"BOYS II PLANET" once again produced a legendary stage, raising expectations for the official rookie K-pop boy group of 2025.
On the Nov. 11 episode of Mnet's "BOYS II PLANET" (BOYS II PLANET / directed by Kim Shin-young, Jung Woo-young, Go Jung-kyung), episode 9, the 24 contestants who survived after the second survivor announcement presented the semi-final "debut concept battle" stages. After chaotic team reshuffling and fierce psychological battles, the completed stages maximized each contestant's charms and drew enthusiastic reactions from viewers and star creators.
As a result of the "debut concept battle," the CHAINS team placed first with 1110 points and received a benefit of 150,000 points. In addition, Lee Sang-won, who ranked first within the team, earned an additional personal benefit of 150,000 points, securing a total of 300,000 points and emerging as a strong candidate to advance to the final. The first-place team was also granted special benefits, including an appearance on Mnet's M Countdown (grants) and an offline fan meeting.
That day's broadcast nearly reached an 80% real-time share on TVING, and through Mnet Plus, which is streaming worldwide, domestic and international viewers continued to participate in real time, proving its global influence. The reaction was also intense. On X (formerly Twitter), a total of 65 keywords simultaneously entered worldwide and seven country charts, and on China's leading SNS platform Weibo, it ranked in the search terms for the variety show category.
In addition, because a legendary stage unfolded, interest in the semi-final new songs was also strong. The new songs "Sugar HIGH," "Chains," "Lucky MACHO," and "MAIN DISH," released at 6 p.m. before the broadcast, simultaneously entered major Melon and Genie charts, with Genie's real-time popular search terms dominated and "lucky macho" rising to No. 1, showing fans' explosive support.
Depending on the results of the ongoing semi-final new song streaming evaluations, benefits of up to 200,000 points will be awarded. Also, the fourth global vote, which will select the 16 finalists advancing to the final, will close today (12th) at 10 a.m. The third survivor announcement live streaming at 2 p.m. the same day is also expected to include a major announcement, raising interest to a peak.
Centered on Park Dong-gyu, who challenged the leader position for the first time, the reunited Lucky MACHO team transformed into six riders and dominated the stage with explosive hip-hop energy. Kim Jun-min, who took the killing part, left a strong impression with overwhelming charisma and recorded the team's highest score. Park Dong-gyu and Hu Han-won also achieved high scores with solid vocals and performances, proving their exceptional practice hours.
The Sugar HIGH team faced variables such as Shu Qingyu's elimination and part redistribution, but new leader Jang Han-eum and performance leader Na Yun-seo steadied the team and reorganized the mood. The members highlighted the song's points with sweet vocals and cat headbands, coloring the stage refreshingly. The fresh voices of Kang Woo-jin and Jang Han-eum, combined with the boyish charm of Jeong Sang-hyun, Masato, and Choi Rip-woo, drew reactions describing it as "sweet excitement itself."
The MAIN DISH team, which underwent a dramatic reorganization with Lee Zi-hao left alone, completed its final lineup with the addition of new members Yoo Kang-min, Kim Jun-seo, Chen Kai-wen, Sun Heng-yu, and Shu Qingyu. Despite the short practice period, the team achieved a legendary stage with teamwork, the stable vocals of Kim Jun-seo, and Sun Heng-yu's overcoming story, earning praise as a "Michelin-level stage." In particular, Yoo Kang-min, who captivated viewers with his spicy killing part, turned the pain of elimination into determination and passion and achieved the highest score.
On the Chains team, where many top-ranked contestants were positioned and fierce psychological battles took place, Lee Sang-won, after much deliberation, challenged the killing part and drew high praise from the masters as "a person born to do the killing part." Appearing bound in chains, I Ri-o, Lee Sang-won, Jo Woo-an-sin, Kim Gun-woo, Jeon Yi-jung, and Jang Ji-a-hao overwhelmed the stage with shocking performances, dance lines that showcased control of tempo, and attractive timbres, exploding an unprecedented level of sexy potential.
Meanwhile, on the episode of "BOYS II PLANET" airing at 9:20 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 18, the third survivor announcement will take place under the direction of Planet Master Baekho. The world's star creators are focusing their attention on who the 16 protagonists who will go on to the final stage will be.
[Photo] Mnet "BOYS II PLANET" broadcast capture
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