— NOW PLAYING: NEXT GEN EPISODE 1
three of the top kpop companies met at the mnet studio one morning. the captions pop up on the screen as the camera pans across the exterior of the studio building. it cuts to a scene of a conference room. SEO RAN, ceo of SR MEDIA, is already seated in one of the chairs. otherwise the room is empty save for the camera crew.
“ah,” she sighs, leaning her weight into her elbows on the table, “i was too early, wasn’t i?” the next shot zooms into a paper cup of coffee with a new caption on the screen: she bought coffee for all of the others. a few more seconds of the quiet room tick by before the door finally opens. in steps YOON JIHUN. a new caption announcing his title as ceo of STUDIO DELTA flashes across the screen.
“i’m not late, am i?” he asks, sitting down after bowing and greeting his fellow executive politely.
“not at all, i was early,” the woman responds. “please, take what you like,” she gestures to the untouched cups of coffee in the center of the table. jihun takes a cup and thanks her.
a few moments later, the door opens again. this time, two women walk in. it’s YUNA and BOM, both LIME ENTERTAINMENT artists or in bom’s case, former artist. the screen flashes a quick compilation of their old performances as the captions introduce the two celebrities to the viewer. for bom, they’re sure to show her appearances on other survival shows, her strict nature, and how she’s here as the vocal expert of the day. they’re quick to make pleasant talk with the two ceos while they wait for the rest of the group to arrive. ran and bom start chatting about the last time they met, backstage for a special year-end performance. it’s been a long time since ran has been on stage.
“who are we still waiting for?” jihun asks, and not a moment later YOOJUNG of A.MAZE opens the door, startling the ceo who asks “have you been waiting for a cue this whole time?” the group laughs and the scene is taken over by another compilation of clips, some of practice room scenes, and an introduction of yoojung as the dance expert. the scene cuts ggain to J-YOON from HIT also entering and finding his seat, the clips of his performances and captions praising his skill and eye for talent as they announce him as the rap expert.
the group of six sit and chat and enjoy their coffee for a few moments longer. then, jihun speaks up. “you all know why we’re here today,” his tone becomes more professional, as if he had forgotten about the task at hand until now. “there were thousands of submissions to the mnet website for auditions to this program. we’ve been asked to narrow it down to the top contestants.
tablets with the audition videos already loaded on them are handed to the main judges and special evaluators alike. “where should we start?” ran asks, looking around her team. “ladies first?” she suggests.
it seems that the rest of the group is in agreement, since yuna reads off the first name on the list: “HWANG BADA,” she says. “that name sounds familiar,” jihun muses, though he never places where he may have heard it before.
the screen is filled with bada’s audition video. “hello! i’m hwang bada, twenty-one years young,” the girl on the screen says. cut to the judges while ran murmurs “she looks nervous,” and yuna responds “she’s pretty,”
bada’s dance performance plays out on screen, the camera occasionally cutting away to the judges whose reactions are hard to read until the performance is complete. “well,” yoojung speaks, knowing he’ll be the one expected to give his expertise on the dancers. “she looks… a bit inexperienced. her hands are a bit awkward, and she seems a bit stiff, but i think there’s a lot of potential there. she has a sense of rhythm, which is hard to teach.” the other judges seem to murmur their agreement.
up next is LEE JINAE. it’s ran who reads off her name this time, and with a grin and a nudge at her co-judge she speaks, “it says here she put down studio delta as her preferred company. you’ll have to let me know what you think.”
jinae’s performance fills the screen and begins. it soon becomes apparent that both vocals and dance are part of her performance, the first time the judges have seen that tonight, and the camera is sure to catch the way brows raise and interest is piqued among the judges. the girl performs well and it seems that the judges are impressed. “rapping and dancing at the same time isn’t easy,” j-yoon shares, and yuna nods her agreement. “it’s impressive that she was able to stay so stable despite the choreography.”
