At this point I think that MNet brought C and J trainees just to sell TV rights to IQIYI and AbemaTV...

Mnet is a snake. Always will be

Yea, I was hoping that the interim line up would have been official if I knew the final line up be this way. Lol, I was hoping for all K-group. This would make them into mediocrity in term of sell, and charting internationally. Mnet know what they were doing. I believe they at least riged xiaoting to 9, not rule out the other 2 popular Japanese either. This way, they still doing good in sell and international chart.

Quote from SooYoung

well in my opinion they made this system

to have popular trainee both in korea and internationnaly in the final lineup

because watching the lineup by votes only, it was only popular member internationnally

the actual lineup is more balance in term of popularity

you have some really popular members in korea who are yeseo, dayeon and chaehyun

and other who are more popular internationally like hikaru, xiaoting, bahiyyih

i agree it's kinda unfair for the girls, but the goal is to make the most popular GG

a GG who's popular in korea, their popularity will always translate then internationnally, just watch Aespa who's really big in korea, and are rising fast internationnally, or twice who had a big popularity in korea, and because of this, build a strong popularity internationnally

but the contrary is never true, it's hard for your international popularity to impact on your korea popularity, just look at GG like Loona or everglow who are pretty huge GG internationnally these years

but are nobody in korea

that's why the lineup needed to be more balance, than have 9 members who are only popular internationally

with maybe 1 or 2 members popular in korea

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This is why I suspected they riged the last 3. At least the minimal for xiaoting. Xiaoting was ranked 16, and somehow miraculously she made to number 9 where Ruiqi have more international fans.

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Who knows maybe they even got 'investment' back thanks only to this...

I doubt it judging from how cheap the costume and stage looked.