R U Next? (Korean알유넥스트?; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group reality competition series organized by Belift Lab and JTBC.[1] The program debuted girl group Illit.

R U Next?
Promotional poster
Hangul
알유넥스트
Revised RomanizationAl yu negseuteu
GenreReality competition
Presented byChoi Soo-young
Opening theme"R.U.N" (전속력으로) by Suzy
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes10
Production
Running time
  • 90 minutes
Production companies
  • Belift Lab[a]
  • HYBE
  • Studio JAMM (JTBC)
  • Mushroom Company
Original release
NetworkJTBC
ReleaseJune 30 (2023-06-30) –
September 1, 2023 (2023-09-01)

Promotion and broadcast

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On June 1, 2023, JTBC and Belift Lab announced that they had begun filming for the new survival program R U Next?, which aims to create the agency's next global girl group. The contestants would be assessed through seven rounds.[1] On the same day, Girls' Generation's Choi Soo-young was confirmed as the show's host.[2] On June 7, the official Twitter, Instagram and Weverse accounts for R U Next? opened and the first set of promotional posters were posted. An article was also released on the same day confirming the show would be containing seven missions and would also air through Wavve and Netflix in South Korea and Abema TV in Japan from June 30, at 8:50PM KST.[3] On June 9, former Miss A member and actress, Bae Suzy, was confirmed to sing the signal song for R U Next?. It was released on June 12 at 6:00PM KST.[4] Profiles of the twenty-two contestants were revealed on June 16, with individual profile photos and introduction videos.[5]

Final lineup

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After the performances of the final round, the six-member final lineup was decided through a combination of votes and label consideration. The six winners - Wonhee, Youngseo, Iroha, Yunah, Minju, and Moka - were chosen to become members of ILLIT, the first girl group under BeLift Lab, and in turn, the third girl group to debut under Hybe after Le Sserafim and NewJeans.[6] However, Youngseo left the pre-debut lineup which was announced on 5 January 2024,[7] and hence the group was later confirmed to debut with the remaining five members.[8] Illit debuted on March 25, 2024 and released their debut album, Super Real Me, with Hybe's chairman Bang Si-hyuk participating as producer of their album.[9][10] The group's name "Illit" is the combination of the phrase, 'I will' and the word, 'it,' according to Hybe, which demonstrates the group's desire to go beyond their potential and strive to be what they want it to be.[11]

Cast

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Host

Coaches[12]

Guests

  • Baekho - special coach for Round 2 (Episode 2-3)
  • Jay Park – special coach for Round 3 (Episode 3-5)
  • Enhypen's Heeseung & Jungwon – special coach for Round 4 (Episode 5-6)[13]
  • Woozi - special coach for Round 4 (Episode 5-6)
  • Shin Kung - special coach for Round 6 (Episode 9)

Contestants

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  Final members of Illit pre-debut
  Eliminated in final episode
  Eliminated in fifth elimination
  Eliminated in fourth elimination
  Eliminated in third elimination
  Eliminated in second elimination
  Eliminated in first elimination
  Left the show
22 contestants
Wonhee (원희) Youngseo (영서) Minju (민주) Iroha (이로하) Moka (모카)
Yunah (윤아) Jeongeun (정은) Jeemin (지민) Himena (히메나) Jiwoo (지우)
Chanelle (사넬) Jihyun (지현) Funa (후우나) Seoyeon (서연) Hyewon (혜원)
Moa (모아) Ruka (루카) Yewon (예원) Ena (에나) Haseul (하슬)
Iris (아이리스) Yuisa (유이사)

