Eliminated | ||||||
| Seoyeon (서연) | High | Mid | Low | Eliminated | ||||||
| Moa (모아) | Low | Eliminated | ||||||||
| Ruka (루카) | High | Mid | Low | Eliminated | ||||||
| Yewon (예원) | Low | Eliminated | ||||||||
| Ena (에나) | Low | Eliminated | ||||||||
| Haseul (하슬) | Mid | Low | Eliminated | |||||||
| Iris (아이리스) | High | Low | Eliminated | |||||||
| Yuisa (유이사) | Mid | Low | Eliminated | |||||||
Final results[]
| # | Name | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wonhee | 3,299,395 | |
| 2 | Youngseo | 3,065,146 | |
| 3 | Minju | 2,961,696 | |
| 4 | Iroha | 2,569,421 | |
| 5 | Yunah | 2,512,654 | |
| 6 | Moka | 2,111,375 | |
| Eliminated | |||
| 7 | Jeemin | 2,673,879 | |
| 8 | Jeongeun | 2,566,936 | |
| 9 | Jiwoo | 1,911,489 | |
| 10 | Himena | 1,394,729 | |
Discography[]
Digital singles[]
- "R U Next? Theme Song" (2023)
- "Scrum" (2023)
- "Pride" (2023)
- "Aim High" (2023)
- "Desperate" (2023)
Aftermath[]
- Five of the final six members officially debuted as ILLIT on March 25, 2024 with the mini album Super Real Me.
- On January 5, 2024, Youngseo left ILLIT after coming to a mutual agreement to terminate her contract with Belift Lab.
Other contestants
Some contestants left their companies or joined new ones:
- Funa left Belift Lab and joined DG Entertainment and is expected to debut in their upcoming girl group. She also opened an Instagram account. Later, she left DG Entertainment.
- Chanelle and Yewon left Belift Lab and joined ATTRAKT. They will debut as new members of FIFTY FIFTY on September 20, 2024.
- Jeongeun left Belift Lab.
- Jeemin left Belift Lab and joined WAKEONE. She was revealed as a contestant on I-LAND 2. She will debut in the final lineup for izna, ranking 2nd.
- Moa left Belift Lab and opened up her SNS account. She is now a model under a modeling agency.
- Himena left Belift Lab and joined a new agency.
- Haseul left Belift Lab and opened an Instagram account.
- Jiwoo left Belift Lab and opened an Instagram account.
- Hyewon left Belift Lab and opened an Instagram account.
- Jihyun left Belift Lab and joined UniquTunes Records. She will debut in 4IREN in early 2025.
- Ruka left Belift Lab and opened up her SNS accounts.
- Iris left Belift Lab.
- Yuisa left Belift Lab.
- Ena left Belift Lab.
- Seoyeon left Belift Lab.
Gallery[]
.png "R U Next? teaser poster (1).png (1.53 MB)")
.png "R U Next? teaser poster (2).png (1.45 MB)")
.png "R U Next? teaser poster (3).png (2.21 MB)")
.png "R U Next? Film photography (1).png (2.28 MB)")
.png "R U Next? Film photography (2).png (1.84 MB)")
.png "R U Next? Film photography (3).png (2.18 MB)")
Notes[]
References[]
- ↑ Soompi: HYBE To Launch New Girl Group Survival Show This Month
- ↑ Soompi: Watch: HYBE’s New Girl Group Survival Show “R U Next?” Unveils 1st Teaser And Posters
- ↑ (KR) News1: 하이브 새 걸그룹 찾아라…'알유넥스트' 티저 포스터 공개
- ↑ Soompi: Girls’ Generation’s Sooyoung Confirmed To Host HYBE’s New Girl Group Survival Show “R U Next?”
- ↑ Soompi: HYBE’s Girl Group Survival Show “R U Next?” Announces Coach Lineup
Official links[]