Into The Spotlight

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INTO THE SPOTLIGHT
Promotional poster
Season	1
Genre	Reality/survival Show
Created By	MBS
Network	MBS
Crew
MC(s)	Moon Yujin
Trainers	Shin Wooseong (Dance) Lady Ruby (Rap) Yong Hwa (Vocals)
Theme Track	"Break It"
Production
Location	Seoul, South Korea
Air Dates	March 13, 2025 - May 22, 2025
No. of Episodes	10

Into The Spotlight is a 2025 boy group reality competition survival show created by MBS and co-produced by singer and television personality Hwang Yugeum. It followed the process of creating a boy group that is worthy of achieving commercial and critical achievement. The show ended with the formation of the boy group Anomii.

Cast

The MC

• Moon Yujin

The Mentors

• Shin Wooseong, a 3rd generation idol who rose to popularity in 2017 after competing in the survival audition program INFINITEEZ: The Reverse Project and debuting in the globally successful project boy band INFIN81. Competing in national b-boy competitions as a child and having seven years of experience both a performer and choreographer, he is a qualified Dance Mentor who will ensure that trainees will be able to become world-class talented performers.
• Lady Ruby, an award-winning female rapper who entered the South Korean hip-hop scene in 2006 and has released over four acclaimed studio albums. As an industry veteran with over three decades of experience, she is a Rap Mentor who will guide the trainees to develop talents in rapping and even writing songs.
• Yong Hwa, a solo artist who made her debut in 2014 and achieved a critical breakthrough in the early 2020s. Considered one of K-pop's greatest female vocalists and also equipped with experience in mentoring and producing music, she is a Vocal Mentor with the initiative to help trainees achieve their full potential as vocalists who are supposed to bring life to a song.

Special directors

• Byun Yanbin
• Hwang Yugeum
• Han Yul

Ratings

• Episode 1: 0.806%
• Episode 2: 1.234%
• Episode 3: 1.095%
• Episode 4: 1.678%
• Episode 5: 1.830%
• Episode 6: 1.655%
• Episode 7: 1.968%
• Episode 8: 2.004%
• Episode 9: 2.002%
• Episode 10: 2.344%
• Episode 11: 2.776%

Contestants

	Final members of Anomii
	Contestants eliminated in the final episode
	Contestants eliminated in the third elimination round (ep.10)
	Contestants eliminated in the second elimination round (ep.8)
	Contestants eliminated in the first elimination round (ep.5)

• Ages are based on when they were revealed in the contestant showcase.

