Big Hit’s I-LAND episode 1 has finally premiered, and with it brought excitement, drama, and intrigue! Watch the first batch of performances from the trainees here and find out who was voted out!
At the start of the I-LAND episode 1, the producers gathered to watch the trainees enter the building for the first time. Bang Si Hyuk, RAIN, and ZICO, are all excited to see what the 23 trainees starting the competition have to offer.
Bang Si Hyuk tells the others that, “We already reviewed the skills and potential of the 23 applicants before they came here. So rather than focusing on their skills at the moment, we should focus more on their potential. And how you’re going to help them reach their full potential.”
Related: I-LAND members: Meet the K-Pop trainees battling it out
They watch as the 23 trainees make their way into the building in small groups, all curious about the amazing building and what will happen next. Some of them have already been training together, bonds formed before they even entered the building.
But they’re all shocked when they learn that they’ll have to perform for the first time before they’re even allowed to continue on in I-LAND. And they’ll have to vote on each other’s performances to see who gets to stay.
I-LAND trainee Seon performs first with “Lullaby” by GOT7. Although his performance is a little shaky, the others vote him through. The producers wonder if it’s perhaps because he went first and there’s nothing to compare him to yet.
A unit of trainees Sunghoon and Jay perform next with NCT U’s “The 7th Sense.” They quickly stun the others with their powerful performance and both are voted to enter I-LAND.
Trainees Nicholas, Ni-ki, and Hanbin perform SuperM’s “Jopping” as a three-person unit. However, only Nicholas and Ni-ki are voted into I-LAND. Hanbin failed to stand out next to the other two he performed with.
Heeseung performs NCT U’s “Boss” by himself and doesn’t hesitate to show off his skill. He’s quickly voted into I-LAND.
Trainee K also performs by himself with “Danger” by Taemin and he’s also voted into I-LAND.
Daniel and EJ perform ZICO – “Any Song” together, and both are voted in after showing off their charms.
Trainees Sungchul, Jaebeom, and Jimin perform MONSTA X’s “Shoot Out” as a unit. However, only Sungchul is voted into I-LAND. That means that Jimin and Jaebeom are out.
Geonu, Kyungmin, and Jaeho also perform as a unit with VIXX’s “Chained Up.” This time, only Geonu is voted in, while the other two-unit members, Kyungmin and Jaeho, are voted out.
Ta-Ki performs EXO’s “Monster” by himself and also additionally shows off more dancing skills with Funkastic James – “Common Ground.” It’s enough to impress the others and he’s voted into I-LAND.
Yoonwon, Taeyong, and Jungwon perform Jay Park’s “All I Wanna Do” together as a unit. And Yoonwon also performs Heize – “Don’t Know You” by himself, however, he messes up in his vocal performance. Of the three, only Jungwon gets voted in, while Yoonwon and Taeyong are voted out.
Sunoo, Youngbin, and Jake take on “Crown” by TXT and do such a good job that they’re all voted into I-LAND.
Those that were voted into I-LAND are allowed to enter but first, they have to say goodbye to the others. There’s already some tears are the trainees are split up from some friends. Those that weren’t voted in, learn that they’re to move into GROUND. As long as they’re in GROUND, they will not be able to debut.
Because 16 trainees were voted into I-LAND, there must be an additional vote to send four more to GROUND. They’re given two hours before voting takes place. Next week, we’ll learn the fate of the trainees waiting to find out if they get to stay in or if they’ll be sent to GROUND.
As it stands the trainees in GROUND are: Hanbin, Jaebeom, Jaeho, Jimin, Kyungmin, Taeyong, and Yoonwon.
The trainees that were voted into I-LAND are: Daniel, EJ, Geonu, Heeseung, Jake, Jay, Jungwon, K, Nicholas, Ni-Ki, Seon, Sungchul, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Ta-Ki, and Youngbin.
I-LAND episodes will be available to stream on Youtube as well as Rakuten Viki for international viewers! A special feature called I-LAND cams will be availble on Weverse!