After seeing the current top 7 rankings, some netizens brought up the issue of whether or not viewers in fact were casting their votes for the "best combination" of talents, as the program's main purpose suggests, or if some were simply voting for their "favorite idols" rather than objectively determining the best performers from each week.
As one netizen pointed out:
"After watching today's performances and then the current top 7 rankings.. you can really tell that some of them were voted in by their core fans. Look at H1-KEY's Hwiseo, she was chosen as an MVP but isn't in the top 7."
Others agreed and commented,
"Because it's still early, the core fans are dominating the votes. Hopefully there will be changes as the show goes on."
"It doesn't make sense to me that one of the H1-KEY members isn't in the top 7."
"This is different from 'Produce' because the core fans become too influential in the votes. It really puts the lesser-known artists at a disadvantage."
"There are so many fresh, new faces, but the top 7 is mostly just familiar faces."
"I'm voting for Miru, Hwiseo, and Wooyeon!"
"I feel like Hwiseo and Jiwoo were the most surprising discoveries so far. I've never heard of them before this show. As for the veterans, it's obvious that the have experience on stage but sometimes that can feel redundant unless there's something new. I feel like that's the reason Chanmi might not get as many votes as her hoobaes."
"This top 7 is totally just some of the most well-known contestants."
"I hope at least one member of Rocket Punch can make it."
"People should really vote for the idols who performed well that week instead of their favorites."