Profile

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Name Hangul Nationality Prior to R U Next?
Jiwoo 지우 Korean Appeared in a YouTube content (2020), majored in Broadcast entertainment at Dongduk Women's University
Funa 후우나 Japanese Former Nizi Project contestant
Moa 모아 Thai Former P Nation and SM Entertainment trainee
Chanelle 샤넬 Korean-American Former Yuehua Entertainment trainee
Appeared on JTBC's Stage K in 2019
Yunah 윤아 Korean Former Source Music, Fantagio. Stardium and TS Entertainment trainee
Minju 민주 Korean Former YG Entertainment trainee
Jeongeun 정은 Korean Former Source Music trainee and child actress
Moka 모카 Japanese Former HYBE Labels Japan trainee
Jihyun 지현 Korean Pre-debut member of HOWZ
Former HOW Entertainment and Yuehua Entertainment trainee
Ruka 루카 Japanese Former Cube Entertainment and Source Music trainee
Pre-debut trainee lineup of Le Sserafim
Yewon 예원 Korean Former Source Music trainee
Jeemin 지민 Korean Former Source Music trainee
Hyewon 혜원 Korean Former member of Little Cheer Girl
Youngseo 영서 Korean Former Source Music and SM Entertainment trainee
Yuisa 유이사 Japanese
Wonhee 원희 Korean Scouted by a HYBE employee at a bus station in February 2023 while visiting Seoul[14]
Haseul 하슬 Korean-American
Iroha 이로하 Japanese Former JYP Entertainment trainee
Iris 아이리스 Thai Ballroom dancing
Himena 히메나 Japanese
Seoyeon 서연 Korean
Ena 에나 Japanese Former HYBE Labels Japan trainee

Missions

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Round 1: Tryout

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  • Episode 1-2

The try out is the gateway to see if you have the potential to become a member. The trainees have been divided into 7 different units with 3-4 members per unit. The tryouts will be evaluated within each unit. Each unit will be evaluated by the coaches after their performances.[15] The unit members will then each be divided into three levels: HIGH LEVEL (H), MID LEVEL (M), and LOW LEVEL (L).

Tryout mission results
Performance Group Contestant Ranking
# Artist(s) Song(s) Initial [b] Level
Episode 1
1 Red Velvet "Bad Boy" Bad Me Girls (뱃미걸즈) Jiwoo 5 L
Jeongeun 8 H
Chanelle 9 M
2 Itzy "Dalla Dalla" Powerful Kitties (파워꼬앙이) Iroha 3 H
Hyewon 13 M
Jihyun 14 L
3 Aespa "Dreams Come True" 16,200,000 Iris 16 H
Ena 20 L
Wonhee 00[c] M
Seoyeon 00[c] H
4 (G)I-dle "Tomboy" I Want (아이원) Moka 6 M
Youngseo 7 H
Moa 15 L
Episode 2
5 Apink "Dumhdurum" Not Shown Funa 11 L
Ruka 12 H
Haseul 17 M
6 Miss A "Bad Girl Good Girl" MISS TOP Jeemin 1 L
Yunah 2 H
Minju 4 M
7 Kara "When I Move" Not Shown Himena 10 H
Yewon 18 L[d]
Yuisa 19 M

Round 2: Death Match

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  • Episode 2-3

The theme of the mission is the debut title tracks of the 4th generation idol groups of HYBE. Within the three levels formed, 2 units will be formed. Two units will perform together with the same song. The unit that wins will get a benefit of extra points. Starting from this mission, there will be eliminations. Trainees in the Low Level will become elimination candidates.[16]

The coaches chose the 1st and 2nd places by level after Round 1. The 1st and 2nd place of each level has the advantage of choosing the members of their unit. In selecting the songs the Low Level team chooses first, however higher teams can push aside the lower ranking teams if they want to select the same song.

A mini mission was carried out to decide the killing part for each song. Each contestant will carry out an expression audition in front of a camera to see how well they can leave an impression with the first verse of their mission songs and test their expressive skills. The contestants will vote amongst themselves to choose who gets the killing part.

Each coach will give scores to the individual trainees from 1 - 100 (up to a total individual score of 700). The average of the individual scores will be the overall team score, where higher team score will be the winner for each song. The winning unit receives an extra 50 points added on their individual score.

Color key
  Winning Team
  Killing Part

Bold denotes the contestant who picked the team members.

