Boys Planet

Boys Planet
Genre	Reality competition
Created by	Mnet
Directed by	Kim Shin-young Go Jeong-gyeong
Presented by	Hwang Min-hyun (Ep. 1, 3–4, 12) Sunmi (Ep. 2) Yeo Jin-goo (Ep. 5 + special) Lee Min-hyuk (Ep. 6–8 + special) Key (Ep. 8–10) Jo Kwon (Ep. 10) Jeon Somi (Ep. 11 + special) Kim Jae-hwan (Ep. 11)
Music by	Park Seung-seon Kim Jong-woo
Opening theme	"Here I Am" by Boys Planet
Ending theme	"Not Alone" by Boys Planet
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	12 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Park Chan-wook
Producer	Shin Joon-bum
Running time	121–172 minutes
Production companies	CJ ENM NCSoft Studio Take One
Original release
Network	Mnet
Release	February 2 – April 20, 2023
Related
Girls Planet 999

Boys Planet
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	少年星球
Simplified Chinese	少年星球
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Shàonián Xīngqiú
Korean name
Hangul	보이즈 플래닛
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Boiseu Peullaenit McCune–Reischauer Poijŭ P'ŭllaenit
Japanese name
Kana	ボーイズプラネット
Transcriptions Romanization Bōizu Puranetto Nihon-shiki Bôizu Puranetto

Boys Planet (Korean: 보이즈 플래닛) is a 2023 South Korean reality competition program created by Mnet. It aired on Mnet from February 2, 2023, to April 20, 2023, every Thursday at 20:50 (KST).

Out of thousands of applicants, 98 contestants from various backgrounds were selected for the show. They were then equally split into two groups: K-Group and G-Group.

In the finale on April 20, 2023, which was broadcast live, the show announced the final nine members who would debut as Zerobaseone (abbreviated as ZB1).

The show serves as a sequel to Girls Planet 999, this time featuring all male contestants.

Concept and format

Boys Planet used a space theme: the two groups of contestants, K-Group and G-Group, acted as "planets" and the show's hosts were dubbed "Star Masters". Under the guidance of seven "Masters", contestants had to go through several rounds of evaluation, during which they had to show off their skills in singing, dancing, and rapping. After each round, the audience, known as "Star Creators", voted for their favorite trainees, determining the final debut line-up.

While its predecessor, Girls Planet 999, limited applications to South Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan, the regions were expanded this season to allow for international participation.

Trainees were cast through two rounds of applications, the first lasting from December 11, 2021, to February 11, 2022, and the second from June 27, 2022, to August 21. The final contestants were chosen regardless of nationality, affiliation with an agency, or prior experience and professional history as a singer. Ultimately, 98 contestants were selected from 84 countries and regions, including South Korea, other parts of Asia, Europe, North and South America, and the Middle East, and 229 management agencies. The aim of the competition was to debut a new nine-member K-pop boy group consisting of trainees from all around the globe, making them the first 5th generation K-pop group.

Voting system

The Mnet Plus mobile app was the official platform used for voting and accessing content related to the contestants. Unlike Girls Planet 999, where viewers had to separately cast votes for each regional group, the votes were allocated to individual contestants and equally split between the two regional groups (K-Group and G-Group). The voting system was audited by Samil PwC, an external agency, to ensure transparency and fairness in voting-related processes from aggregation to the results.

Promotion and broadcast

On December 11, 2021, during the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Mnet revealed that they would release a male version of Girls Planet 999 called Boys Planet in 2022. However, due to production issues, the air date was later pushed back to early 2023.

On November 28, Mnet announced that it would unveil the first teaser video for Boys Planet at the 2022 MAMA Awards. The show's premiere date of February 2, 2023, was confirmed through a teaser photo released on December 21, 2022.

The theme song, "Here I Am" (Korean: 난 빛나) was released on December 29, 2022, accompanied by a performance of the song on M Countdown, revealing Sung Han-bin of K-Group and Zhang Hao of G-Group as the centers of their respective groups. The contestants' profiles were released the same day. The following day, a special preview episode titled Boys Planet: Star Is Born was broadcast, featuring dance masters Baek Koo-young and Choi Young-joon, former Wanna One members Yoon Ji-sung and Kim Jae-hwan, former Iz*One members Kwon Eun-bi and Choi Ye-na, as well as all current members of Kep1er.