LEE NAYOUNG is the next contestant up. her performance begins, also singing, dancing, and rapping, though it’s less impressive since she wasn’t the first one to show it. no one remarks on it this time. however, bom speaks up, “i think i’ve seen her before,” she muses aloud, “hasn’t she been on other survival programs? i thought she was a trainee. i wonder what happened. she has a nice voice, though she’s not supporting her breath very well.”
the screen flashes through a few more auditions quickly, showing one young girl who sings decidedly off-pitch with all of the confidence in the world. “i admire her bravery,” jihun says. it looks like yuna is trying very hard to stifle her laughter. other clips are too dark or blurry to really make out, and the judges seem to be getting annoyed with the poor quality contestants they’re being shown.
finally, they come to MIN HYEJIN. “28 reasons?” yuna’s brows raise as they realize what song this contestant is performing. “that’s quite challenging vocally. and she’s dancing as well?” all of the judges seem to be enraptured by hyejin’s performance, watching and listening carefully as she sings and dances to the song. when the clip is over, it’s bom who’s actually the most impressed. “it’s not easy to live up to the original performance,” she explains to the others, who seem astounded that she has anything good to say about anyone. “but hyejin did an amazing job.”
“up next is a dancer, i’m told,” yoojung smiles, anticipating this performance. “CHARLOTTE SAEA MOON,” he reads from the tablet, and the girl’s audition takes up the screen. “a boy group song?” ran questions as the music starts. “that’s a unique choice,” the judges seem to be pleased overall with her performance, a few nods and smiles as notes are taken down. “it’s clear she knows and loves this song,” yoojung smiles, “that’s what i love to see from dancers, to be honest. when they love the music, they put on a better performance.”
a few more auditions flash quickly over the screen by various contestants, none lasting longer than a second and apparently not interesting enough to share in full with the audience yuna reads the next girl’s name off of their list, “OH HAEIN.”
“is this original choreography?” jihun’s interest seems to be piqued as the contestant’s audition plays for the group of judges. yoojung nods confirmation; he would know, of course. “she’s a bit sexy,” ran muses, though it doesn’t seem to be a bad thing. bom murmurs her agreement. they seem to thoroughly enjoy the performance. “i want to watch that again,” yoojung laughs, looking at the writers and producers behind the cameras as he asks, “can i? do we have time?”
finally, they announce that they’re on the final audition from female applicants. the judges are beginning to look a bit tired, likely a bit fried from watching who knows how many auditions already. “brighten up,” ran announces to her team of judges, “miss RYU EUNKYUNG deserves our full attention!”
eunkyung’s audition begins with a fan-favorite song. even yuna can’t help but exclaim with an excited little gasp “it’s sominnie’s song!” jihun looks particularly proud that his artist is still so well loved, despite the song not being as current as it once was. “it’s another difficult choreography,” yoojung muses aloud as they watch the girl’s dance performance. “it requires a lot of control and is difficult for idols who have been performing for years. i’m surprised she’s doing so well.”
the scene shows the outside of the studio again, the captions announcing that the judges took a break for lunch before starting to review the boys’ auditions. when they return to the conference room, the coffee cups from the morning have been cleared and they’re looking a bit refreshed and ready to review more tapes.
“up first,” jihun picks up his tablet and looks at the list of names, “CHO HANEUL. it says here he was a trainee before. i’m anticipating this performance.”
the judges seem rather impressed by haneul’s audition as soon as it starts, yoojung once again pointing out that this is original choreography. “his movements are quite powerful to be singing at the same time,” bom points out and the other idols and ex-idols among the judges nod knowingly, “it sounds like he practiced his pronunciation and diction quite a bit as well. i’m impressed.”
GEUN WONJAE is next on their list. finally, a contestant that focuses solely on rap. j-yoon pays extra attention to this audition, knowing his expertise will be called upon. however, he quickly gets distracted. “sorry,” he looks utterly baffled, “is he under a bridge?” the rest of the judges realize what the backdrop is at that moment and a chorus of giggles erupts among them. “it’s probably good acoustics,” j-yoon tries to defend the contestant he just called out, seemingly embarrassed on the boy’s behalf. “he’s not bad. it would have been nice to see a rapper use original lyrics instead of covering someone else’s, but that’s not really an issue to be an idol.”
the next audition is another vocalist; JUNG JOOMI is singing an original song. for a moment, the camera pans to jihun who looks skeptical at first. but as the piano begins playing, a hush falls over the judges. it’s as if they feel something powerful from joomi’s audition, something raw and personal that they haven’t seen from the other contestants so far. they’re quiet even as the clip comes to an end, no one wanting to break the spell that they’ve been placed under. finally, bom speaks. “he has an incredible voice,” she gives the compliment freely, without any critique. it’s how the others know that joomi is very good.
