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South Korean idol groups (Limited Edition)

Definition

In South Korea, the entertainment company in order to promote and enhance the singer’s popularity, or the needs of the program, it will pick out some idols to form a new group of idol in a specific period of time, which is called a limited edition group. The limited edition group needs to be carefully selected by the entertainment company, the company must ensure that the group members’ style is unified,  their capabilities are complementary, and each of them has their own characteristics. The benefit of it is that it can get fans’ love faster and increase their personal visibility. Moreover, their contracts have no specific deadlines and need to be based on their company arrangements. For the time being, the longest limited group contract has not been more than three years, and the shortest is a few months. Generally speaking, such groups will be dispersed after the contract expires.

Origin

"Limited Edition Group" originated in Japan and was most often launched by the Johnny & Associates. The first "Limited Edition Group" was the charity performance group "J -FRIENDS" composed of 13 groups of TOKIO, V6 and KinKi Kids in 1998. The album and singles released in the first week of the Japanese Oricon leaderboard, successfully raised the education fund. In 2005, Kamenashi and Yamashita Tomohisa, who formed the "Shūji to Akira" duo group because of the television show "Nobuta wo Produce". It released the singles for the sales volume of the year. In 2006, the popular idol Yamashita Tomohisa and the popular Thai brothers group "GOLF&MIKE" formed "Kitty GYM". The first single "Fever to Future" set a sales volume of 226,000 in the first week, and "Hey! Say!7!" composed in 2007, the single song also attracted attention, and then developed into a group of 9 people "Hey! Say! JUMP".

History

The first South Korea limited edition group is Trouble Maker. In November 2011, Cube Entertainment labelmates Hyun-seung(former member of Beast) and Hyuna (former member of 4Minute and Wonder Girls) formed the duo Trouble Maker. Hyuna had previously released two singles, but both described the sub-unit as something different to either of their respective groups. The sub-unit was officially billed as 'JS & Hyuna', which Hyun-seung went on to reveal on his Twitter included his new stage name for the subunit, Jay Stomp.

In the beginning, the limited edition group always consist of members from the same entertainment company in order to promote the idols who are not very well-known within the company.

However, in the recent years, there comes more and more different forms of limited edition groups in Korea. For example, many television stations in Korea tried to create reality shows in order to founded and promoted new limited edition group which could earn a large amount of profit for them. The Produce 101 created by Mnet in South Korea may be a good example. 101 trainees who were from different entertainment companies took part in because they wanted to debut through this program.

Examples

Groups which form in the different company

Year	Group Name	Entertainment	Sex
2011	Trouble Maker	Cube Entertainment	Mix
2014	Toheart	SM Entertainment & Woollim Entertainment	M
2014	Junggigo x Soyou	‎Starship Entertainment	Mix

Groups which form in a reality show

Year	Group Name	Show Name	Sex
2014	Big Bottle	Weekly Idol	M
2016	Unnies	Sister's Slam Dunk	F
2016	IOI	Produce 101 Season 1	F
2016	IBI	Produce 101 Season 1	F
2017	Wanna One	Produce 101 Season 2	M
2017	JBJ	Produce 101 Season 2	M
2017	Rainz	Produce 101 Season 2	M
2017	IN2IT	Boys 24	M
2017	Fromis 9	Idol School	F
2018	UNB	The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project	M
2018	Uni.T	The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project	F
2018	IZ One	Produce 48	F

Produce 101

A total of 101 girls claw their way to the top, but in the sweetest way possible -- smiling, singing “pick me” and gesturing imploringly into the camera toward an unidentified mass. At home, the viewers, or “producers,” vote for contestants they deem most worthy of becoming actual K-pop girl group members.

Viewers as producers

Viewers say the show one step beyond simply presenting a ready-made K-pop group; it has created the illusion that viewers are curating their own group according to their own tastes. The premise of “Produce 101” that sets it apart from other audition shows, according to blurbs promoted by at the show’s inception, is that viewers are not only voters, but also “producers,” intimately involved in the training process of “the nation’s ultimate K-pop girl group.” The show follows the contestants -- most of whom are already trainees at entertainment agencies -- undergoing practice sessions and singing and dance lessons as they team up and prepare for their next onstage performance. Even the title -- “Produce 101” -- signifies an entry-level course that will educate viewers on the basics of creating a K-pop group, Mnet said in a press release.

Top of the pyramid

No matter how chirpy the girls may seem, however, at the end of the day, the show’s format makes for cutthroat competition. The logo for “Produce 101” shows a crown encased in a pyramid, always reminding viewers that only a few can climb to the coveted top, explained pop culture critic Jung Deok-hyun.

After the final episode, 11 girls will have been selected by a combination of online and on-the-spot votes. The newly formed girl group will then pursue activities typical to most K-pop groups -- appearing on music programs, television shows, etc. -- for eight months. Proposals for 100 million won ($87,000) ad deals have already been lined up, reports say, far higher than the price normally fetched for debut girl groups.

Season 4

The next season will be a competition for the next boy group. Whether the upcoming edition will involve mixing overseas idols is yet to be announced.

As of now, ‘Produce 101’ season 4 will air on April 7th, 2019.