Sixteen (TV series)

Sixteen (Hangul: 식스틴, stylized as SIXTEEN) was a 2015 reality girl group survival show created by JYP Entertainment and Mnet. The show pitted sixteen JYP trainees against one another to secure a spot in the girl group Twice. Sixteen contestants were assessed for not only their singing and dancing abilities but also their charisma and personality. The show premiered May 5, 2015, and ran for ten episodes through July 7, 2015, on Mnet.^[1]

Pre-show promotions

Starting on April 13, 2015, JYP began releasing profiles of the 16 candidates through Mnet's channel and on the Sixteen YouTube channel. Contestants were revealed to include three Japanese trainees, one Thai trainee, one Korea-Canadian trainee, and one Taiwanese trainee. Some insight into the show's format was given, revealing that seven of the show's contestants were already candidates for the new girl group while the remaining nine would seek to replace them in the final line up.^[2][3]

List of contestants

Episodes

Episode 1 (May 5, 2015)

The contestants are introduced and divided into two groups: Majors and Minors. This first group division is decided purely by JYP's A&R team, and not by Park Jin-young. The Majors are the members currently on track to debut in the new girl group and will be treated like true JYP stars, including living in a nice dorm, riding in a van, receiving pointers from current JYP stars, and practicing from 9 am to 9 pm. The Minors are to live like trainees in a dirty dorm and are disadvantaged by a 9 pm to 9 am practice time. The members of the Major and Minor groups will change as the contestants complete missions and show their skills. Once divided, Park Jin-young issued the girls the First Mission "Are you a STAR?" which challenged them to prove that they had star potential. Contestants could freely choose what they wanted to show, but JYP wanted to "see their ability to become a star or be able to feel that [they] are meant to be a star." During this mission, Park showed favor to those who thought outside of the box and showcased themselves rather than their talents, saying "It's great to have talents, but that talent must be yours. [...] I told you to show me why you are a star; I never said to show me that you can sing or dance." No one was eliminated in this episode.^[4][5][6]

Episode 2 (May 12, 2015)

Based on the performances seen in the first episode, Natty, Chaeryeong, Somi, Sana, and Jihyo replaced Momo, Jiwon, Mina, Minyoung, and Nayeon in the Majors line up, respectively. No one was eliminated based on the First Mission. The girls' next mission was "Album Jacket Cover," which challenged them to focus and produce high-quality photos in less-than-ideal conditions. Majors were allowed to shop for designers clothes for the photo shoot and decided on a dark, yet youthful vampire concept, while minors were sent to a street market and designed a fresh concept inspired by Wonder Girls. The results of the photo shoot exposed the strengths and weaknesses of the girls, revealing the natural charms of some and the struggles of others.^[7][8]

Episode 3 (May 19, 2015)

Due to their performance in the photoshoot mission, Mina, Tzuyu and Jeongyeon replaced Chaeyeong, Jihyo, and Dahyun in the Major line up, respectively. Chaeyeon is eliminated from the competition because Park Jin-young observed that her inexperience and desire to do well obscured her natural charm and made her appear cold and stiff in the photos. However, he explains that this will be a good learning experience for her on her journey to stardom and concludes by telling her "you worked hard." The third mission, 1:1 Battle, is announced on results in Nayeon and Chaeryeong returning to Major status by replacing Tzuyu and Sana. The results of the final match-up, between Somi and Minyoung, will not be revealed until the next episode. The final Major line up for this episode is Nayeon, Chaeyoung, Somi, Mina, Chaeryeong, Natty, and Jeongyeon. However, the battles involving Somi, Minyoung, Mina, Eunsuh, Chaeyoung, Jihyo, Momo, and Natty will air the next episode, leaving their final fates unknown this week.^[9][10]

Episode 4 (May 26, 2015)

The results of the remaining one-on-one battles are revealed. Somi, Mina, and Natty remain Majors, while Minyoung, Eunsuh, and Momo remain Minors. Jihyo replaces Chaeyoung in the Majors lineup, sending her to Minors. Eunsuh is eliminated from competition because she forgot her choreography in the middle of her stage. The contestants' next mission is to be a group challenge between minor and major teams. The teams are divided into Major A (Mina, Nayeon, Chaeryeong, Jeongyeon), Major B (Natty, Somi, Jihyo), Minor A (Momo, Jiwon, Chaeyoung), and Minor B (Tzuyu, Minyoung, Dahyun, Sana). The match-ups are revealed to be Major A vs. Minor B and Major B vs. Minor A. The winning teams will make up the new Major lineup. The losing teams then will compete against each other. The losers of the second battle will be up for elimination. The girls are shown preparing for the competition, but no match-ups were shown this episode.^[11][12]