The show was simultaneously broadcast through Mnet and TVING in South Korea; AbemaTV and Mnet Japan in Japan; AfreecaTV in Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia; tvN Asia in Southeast Asia; and was available for streaming on Viki and Viu in selected regions, and through Mnet's YouTube channel, Mnet K-Pop, in the rest of the world.

On March 27, 2023, it was confirmed that the Boys Planet contestants would be part of the line-up at KCON Japan 2023 on May 12. A press conference for the remaining 28 contestants was held at CJ ENM Center on March 29. A special episode entitled Pajama Party in Planet Camp (Korean: 파자마 파티 in Planet Camp) was aired on April 15, 2023, at 20:00 KST.

The finale was held live at Jamsil Arena on April 20, 2023, with an audience of about 6,000 people. Additionally, the episode was broadcast live on YouTube and at eleven CJ CGV theaters across South Korea, with tickets for the theatrical screenings selling out in two minutes.

Broadcast schedule

Cast

Instead of having one host present the show for its entire run, it was presented by so-called "Star Masters", which rotated with each round. Star Masters were usually experienced celebrities, who could give advice to and guide the trainees.

The first round was presented by former NU'EST and Wanna One member Hwang Min-hyun as the first Star Master, with Sunmi temporarily joining him as the second Star Master in episode 2. Actor Yeo Jin-goo hosted a special episode titled 1st Survivor Announcement Ceremony (Korean: 1차 생존자 발표식) as the third Star Master on February 24, 2023, as well as episode 5. Minhyuk of BtoB joined the show as the fourth Star Master for the second mission and as the host of the 2nd Survivor Announcement Ceremony (Korean: 2차 생존자 발표식). Shinee's Key joined the show as the fifth Star Master for the third mission. In episode 10, 2AM's Jo Kwon became the sixth Star Master for a special "Musical Star Test". Jeon Somi hosted the 3rd Survivor Announcement Ceremony (Korean: 3차 생존자 발표식) as the seventh Star Master on April 7, 2023, and also appeared in episode 11. Soloist and former Wanna One member Kim Jae-hwan served as the eighth Star Master for the final mission. Hwang Min-hyun reprised his role as a Star Master for the show's finale.

The rest of the mentors, also dubbed as "masters", were:

• Dance Masters:
  • Baek Koo-young (백구영)
  • Choi Young-joon (최영준)
  • Lip J (립제이)
• Vocal Masters:
  • Heo Sol-ji (허솔지)
  • Lee Seok-hoon (이석훈)
  • Lim Han-byul (임한별)
• Rap Masters:
  • pH-1 (피에이치원)
  • Lil Boi (Ep. 3–4) (릴보이)
  • Bobby (Ep. 6–7) (바비)

Contestants

There were a total of 98 contestants participating in the competition. 49 were Korean, while the other 49 were from Canada, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam.

The English names of contestants are presented in accordance with the official website.

Color key (In order of contestant's group rank on the show)

Ranking

Top 9

The top 9 contestants were chosen through popularity online voting through the Mnet Plus mobile app and audience live voting, as shown at the end of each episode.

Color key

New Top 9

First voting period

The first voting period took place from February 2 to 24, 2023.

Star Creators voted for nine boys regardless of their group. In total, 52,434,522 votes from 176 countries were recorded. Roughly 11.9 million of these votes were cast by Koreans, while 40.5 million came from global viewers.

Eliminations were based on individual total points.

Color key

Top 9

Second voting period

The second voting period took place from March 2 to 17, 2023.

Star Creators voted for six boys regardless of their group. In total, 47,586,404 votes from 178 countries were recorded. Roughly 10.5 million of these votes were cast by Koreans, while 37 million came from global viewers.

Eliminations were based on individual total points.

Color key

Top 9

Third voting period

The third voting period took place from March 23 to April 7, 2023.

Star Creators voted for three boys regardless of their group. In total, 31,750,293 votes from 182 countries were recorded. Roughly 6.35 million of these votes were cast by Koreans, while 25.4 million came from global viewers.

Eliminations were based on individual total points.

Color key

Top 9

Result

The finale was held and broadcast live on April 20, 2023. Hwang Min-hyun announced that the name of the newly formed boy group would be Zerobaseone (Korean: 제로베이스원; RR: Jerobeiseuwon; abbreviated as ZB1).

