Girls Planet 999

Image Credit to Wikipedia.

Girls Planet 999: The Girls Saga (referred to as Girls Planet 999) is a 2021 South Korean reality competition show that premiered on Mnet on August 6, 2021. The goal of the competition is to debut a new 9-member girl group consisting of trainees and idols from China, Japan, and South Korea. Out of 13,000 applicants, 99 final contestants were selected. These 99 contestants are split equally into three groups; the K-Group, C-Group and the J-Group. 

The "planet" theme of the show is derived from a new collaboration between Mnet and NCSoft's new platform called UNIVERSE which is centered around K-pop. It will allow votes from other countries outside of the participating three and also host other promotional content for the show. 

The show groups the girls into groups of three which are called "cells". An entire cell of girls could be eliminated all at once, hence increasing the risk of elimination. To counteract this, the "Planet Top 9" is introduced. Contestants who are selected to be the Planet Top 9 can reorganize cells to try and lower the chances of elimination. At the end of the competition, the top 9 most-voted contestants will debut regardless of nationality. 

The theme song, "O.O.O (Over&Over&Over)", was released on July 12, 2021, accompanied by a performance by the Korean group with Kim Da Yeon as Center. Another version of the performance featuring the Chinese group was released on July 14, 2021 with Shin Xiao Ting as Center. The Japanese group's version was release on July 16, 2021 with Hikaru Ezaki as Center. The full version containing all three groups was release on July 29, 2021 during M Countdown. 

On June 8, 2021, Yeo Jin Goo was announced as the show's presenter followed by the reveal of the mentors. The rest of the mentors are dubbed as "masters" and the audiences are dubbed as "guardians". The "masters" are Lee Sun Mi, Tiffany Young, Back Koo Young,  Jang Ju Hee, Lim Han Byul and Jo A Young. Lee Sun Mi and Tiffany Young are the K-pop Masters. They have years of experience in K-pop as members of two well-known second generation K-pop girl groups. Back Koo Young and Jang Ju Hee are the Dance Masters. They are both well-known dancers working with top notch K-pop artists. Lim Han Byul and Jo A Young are the Vocal Masters working with some of the finest K-pop vocalists. 

Lee Sun Mi | Yeo Jin Goo | Tiffany Young

Jang Ju Hee | Back Koo Young

 

Jo A Young | Lim Han Byul 

O.O.O (Over&Over&Over)

Image Credits: Yeo Jin Goo <Wikipedia>. Tiffany Young <Amino Apps>. Sunmi <Amino Apps>. Back Koo Young, Jang Ju Hee, Lim Han Byul and Jo A Young <Twitter>.