Elimination Chart

Affiliation	Name	Age	Rankings
			Ep. 1	Ep. 2	Ep. 3	Ep. 5		Ep. 8		Ep. 10		Final		Result
			#	#	#		Votes		Votes	#	Votes	#	Votes
Independent Trainee	Adam Guo (아담구오)	18	21	16	25	24	126,017	22	Eliminated					22
	Benjamin Castro (벤자민 카스트로)	21	27	30	24	15	133,912	7	420,671	3	677,144	1	2,134,200	1
	Chun Seojun (천서준)	21	22	33	27	32	Eliminated							32
	Leonardo Chen (레오나르도첸)	22	20	14	13	18	133,000	19	341,993	15	Eliminated			15
	Song Gyujin (송규진)	19	1	1	1	1	324,415	5	480,362	4	572,114	3	854,263	3
	Song Wonchan (송원찬)	19	4	2	3	4	196,773	3	511,220	2	677,213	7	632,415	7
	Yoon Jisoo (윤지수)	20	30	37	32	34	Eliminated							34
484 Company	Bang Daesung (방대성)	17	38	36	39	39	Eliminated							39
	Choi Jaewon (최재원)	18	10	8	4	3	210,963	1	554,221	7	415,663	4	830,471	4
	Kim Hyunbok (김현복)	19	39	40	40	37	Eliminated							37
Bedlam Entertainment	Hong Heonbo (홍헌보)	24	8	4	2	2	255,372	8	418,333	1	680,472	2	1,084,327	2
BM Nation	Han Dohyon (한도현)	18	3	7	8	7	146,991	16	382,985	18	Eliminated			18
	Kim Jongyoun (김종연)	19	23	13	16	16	133,770	15	392,030	6	438,679	11	195,032	11
CNF Entertainment	Oh Insoo (오인수)	23	29	35	22	26	122,607	30	Eliminated					30
	Kim Jungmin (김정민)	19	35	29	36	33	Eliminated							33
	Park Wooseok (박은우)	19	12	17	11	11	136,092	23	Eliminated					23
DREAM Entertainment	Anthony Takayama (앤서니 타카야마)	16	31	24	15	21	128,225	12	408,228	12	348,273	8	462,139	8
	Han Donghwa (한동화)	21	11	15	20	12	135,920	24	Eliminated					24
	Kim Junghwan (정환)	17	25	31	29	36	Eliminated							36
Mercury Multimedia Entertainment	Ren Nguyen (렌응우옌)	18	14	20	31	28	120,534	25	Eliminated					25
Navy Entertainment	Watanabe Reiji (와타나베 레이지)	25	7	5	6	9	138,224	13	402,273	11	365,412	10	231,777	10
	Won Hyunjun (원현준)	24	15	9	12	14	134,671	11	410,111	19	Eliminated			19
	Vincent Lim (빈센트림)	21	5	11	26	22	126,892	18	359,120	17	Eliminated			17
RK Entertainment	Hong Jaehyun (홍재현)	23	16	19	17	19	131,506	26	Eliminated					26
	Kim Youngjae (홍재현)	21	13	12	10	8	140,925	9	415,291	14	Eliminated			14
	Lee Sangwoo (이상우)	19	32	32	37	35	Eliminated							35
	Heo Youngmin (허영민)	19	24	21	19	25	124,773	27	Eliminated					27
Picture Music	Ahn Mingyu (안민규)	21	6	6	7	6	153,220	4	493,217	10	380,235	9	352,634	9
	Bong Seongri (봉성리)	21	9	10	9	10	136,240	6	453,204	13	Eliminated			13
	Kim Sooil (김수일)	18	26	22	28	29	118,502	28	Eliminated					28
	Kim Sungwon (김성원)	18	33	26	21	17	133,211	20	330,387	8	401,203	5	754,263	5
Team A Entertainment	Jiang Zedong (장쩌둥)	16	28	28	23	30	116,001	14	395,241	16	Eliminated			16
	Kim Jeonghoon (김정훈)	17	17	25	33	23	126,500	29	Eliminated					29
	Moon Garam (문가람)	15	36	39	34	31	Eliminated							31
Thick & Drip Records	Seok Jeongseong (석정성)	21	18	23	18	27	120,534	21	Eliminated					21
	Jeong Taeil (정태일)	20	34	38	38	40	Eliminated							40
TOKDO Artists Management	Nam Hyunwoo (남현우)	20	2	3	5	5	176,773	2	520,113	9	399,115	6	716,201	6
UKIYO Entertainment	Kim Yeonbin (김연빈)	17	19	18	14	13	134,888	10	413,070	20	Eliminated			20
	Dong Shunyuan (동순위안)	16	40	27	30	20	131,211	17	368,102	5	482,220	12	177,208	12
	Kang Mino (강민호)	15	37	34	35	38	Eliminated							38

