Okay this one was posted last month and when I saw it back then I was like "CLUB PRIDE DAY? Pentor are you queer?". Description also said "And if we had to talk about Pentor's definition of love, which is like a 'rainbow,". However at that moment I could not find if this was a podcast specifically for queer people. And also this podcast has no subs except Thai but you can auto translate them.

Anyways I got my answer now:

CLUB PRIDE DAY inside is back! This podcast features DJs P'Aoy and DJ Ong inviting LGBTQIA+ leaders to share their experiences with the challenges of love, along with inside stories from various relationships. They'll discuss their experiences and how they cope with different types of love, before giving up and learning from their struggles. Before you give up, you have to experience the pain first!

So we got another queer actor! Also damm Laz1 be hella gay then.

This show has been on my radar for a while.  It wasn’t until I read about contestants being treated badly that I decided to move it to the top of my list, but like I said in the intro, I was skeptical about this being the cruelest show ever.  Then I saw that the iQIYI streaming platform puts an ad in the middle of the screen every time I pause it, and I have to get rid of it to get a screenshot.  And I’m a paid subscriber.  This is definitely cruel.  Still, it’s not as bad as Mnet’s streamer, so this show is going to have to do worse than that to scare me.  Let’s see how bad this can get.  Welcome to Episode One!

We learn right away these 69 contestants will be from China, Korea, Canada, Laos, the US, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Only nine of them will make it to the final group.  We get a montage preview of these candidates dancing and sweating and crying and actually wheezing, and then there’s someone needing medical attention.

We are less than two minutes into this show.

When the episode officially begins, I’m looking at the most insane stage I’ve ever seen.  The set designers threw everything they could find at this.  There’s no focal point.  It’s hard to tell what I’m looking at.

Okay guys, we’re building a giant aquarium with geometric shapes everywhere and uncomfortable-looking seats and a doorway.  And stairs.  Lots of stairs.  STAIRS EVERWHERE.

Our first trainees walk through the door, and someone needs to warn them that they’re about to go blind.  They stop at the entrance and try to adjust their eyes, and one of them says, “Be careful.”  A screen lights up telling them to take any of the seats.  They look around, trying to see which of these shapes are seats. 

The rest of the trainees enter in groups and climb the mountain of stairs to find shapes that look like benches.  They sit and try to take everything in.  Several of these trainees look familiar.  I’m pretty sure I see Ngan Chau Yuet (now Rowan) who we just saw win a place in the group Modyssey.   It’s hard to get a good look right now.  I definitely spot Sun Jiayang from Boys II Planet.  He’s currently in the group VAYONN with another B2P eliminated contestant, Masato.

Other trainees are excited to see three contestants from a Chinese survival show called Youth With You.  The camera is in love with one of them, an angelic anime-looking boy with long blonde hair.  We stay focused on him for a while as he looks around in amazement.  Then a dark-haired stunner from China enters alone.  His name is Shao Zi Heng, and everyone starts swooning over his looks. 

Some of these trainees are so beautiful, they don’t look real.  Their skin looks like porcelain.  I’m watching on a high-definition screen, and I don’t see a single pore on their faces. 

We meet a member of the disbanded group MIRAE, Lee Jun Hyuk.  (We saw his former bandmate, Park Si Young, on Produce 101 Japan Shinsekai.)  I also recognize Lee Da Eul from the first Boys Planet.    

We meet four members of a Korean boy band called BAE173.  They’ve already debuted, and the group is still active, but they are here and ready for war.  They’re making the rest of the contestants nervous.

BAE173

Once all 69 candidates are seated, the stage gets dark except for the glowing blue stairs and bars around the room.  It looks like a dark ride roller coaster.  Our host arrives on a rising platform.  This is Korean model, actress, and singer Lee Sung-kyung. 

She welcomes our trainees to Starlight Academy with the motto “Light Now, Right Now,” which is a phrase we’re going to be hearing a lot.   She then introduces us to our coaches.

(L-R) Korean actor Lee Seung Gi, Big Bang Main Vocalist Daesung, Choreographer Choi Youngjun, Hip-Hop Producer Hanhae, Pentagon Main Vocalist Hui, and STAYC Lead Vocalist Yoon

We’re going to start with a Level Test, which is just like the one that starts off Boys Planet.  These trainees will introduce themselves with a performance, and the coaches will give them a rating of One Star, Two Star, or the All Star.  That’s for the lucky ones.  The trainees who do terribly will get a Zero Star grade.  Zero Stars will still get to stay on the show, but they will sit on the benches instead of in the glittery seats.  The trainees are talking about how cruel that is.  Oh, please.  B2P sent Zero Star trainees home immediately.  They had their suitcases waiting backstage.

