Things You Didn’t Know About YG Entertainment’s ‘Who Is Next: WIN’

Yang Hyun Suk answers questions at the press conference for "Who Is Next: WIN."

YG Entertainment will be leaving the ultimate decision for the next boy group to the viewers.  On "Who Is Next: WIN," 11 trainees from YG Entertainment will be split into Team A and Team B, and will compete against each other. The winner of the competition will debut under the name "WINNER."

Following YG Entertainment Yang Hyun Suk's announcement 2 months ago about the show, the veil has finally been removed. On August 20, there was a press conference for the show at the Conrad Hotel in Seoul, where Yang Hyun Suk revealed, "YG Entertainment's major accomplishment was Big Bang, who left big footsteps for the next group. The winner of the show will be the first boy group to debut from YG following Big Bang in 8 years, and we hope that 'WINNER' will be a big hit for the next 8 years as well."

Question 1. Why will the viewers be 100% responsible for who wins?

Yang Hyun Suk boasts being the CEO of one of the top three agencies in the music industry, and also has experience releasing successful idol groups such as Big Bang and 2NE1. He was a judge on SBS "Kpop Star," and recently got LEE HI and Akdong Musicians as part of his team. But he decided to try something new for the new boy group "WINNER." Yang Hyun Suk said, "For the past 15 years, I've made many of the major decisions for YG Entertainment, but this time I'm leaving the ultimate decision of the winner to be determined by the viewers."

"As I worked on 'Kpop Star,' I realized that the judges' scores had a big influence on the final outcome. I decided that for this competition, I would give 0% of the votes to the judges, and 100% of the votes to the viewers. I don't think the public always has a clear favorite. YG Entertainment strives to live by the words 'What we like is what the public likes,' so for once we want to leave the final decision up to the public. We also believe that what we think won't be too different from what the public thinks."

"To be honest, if I was asked to choose between Team A and Team B, I can't make a decision. (Laughter) Just as I ask acquaintances and friends when I have these kinds of dilemmas, I decided to ask the viewers in this matter. I think it would be better to debut the team that the public respects and chooses as the winner."

Question 2. How did you choose how Team A and Team B are split?

Team A has an average age of 20, and includes Song Min Ho, Kim Jin Woo, Lee Seung Hoon, Nam Tae Hyun, and Kang Seung Yoon. Team B has an average age of 17, and includes Kim Jin Hwang, Bobby, B.I, Song Yoon Hyung, Koo Joon Hwe, and Kim Dong Hyuk. They were revealed at the press conference on August 20, and even greeted the public at the scene. Yang Hyun Suk said, "Many people might think Team A is at an advantage because it has 'Superstar K2' contestant Kang Seung Yoon and 'Kpop Star' contestant Lee Seung Hoon, but as of now Team B has an upper hand. That's because although they are young, Team B has amazing skill. They are not to be taken for granted."

"It's amusing that Team A is taller. (Laughter) Team B is younger, and so they are still growing. Big Bang members aren't very tall either, so when I see Team A, I think to myself that they could be YG's next group. Team B leans a little more to hip hop. Although Team A has a rapper, it is a group that can do hip hop as well as pop, and many other genres of music."

"Because I am a human being, I am not completely impartial. I am more inclined towards the trainees that have been with us longer and the trainees who work the hardest. In Team A, I would have to say I like talented Kang Seung Yoon and skilled rapper Song Min Ho. In Team B, B.I is young but works hard, and Bobby, who used to have a lot of trouble at home, has transformed while training at YG."

Question 3. How will "WINNER" differ from Big Bang?

Big Bang's members are all musically talented, and each member participates in composing, writing, and producing songs. They also put on brilliant performances, and are acknowledged as such by the music world. This puts a bit of pressure on "WINNER." Yang Hyun Suk admitted that comparing the two is something he doesn't want, and that he needs to work on not letting that happen.

"Whichever team wins in the program, no matter how popular and successful they are, if they are merely seen as copies of Big Bang, then I personally see that as a failure. For the past 15 years I have tried hard not to let any one team be a duplicate of another, but if that happens here, the operation will be deemed a failure. Although I personally debuted all the singers from YG, I did not make them. I don't ever make a winner."

"I am a person who created the system for inexperienced trainees to do well, but I am not one to tell writers, 'Do this' or 'Make this.' I absolutely will not be telling "WINNER" to do this or that. I am making a system where the group will be able to discover their talents and their own musical color, and this is YG's competitive point. That's why no one, not even myself, can sat what kind of songs the winner will produce or what kind of clothes they will wear."

Question 4. What will happen to the losing team?

The winner of the show will have the glory of being able to debut at the show's end, but "WIN" is a brutal program in which the losers will get absolutely nothing. "WIN" follows other survival reality programs in that "Winner takes all." Regarding this matter Yang Hyun Suk said, "If you look at it one way, it might seem very cold and competitive, but in the professional world, this is a reality they must face. Just as people have to take entry exams, the trainees need to learn that their abilities will ultimately result in success or failure."

"If the two teams had a big discrepancy in talent, then this program would fail. The two teams must both possess similar skills to be able to compete with each other. I have confidence that neither of the teams will bring embarrassment. Also, I've been asked whether the losing team will be disbanded, and it's true that some members or even all of the members could be switched out. There's no way I will debut the losing team as is. I will not lie to or deceive the public. Because the losing team will still get a lot of publicity from appearing on the show, I believe that they will become somewhat popular."

"WIN" will air a total of ten episodes, and is set to air its first showing on August 23.