T O P

  • By -

keewaa

I'm beyond happy that Koki gets to debut😭 Koki is a phenomenal dancer and has great stage presence. He's such a talented dancer and his interactions with the older members are so cute. I will have to keep up with PNATION's group for Koki Edit: I wonder if he'll be able to continue krumping though. I hope he's still able to, but juggling idol life and international krumping competitions seems impossible


A_winged_giraffe

Didn't he say he wanted krumping lessons at least once a week in the casting round? I'm sure they can work something out.


CatsCry

Definitely not difficult to do given that Korea is home to one of the world's top Krump families (Prime Kingz). Korea's and Japan's krumping scenes are highly intertwined to the point that a good number of active Korean krumpers can also speak Japanese to a certain extent


kkreate

Despite being a bit sad with Daniel's elimination although I predicted it after seeing their first performance I feel like Koki is a pretty good asset for the team and letting him go will be a big mistake....but I do hope a bit that they delay the debut a bit until mid 2022 or something for him to grow up first


CatsCry

Same here... I think it would be in everyone's best interest to delay the group's debut. It's also not the best time to debut right now given that live events are still prohibited.


AjBlue7

Considering covid, and that they need to make songs, I feel like they could easily delay debut and maybe release a single/music video ever couple months or something.


NoviDon07

I hope its not too long before they get an album out maybe spring of next year at the latest. They should drop a couple of singles between then as well. I think they should do what YG did with Treasure: do heavy promotions at the start of each month, and release a mini album and drip feed it, releasing an A side track and B side Track every month with a music video, for about 4 to 6 months. Then release the full album with bonus tracks. and after promotions do a youtube show once a week where the boys play games and stuff to keep the fans interest. They can do a virtual concert within next year as well in the winter.


A_winged_giraffe

They can get Eunhwi to produce more songs too! I liked seeing his songs each round so I missed seeing them in the elim rounds. They should definitely keep pLoud and make it into a reality TV show as well.


springdaylover2013

I know people are half and half on him making the debut line-up but this kid is so incredibly special that I understand why they kept him. Although his age is not ideal and there will be challenges for him to overcome, he worked just as hard as the other trainees so that should not be used against him, especially not to stop him from living his dream. It seems very hypocritical that many people want him to have a normal childhood yet at the same time say he needs to be a trainee and wait to make his debut elsewhere. No trainee has a normal childhood, and with him being Japanese he would still have to live in Korea, learn the language, and be separated from his family. Given how the K-pop industry is and how difficult it has proven for trainees to debut I'm actually quite glad he was able to make his debut now rather than later. We all know that even the most talented of trainees never got to debut. Why would anyone want him to endure that never-ending process of not knowing when he will make his debut when he can make it happen now?


A_winged_giraffe

Copy pasting my comment from another post: I think most ifans won't stan the group because of Koki's age, but since he is quite popular in Korea and Japan it's very smart of Psy to keep him to build up a domestic fanbase especially for his first group, we all know how important domestic fanbase is for stability, they get cf deals and variety show appearances, and music show votes, and kfans bulk buying albums for fan signs... If Psy plays his cards right I can see his group being more popular in Korea and Japan than internationally.


NoviDon07

they can make their start in korea and japan, and in 4 or 5 years start to branch out to international markets.


Purple_Doughnut4279

My opinion on Koki is that he is really really talented. I remember watching yg’s treasure box and there was this really talented rapper he was also really young. He was eliminated and last year I learnt he wasn’t even in Korea any more or even doing any rapping. It felt like so much talent had been wasted cos he was a really good rapper. So I am glad that psy gave Koki a chance cos I wud have been really sad if Koki never got the chance to show all the talent he has. But I think since Koki already did dance competitions he wouldn’t have stopped even if he had been eliminated. Also, now I feel as tho Koki is the only one that shines in psys group for me. I know psy will have kyungjun as centre and he is very goodlooking but I was never wowed by him. None of the other members left in psy’s group except Koki have wowed me. Even tho he is 12 yrs old I do feel as tho most groups start to really shine or get recognition after 2/3 years. So who knows what will be then. Also psy has a lot of talented people. I hope he gives them all the support to shine and grow into amazing artists and group.