Death Match mission results
Performance Group Result Contestant
# Artist(s) Song(s) Unit Team Individual[e] Name Position New Level
1 Le Sserafim "Fearless" MID - A 550.5 572 Minju 4 M
440 Haseul 2 L
626 Hyewon 1 H
564 Wonhee 3 M
LOW - B 536.33 540 Moa 5 L
519 Funa 7 L
550 Yewon 6 L
2 NewJeans "Attention" HIGH - A 589.5 581 Yunah 5 H
603 Jeongeun 7 H
599 Himena 6 H
575 Seoyeon 8 M
MID - B 527 517 Moka 2 L
626 Chanelle 1 H
438 Yuisa 3 L
3 Enhypen "Given-Taken" HIGH - B 550 607 Iroha 6 H
591 Youngseo 5 H
539 Ruka 8 M
463 Iris 7 L
LOW - A 545 552 Jeemin 3 M
573 Jihyun 1 M
606 Jiwoo 2 M
449 Ena 4 L

Round 3: All-Rounder

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  • Episode 3-5

The contestants will be divided into 3 units of 7 members each, regardless of their level. The three unit will be performing two different genres, heel choreography and hip-hop. Each song for the heel choreography will include a mission prop.

The units are formed around each levels' 1st place trainee, Hyewon, Seoyeon and Yewon. The three leaders will have the power to decide the parts and flow of the practice sessions. The heel choreo songs are decided based on a flexibility test and hip hop songs are decided based on 'Show me the SWF' freestyle dance and rap competition, where the winning unit will choose the mission songs for all the units.

After each performance, each coach will give scores to the individual trainees from 1 - 100 (the total of individual scores will become the final unit score). The winning unit receives an extra 100 benefit points and the second place unit receives an extra 50 benefit points.

Mission 1: Heel Choreo

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  Winning Team
  Killing Part

Bold denotes the contestant who picked the team members and acts as the team's leader.

Heel Choreo mission results
Performance Group Result Contestant
# Artist(s) Song(s) Mission Prop Unit Team Individual Name Position
1 Chungha "Dream of You" Cane Yewon's Unit 3660 500 Yewon 7
529 Wonhee 6
613 Jeemin 1
509 Ruka 4
543 Moka 2
504 Funa 3
462 Haseul 5
2 f(x) "4 Walls" Fan Seoyeon's Unit 3688 547 Seoyeon 5
566 Minju 2
505 Moa 4
598 Jiwoo 1
611 Himena 3
413 Iris 6
448 Ena 7
3 Girls' Generation "The Boys" Hat Hyewon's Unit 4419 632 Hyewon 1
613 Iroha 7
636 Yunah 3
657 Chanelle 2
640 Youngseo 6
616 Jeongeun 4
625 Jihyun 5

Mission 2: Hip Hop

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  Winning Team
  Killing Part

Bold denotes the contestant who picked the team members and acts as the team's leader.

Hip Hop mission results
Performance Group Result Contestant
# Artist(s) Song(s) Unit Team Individual Name Position
1 (G)I-dle "My Bag" Yewon's Unit 3862 569 Yewon 1
600 Wonhee 2
525 Ruka 5
593 Jeemin 3
580 Moka 7
521 Funa 4
474 Haseul 6
2 CL "Tie a Cherry" Seoyeon's Unit 3855 566 Seoyeon 2
579 Minju 1
569 Moa 5
575 Jiwoo 3
639 Himena 4
453 Iris 7
474 Ena 6
3 Lisa "Money" Hyewon's Unit 4254 605 Hyewon 4
631 Iroha 1
581 Yunah 7
603 Chanelle 5
634 Youngseo 2
588 Jeongeun 3
612 Jihyun 6

Round 4: The Specialists

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  • Episode 5-6
  Winning Team
  Killing Part

Bold denotes the contestant who picked the team members and acts as the team's leader.

Vocal Battle Results
Performance Result Contestant
# Artist(s) Song(s) Team Individual[e] Name Ranking New Level
1 Baek Yerin "Across the Universe" 3305 894 Jiwoo 1 H
835 Yunah 4 M
813 Jeongeun 5 L
763 Wonhee 7 M
2 Taeyeon "Spark" 3105 628 Yewon 8 L
863 Minju 2 M
838 Chanelle 3 M
776 Seoyeon 6 L
Dance Battle Results
Performance Result Contestant
# Artist(s) Song(s) Team Individual[e] Name Position New Level
1 After School "Bang!" 3897 938 Youngseo 1 H
884 Iroha 3 H
830 Hyewon 4 L
577 Ruka 2 L
668 Moa 5 L
2 Wonder Girls "Tell Me" 4237 902 Jihyun 2 H
862 Jeemin 1 H
831 Himena 4 L
853 Moka 3 M
789 Funa 5 L

Round 5: Concept Game

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  • Episode 7-8

This round consists of two missions, testing how well the contestants digest songs of different concepts that are represented through colors. The final results for this round is composed of 50% Color mission and 50% Black Mission.

