Produce 101 season 1


Produce 101 is a reality competition show created by Mnet. It premiered on January 22, 2016, at 22:00 KST and aired every Friday.
It is the first season of the South Korean version of the franchise of the same name. The second season premiered on April 7, 2017, this time featuring all male contestants.
WWW mnet.com/tv/program/1615

Concept and format

Produce 101 was a large-scale girl group unit project produced by CJ ENM and Signal Entertainment Group for Mnet. The show was produced in collaboration with 46 entertainment companies from both inside and outside of South Korea. At about four billion won, it had the second-largest budget out of all Mnet TV programs at the time.
The show's concept hinged on audience participation: the viewers got to choose the final group's members, concept, debut song, and name. Out of the 101 contestants, they could select eleven girls to debut. The resulting unit would release their debut extended play under Stone Music Entertainment and promote together for a year. The group would be co-managed by YMC Entertainment. After their contract period ended, the members were allowed to join any girl groups or projects that their agencies were planning.

Promotions and broadcast

On December 17, 2015, 98 out of the 101 contestants were unveiled for the first time on Episode 453 of M Countdown, where they performed the show's theme song "Pick Me". The stage was presented by actor and singer Jang Keun-suk. From December 18 to 25, 2015, the participants were revealed via the official website, Facebook, Instagram, and Naver TV Cast. Each girl was introduced through a written profile, photos, and videos.
On January 21, 2016, a production presentation for the show was held at the 63 Convention Center in Yeouido, Seoul. The event was attended by the contestants, the presenter Jang Keun-suk, and the five vocal, dance, and rap mentors, namely Brown Eyed Girls' JeA, Kim Sung-eun, Kahi, Bae Yoon-jung, and Cheetah.
The trainees moved into the dorms on December 5, 2015. The stages for the first group mission were held at the CJ E&M studio in Ilsan on December 27, 2015.
In Japan, the first episode of Produce 101 aired on Mnet Japan on April 3, 2016, with the remaining episodes airing every Friday starting from April 8. In the Asia and North America regions, the show premiered on May 4, 2016, and was then broadcast through Channel M every Wednesday starting from May 11.

Cast

The show was presented by actor and singer Jang Keun-suk.
The rest of the mentors, who were tasked with training the contestants in various categories, were:
  • Vocal Trainers:
  • *JeA
  • *Kim Sung-eun
  • Dance Trainers:
  • *Kahi
  • *Bae Yoon-jung
  • Rap Trainer:
  • *Cheetah
  • Fitness Trainer:
  • *Ray Yang

Contestants

;Color key
Final members of I.O.I
Contestants eliminated in the final episode
Contestants eliminated in the third elimination round
Contestants eliminated in the second elimination round
Contestants eliminated in the first elimination round
Contestants that left the show

Ranking

The top 11 contestants were chosen through popularity online voting via the official website and the audience's live voting, the results of which were shown at the end of each episode.
;Color key:
New Top 11


#Episode 1Episode 2Episode 3Episode 5Episode 6Episode 8Episode 10Episode 11
1Jeon So-miJeon So-mi Jeon So-mi Kim Se-jeong Kim Se-jeong Kim Se-jeong Jeon So-mi Jeon So-mi
2Kim Se-jeongKim Se-jeong Kim Se-jeong Jeon So-mi Choi Yoo-jung Choi Yoo-jung Kim Se-jeong Kim Se-jeong
3Zhou JieqiongKang Mi-na Kang Mi-na Choi Yoo-jung Kang Mi-na Kang Mi-na Choi Yoo-jung Choi Yoo-jung
4Jung Chae-yeonZhou Jieqiong Kim Dani Zhou Jieqiong Jeon So-mi Jeon So-mi Kim So-hye Kim Chung-ha
5Jung Eun-wooKim Na-young Ki Hui-hyeon Kang Mi-na Kim Na-young Kim Na-young Kim Chung-ha Kim So-hye
6Ki Hui-hyeonKim Dani Zhou Jieqiong Ki Hui-hyeon Zhou Jieqiong Zhou Jieqiong Kim So-hee Zhou Jieqiong
7Kim DaniHuh Chan-mi Kim Na-young Kim Dani Kim So-hye Kim Do-yeon Yoon Chae-kyung Jung Chae-yeon
8Kang Mi-naJung Chae-yeon Choi Yoo-jung Jung Chae-yeon Kim Do-yeon Kim So-hye Han Hye-ri Kim Do-yeon
9Kim Na-youngKi Hui-hyeon Huh Chan-mi Kim Na-young Yoo Yeon-jung Jung Chae-yeon Lim Na-young Kang Mi-na
10Kwon Eun-binKwon Eun-bin Jung Chae-yeon Jeon So-yeon Jung Chae-yeon Yoo Yeon-jung Yoo Yeon-jung Lim Na-young
11Choi Yoo-jungJeon So-yeon Jeon So-yeon Kim So-hye Lim Na-young Lim Na-young Kim Do-yeon Yoo Yeon-jung

First voting period

The first voting period took place from January 22 to February 13, 2016. Viewers were allowed to vote for eleven contestants daily.
Eliminations were based on individual total points.

Second voting period

The second voting period took place from February 20 to March 5, 2016. Viewers were allowed to vote for eleven contestants daily.
Eliminations were based on individual total points.

Third voting period

The third voting period took place from March 11 to March 19, 2016. At first, it was announced that the voting limit would be decreased from eleven to seven, and was later lowered again to five. Once voting opened, however, viewers were only allowed to select one contestant daily.
Eliminations were based on individual total points.

Result

During the last episode, which aired on April 1, 2016, presenter Jang Keun-suk announced the girl group's name: I.O.I.

Controversy

Controversy arose after Ilgan Sports leaked the contract terms between CJ E&M and the Produce 101 trainees' agencies to the public on February 16, 2016. According to the contract, the agencies and trainees are prohibited from legal action against manipulated edits made on the show and from revealing unreleased information. While the agencies share music production costs, trainees will not receive payment for participating in the show and CJ E&M will take half of any profits from Produce 101 music releases, with the agencies of members featured in the release sharing the remainder.
An affiliate of the show stated that "it regrettable that the contents of the contract were revealed" and emphasized that the terms outlined in the contract are "legally common" and "made to protect the editorial rights of producers and to prevent any spoilers of the show."

Vote manipulation investigation

In July 2019, during the final episode of the Produce 101 series' fourth season, Produce X 101, several viewers suspected that the total votes were manipulated after noticing numerical patterns. On August 1, 2019, 272 viewers filed a lawsuit against Mnet, as their on-site text voting service charged ₩100 per vote.
On November 18, 2020, the court revealed that the show was manipulated within trainees in the 1st round of voting for Kim Suh-yeon and Seo Hye-Lin, who passed the 1st Elimination. Mnet had changed their ranks to eliminate them. It is not known what their true rank was supposed to be when they were eliminated.