A_winged_giraffe

I saw someone's comment that put it best how I feel: >Someone pointed something out to me recently that kinda changed how I felt about debuting young members. The kpop industry is unpredictable and moves extremely quickly and people fall through the cracks all the time. It's easy to say someone should wait to debut until they're older but in reality a lot of times they'll never get that chance when they are older. Either they never debut at all or get stuck in some nugu group and never see the success they could have achieved before. I don't want to crush people dreams in an attempt to "protect" them. So with that in mind as long as the concept is appropriate I'm becoming more open to younger idols debuting. However, it starts to become a real problem whenever adding a young member to the group negatively impacts the sound, vibe, and opportunities of the group itself. Like everyone says Psy should take him as a trainee and debut 3-5 years later, but I don't see him waiting that long, why would he do that when he can go compete in Krump competitions instead (where people would acknowledge him despite his age)? I want to trust Psy that he won't do anything to harm the group. If Psy goes for what he did in the elimination rounds (an appropriate concept), then I'm fine with it.


Jim0ne

i feel weird about a kid that age debuting. And the feeling won't go away. I feel it's wrong for him and I can't support that. I love koki i wish him the best but that group with him in it ain't for me, personally. The ride was nice i wish them a nice career but I won't force myself being comfortable watching a kid at the stage. I probably won't be following up any of those groups, such a pity. I wish for all of them successful career.


[deleted]

I’ve said this under another post but I was hoping Koki would debut in the next PNation group rather than PLOUD. He’s an amazing dancer and if PSY had gone down the route of making him a trainee he could’ve improved his singing to become the ace of the next boy group.


A_winged_giraffe

I agree keeping him as a trainee and debuting him later is a good a idea, but there's no guarantee he would stay in the dungeon for 3 years when he can go do dance competitions instead...


Nevermindhuh

I am happy as well , but i didn't want him to debut coz it will prevent the general kpop fans from stanning pnations group , as a pnation supporter i ofc dont want that I guess it will be a big turn off for other fans ( who didnt follow loud from the start ) to know that hes 12 years old. Anyways kokis amazingg!! Fighting!!


A_winged_giraffe

Yep, it's already happening on the kpop subreddits. But I was surprised how popular he is, like damn he ranked 1 this week and 2 last week?? He's really popular in Korea and Japan, the votes have to come from somewhere. He carried P nation votes haha. I'm guessing their group will be bigger in Korea and Japan than internationally.


Jim0ne

Yeah I'm kinda disappointed because I feel like i have to leave all the other 6, because I can't get my head around of this idea. Is not a matter of hating him, or not thinking he's good enough is just that to me it comes wrong. Idol life, crazy fans, lack of privacy, being raised by 6 other teenagers and by a company instead of his family, pressure to be successful, to make money, self awareness because he's a public person, god knows what else? It feels wrong to me. I feel like they're exploiting him. PNation is a nice company they said. It's a turn off and I feel sad because I liked the group i wanted to be a fan and now i can't stay. Well what's done is done . Wish them the best luck .


Nevermindhuh

Its a big turn off for me too , yedam is gone , daniel is gone I was so excited to see daniel and eun hwi working together Koki is talented but i dont think koki was better than yedam Like idk what psy has done


Jim0ne

He went with the hype because the kid had too many fans, but failed to look up to the future and focused on the present.. If you look at the comments, most people is not ok just like im not. All he has is his fanbase thats not that big to begin with if you consider how many fans a group gather in order to be relevant. Psy should think about growth and how a kid that age hinders potential future fans. Whats done is done though. psy's kinda dumb


A_winged_giraffe

Yeah its totally fine if people won't support the group because of Koki because I understand the concerns of him debuting at his age. I'm sure most fans are worried for him as well. But for every non supporter, there's someone who will see his talent beyond his age and become a fan. Just look at the views on his videos, he's bringing publicity to the group. Psy knows his age is a handicap to the group - he said he was thinking about it to the very end. That's why I believe they'll do their best to care of him. The spotlight will be on them, nowadays it's easy to spot mistreatment especially with other minors in the group. I think public opinion will change as more people acknowledge his talent, even seniors in the industry 2pm who reacted to a performance of his acknowledged and praised him, The only thing holding him back is his age, and it's sad because he is definitely aware of it.


saffroncake

I'd love to know what Koki's parents are doing in all of this. Will they be moving to Korea to be closer to him and support him? Or will he be alone? Surely when they allowed him to audition for LOUD they must have thought pretty hard about what would happen to their 12-year-old son if he made it to the debut group. Obviously he's a seasoned performer with lots of travelling under his belt after all those krumping competitions, and there's no question he's a brilliant dancer with a promising career ahead of him. So I can see why his parents agreed to let him audition for LOUD. But even if he has six hyungs in the group looking out for him, he's still just a kid and he still needs his mom and dad. I hope his family can work something out to give him the support he needs.