Mission 1: Color mission

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Starting from lower-ranked contestants to the higher-ranked contestants, the contestants choose their desired songs based on the color of the room, which indicates the concept of the song, as well as the artist pictured on the outside of a door. The higher-ranked contestants must push out a member if there are more than five people in a room.

Within each group, each contestant will each decide how the parts should be distributed. Each contestant in the group then votes on which distribution they think is the most ideal, which ends up being the final part distribution. The contestant whose part distribution is chosen will also be the leader.

Each coach will give scores to each individual contestant from 1 - 100 (up to a total evaluation score of 700). Each contestant's total score calculated will consist of 700 evaluation points from the coaches, 200 points from the on-site audience, and 500 points from the 2nd votes voting round. When each contestant's total scores are added together, there is a maximum of 4500 points possible to be scored per unit. The trainees will no longer be divided by the High, Mid and Low Zone from around 5 onwards, instead the top six contestants based on the combined results of Mission 1 and 2 would be ranked in the Next Zone (A.K.A Orange Zone) while those ranked 7th and below would be relegated into the Grey Zone, with those ranked the bottom three be eliminated.

Color key
  Winning Team
  Killing Part

Bold denotes the contestant whose part distributions were chosen and acts as the team's leader.

Concept Game mission Results
Performance Group Result Contestant
# Artist(s) Song(s) Team Name Team Individual[e] Name Position New Level
1 2NE1 "I Don't Care" Green 3483 771 Youngseo 4 5
649 Jihyun 1 11
706 Jeemin 3 7
815 Minju 2 3
542 Hyewon 5 15
2 Oh My Girl "The Fifth Season (SSFWL)" Purple 3536 739 Wonhee 1 6
738 Moka 2 10
695 Chanelle 3 9
742 Himena 4 12
622 Seoyeon 5 14
3 Red Velvet – Irene & Seulgi "Monster" Red 3723 812 Jiwoo 1 2
777 Iroha 4 1
793 Yunah 2 4
739 Jeongeun 3 8
602 Funa 5 13

Mission 2: Black Mission

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The second mission involves each team choosing one contestant as a representative and performing one song.

Color key
  Winning Team
  Killing Part

Bold denotes the contestant whose part distributions were chosen and acts as the team's leader.

Black Mission Results
Performance Group Result Contestant
Artist Song Team Name Team Total Points Name
Blackpink "Shut Down" Green 3910 7393 Youngseo
Purple 3770 7306 Himena
Red 3925 7648 Iroha

Round 6: Image Training

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  • Episode 9

This round tests trainees potential with two teams competing against each other with original songs as well as performing two cover songs.

Color key
  Winning Team
  Killing Part
Mission Results
Performance Group Result Contestant
Song Team Name Team Points Name Position
"Pride" Pride 5158 Jeemin Center
Chanelle Main Vocal
Yunah Lead Vocal
Jihyun Sub-Vocal 1
Youngseo Sub-Vocal 2
Himena Sub-Vocal 3
"Scrum" Scrum 5508 Jeongeun Center
Wonhee Main Vocal
Jiwoo Lead Vocal
Iroha Sub-Vocal 1
Minju Sub-Vocal 2
Moka Sub-Vocal 3

Mission 2: Global Kpop Mission

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Global Song Mission Results
Performance Group Result Contestant
Artist Song Team Name Team Points Name Position
Ive "Eleven" Pride 4816 Youngseo Center
Yunah Main Vocal
Jihyun Lead Vocal
Jeemin Sub-Vocal 1
Chanelle Sub-Vocal 2
Himena Sub-Vocal 3
Twice "Feel Special" Scrum 5390 Iroha Center
Jiwoo Main Vocal
Moka Lead Vocal
Wonhee Sub-Vocal 1
Minju Sub-Vocal 2
Jeongeun Sub-Vocal 3

