[Mnet K-POP YouTube channel]
Mnet, a music cable TV channel operated by CJ ENM, unveiled a teaser video for "I-LAND," the audition show that would have BTS' creators as producers, on Thursday. In the video, popular actor Namgoong Min, the main M.C. of the show, described the 20 billion won ($16.3 million) project as the most evolved survival game to be watched globally.
The first episode of I-LAND will be aired at 11:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) on June 26.
I-LAND is a collaborated project by Big Hit and CJ ENM, which have established Belift Lab, a joint venture to nurture K-pop idol groups. Big Hit has also acquired Source Music, a domestic label which manages girl group GFRIEND, to expand the spectrum of artists.
CJ ENM, the entertainment wing of South Korean conglomerate CJ Group, has nurtured tens of K-pop idols through Mnet's seasonal music survival show series. Survivors have formed project bands such as I.O.I, IZ*ONE and WANNA ONE with a life span of about a year.
However, Mnet's reputation as a successful K-pop boot camp was tarnished in November last year when police arrested two producers on charges of rigging votes cast by fans. Votes for two shows, Produce X 101, a boy band survival show that created X1, and Produce 48, a girl band audition show that produced IZ*One, were rigged.
.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
View more comments