We start with a trio from China:  Ke Ming Kai, Li Sheng Jun, and Sheng Qi.  They perform the BTS song “Blood Sweat and Tears.”  Their voices are unsteady, which I’m chalking up to nerves from having to go first.  Their dancing is awkward and not always in sync.  But I see potential in them.  They need more training. 

The coaches have a harsher opinion.  They say being able to sing in a steady voice while dancing is the basic requirement for being an idol.  They are disappointed.  Sheng Qi gets One Star.  His teammates both get Zero Stars.  We are off to a bummer of a start.   

Next up are Syo and Ryou Kaito, a team from Japan.  Syo is Japanese and American and half black, and Kaito is Japanese and Chinese, so they call themselves ABMIX.   They’re performing “Breathe” by AB6IX. 

Syo’s singing is a bit nasally, but I love Kaito’s rapping.  The choreography gets a bit clumsy, and I’m sure the coaches are going to be tough on them.  And they are. “It looks like you haven’t learned dancing at all,” they say.  “I can’t see the foundational skills.”  Ryou Kaito gets the One Star, and Syo gets a Zero Star. 

I will say this:  The coaches are being consistent so far.  The reason B2P felt so rigged is because the Star grading was all over the map.  Here, it looks like the coaches all have the same criteria.  They want someone they can see as an idol.  The first two teams may have some potential, but they are clearly amateurs.  These coaches are looking for star power.

Next, we have the very handsome 18 year-old Kim Seong Ju from Korea.  He’s a full-time model at KPLUS with zero experience as a trainee.  Uh oh.  We saw with Park Nu Ri on B2P what happens when a contestant thinks he can coast by on his looks. 

I’m surprised at how well he sings, but he’s not dancing at all.  He’s just walking around the stage.  When he tries to throw in some dance moves, it’s kind of corny, and I want him to stop.  When he finishes, he does get applause for his courage. 

The coaches ask him how he thinks the performance went.  He says it was miserable.  Oh, this poor guy.  The coaches are struggling to agree on a grade.  The guy does have charisma, and they’re wondering if they’ll be able to teach him the skills.  They end up giving him One Star.  Okay, now I’m suspicious.  Kim Seong Ju is the worst dancer so far in that he can barely dance at all, and he gets One Star.  The coaches are clearly letting him in because of his good looks.

Our next team is a Korean group:  Kim Seon Jae, Han Jeong Woo, and Choi Jun Ho.  They call themselves Triple Casting because they’ve all been street casted a lot.  (Street casting is when representatives from entertainment companies approach potential trainees in public and invite them to audition.) So these are experienced trainees.  They’ve had training.  But I’ve seen enough of these shows to know experience doesn’t guarantee a good performance.  They’re performing a very demanding song – “Crazy Form” by ATEEZ.

Thankfully, they’re amazing.  They can rap and sing while doing very demanding choreography.  The coaches love it.  They have nothing but praise.  I’m waiting for the All-Star, but the coaches are back to being stingy.  Kim Seon Jae gets Two Stars, Choi Jun Ho gets One Star, and only Han Jeong Woo gets the All-Star. 

Now that we finally have an All-Star, we get to see where they sit.  There are nine chairs among the benches on the opposite site of the stage from where the other trainees sit.  Han Jeong Woo puts his name tag in a sign holder next to his chair and sits down.

Next up is the Chinese visual stunner we met earlier, Shao Zi Heng, who just stands in the middle of the stage and soaks it in while everyone claps and cheers over how handsome he is.  He speaks fluent Korean with the coaches, and for all his bold idol appearance, he’s actually sweet and shy.  He’s performing “Black Suit” by Super Junior. 

He’s lip-syncing instead of singing live, but his dancing and expressions are so good.  He gets applause and cheers from the coaches and trainees and then immediately apologizes because he’s only been practicing this performance for three or four days.  This is what we in the industry call a “humblebrag,” but I’ll allow it.  Whether intentional or not, he’s letting the coaches know he can learn choreography quickly. 

We learn more about him.  He’s been a trainee for four years and was supposed to debut, but then the debut didn’t happen.  He watched several others he trained with go on to debut.  He wanted his shot.  So he auditioned for this show. 

The coaches say they have found a treasure.  They give him the All Star.  He takes his seat in one of the glittery chairs.

