Summary
The episode opened with the remaining 35 contestants from each company entering the main studio for eliminations. Amidst the eliminations, the trainees participated in a question relay and a team game event where "Open Up" group emerged as the winner. They were also asked to vote for the top 6 pick for the debut team in the trainees among them, with MMO Entertainment's Yoon Jisung taking 1st place and Kang Daniel, Jung Sewoon, Park Jihoon, Ong Seongwoo, and Park Woojin taking 2nd to 6th place respectively. At the elimination, BoA revealed that only 20 trainees would advance to the final stage. Kang Daniel was announced as the overall winner of the concept evaluation, winning 100,000 benefit votes. With ranks 19 to 3 revealed, Kang Daniel and Park Jihoon were called up as the contenders for 1st place, with Kang Daniel revealed to be 1st in the overall rank as well. The contenders for 20th place were then called up, Choon Entertainment's Jin Longguo and Cube Entertainment's Lai Guanlin. Lai Guanlin, whose massive rank drop surprised everyone, survived the elimination.
With the top 20 confirmed, BoA announced the next and final mission – the debut song evaluation. She introduced "Hands on Me" (produced by The Underdogs and Deez) and "Super Hot" (produced by Ryan Jhun) as the final line-up's debut songs. She explained that they will be split into two teams of 10, each team composed of one main vocal, six to seven sub vocals, and two to three rappers. The trainees chose their positions beginning with rank 20 up to 1, with the higher ranked trainees being given the advantage of replacing the lower ranked trainees and bumping them into another position. Due to voting manipulation controversies, 17th place Lim Youngmin had to choose his position first as a penalty. After positions were confirmed, the trainees begun practicing the choreography and memorizing the lyrics in preparation for the final stage.
Explenation time
The trainees were given a chance to explain any misunderstandings that happened during previous episodes.
- Noh Taehyun was seen in a previous episode apparently scratching his belly during practice. And the fans commented making fun of the situation and calling him an old man. He explained that he wasn't scratching, simply fanning himself due to the amount of sweat he accumulated during practice.
- Yoo Seonho addresses the rumors that him and his label-mate Lai Guanlin aren't close with each other. He explained that they are really close but somehow one the show he started using formal language instead of informal language.
- Hwang Minhyun then addressed that Seonho shows him a ton of public affection. Seonho simply likes showing affection to his older friends "hyungs" and he does so openly. Minhyun jokingly said it's hard on him, and asked Seonho to tone it down.
- Ong Seongwoo brought up that fans seem to wonder why he wears a tank top under his sweater. He mentioned that he's not trying to be weird but simply it helps air out under the sweatshirt and make it cooler when practicing.
- Lee Daehwi then targeted those who wear insoles (to make themselves appear taller). Since he showed his, he said it is normal and called out other trainees like Bae Jinyoung.
- Kang Daniel was called out for grinding his teeth when he sleeps. Yoon Jisung said it's hard to sleep because he grinds so loud and talks in his sleep.
Ranking
Rank | Trainee | Company | Votes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Kang Daniel | MMO | 828,148 |
2 | Park Jihoon | Maroo | 630,198 |
3 | Ha Sungwoon | Ador and Able | 413,654 |
4 | Bae Jinyoung | C9 | 389,982 |
5 | Kim Samuel | Brave | 378,491 |
6 | Park Woojin | Brand New Music | 372,493 |
7 | Kim Jonghyun | Pledis | 367,052 |
8 | Ong Seongwoo | Fantagio | 358,656 |
9 | Yoon Jisung | MMO | 333,974 |
10 | Lee Daehwi | Brand New Music | 1,629,176 |
11 | Hwang Minhyun | Pledis | 315,650 |
12 | Kang Dongho | Pledis | 314,807 |
13 | Kim Jaehwan | Independent | 259,776 |
14 | Ahn Hyeongseop | Yuehua | 254,984 |
15 | Choi Minki | Pledis | 217,734 |
16 | Yoo Seonho | Cube | 209,168 |
17 | Lim Youngmin | Brand New Music | 197,721 |
18 | Ju Haknyeon | Cre.Ker | 197,194 |
19 | Jung Sewoon | Starship | 196,223 |
20 | Lai Guanlin | Cube | 188,940 |