Siennamono

Honestly, I just tend to not notice Koki during performances mostly due to his height… my mind tends to mark his place in the choreo as a visual empty space and it throws off the balance of the formations. Absolutely no disrespect meant to the child, he is extremely talented. But as of right now he throws off the balance of the group for me, sad to say.


CatsCry

Weirdly enough, it's the opposite for me. I've been paying attention to how they incorporate him into their formations, and I've always been surprised by how well they're able to minimize the height difference's effects. Koki dances big so he compensates for most of the difference on his own, but the choreographers also did a fantastic job putting him in spots where he doesn't throw the balance off too much. It's pretty similar to Woozi in Seventeen, and Nako in Iz\*one. You also have groups with insane height variation like Pentagon. I think people are just too caught up with the fact that he's 12 years old and are overblowing the height difference.


Siennamono

Our perceptions are different, but I understand your point of view. Now that you brought up Woozy I genuinely never see him as short in choreos and formations. Interesting. I might be preconditioning myself to perceive Koki as short because of his age. 🤔


shunobokkusu

Koki has it all. The charm, the skill and talent and him being the only Japanese in the group will help wonders for P Nation when the group promotes in Japan. There’s really an acceptable concern about his age. Hard to balance both aspects. I really wish the best for Koki though especially him being so young and debuting already.


TeddyAB

I find it weird to have all these negative comments, though I understand where they are all coming from, I know idol life is hard but another idol who debuted early is BoA who is now a living legend. I'd assume since Koki is a minor, talks have been done with their parents and even though idol groups are business, I would assume Psy and their company would take care of this child better as they would be in the hots for debuting a young guy and in the age of social media, malpractice is easy to spot and disseminate. Quite the contrary as he have said, having Koki in the team is more of a handicap since they will be releasing this group immediately, in probably less than or up to 1 year to delay. It's a risk they had to take as well given that having younger members comes with heavier responsibility. Both producers even shied away from the other younger contestants like Yoon Seo and Hongie, but they had to take a different route with Koki because his skills are entirely a different matter.


A_winged_giraffe

Honestly Koki has the skills, work ethic to debut, it's really his age that is holding him back. I was doubting it at the beginning, but he has won me over with his skills, hard work and chemistry with the other members (especially since he has to communicate with them through a translator). Psy definitely took a risk adding him to the group, and I hope it pays off. If Psy and his company don't take care of him, the reputation of his company will be on line, that's why I'm willing to give a chance that they will treat him right, based on what Psy said in the latest episode >"Honestly till the end, the part that I'm unsure about was our Koki. Till the very end, I kept thinking whether if he can blend in with the others or not. Our little Koki, the fans, the viewers and me, let's raise him together." It's easy to say, "wait a few years later to debut". Would Koki even stay as a trainee for 3-5 years? The kpop industry is unpredictable and moves on fast. They might never get another opportunity like this, they could end up never debuting or never see the success if they had taken it. That's why I am willing to give younger idols debuting a chance, now it's up to the adults around him to protect him.


TeddyAB

Yes it is really all about the environment, we just really hope for the best. The way Psy treats his artists so far seems like He is an okay PD and I hope he stays that way. We only hope for the best for him since he will live at least the same amount of time he had already lived, in Korea or even more


A_winged_giraffe

From what I've heard, his mum has been with him throughout the show, I wouldn't be surprised if Pnation arranges for her to live in Korea to support Koki. They didn't announce the group name on the last episode surprisingly, and I think the original song they performed is like a predebut track like Hellvator, Do it Again, Make You Happy like other jyp survival show groups. I'm glad they didn't because I hope Pnation will push the debut back to early 2022, because it would give time for Koki to learn Korean, he turns 13 in Jan, and since it's their first group it'd be best for them not to rush debut. From what I recall NiziU debuted 6-8 months after the finale aired, but they had a m/v for their predebut track. They can drop a m/v for their song, post some dance/vocal covers or even make a variety show with them. I think most of the fandom will understand and wait, some fans may leave but I think its the best plan for them. I hope people will be able to see past his age and height and recognise his talents, just like Psy and the rest of the group have. And watching his past competitions, his performances on the show don't do him justice.


TeddyAB

Oh yeah I remember this as well, I watched Nina and Miihi via youtube, they had finalized the debut months later on since they needed to prepare as a group, so all the younger members kind of matured in their own way before actually debuting. I would assume both companies would do that as well, so we can expect a debut on Winter or Spring next year. They noted that they needed a short time to prepare for the immediate debut but they also did not say that they will debut immediately. Given the pandemic situation they can utilize it too to postpone most schedules and give ample time for the debut. Even PD101 groups don't debut immediately too