K-pop reality show I-LAND episode 7 finally revealed the final 12 trainees that made it onto part 2 of the show! Plus, a special visit from BTS!
If you missed the last episode, or need a refresher on what happened, be sure to check out our I-LAND episode 6 recap!
At the start of I-LAND episode 7, BTS got to take a tour of the dorms where the trainees were working hard towards their goal of debuting. They became the first to get a look inside the changes that were made for part two of the series, including new bedrooms!
They also adorably raided the trainees pantry, where they were delighted to see some of their own favorite snacks. Jungkook got scolded by his hyungs for trying to take some of the snacks for his own even though he was kidding around.
Before I-LAND episode 7 revealed who was saved from the global vote, they re-introduced the first six trainees that made it into the final 12.
Sunghoon talked about his path from figure skating to becoming a trainee, “I always lacked social skills so when I was 9 my mom suggested figure skating to me after seeing Kim Yuna and that’s how I started figure skating.”
“I skated for 10 years, I became a backup for the national team, I made it to 7th place out of all male figure skaters in Korea, I won a lot of medals too…! About 2 years ago I started dreaming of becoming an Idol. I went to a BTS concert and I wanted to perform on stage like them. I wanted to become an amazing person just like them.”
Jungwon discussed how he became a trainee by recruitment, “I started because I got recruited by a company. I wasn’t extremely talented in any way so, that’s what I thought, so it was a lot of pressure. It’s not an easy path So I said, ‘I’ll think about it’ but my family…they all told me to go for it, and that’s how I got started.”
Heeseung recalled his time training with the members of TXT and how training for a longer period of time has affected him. “For about 1-2 years I practiced beside them, and…I saw them debut before me so I felt anxious. And I wanted to debut as soon as I could but… it took longer than I expected.”
Jay revealed he had no dream for a long time until he started pursuing becoming an idol. “Listening to music, and watching performances by artists gave me comfort. That is what determined my goal in life, everything I wanted to learn from them combined, was this job. That’s when my dream began.”
Jake reflected on the difficulties of being so far away from his family and friends in Australia for the first time. He’d only arrived in South Korea a week before his audition to become a trainee.
K spoke about his original dream to become a marathon runner, and how that all changed when he saw BTS on television. He was so amazed by them that he wanted to become a musician like them and shifted his goals towards becoming an idol trainee despite all his success in sports.
Then, all the GROUNDERS were brought in to find out who else made the I-LAND final 12 through the global votes. It was revealed that Niki, Daniel, Sunoo, Geonu, Taki, and Hanbin were the six trainees saved through the global votes.
Sunoo actually received the most votes through the global voting, with Daniel coming in second, and Niki coming in third.
This means that the I-LAND final 12 is officially: Daniel, Geonu, Hanbin, Heeseung, Jake, Jay, Jungwon, K, Niki, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Taki.
The final 12 only had a few minutes to say goodbye to the other trainees that were eliminated from the show and then made their way back to the dorm where they would begin the second part of the show.
Once they got back to their dorms, the trainees learned they would undergo four more tests in part two of the show. Two of the tests will include global voting, while the other two will be up to the producers.
Only 7 of the I-LAND trainees will be debuting from the group of final 12.
They will also be taking part in ranking during the second part of the show. The higher they rank the safer they are and the more advantages they will receive.
The first ranking from the global voting was revealed:
1) Sunoo
2) Daniel
3) Heeseung
4) Sunghoon
5) K
6) Jay
7) Jungwon
8) Jake
9) Niki
10) Taki
11) Geonu
12) Hanbin
After the trainees learned about part two of the show, they learned more about their first test which was to be BTS themed. They were surprised with a video from BTS who visited their dorm while they were away. The BTS members congratulated them on making it to part two and also talked about the amazing dorm.
BTS then revealed that for the first test the trainees would be learning their hit songs “I NEED U,” “DNA,” and “Fake Love.” They also gave tips to the trainees for each of the songs to help them in their tests, including how to approach the vocals and the choreography.
In order to decide which trainees would be assigned to which songs, they had a mini test. This included a freestyle dance off judged by the producers who would pick three winners to act as the leaders for the first test. Jungwon, K, and Taki ended up winning the mini test dance off!
After their dance off the trainees were freed to go receive the special gifts that were left behind by the BTS members. They also discovered that when they wrote about their concerns going into part two, BTS read them and offered their advice.
Heeseung wrote his worried about being a good leader to which RM responded, “I personally think that, the fact that he’s worried about this means that he already has leadership.”
He also added that, “Becoming someone that can stand up for the rest of the group – I think that’s good leadership.”
The group also agreed that the leader needs help from the other members and that not everyone can be pleased all the time.
K brought up his worries about his appearance and the members joked around that they were confused since he’s already handsome. Jimin also said, “This is where we have to bring this up. It’s all about ‘love myself’, right?”
Jay asked about his embarrassing moments and how to avoid them, which also amused the members.
“It’s impossible!” RM laughed.
Jin advised, “If you don’t want to be stressed about it you have to enjoy your embarrassing moments. That’s the only way.”
The trainees got to check out each of the special gifts left behind by the BTS members, and the special notes of encouragement they left as well.
In next week’s episode of I-LAND the trainees will prepare for the first test and get ready to perform some of BTS’ toughest songs!
Fans can take part in the global voting for I-LAND on Weverse!