Mnet's "I-LAND" has finally announced the members of its new boy group ENHYPEN!
As per Soompi, Mnet's "I-LAND" is an "observation reality program." It is the first project by BELIF+, a joint venture between CJ ENM and Big Hit Entertainment.
The live finale of "I-LAND" was aired on September 18. It was explained that the new boy group formed through the show would be called ENHYPEN. The show then explained the meaning of the band name and described it as, "Just like hyphens connect different words to make new meanings, members of ENHYPEN will connect, discover each other, and grow together."
Nine hopefuls contested on the finale of the show, and only seven have taken the spots in ENHYPEN.
Here is a closer look at the members who will be debuting as members of the group (by age).
Heeseung
The oldest member of the group is Heeseung and in a 2001 liner. The new idol trained under Big Hit Entertainment for three years and a month and trained alongside the TXT boys, but during the debut of the group, he was not included in their line-up.
Heeseung is a skilled vocalist, rapper, an dancer. During the show's finale, Heeseung garnered 1,137,323 votes and ranked 5th place.
Jay
Jay is a 2002 liner and was born in Seattle, Washington, United States. When he was nine years old, He moved to South Korea. He is the son of a CEO in Sinar Tours. For two years and eleven months, Jay trained under Big Hit Entertainment, and during the finale, Jay garnered 1,182,889 votes and ranked 2nd place.
Jake
Jake was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia, and trained under Big Hit Entertainment for nine months. He is a 2002 liner. During the finale, he ranked third place for garnering 1,179,633 votes.
Sunghoon
Sunghoon is a 2002 liner. Before becoming a trainee, he was a professional figure skater who represented South Korea in numerous international competitions, and he was also a two-time national junior silver medalist.
The new idol won the 2015 Asian Open Trophy and Lombardia Trophy. He trained for two years and one month under Big Hit Entertainment, and in the finale, Sunghoon ranked 6th for garnering 1,088,413 votes.
Sunoo
Sunoo trained for ten months under BELIF+ and is a 2003 liner. During the show, he was famous for being the trainee who could pull off cute and refreshing concepts the best. In the finale, Sunoo garnered 935,771 votes, ranking 8th place. However, Sunoo was able to join the 7-member line-up as the producer's choice.
Jungwon
Jungwon is a 2004 liner and trained under Big Hit Entertainment for a year and four months. In the finale episode, Jungwon pulled a massive reversal for ranking 1st place despite placing last in the previous round. He garnered 1,417,620 votes, on the finale announcement.
Ni-ki
Ni-ki trained for eight months under BELIF+ and was born and raised in Okayama, Japan. He is a 2005 liner. Ni-ki was a back-up dancer for SHINee around 2016-2017. At the time, he was around 12-years-old. During the finale, Ni-ki ranked 4th place and garnered 1,140,718 votes.
ENHYPEN will be debuting in the second half of 2020 in a joint label created by Big Hit Entertainment and CJ E&M Entertainment, named BELIF+.
Are you ready for ENHYPEN's kick-off?