Anticipated to be one of the hottest boy groups to open the fifth generation of K-pop is ZEROBASEONE, the winners of the latest idol survival show Boys Planet!
Boys Planet, the male sequel of 2021’s Girls Planet 999, aired its finale last April 20, revealing the winning trainees of the new band’s nine-member line-up: Zhang Hao, Sung Hanbin, Seok Matthew, Ricky, Park Gunwook, Kim Taerae, Kim Gyuvin, Kim Jiwoong, and Han Yujin.
Keeping with the show’s global concept, Boys Planet accepted trainees from not only South Korea but also from all around the globe — and yes, that includes the Philippines! Sadly, although our two Filipino representatives didn’t make it to the final cut, there’s no doubt that they’ve garnered much support from both local and global fans. Check out all you need to know about their ambitious efforts to break into the K-pop industry here:
ANTHONNY
Hailing all the way from Davao City is Iinuma Anthonny, a Japanese-Filipino trainee who has attracted fans from all over the world with his happy-go-lucky charms and multilingual talents! Prior to joining Boys Planet, Anthonny already made his idol survival show debut in 2021 during the second season of Produce 101 Japan, where he maintained enough votes and popularity to survive until the final round of the competition, ranking 18th overall. Having tasted the near-success of debuting in a Japanese boy group, Anthonny then decided to give reality survival programs another chance and traveled to Korea.
Fun Fact: Although he was born in the Philippines, Anthonny moved to Japan in 2013, making him fluent in Cebuano, Tagalog, and Japanese!
Signed to Wake One Entertainment, the very agency now handling ZEROBASEONE and Girl Planet 999’s Kep1er, Anthonny hoped to make his idol dreams a reality by entering Boys Planet. However, despite initially attracting attention and placing as high as 9th in the first episode of the show, Anthonny’s rank ultimately dipped to 32nd (out of 99 trainees) and was eliminated by the competition’s eighth episode.
As of this writing, Anthonny has not yet revealed his future plans in the industry. Nevertheless, since he is still under contract with Wake One Entertainment, there may be a chance that he may debut in a future boy group managed by the agency.
JAY CHANG
Known for his handsome and otherworldly looks, Jay Chang is the impressively talented American trainee whose roots trace back to Hungary, Ireland, China, and the Philippines, with the latter two owed to his Chinoy mother!
Fun fact: Not only is Jay an aspiring musical artist, whose talents include playing the drums and guitar, but he is also a partnered Twitch streamer with a passion for video games!
Jay first joined the Korean entertainment scene when he participated in Under Nineteen, another reality survival program that aired on MBC in 2018. This venture, however, was cut short upon his elimination during the first round of the competition, ranking 18th out of 19 contestants in the vocal team category. Not to be deterred by the loss of opportunity, Jay later made his debut as a soloist by releasing his digital single “Is You” in January 2020.
A few years later, Jay then became significantly busier: He signed with FM Entertainment, released a comeback single, and became a member of the agency’s pre-debut group M.O.N.T. Arena. Looking for bigger opportunities, he also decided to enter Boys Planet, where he quickly became a fan favorite. In fact, surviving all the to the finale, Jay Chang placed 10th overall, falling just one rank short of debuting in ZEROBASEONE!
Having been so close to making the Boys Planet final lineup, it’s more than apparent that Jay has built a strong international fanbase that will surely support his future activities. Whether that will be debuting in FM Entertainment’s planned boy group or something else entirely is something we’ll have to see!
Want to know more about other Filipinos who have rocked the idol industry? Here are 4 local Chinoy idols that you should definitely watch out for!