“it’s going to be hard to follow that act,” yuna looks through the list of the auditions yet to be reviewed, looking a bit sorry for the next name on the list. and indeed she was right to pity him; the next three contestants all are a complete bust with laughable off-rhythm dancing and pitchy singing. they’re starting to wonder if they’ve exhausted all of the talent among the auditions when the next clip plays.
“this next one better be good,” jihun grumbles, looking thoroughly annoyed that their time has been wasted with so many poor auditions. LEE NOEL is next and yoojung’s eyes widen as he realizes what song the boy is performing. “this is a girl group song,” he points out. jihun barks out a laugh, but ran, yuna, and bom all look charmed by the young man’s performance. “he’s not bad!” yoojung smiles, “i like his confidence. it’s not the girliest dance ever, but it still takes a lot of security to perform girl group dances as seriously as a man.”
the next audition is from LEE SEOJUN and the female judges seem to be immediately enraptured by his performance. “he’s singing too,” bom points out, scribbling notes down as she watches. “he expresses sensuality well,” yoojung agrees, “both with his movement and his voice. it’s a great performance.” bom, always reluctant to only give compliments, adds another thought: “he should have just focused on one. there’s too many turns in the choreography, it’s hard to hear him when he’s not facing the microphone. i applaud his effort, though.”
“MATTHEW LUONG,” ran reads off of the tablets as they prepare for the next audition. “that’s not a name you see around here often.” jihun hums and nods his agreement, “kpop truly has become global.”
it’s clear from the start of matthew’s audition that he’s a skilled dancer with a great sense of performance. “he might be classically trained,” yoojung points out, “it’s subtle, but there’s a sense of control that dancers who have taken ballet or contemporary classes have. it’s different from hip-hop. i really admire it.”
“it’s amazing how keen of an eye you have for dance,” j-yoon praises his fellow judge. yoojung seems to get a bit flustered, as if embarrassed that he nerded out too much on the topic.
another dancer is next, MOON JINYOUNG. the women among the group immediately recognize the song he’s performing as a rather sensual beat. “are your ears red?” jihun suddenly teases ran, who insists they are not. yuna and bom are equally as transfixed on the performance. “he picked a choreography that suits him well,” yuna muses aloud, only to be the next target of teasing from the boys. “no! i mean, he’s long-limbed and the movement of the choreography… oh come on, yoojung knows that i mean,” yoojung feigns ignorance and the men laugh again.
the screen cycles through a few more auditions quickly, clearly nothing of value among them. and then they get to MOON HWANG CAMERON.
“oh?” ran is the one who notices the connection. “i think this is the brother of a contestant we saw earlier. saea? they must be a talented family,”
“he’s debuted before too,” jihun points out, looking through the brief information they have on the contestant.
cameron’s performance is a bit short and once again, j-yoon makes it clear that he’s disappointed in the lack of original lyrics from wannabe rappers. “it just feels like a wasted opportunity,” he says. “regardless, it’s clear that cameron has training in this. his flow is quite good even for an idol.”
the next audition they share is from PARK DOHYUN. “he’s cute,” yuna coos as the young man introduces himself. “he has a microphone on him, that’s smart,” bom points out, clearly pleased by the attention to detail. it becomes apparent that the production of dohyun’s audition is much more involved than the previous clips the judges have watched. “he could have a future in creative direction,” jihun points out. all of the judges jump in their seats and then clap and yell in delight when the fireworks go off in the video. “that’s so clever!” ran remarks. “i think this might be the most memorable performance,” j-yoon agrees.
STEVEN PARK is their next contestant to judge. “he looks like a doll,” yoojung remarks. the editors add a green face filter over the dance expert’s face and a caption joking about being jealous. however, that cute face completely transforms when he begins to dance to a rather risque song. he has his audience captivated. “i did not expect that,” yoojung seems a bit awestruck. “he’s quite a good dancer. i’d love to see what he’s capable of with a bit more refinement.”
the awe among the judges is short-lived. the clip from the next auditionee is stopped before he even gets thirty seconds into his song. bom physically drops her tablet in disgust, looking around at the other judges in disbelief that the production team would even show them that terrible audition. the next three aren’t much better, each taking up a third of the screen for a couple of seconds rather than make the audience sit through the same torture the judges did.
“please give me a half-decent singer,” bom pleads with the production crew before picking up her tablet again and starting the next audition.
SATO KOU’s performance is the answer to her prayers. he takes a girl group song and completely transforms it into his own in the clip and even jihun is bobbing his head along to the rhythmic playing. “you all know i don’t like to give out compliments,” bom sighs, “but this is exactly what i needed to hear after the last several auditions. his voice is nice, his pitch is stable. i really can’t ask for anything more at this point.”
