On June 17th, the final results of 'Produce 101 Season 2' were announced. Many people were shocked and disappointed that neither Kim Jonghyun or Kim Samuel were included in the line-up of the new group called "WANNA ONE."
Fans commented that it was surprising that Jonghyun did not make it into the top 11, after being dubbed the "Nation's leader," when he showed his amazing leadership ability and even rising to first place in episode 8. Some people even expected that the results of the show were somehow rigged.
Similarly, Samuel, who had even choreographed for his group, did not make the final cut at 18th place. Fans commented that he selflessly produced choreography that helped the other trainees shine in the spotlight. However, in the end, he did not receive the benefit of it himself.
When realizing that Jonghyun and Samuel would not be included in the group WANNA ONE, their names began trending on Naver as well as Worldwide and Korean Twitter.
Some fans believed that the outcry from Korean fans was hypocritical because of the attitude showed online while the show was airing. In some Korean online communities, Samuel's popularity among foreigners was discussed. There were comments saying that they were glad that foreigners or the nickname (I-roaches) were not allowed to vote and that Samuel's popularity with foreigners made them not want to vote for him.
There were international fans who even assumed that Samuel did not receive enough votes because he was being discriminated against for being biracial. Koreans responded to that assumption as being ridiculous and that WANNA ONE's line-up includes the popular Lai Guan Lin and season 1's Jeon Somi is also biracial.
A fan-made petition with over 12K signatures is currently circulating asking for both Jonghyun and Samuel to be added to the group. However, many international fans felt that the petition was embarrassing because not only does Jonghyun and Samuel deserve a spot in the top 11, so did other trainees who worked hard and the petition would not be fair for them.
The petition was eventually closed because the writer explained that the petition was made out exasperation at the results of the show and apologized to the fans.
Immediately after Produced 101's finale, the 2013 Nu'est song, "Hello" reached number 3 on melon, showing overwhelming support for Nu'est.
Samuel's company Brave Sound revealed that Samuel is preparing for an official solo debut and he has already recorded 10 songs. We look forward to what Samuel and Nu'est have planned next and wish them much success!