Episode 5 (June 2, 2015)

The girls prepare for their group battles, choosing performance outfits and rehearsing. The competition stage is held before a live studio audience, whose votes will determine the winners of each battle. Major A performed Pharrell's "Happy" against Minor B's performance of "Problem" by Ariana Grande. Major B hit the stage with Mark Ronson's smash hit "Uptown Funk" against Minor A's performance of "The Way You Love Me" by Keri Hilson. Based on audience votes, Major A loses to Minor B (189 points to 203 points).^[13] Tzuyu, Minyoung, Dahyun, and Sana move up to the Majors lineup, while Mina, Nayeon, Chaeryeong, and Jeongyeon fall to the Minors. Major B of Natty, Somi, and Jihyo remain in the Majors lineup as they win against Minor A (202 points to 182 points).^[14] The losing teams, Major A and Minor A, will compete against each other; the losers of the second battle will be up for elimination. The results of the match-up will not be revealed until the next episode. The final Major line up for this episode is Tzuyu, Minyoung, Dahyun, Sana, Natty, Somi, and Jihyo.^[15][16]

Episode 6 (June 9, 2015)

For the loser's battle, Major A is renamed Minor A, and Minor A is renamed Minor B. Minor A (Nayeon, Chaeryeong, Mina, and Jeongyeon) performed Lee Hyori’s “U-Go-Girl” while Minor B (Chaeyoung, Jiwon, and Momo) chose Park Jin-young’s “Swing Baby.” Although JYP praised the performances of both groups, he and the audience both chose Minor A’s performance as the winner (although the final decision was only based on the audience’s vote). This placed Chaeyoung, Jiwon, and Momo in danger of elimination. In the end, Momo was eliminated because JYP felt that her flaws (being able to dance but not sing) were more obvious than Jiwon and Chaeyoung's during the stage. The Major lineup is asked by JYP to dance with him in an upcoming performance. While practicing with them, JYP gives the girls many tips about the dance and how to be successful dancers and performers. After the performance, the girls are taken to "Variety Camp," where the girls get a lesson in variety show charms from MCs Shin Bong-sun and Huh Kyung-hwan. In the previews for the next episode, it is revealed that the next elimination will be based on votes from the contestants themselves.^[17]

Episode 7 (June 16, 2015)

After completing Variety Camp, JYP gathers the girls together and announces that the mission will be member elections, where they will cast private votes on the Major and Minor line-ups. The results of the votes are revealed and Dahyun, Somi, and Natty are replaced by Nayeon, Chaeyoung, and Jeongyeon. However, JYP reveals there is no elimination for this mission. The girls are once again divided into four teams for their next mission, "Create Your Own Live Showcase." The teams will prepare a performance as well as be responsible for promoting the show. Major A (Jihyo, Chaeyoung, Minyoung, Sana) prepared a slow, sexy version of Wonder Girls' "Nobody"; Major B (Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Tzuyu) chose to perform miss A's "Hush"; Minor A (Dahyun, Jiwon, Chaeryeong) also chose to emulate Wonder Girls with "Tell Me"; finally, Minor B (Mina, Somi, Natty) created a reinterpretation of JYP's "Who's Your Mama?". The song battles will be revealed in the next episode.^{[18][19][20][21]}

Episode 8 (June 23, 2015)

The girls rush through the streets of Seoul promoting the concert and handing out colored balls (Major A - Red; Major B - Yellow; Minor A - Green; Minor B - Blue). Before the show starts, attendees will place the ball in the correct group's bin to show which team did the best job promoting the show. The team that gets most of their balls back will be safe in the Major line up. After the performances, audience members are given white balls to vote for the performance they liked the best out of all four on their way out. This vote will determine the other members of the Major team. The girls are gathered by JYP to announce the results. He begins by explaining that the team he builds will not be based solely on talent but also on passion, as those with passion for what they do are the ones who are most successful.^[22] Jihyo, Sana, Minyoung, and Chaeyoung are the first to make the Major lineup, with the greatest number of attendees (194) returning red balls. Before announcing the results of the audience's choice, JYP states that Major B's performance stood out to him the most, calling their performance an A+. The results of the public's choice and the next elimination will be announced in the next episode.^[23][24]

Episode 9 (June 30, 2015)