Round 7: Finish Line

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Mission
Performance Group Contestant
Song Team Name Name Position
"Aim High" Aim High Wonhee Center
Yunah Main Vocal
Jeongeun Lead Vocal
Moka Sub-Vocal 1
Himena Sub-Vocal 2
"Desperate" Desperate Minju Center
Jiwoo Main Vocal
Jeemin Lead Vocal
Youngseo Sub-Vocal 1
Iroha Sub-Vocal 2

Group mission

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The group mission is the performance of the show's theme song. This marked the first and final time the ten finalists of the show get to perform together.

Mission
Performance song Contestant Position
"R.U.N"
(original singer: Bae Suzy)
Minju 1
Wonhee 2
Moka 3
Jeongeun 4
Youngseo 5
Himena 6
Jiwoo 7
Yunah 8
Iroha 9
Jeemin 10

Medley of Round 2 performances

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This marked the return of all 22 contestants (consisting of the ten finalists and the twelve eliminated trainees) who performed a special medley of Round 2 performances, in their original teams from Round 2.

Medley of Round 2 performances
Performance Group Contestant
# Artist(s) Song(s) Unit Name Position
1 Enhypen "Given-Taken" HIGH - B Iroha 6
Youngseo 5
Ruka 8
Iris 7
LOW - A Jeemin 3
Jihyun 1
Jiwoo 2
Ena 4
2 Le Sserafim "Fearless" MID - A Minju 4
Haseul 2
Hyewon 1
Wonhee 3
LOW - B Moa 5
Funa 7
Yewon 6
3 NewJeans "Attention" HIGH - A Yunah 5
Jeongeun 7
Himena 6
Seoyeon 8
MID - B Moka 2
Chanelle 1
Yuisa 3

Rankings

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  Final members of Illit
  Eliminated in final episode
  Eliminated in fifth elimination
  Eliminated in fourth elimination
  Eliminated in third elimination
  Eliminated in second elimination
  Eliminated in first elimination
Name Ranking
Initial[b] Ep. 1-2 Ep. 3 Ep. 5 Ep. 6 Ep. 8 Ep. 9 Ep. 10 Final
Rank Level Score[e] Rank Level Score[e] Rank Level Score[e] Rank Level Score[e] Rank Score[e] Rank Rank
Wonhee (원희) 00[c] M 614 10 M 1129 13 L 1292 7 M 1027 6 2595 7 1 1
Youngseo (영서) 7 H 641 5 H 1374 1 H 1404 1 H 1151 5 2719 3 2 2
Minju (민주) 4 M 622 9 M 1195 11 M 1301 6 M 1230 3 2955 1 3 3
Iroha (이로하) 3 H 657 2 H 1344 3 H 1362 3 H 1291 1 2695 4 4 4
Moka (모카) 6 M 517 18 L 1123 15 L 1256 9 M 955 10 2825 2 5 5
Yunah (윤아) 2 H 631 6 H 1317 6 H 1267 8 M 1167 4 2563 8 6 6
Himena (히메나) 10 H 649 4 H 1300 8 M 1083 12 L 828 12 2132 10 Eliminated
Jeemin (지민) 1 L 552 14 M 1206 10 M 1313 5 H 1023 7 2597 6 Eliminated
Jeongeun (정은) 8 H 653 3 H 1304 7 M 1093 11 L 1014 8 2414 9 Eliminated
Jiwoo (지우) 5 L 606 11 M 1223 9 M 1400 2 H 1248 2 2607 5 Eliminated
Chanelle (샤넬) 9 M 626 7 H 1360 2 H 1153 10 M 980 9 2104 11 Eliminated
Jihyun (지현) 14 L 573 13 M 1337 4 H 1339 4 H 869 11 1943 12 Eliminated
Funa (후우나) 11 L 519 17 L 1025 18 L 1067 13 L 808 13 Eliminated
Seoyeon (서연) 00[c] H 625 8 M 1163 12 M 902 15 L 688 14 Eliminated
Hyewon (혜원) 13 M 676 1 H 1337 4 H 1014 14 L 650 15 Eliminated
Moa (모아) 15 L 540 16 L 1124 14 L 901 16 L Eliminated
Ruka (루카) 12 H 589 12 M 1034 17 L 894 17 L Eliminated
Yewon (예원) 18 L[d] 550 15 L 1069 16 L 772 18 L Eliminated
Ena (에나) 20 L 449 21 L 972 19 L Eliminated
Haseul (하슬) 17 M 440 20 L 936 20 L Eliminated
Iris (아이리스) 16 H 513 19 L 916 21 L Eliminated
Yuisa (유이사) 19 M - 22 L Eliminated