Next up is a group of very young-looking Chinese kids calling themselves Super MZ.  Their names are Zhu En Hao, Sun Jiayang (from B2P), Huang Peng Feng, Hou Jia En, and Zhang Hang Yi.  They are cute and very nervous.  They tell the coaches they live together and they’ve been practicing for a year.  They’ll be performing “Beautiful” by BEAST.

Their performance is cute and adorable, but boy, do they need more training.  They are mostly off-key and generally out of sync with each other.  When Sun Jiayang does his first performance on B2P, he’ll be the only one on his team to get the All Star, but today, the coaches are disappointed.  They say these kids are all cuteness and hardly any skill.  The entire group gets a Zero Star grade.   

Now something interesting happens.  The coaches are not happy to see the next group on his list.  They’ve seen this group on another survival show on which they were also coaches.  “Their life is a survival show now,” one of them says.  Oooooh, DRAMA! 

This Korean group is called Before Anyone Else.  Oh – this is BAE173, the four guys who have already debuted and were intimidating to the other contestants!  They are Yoo Jun, Min Jae, Han Gyul, and Do Ha.  Do Ha was actually on Wild Idol but got eliminated early.  Han Gyul won on the survival show Produce X 101, but the resulting group disbanded just a few weeks after debuting because of the show’s vote manipulation scandal.  This is Han Gyul’s fourth survival show. 

I Googled BAE173 and found that the group is still sort of active.  Do Ha had to sue the label to get out of his contract.  Wow.  This group’s life IS dramatic.  I wonder if this is why the coaches aren’t excited to see them.  After seeing the name of the song they’ll be doing, my enthusiasm drops as well.  They’re doing “My House” by 2pm.  I’ve seen so many trainees butcher this song, I’m surprised 2pm hasn’t issued cease and desist orders.  Let’s get this over with.

Thankfully, BAE173 does this song justice.  The coaches call their performance amazing and impressive.  Do Ha and Yoo Jun get Two Stars,   Han Gyul and Min Jae get the All Star. 

But there’s still unfinished business with the coaches.  Dance coach Choi Youngjun says, “You are always participating in talent shows.  At the level of a talent show, you’ve done very well.  That’s why you’re here.  You don’t need to indulge in this, and you must not indulge in it.  I hope this is the end of your talent show journey.  From now on, you should aim to showcase legendary performances.” 

The rest of the trainees consider this harsh, but to me, it sounds necessary.  It sounds like this group is playing it safe on survival shows instead of taking chances in their careers, and they’re being called out for it.  It will be interesting to see how far they get in this show and what they do afterwards.

Next up, Yang Yan, Zhang Ji Jun, and … Rex.  They run out onto the stage yelling for everyone to make some noise.  (Every time I hear an idol yell that, I just want the whole audience to whip out kazoos and start playing different random songs.) These guys already have some level of success in rapping, acting, and social media influencing.  Now they want worldwide fame.  They’ll be performing Big Bang’s “Fantastic Baby.”

And they make a mess of it.  They look like they were all getting drunk at separate bars, ran into each other in the parking lot, and decided to perform this song while waiting for the cops to arrest them for disturbing the peace. 

“I think it’s enough that you all had fun,” the coaches say after an awkward silence.  All three members get Zero Stars.  I can’t help laughing at how quickly the coaches came to this conclusion and immediately followed it with “Thank you.”  As in, please get off the stage right now so we can forget this ever happened.

The next team is the Flirty Boys.  Right away, coaches Hui and Hanhae exchange looks.  They did the preliminary interview with this group, and Hui was stunned when he recognized one of them from Boys Planet.  That’s right – I totally forgot Hui was a contestant on that show as well.  Hui and Lee Da Eul were roommates on Boys Planet.  They became friends, and now Hui is judging his friend’s performance.   

The Flirty Boys are performing “Really Really” by Winner, and it sounds like they’re singing live.

I really wanted them to be good.  They’re not.  One of them can sing well, but that’s the only kind thing I can say.  Dance coach Choi Youngjun also remembers Lee Da Eul and says he’s quite disappointed that the trainee hasn’t improved at all.  Hui looks at the desk, up at the ceiling, anything to avoid eye contact.  This is so uncomfortable to watch.  Lee Da Eul’s three bandmates get the Zero Star, One Star, and Two Star (the one who sings well).  Lee Da Eul gets One Star. 

Before the group leaves the stage, Hui finally picks up the microphone and offers his former roommate words of encouragement.  That hopefully eases the awkwardness between the two of them going forward.