“i noticed that the next contestant had auditioned for lime entertainment before,” yuna seems to show a particular interest in the auditionees with a connection to her label. “i’m curious to see.” SEO JUNHO’s audition clip plays across the screen with the judges mostly quiet until it finishes. “i see,” is all yuna says. “his vocals aren’t that good,” bom points out. “it’s a shame he didn’t focus on performing one skill well instead of three skills mediocrely,” j-yoon shares his thoughts. “he wasn’t bad. but i wasn’t impressed.”
up next is YEOM SARANG, a name that jihun recognizes. “he was part of our company,” he explains to the other judges, “but i don’t think he was ready to be a trainee at the time. it’ll be interesting to see how he’s grown since then.”
sarang’s audition stands out immediately. while he’s not the first to perform a girl group song, he’s definitely the most sensual of the other boys who have performed feminine dances so far. “his technique isn’t good,” yoojung admits, “but his expressions are incredible. he reminds me of some of the trainees i’ve seen at our company. they work hard to master that sort of expressiveness.” ran nods her agreement with her artist’s judgment. “he’s good-looking too,” she remarks.
at last, the judges get to the last audition tape on their list. “finally,” jihun sighs. ran swats him gently. “be nice,” she scolds. “everyone worked hard today.” ZHOU AREN RENYI is their final contestant to review and his audition begins playing without any delay. “i think i can say i’m glad we ended on a high note,” bom nods her approval as the clip finishes. “he needs work. a lot of work, actually, but his basics are solid. it’s clear he has a good sense of musicality.”
and with that, it’s up to the judges to decide who exactly they invite to participate in the show. the scene cuts away to the exterior of the building again, now with the sun setting in the background, and the captions promising to come back another day.
RHEE JIAN appears on screen dressed in a red pantsuit, cue cards in one hand and microphone in the other. the camera pans to bom, a former groupmate of the emcee, who is visibly excited when she shouts out jian’s old stage name. all six judges are seated in a neon pink and blue set, comfortable behind a desk while jian announces from a stage decorated just as brightly.
“hello judges, special judges… bom unnie!” jian’s professional demeanor cracks as she waves her cue cards to her old friend with a big grin. “and of course, welcome to all of you tuning in to NEXT GEN! let’s introduce the twenty-one contestants who will be competing for contracts with the biggest names in kpop.”
one by one, the contestants names and faces appear on screen, ordered from “last place” to “first place” based on the judges’ initial evaluation.
they’ve gathered all of the participants into the studio and the judges and emcee alike are sure to give them a round of applause for making it this far. “there were thousands of videos sent in. yours stood out to the judges and we’re excited to see how you can grow and expand your skills throughout the duration of this program.” jian announces.
“now,” the music and lighting changes from bright and cheery to dimmer and more serious. “i’m here to announce your first mission.” she pauses, looking over the group of participants as they hang onto her every word. “our lovely judges have already evaluated you based on the skills that you showed in your audition videos. however, not all of you sang, danced, and rapped; most of you only performed one or two of those skills. and we don’t know how many takes or how long you practiced to record those. so, for your first mission, we will be evaluating you a second time. this time, you’ll all be performing the exact same song.”
jian gestures behind her to a large tv screen. two unnamed dancers, one male, one female, appear on the screen wearing simple black sweatpants and white shirts. the song that the participants will be expected to perform starts playing and the dancers demonstrate the choreography that they’ll be expected to learn.
“also,” she continues, as if the prospect of a second evaluation wasn’t enough, “our program has been invited to record a performance to be broadcasted on mcountdown. you all will be performing my turn together, but with so many participants... we need to choose our centers. the male and female contestant who are ranked the highest by our judges will each be awarded the center position in our music show performance. exciting, right? whoever wins center positions are sure to gather a lot of love from the fans.”
“is it scary?” jian looks around the crowd of young people and the camera zooms in on some of the more nervous faces. “don’t worry. you have all this week and help from our special judges to help you improve and put on the best possible performance for our main judges. we want to see how fast you can learn, and where your baseline really is without camera effects or editing.” the camera seems to focus on park dohyun, as if this mission is his fault for having so many special effects in his audition clip.
“good luck, everyone!” jian cheers them on genuinely, “i’ll see you next week!”