Global votes

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First voting period

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The first global voting period took place from June 23, 2023, at 12pm KST to July 5, 12am KST. Fans were able to vote for six contestants, once a day. 50% domestic and 50% global votes were converted into scores.

Color key
  Top 6
1st Global Voting Announcement results
Rank Contestant Votes Ranks
Korean Global Total [f] Korean Global
1 Iroha 154,735 169,696 324,431 2 1
2 Youngseo 148,626 167,686 316,312 3 2
3 Minju 169,696 127,603 297,299 1 7
4 Wonhee 147,307 143,508 290,815 5 5
5 Jiwoo 84,965 157,209 242,174 9 4
6 Jeemin 147,996 90,465 238,461 4 12
7 Jihyun 112,236 116,094 228,330 7 8
8 Yunah 112,373 113,290 225,663 6 9
9 Ruka 71,753 143,145 214,898 10 6
10 Chanelle 49,214 164,710 213,924 17 3
11 Moka 99,172 106,905 206,077 8 10
12 Moa 61,810 96,222 158,032 14 11
13 Hyewon 44,765 80,463 125,228 18 13
14 Jeongeun 58,043 64,844 122,887 15 14
15 Funa 56,210 64,576 120,786 16 15
16 Himena 70,380 33,089 103,469 11 16
17 Yewon 68,013 29,705 97,718 12 17
18 Seoyeon 62,915 22,478 85,393 13 18

Second voting period

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The second global voting period took place from July 7, 2023, at 12pm KST to July 20, 12am KST. Fans were able to vote for six contestants, once a day. 50% domestic and 50% global votes were converted into scores.

Color key
  Top 6
2nd Global Voting Announcement results
Rank Contestant Votes Ranks
Korean Global Total [f] Korean Global
1 Minju 232,846 153,356 386,202 1 4
2 Youngseo 193,340 160,525 353,865 2 3
3 Jiwoo 80,096 232,846 312,942 10 1
4 Jeemin 168,129 129,709 294,838 4 7
5 Iroha 161,754 130,865 292,619 5 6
6 Wonhee 174,229 94,109 268,338 3 9
7 Chanelle 62,061 203,365 265,426 11 2
8 Yunah 122,722 132,125 254,847 6 5
9 Jihyun 110,208 95,008 205,216 8 8
10 Moka 115,522 86,531 202,053 7 10
11 Jeongeun 104,301 58,322 162,623 9 11
12 Hyewon 48,236 52,596 100,832 15 12
13 Funa 56,369 42,820 99,189 13 13
14 Himena 61,156 19,219 80,375 12 14
15 Seoyeon 53,261 8,126 61,387 14 15

Third voting period

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The third global voting period took place from July 21, 2023, at 10:30pm KST to Aug 10, 12am KST. Fans were able to vote for six contestants, once a day. 50% domestic and 50% global votes were converted into scores.