Episodes

Ep. #	Title	Original air date
1	Episode 1	March 13, 2025
The 40 contestants enter the Into the Spotlight studio for the first time, with the first group being the trainees of UKIYO Entertainment, an agency best known for producing girl group SeoulDolls; they react with amusement to unique set, in which every trainee group has their own private office-style cubicle. The second trainee group to enter the studio are the trainees of 484 Company, who are pranked by the UKIYO Entertainment trainees. Choi Jaewon and Kim Yeonbin do an impromptu sing-off of Yong Hwa & HARAM's "When I Grow Old", showing off their vocal abilities. One by one, the remainder of the 15 performance groups arrive in the studio; while many visit the other cubicles to introduce themselves and build connections early into the show, some trainees hide in their private spices out of shyness or deliberate choice to stay mysterious. In one cubicle, independent foreign trainees Benjamin Castro, Adam Guo, and Leonardo Chen huddle together, quietly reading their Korean language notes, while twins Song Wonchan and Song Gyujin are practicing their choreography. After all cubicles have been occupied, the MC and three evaluators, consisting of veterans in the music industry, greet the 40 contestants through a large television screen. The lights in the studio fade to dark, and the Company Evaluations officially commence, in which every contestant will be evaluated on a three-star scale based on the performance and technical skills they will showcase. To build anticipation and uncertainty among the trainees, a bright spotlight would shine upon a random cubicle, which signifies that it's their turn to perform in front of the evaluators, which is located in another separate stage set next door. The process repeats until all contestants have performed. The first to perform are the Picture Music trainees, who cover RIIZE's "Love 119". Trainees Ahn Mingyu and Bong Seongri, who are survival show veterans, receive three-stars for their performance; Kim Sooil and Kim Sungwon, who made mistakes during the performance, are given two stars and no stars, respectively, causing Sungwon to tear up backstage. The next performers are UKIYO Entertainment trainees, who perform JNR503's "None of Juvenile". Several voice cracks unfortunately happen, causing only trainee Kim Yeonbin to receive two stars. The next two performances by the Thick & Drip Records trainees (Seok Jeongseong, Daniel Yoon, Jeong Taeil) and independent trainee Ren Nguyen, who respectively cover Stray Kids' "S-Class" and Won Taehyun's "Primé", are also criticized particularly by vocal mentor Yong Hwa, who briefly expresses her disdain on how the K-pop trainee system now makes idols focus too much on hard choreography than developing their singing abilities, making them "just glorified dancers instead of full-fledged artists." The next performance by the Navy Entertainment trainees Watanabe Reiji, Won Hyunjun, and Vincent Lim, who perform Seventeen's "Love Money Fame", are praised. BM Nation trainees Han Dohyon and Kim Jongyoun impress the contestants with their rap skills, as they cover of Diavolo and Solviz's intense song "Leather Sprinter". Heera comments that their verses can be better, but overall describes them as the most promising rappers among those who have already performed. The last performers are brothers Song Wonchan and Song Gyujin, who shock the mentors after revealing that they are fraternal twins. Leaning on their strengths as bright and cheerful boys, they cover NCT Wish's "Miracle". While their performance was polished and had no mistakes, the mentors believed that they were unable to completely show themselves, and challenge them to a freestyle. The twins nervously look at each other before nodding confidently. The judges cheer for them, and the introduction to Tommy Richman's "Million Dollar Baby" begins to play right before the show ends.
2	Episode 2	March 20, 2025
The show picks up on the freestyle of the Song twins, which turns out to be a highly impressive one that elicits enthusiastic reactions from both the judges and the contestants watching. They unanimously receive three stars, causing both boys to jump in joy and run off backstage hugging each other. The next performers are Dreamscape Entertainment trainees, who showcase their mature visuals and charms with Enhypen's "Bite Me". Though their vocals are also criticized, trainee Han Donghwa receives praise for his "center material" charms. The next performers are foreign trainees Benjamin Castro, Adam Guo, and Leonardo Chen, who shyly go on stage and awkwardly introduce themselves in Korean. The judges are shocked to find out that they barely have any training experience, apart from Chen who was briefly part of a short-lived C-pop boy group. Benjamin admits that him auditioning for the show