JYP reveals that Major A also ranked first within the audience votes, with Minor B in second, thus moving Somi, Mina, and Natty up to Major and bumping Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and Tzuyu down to Minor. In last place, Jiwon, Chaeryeong, and Dahyun were put in danger of elimination. JYP decides to eliminate Jiwon due to her off-beat dancing and unstable vocals while performing. JYP announces that the girls' last mission will be to become a real girl group onstage. He divides them into two group of six, but due to Minor lacking in numbers, they are given the advantage of choosing someone from the other team to perform with them. Although she will still be a part of Major, Jihyo is chosen to perform along the Minor team. JYP then gives the girls their new songs for the final mission's first round, explaining that teams were assigned songs that they would normally be bad at - the rhythmical "I Think I'm Crazy" for Major and the vocally-oriented "Truth" for Minor. He then reveals "Do It Again", which both groups will be performing in the final round and serves as a representation of Twice's musical direction. While preparing for the final mission, Major and Minor team are visited and mentored by miss A's Fei and 2PM's Jun. K respectively. After the performances, the girls receive praises from JYP, who chooses Minor as having given the better performance for the round.

Episode 10 (July 7, 2015)

The girls prepare for the final showcase, where the Major and Minor teams will perform "Do It Again" back to back. The teams spend one last night together reminiscing on their journey throughout the show, laughing at each other's silly moments, and sharing their heartaches and hopes. After the final performances, the girls receive praises from JYP. Chaeyeon, Eunsuh, Momo, and Jiwon join the final contestants on stage for a farewell performance before the results are announced. The finalists are gathered on stage where the Major team turns in their necklaces. Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and Dahyun take the place of Natty, Somi, and Minyoung in Major lineup, respectively, thus eliminating them alongside Tzuyu and Chaeryeong. JYP then throws in a twist, announcing that Twice will be a nine-member group. Along with the current Major line up (Nayeon, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Jeongyeon, Chaeyoung, and Sana), he chooses Tzuyu to join. JYP then surprises the contestants and the audience by announcing that Momo, who was eliminated in the fourth mission, will be the final member of Twice. Tzuyu is added from audience's opinion through online voting and Momo from the A&R Team and the Trainers' decision.^[25] The group's final line up is: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu.^[26][27]

Controversy

Upon its premiere, the show was deemed "cruel" for its seemingly harsh format, most notably the way Minor team members were drastically disadvantaged in their housing and practice hours. Some noted the obvious tension between contestants as a symptom of these conditions and of the way trainees were controversially divided into Major and Minor teams.^[28]

Controversy arose again in the final episode when Momo, a previously eliminated contestant, was brought back to the final line up of Twice. Fans became skeptical of the motivations behind this decision. Later, a representative from JYP Entertainment stated that "Momo is exceptional in dance and performance. We believed that she will be a great addition to really complete Twice."^[29]

The next day after the final episode, JYP Entertainment had released a short statement about the addition of Tzuyu and Momo into the final lineup of Twice: "We apologize for failing to clearly communicate the selection process, and we’d like to explain it in detail once again. The condition to be chosen as a final member was the votes made by the audience and viewers. However, leading up to the final episode, we thought that the seven members selected officially may leave something to be desired. So, in addition to the seven, we decided that one member would be added solely from viewer's opinions (Tzuyu) and one from solely Park Jin-young's opinion (Momo)."^[30]

Final ranking

The following table shows the final ranking position of Sixteen contestants, and their outcome.^[26][27]

Aftermath

After the show ended, Jiwon chose to leave the agency and pursue her talents elsewhere.^[31]

Shortly after Jiwon's departure, Minyoung became the second member of SIXTEEN to leave JYP Entertainment. She said, "I will be pursuing my dreams somewhere else. I haven't given up. While I was at [JYP], I wanted to communicate with the fans, but I was frustrated because I couldn't. I wanted to say that I got all of the gifts you sent me. [...] I am really thankful; they were a great source of strength for me."^[32][33]

In early 2016, Somi competed in the Mnet reality girl group survival series Produce 101, which premiered on January 22, 2016. She finished in first place and debuted and promoted with the show's girl group I.O.I in early May 2016 for one year.^[34]

Chaeyeon had reportedly left JYP Entertainment and now is a trainee in WM Entertainment.

In 2017, Eunsuh and Natty had also decided to leave JYP Entertainment. Eunsuh, Natty and Jiwon are currently competing on the Mnet reality girl group survival show Idol School. Somi and Chaeryeong are the only SIXTEEN members who did not debut with TWICE that are still currently under JYP Entertainment.

References