Color key
  Top 6
3rd Global Voting Announcement results
Rank Contestant Votes Ranks
Korean Global Total [f] Korean Global
1 Youngseo 818,558 699,344 1,517,902 2 4
2 Jeemin 775,050 700,580 1,475,630 3 3
3 Minju 844,882 600,985 1,445,867 1 6
4 Jiwoo 535,011 844,882 1,379,893 7 1
5 Yunah 618,807 662,204 1,281,011 6 5
6 Chanelle 383,808 804,517 1,188,325 11 2
7 Iroha 669,902 424,272 1,094,174 5 7
8 Wonhee 730,905 274,903 1,005,808 4 10
9 Jihyun 520,488 411,882 932,370 8 8
10 Moka 467,454 327,969 795,423 9 9
11 Jeongeun 454,860 231,360 686,220 10 11
12 Himena 323,735 183,275 507,010 12 12

Final Live Voting

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Color key
  Top 2
  Label Pick
Final Live Voting Announcement results
Rank Contestant Votes
1 Wonhee 3,299,395
2 Youngseo 3,065,146
3 Minju 2,961,696
4 Jeemin 2,673,879
5 Iroha 2,569,421
6 Jeongeun 2,566,936
7 Yunah 2,512,654
8 Moka 2,111,375
9 Jiwoo 1,911,489
10 Himena 1,394,729

Discography

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Singles

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Title Year Peak positions Album
KOR
Down.

[17]
"R.U.N" (전속력으로) 2023 55 R U Next? Theme Song

Ratings

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Average TV viewership ratings
Ep. Original broadcast date Average audience share
Nielsen Korea
(Nationwide)[18]
1 June 30, 2023 0.678% (40th)
2 July 7, 2023 0.593% (40th)
3 July 14, 2023 0.418% (48th)
4 July 21, 2023 0.597% (39th)
5 July 28, 2023 0.453% (46th)
6 August 4, 2023 0.419% (48th)
7 August 11, 2023 0.39% (49th)
8 August 18, 2023 0.251% (62nd)
9 August 25, 2023 0.386% (45th)
10 September 1, 2023 0.5%
  • In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
  • This series 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).

Response

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R U Next, during its time of broadcast, gained a large fan following from South Korea and many other countries. The final episode was viewed in 182 countries and regions, and over 23 million votes were cast globally to select six contestants to join the debut lineup. During the broadcast of the show, its official TikTok channel accumulated over 800 million views, and the show's official accounts on other social media platforms attracted more than one million followers. The final lineup, consisting of Wonhee, Youngseo, Minju, Iroha, Moka, and Yunah, received good fan reception.[19][20]

Despite its popularity among fans, there were several controversies surrounding the show. Among them were the selection of the debut lineup members, because the system of choosing the six members of the debut lineup, mainly two via fan voting and four via label pick, caused some dissatisfaction among viewers who felt the fan votes were not the main factor behind choosing the members of the debut lineup, and another reason was due to the elimination of some trainees who were among the most well-liked contestants by fans, who felt they deserved a chance to debut like the six winners.[21][22]

In the aftermath, two of the eliminated trainees – Yewon and Chanelle – left Hybe and trained under Attrakt, and they became the new members of Fifty Fifty.[23] Another one of the eliminated contestants, Jeemin, would join WakeOne as a trainee and compete in survival show I-land 2 in 2024, and after winning second in the finale, she debuted as a member of Izna, WakeOne's first non-temporary girl group.[24]

Notes

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  1. ^ A subsidiary of Hybe Corporation
  2. ^ a b The initial rankings were given out prior to the start of the show based on the trainees' monthly evaluations.
  3. ^ a b c d Trainees with the rank 00 have not yet participated in monthly evaluations, therefore does not have a pre-show rank.
  4. ^ a b Yewon was absent for this round due to COVID-19, therefore was automatically placed in Low Level.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Individual scores of the winning teams include the benefit points gained in this round.
  6. ^ a b c Points were calculated using this formula: [Number of Korean Votes × (Overall Total Votes ÷ Total Korean Votes)] + [Number of International Votes × (Overall Total Votes ÷ Total International Votes)].