was part of his job hunt, while Adam says he had never aspired to be a K-pop idol until recently. This leads judges to feel divided on them, warning that the industry is brutal without any sugarcoating. Regardless, the three are determined to perform, showcasing a cover of T-ARA's "You Drive Me Crazy". Leonardo is the only contestant who receives anything higher than one star, but the judges root for the three contestants to perform well in the show. The 484 Company trainees then perform a cover of TXT's "Deja Vu", with Choi Jaewon particularly standing out with his powerful vocals and emotional delivery. Jaewon is asked to sing another song, and he chooses to sing rm8z's "Right Here and Now". He ends up unanimously receiving three stars, with Yong Hwa calling him the best vocalist he has seen on the show so far. The next four performances are skimmed through, with all of them receiving negative feedback from the mentors for their poor or lackluster performances. The mentors do a brief internal discussion, with them agreeing that a lot of the trainees still need more training and they need to help them improve in a short timeframe while already pushing the ones who have pre-existing skillsets. The last performer, Hong Heonbo, introduces himself, with some people saying he's familiar. Heonbo introduces himself alongside the past survival shows he has participated in, and in a flashback, reveals his vulnerability and desperation as a trainee to achieve his dreams of being a singer. Dance mentor Wooseong asks him to show what he is made of, and through a cover of Jungkook's "Standing Next To You". Immediately, he is given a three star rating, concluding the First Evaluation performances. After the contestants are evaluated, the mentors reveal the signal song "Break It", which will be performed on Rankdown @ MBS. Their line distribution and positioning on stage will be determined by their grades, with the 3-Star class (★★★) having the most while the 0-Star class are backup dancers with no individual screentime. The contestants are given three days to memorize the choreography and the lyrics to both versions of the song, after which they will undergo a re-evaluation and have their grades reassigned. The contestants film themselves performing the song individually. Each video is then watched and evaluated by the mentors. Several contestants are seen visibly struggling, with unexpected changes during the Reassignment Day. Choi Jaewon, who was in the highest class, moves down to the 1-Star class, after appearing disoriented and forgetting steps during his performance. Park Wooseok, a 1-Star class member, moves up to the 3-Star class.
3	Episode 3	March 27, 2025
The contestants finish moving to their new groups, after which the seven 3-Star class boys compete for the center position and are voted on by the other 33 contestants. In an unexpected result, Song Gyujin and Nam Hyunwoo compete against each other, with Hyunwoo being voted center. After the live performance on Rankdown @ MBS, they then meet with former QUANTUM member Yoon Jihan meeting with them. Jihan explains that the 40 contestants will be grouped into 8 teams of 5 members each, and will be evaluated. The most voted member in each performance will have a boost of 20,000 votes. The groups will be covering eight different girl group songs, consisting of: aespa's "Armageddon", Babymonster's "Sheesh", ILLIT's "Cherish (My Love)", FANC:Y's "Flex (Time to Impress)", LE SSERAFIM's "Crazy", IVE's "Baddie", Rescene's "Love Attack", and DREAMSCAPE's "Motivation". The 3-star contestants, alongside Nam Hyunwoo, who is the highest ranking trainee outside the said class, are given the privilege to choose their songs first, while the remaining contestants are instructed to group themselves into four. To form the final cover groups, the 8 leading contestants will choose which of these pre-made lineups do they want to join, causing many of the lower-ranked trainees to worry about the popular trainees choosing them for an easy win. The tension of the first round's individual competition is evident in almost all of the groups, as they all know that they need to have the killing parts to catch the attention of the audience. The performances of teams "Sheesh", "Cherish (My Love)", "Armageddon", and "Flex (Time To Impress)" are aired this episode. Problems also arise within each team's practice sessions: In team "Sheesh", trainee Han Dohyon immediately places his dibs for the killing part without letting the other members attempt it, drawing reactions from trainee Seok Jeongseong; he also complains about the leader, Watanabe Reiji, immediately agreeing to it instead of finding a more fair way to determine who will front the performance. In team "Cherish (My Love)", trainee Oh Insoo takes the center role, but the mentors criticize him for exerting