Star Creators voted for one contestant regardless of his group. In total, 9,398,916 votes from 184 countries were recorded, comprising 8,177,501 votes cast from the first voting period, which took place from April 7 to April 19, 2023, and 1,221,415 votes cast during the second voting period, which was held live during the finale and where all votes were doubled.

Finale results

Rank	Name	Group	Points	Company
1	Zhang Hao	G	1,998,154	Yuehua Entertainment
2	Sung Han-bin	K	1,888,414	Studio Gl1de
3	Seok Matthew	G	1,702,174	MNH Entertainment
4	Ricky	G	1,572,089	Yuehua Entertainment
5	Park Gun-wook	K	1,386,039	Jellyfish Entertainment
6	Kim Tae-rae	K	1,349,595	Wake One Entertainment
7	Kim Gyu-vin	K	1,346,105	Yuehua Entertainment
8	Kim Ji-woong	K	1,338,984	Nest Management
9	Han Yu-jin	K	1,196,622	Yuehua Entertainment

Episodes

No.	Title	Original air date	South Korea viewers (millions)
1	"Hello, It's Me" Transliteration: "Annyeong Na-ya" (Korean: 안녕 나야)	February 2, 2023	N/A
The episode begins with the first Star Master, Hwang Min-hyun, explaining the show's concept, followed by the show's contestants being introduced to the "Star Level Test". The Star Level Test involves the contestants rating their own skills out of four stars by placing stickers on their name tags, before being re-assessed by the show's mentors (known as Vocal, Dance, and Rap Masters) through performances. As a bonus, the group with the most stars following the Star Level Test earns the right to preview the show's theme song "Here I Am" a day earlier than the other group.
2	"Here I Am" Transliteration: "Nan Bitna" (Korean: 난 빛나)	February 9, 2023	N/A
The episode begins with the contestants reacting to the show's first episode alongside the second Star Master, Sunmi. The episode then proceeds with the continuation of the Star Level Test. In the end, the K-Group wins with 119 stars over G-Group's 98 stars. After moving into the dormitory (dubbed as "Planet Camp"), the contestants are introduced to the show's theme song "Here I Am (난 빛나)" and the accompanying "Signal Song Test". The Signal Song Test re-evaluates the contestants' star levels based on their performance of the theme song. The contestants practice the theme song with the help of the show's Masters.
3	"Turn on the Light" Transliteration: "Bureul Kyeojwo" (Korean: 불을 켜줘)	February 16, 2023	0.240
After the Signal Song Test is over, the trainees vote for a center to represent each group for the final "Here I Am" stage. Sung Han-bin is chosen as the center for K-Group and takes on the overall Killing Part, while Zhang Hao wins the center position for G-Group. The next day, Star Master Hwang Min-hyun announces their first mission: the "K vs. G Group Battle". The trainees with the most views for their signal song fancams get to pick their team members in order of popularity. Lee Hoe-taek and Dang Hong Hai ranked highest in their respective groups and get to choose first. Each of the seven mission songs will then be performed live by one team of each group and a live audience gets to vote individually for each team member. The winning group receives a benefit of 10,000 points and the team with the overall highest score gets a special stage on M Countdown.
4	"SHOWTIME"	February 23, 2023	0.218
The K vs G Group Battle continues as the remaining nine teams rehearse and perform their respective songs. At the end of the performances, it is revealed that K-Group won the battle, and will therefore receive the 10,000 points benefit for the first ranking announcement. The winning team of the special performance on M Countdown is revealed to be the "Back Door" K-Group team (composed of Ji Yun-seo, Kim Tae-rae, Han Yu-jin, Kim Min-seong, Kum Jun-hyeon, Yoon Jong-woo, and Kim Ji-woong).
5	"You and I" Transliteration: "Neowa Na" (Korean: 너와 나)	March 2, 2023	0.204
The 1st Survival Announcement begins with the third Star Master Yeo Jin-goo as the host. Trainees ranked 12th to 51st are announced first before the Top 11 are revealed, starting from the bottom. Jay, Kim Tae-rae, and Park Gun-wook are announced as potential candidates for 9th place, with Jay ultimately securing the spot. Then, the top three contestants are unveiled: Sung Han-bin remains in first place with 8,343,418 points, followed by Seok Matthew with 6,983,610 points, and Kim Ji-woong in third place with 6,944,462 points. Lastly, Jeong I-chan manages to place 52nd and therefore remains in the competition. The episode ends with a preview of the next mission, called the "Dual Position Battle".
6	"Take My Hand" Transliteration: "Nae Soneul Jab-a" (Korean: 내 손을 잡아)	March 9, 2023	0.206
The trainees gather in the auditorium and the fourth Star Master Minhyuk reveals and explains the second mission. The Dual Position Battle starts and each contestant has to choose one of the twelve songs divided into the three categories "Vocal & Rap", "Vocal & Dance", and "Rap & Dance". Once a team hits its maximum number of members, higher-ranked trainees can replace lower-ranking trainees from the group to free up a spot for themselves. Contestants are urged to include a creative element in their performances, might it be changing parts of the choreography or writing new lyrics themselves. The winning team for each category will receive a point benefit, a special stage on M Countdown, and a promotional banner on the Mnet Plus app. The performances begin, with the "Gang" team performing first. The episode ends with the "Tomboy" team about to perform. The five songs created for the next mission, the "Artist Battle", are revealed and viewers get to choose each team's members through the Mnet Plus app.