References

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  1. ^ a b "하이브, JTBC 손잡고 새 걸그룹 론칭 'R U Next' 30일 첫방[공식]" [Hybe, JTBC join hands to launch a new girl group 'RU Next' First broadcast on the 30th [Official]]. Star News (in Korean). June 1, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  2. ^ "수영, 하이브 걸그룹 新 뽑는 'R U Next?' MC 발탁" [Sooyoung selects as MC for new Hybe girl group 'RU Next?']. ETNews (in Korean). June 15, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  3. ^ "하이브 새 걸그룹 누구?...'알유넥스트', 티저 영상 공개" [Who is Hybe's new girl group?...'RU Next', teaser video released]. Maeil Broadcasting Network (in Korean). June 7, 2023. Archived from the original on June 20, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023 – via Naver.
  4. ^ "[단독]수지, 걸그룹 오디션 '알유넥스트' 시그널송 부른다" [[Exclusive] Suzy sings a signal song for girl group audition 'R U Next']. Maeil Broadcasting Network (in Korean). June 9, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023 – via Naver.
  5. ^ "22인 베일 벗었다! 하이브 새 걸그룹 서바이벌 프로그램 JTBC 'R U Next?', 참가자 프로필 영상·사진 공개" [The 22-member veil has been taken off! Hybe's new girl group survival program JTBC 'RU Next?', participant profile video and photos released]. Star News (in Korean). June 15, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  6. ^ Yoon, So-yeon (September 3, 2023). "'R U Next?' winners form girl group I'LL-IT ahead of debut". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on October 8, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  7. ^ "Hybe's new girl group I'll-It to debut as 5-piece without Youngseo". The Korea Herald. January 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Kim, Ju-yeon (February 13, 2024). "I'LL-IT, girl group from 'R U Next,' to debut under HYBE in March". Korea JoongAng Daily.
  9. ^ Cho, Yong-jun (February 21, 2024). "HYBE's latest girl group I'LL-IT to release debut album on March 25". Korea JoongAng Daily.
  10. ^ "Hybe's new girl group I'LL-IT to drop 1st album next month". The Korea Times. February 21, 2024.
  11. ^ "New girl groups to shake up K-pop scene". The Korea Times. March 3, 2024.
  12. ^ "박규리·이현·조권·김재환·아이키, '알유넥스트' 코치 합류 [공식]" [Park Gyu-ri, Lee Hyun, Jo Kwon, Kim Jae-hwan, Aiki, joined 'R U Next' as coaches[Official]]. Star News (in Korean). June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  13. ^ "ENHYPENメンバーのサプライズ登場も!HYBEの新サバイバル「R U Next?」3人の脱落者を発表". Kstyle. July 29, 2023. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  14. ^ "아일릿 원희, 1년만 데뷔 '깜짝'…"서울 구경 왔다가 길거리 캐스팅" ('편스토랑')[Oh!쎈 포인트] : 네이트 연예". 네이트 뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  15. ^ 기사입력: July 7, 2023 20:45. "'R U NEXT(알유넥스트)', 트라이아웃 결과 발표...원희ㆍ정은ㆍ영서ㆍ이로하ㆍ지민ㆍ에나ㆍ서연 운명은?". 비즈엔터. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ ""서바이벌 방송 역사상 최고 이변"...첫 탈락자 발표 (알유넥스트?)". 스포츠동아 (in Korean). July 14, 2023. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  17. ^ Circle Download Chart positions:
  18. ^ "알유넥스트? 시청률" [R U Next? ratings] (in Korean). Nielsen Korea. Archived from the original on July 1, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023 – via Daum.
  19. ^ "Members of HYBE's new girl group I'LL-IT revealed". Manila Bulletin. September 2, 2023. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  20. ^ "韓網熱帖/果然是顏值花田的HYBE新女團I'LL-IT! 日本成員彩羽最小15歲". ETToday (in Chinese). September 2, 2023. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  21. ^ "I'LL-IT ready to carry torch for next-generation HYBE artists". The Korea Times. September 21, 2023. Archived from the original on October 25, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  22. ^ "《R U Next?》女團組合 I'LL-IT 誕生!平均年齡 17 歲的她們即將於 9 月以甜美清新風格正式出道......?". Vague Hong Kong (in Chinese). September 5, 2023. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  23. ^ "Fifty Fifty unveils new members for fresh start as quintet". The Chosun Daily. August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  24. ^ "Seven winners of Mnet's 'I-LAND' named, will debut as girl group izna". Korea JoongAng Daily. July 5, 2024.
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