We have a few more groups to go.  The next one is a band of five called Shining Eyes.  Ngan Chau Yuet from Planet C Home Race is in this group, so we know he’s not going to win since he is now in Modyssey.  One of these boys goes by the name Float. We are not told why, even though I would argue we deserve an explanation.  For now, Wang Kun is the one the show is focusing on.  He attended the Beijing Dance Academy and has been studying dance since he was very little.  He also does acrobatics. 

The group is performing “Love 119” by RIIZE.  Right off the bat, one of them loses his microphone and walks over to the side of the stage to try to reconnect it while the others keep dancing.  The coaches wave for him to rejoin the group, but he’s too flustered, and finally the coaches stop the performance.

Staff members run over to help with the mic, but the general consensus in the room is that he should have kept on dancing.  I’ve seen enough of these shows to know that’s the rule.  When you’re an idol doing a concert, you can’t just stop the show and start over.  But the coaches let them start over after a brief lecture.  And I’m so glad they do because these guys are amazing.  RIIZE songs are not easy to do, and they nail this one.

The coaches talk about how much they loved the performance, and then they give Zhang Jing He, the one who lost his microphone, a Zero Star.  Float and Ngan Chau Yuet each get One Star.  He Xi Long, the best singer in the group, get the Two Star, and Wang Kun gets the All Star.  I know who’s going to be getting the most screentime on this series.

The trainees are starting to get very tired.  This Level Test has been going on for hours.  We need a spirited performance to liven this place up.  In walks a solo Korean trainee named Lee Jun Hyuk.  Oh yes, this is our former MIRAE member!  I really liked that group and am sad that they’ve disbanded, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for this experienced trainee who’s been working in a café since MIRAE ended.  And he’s performing a song from one of my favorite groups – “Rush Hour” by Monsta X! 

It’s amazing how he adapts to the different singing styles of this song.  He also has a microphone mishap but keeps going.  His aggressive dancing brings life back to the room.  He’s officially one of my picks to win this thing.  The coaches give him the All Star.  He’s so grateful, he breaks down in tears and promises to work even harder. 

We’re getting close to the end of the episode.  Our next team is two guys from Thailand who call themselves N and S.  Their names are Pentor and Kris.  They speak fluent Korean to the coaches and have a lot of positive energy.  Pentor is already an idol in Thailand as a member of the group LAZ1, and this is the first time I’ve heard the term T-pop.  He’s ready to debut globally.  He and Kris are performing “Good Guy” by SF9.

We are getting such great performances in this episode.  These two have amazing voices and dancing skills.  They’re having so much fun up there.  And they’re singing live the whole time.  Pentor gets the All Star and says thanks in Mandarin – how many languages does this guy speak?  I don’t know why we don’t find out Kris’ score.  I guess the show is sending the message that he’s just here to get eliminated. 

The next group has the Chinese trainees cheering and jumping up from their seats.  It’s our Youth With You trio.  I’ve been waiting for this performance since they first appeared onscreen.  Our blonde anime angel is Sun Ying Hao.  His bandmates are Yoo Gwan Woo and Duan Xing Xing.  Sun Ying Hao actually won on Youth With You and debuted with a group called IXFORM, which only lasted one year. 

They take their places on the stage, and I’m really excited to see this.  They are performing “Answer” by ATEEZ.

Another great performance.  The coaches are cheering and fist-pumping like they’re at an actual ATEEZ concert.  These three guys are singing live and keeping it stable while throwing their energy into perfectly-synced choreography.  Someone in this trio is going to win on this show, and my money’s on Blondie.  All three of them get the All-Star.

The problem now is that there are only two glittery seats left.  Now it’s up to the rest of the trainees.  All during the show, all contestants have had voting devices, and they’ve been voting for their favorite fellow performers.  Now it’s time to see the results to find our Top 9. The one who doesn’t get a Top 9 seat will have to sit with the 2 Stars. 

The episode ends here.  Next time, we’ll have the last of the Level Test performances, see the All Stars battle for the Top 9 seats, and then find out the first mission.

The second episode should also be the one that shows me what all the online fury was about.  According to Evangeline Pang’s video, it was after the first two episodes that viewers called it the most cruel survival show ever.  All I know is that I really enjoyed this episode.  We have some really exciting contestants who could make up a dynamic group. 

So join me next time for the episode of DOOM. Should be fun!  See you then.

251016 BAE173 Comeback Stage @ MCountdown!