7	"Two is Better" Transliteration: "Dul-i Deo Johjanh-a" (Korean: 둘이 더 좋잖아)	March 16, 2023	0.236
The remaining eight performances for the Dual Position Mission are revealed. Then the winning team for each category is announced: the "Tomboy" team places first in the Vocal & Rap category, the "Love Killa" team wins in the Vocal & Dance category, and the "LAW" team in the Rap & Dance category, securing 100,000 points for each member and a special M Countdown stage for the entire team. The highest-ranked members of each team, Zhang Hao, Kim Gyu-vin, and Park Han-bin, respectively, receive an additional 150,000 points on top of that.
8	"As Much As I Dreamed" Transliteration: "Kkumkkwowassdeon Mankeum" (Korean: 꿈꿔왔던 만큼)	March 23, 2023	0.278
Fifth Star Master Key explains the third mission to the contestants. All of the trainees are shown practicing for the song they got voted into by the audience but only the ones that remain after the second elimination will get to perform them. Then, the 2nd Survival Announcement begins. Trainees ranked 12th to 27th are announced first before the Top 11 are revealed, starting from the bottom. Lee Hoe-taek, Park Gun-wook, and Kum Jun-hyeon are announced as potential candidates for ninth place, with Park Gun-wook ultimately securing the spot. Then, the top three contestants are unveiled: Sung Han-bin ranks first once again with 7,043,213 points, followed by Zhang Hao with 6,128,945 points, and Han Yu-jin with 6,045,275 points. Lastly, Hiroto manages to remain in the competition by placing 28th.
9	"Started to Realize" Transliteration: "Jagakhagi Sijakhan" (Korean: 자각하기 시작한)	March 30, 2023	0.241
After the second elimination, the remaining contestants have to re-adjust their Artist Battle teams to fit the intended total of members. Every team that has too many members left needs to vote out a certain amount of trainees, who then have to switch teams to fill the empty spots. The new teams are then shown practicing and preparing for their performances. In a special intermittent segment, the contestants get to perform their respective songs for their families and friends. Then, the first two performances, "SuperCharger" and "En Garde", are shown. The episode ends with the "Say My Name" team about to perform.
10	"Nonstop Mindset" Transliteration: "Ma-eum-eun Nonstop" (Korean: 마음은 Nonstop)	April 6, 2023	0.260
The remaining three performances for the Artist Battle, "Switch", "Say My Name", and "Over Me", are shown. After the performances, the winner is announced to be the "Over Me" team with a total of 621 points, thus winning the 200,000 points benefit, M Countdown special stage, and a mini fan meeting. With 852 points, Zhang Hao ranks first within the team and receives an additional benefit. The Star Creators are then reminded that only 18 contestants will make it to the final round and that voting will close in under 12 hours.
11	"At a Higher Place" Transliteration: "Deo Nop-eun Gos-eseo" (Korean: 더 높은 곳에서)	April 13, 2023	0.325
The 3rd Survival Announcement begins, hosted by the sixth Star Master Jeon Somi. Trainees ranked 11th to 17th are announced first before the Top 10 are revealed. Lee Hoe-taek and Seok Matthew are announced as potential candidates for 9th place, with Seok Matthew ultimately securing the spot. Then, the top three contestants are unveiled: Sung Han-bin once again ranks first with 5,389,363 points, followed by Zhang Hao with 4,342,882 points, and Kim Ji-woong with 3,536,122 points. Lastly, Na Kamden manages to place 18th and is therefore able to compete in the finale. We are then introduced to the seventh Star Master, Kim Jae-hwan, who announces the two songs for the final mission, "Jelly Pop" and "Hot Summer". While choosing which songs to perform, the higher-ranked trainees can push out lower-ranked trainees from the song or position they want for themselves. For this mission, the Star Creators get to decide the killing part. The episode ends with Sung Han-bin and Seok Matthew being announced as the temporary killing parts for "Hot Summer" and "Jelly Pop", respectively.
12	"I Shine" Transliteration: "Nan Bich-na" (Korean: 난 빛나)	April 20, 2023	0.338
The episode begins with a memorial title card for Astro's Moonbin, who had died a day before the broadcast. It then proceeds showing the final 18 contestants performing the theme song again, after which Star Master Hwang Min-hyun announces that the debut group's name is Zerobaseone (Korean: 제로베이스원; abbreviated as ZB1), and the second half of the final voting period is opened. The trainees are then shown practicing for their final stages and it is revealed that Zhang Hao replaced Seok Matthew as their team's killing part, while Sung Han-bin retained his position. "Jelly Pop" is performed, followed by "Hot Summer", after which the live voting is closed. Then, the trainees get on stage to perform their final song titled "Not Alone". Finally, the votes are tallied and the final members of the debut group are announced, starting from rank 8: Kim Ji-woong becomes the first official member of ZB1, followed by Kim Gyu-vin, Kim Tae-rae, Park Gun-wook, Ricky, and Seok Matthew. Sung and Zhang goes to the stage as candidates for first place, with Zhang ultimately overtaking Sung's rank for the first time and becomes the center of the debut group and also the first foreigner to win first place on any Mnet survival show. Lastly, Han Yu-jin is announced as the final member.

Discography

Extended plays

List of extended plays, with selected chart positions and sales

Title	Details	Peak chart positions			Sales
		KOR	JPN Hot	JPN Comb.
Boys Planet – Artist Battle	Released: April 6, 2023 Label: Stone Music Entertainment Formats: Digital download, streaming Track list Switch SuperCharger Over Me Say My Name En Garde (준비, 시작!)	—	6	12	JPN: 2,481 (Dig.)
Boys Planet – Final TOP9 Battle	Released: April 21, 2023 Label: Stone Music Entertainment Formats: Digital download, streaming Track list Jelly Pop Hot Summer Not Alone	—	—	31

Singles

List of singles, showing year released, selected chart positions, and name of the album

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Album
		KOR	JPN Hot
"Here I Am" (난 빛나)	2023	—	—	Non-album single
"Switch"		—	—	Boys Planet – Artist Battle
"SuperCharger"		—	—
"Over Me"		179	—
"Say My Name"		58	77
"En Garde" (준비, 시작!)		185	—
"Jelly Pop"		162	99	Boys Planet – Final TOP9 Battle
"Hot Summer"		—	—
"Not Alone"		—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that region.

Viewership

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)
		Nationwide	Seoul
1	February 2, 2023	0.379% (88th)	N/A
2	February 9, 2023	0.586% (51st)
3	February 16, 2023	0.821% (27th)	1.195% (8th)
4	February 23, 2023	0.772% (27th)	1% (NR)
5	March 2, 2023	0.803% (23rd)
6	March 9, 2023	0.724% (25th)	1.067% (9th)
7	March 16, 2023	0.890% (21st)	1.115% (7th)
8	March 23, 2023	0.884% (19th)	1.110% (9th)
9	March 30, 2023	0.865% (17th)	1.232% (9th)
10	April 6, 2023	0.878% (23rd)	1.1% (NR)
11	April 13, 2023	1.000% (14th)	1.396% (7th)
12	April 20, 2023	1.210% (6th)	1.657% (4th)
Average		0.818%	1.187%
Special	December 30, 2022	N/A	N/A
In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. N/A denotes ratings that were not published. NR denotes that the show did not rank in the top 10 daily programs on that date. This show aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee / Work	Result	Ref.
Asian Academy Creative Awards	2023	Best Music or Dance Progamme (National Winners – Korea)	Boys Planet	Won

Aftermath

The final group, Zerobaseone is active for 2 years and 6 months, and is managed by WakeOne. The group debuted on July 10, 2023, with the EP Youth in the Shade.