excessive and forced cuteness when the song isn't that bright. In team "Armageddon", multiple trainees, including main vocalist Choi Jaewon and leader Park Wooseok, struggle with singing and dancing at the same time, making multiple mistakes during practice. Jaewon almost contemplates giving up his position as he struggles with covering Ningning's high note but his groupmates comfort him, believing he can execute it in the final performance. In team "Flex (Time To Impress)", which has a more mature concept than the rest of the song choices, most of the contestants try too hard to look hot; members Lee Sangwoo and Choi Seojun pull up their shirts to show their six-pack abs in stereotypical boy group fashion, with the female mentors having a briefly disgusted reactions to it.
4	Episode 4	April 3, 2025
The remaining four performances are aired, with bigger drama taking place behind closed doors: In team "Crazy", the biggest drama in the first round happens. "Crazy" is known for its vogueing choreography that can be difficult to execute for those who aren't trained with the style. All four members of the team Heonbo chose (Benjamin Castro, Ren Nguyen, Dong Shunyuan, Kim Sungwon) are not professional dancers, and they were all ranked in the lowest classes during the Signal Song performance. As Heonbo was one of the first few contestants to choose which set of contestants they want to compete against, they believe that he chose them because he would automatically stand out in comparison to the less skilled members, which was made more evident by the fact that he quickly volunteered for the Center position. In one scene, Heonbo is seen teaching the rest of the boys the choreography, but walks off the room stressed after they keep on making mistakes. This causes Benjamin to snap and follow him into the corridor, arguing that he didn't have to choose them if he knew he would have to teach them how to vogue. They passive aggressively argue with each other in English until their groupmates break the exchange off, with the mentors getting involved. In the end, Heonbo and Benjamin hug and apologize to each other, with the former breaking down in tears and admitting he was just burnt out and desperate. Benjamin assures him that it's water under the bridge, and tells him to let him know if he needs assistance in leading. In the end, upon the suggestion of the mentors, they change the Center to Kim Sungwon, who has gained enough confidence with performing. In team "Baddie", contestants Kim Hyunbok and Adam Guo express their discomfort with friends Ahn Mingyu and Han Donghwa who seem to be practicing more by themselves than with the rest of the group, as if they forgot that it was supposed to be a group performance. This leads to an intense discussion between the five members, with Ahn and Han claiming that they should have just approached them if they wanted to practice together. In team "Love Attack", multiple members struggle with dancing, especially trainees Kim Yeonbin and Kim Jungmin, causing the former to break down in tears after being criticized by the dance mentor Wooseong. In a sweet moment, Gyujin consoles his nervous groupmates, showing that he is more than just a bubbly trainee but also a caring member. He ends up crying with them in an amusing twist and they share a group hug. In team "Motivation", the members have a generally fine time emulating the fresh but sassy and confident vibe of the song, but the first rehearsals turn out to be a disaster, as they end up looking like five soloists competing against each other on stage. The five members are caught off-guard by the criticism, and seem visibly frustrated as each one of them is trying to project their own charms in an attempt to stand out. Vocal mentor Yong Hwa comments, "Yes, this round is an individual competition, but you should never, ever compromise the fact that this is also a group who is supposed to present a cohesive performance."
5	Episode 5	April 10, 2025
For the episode, South Korean television personality Hwang Yugeum, alongside singers Byun Yanbin and Han Yul, appeared as special panelists. The 40 contestants nervously arrive at the studio, where the seats for the 30 survivors are arranged in a pyramid style. In between, entertainment segments leading up to the elimination are aired, which include every contestant reading letters that were written by their individual supporters, as well as a Visual Pick vote in which the contestants vote for the top 7 boys in the show that they find attractive. Song Gyujin takes 1st place, while Nam Hyunwoo, Kim Sungwon, Dong Shunyuan, Hong Heonbo, Leonardo Chen, and Seok Jeongseong rank 2nd to 7th, respectively. Song Gyujin, who has been first since Episode One, retains his position to no surprise from everyone. The candidates for 30th place as revealed to be Chun Seojun (prev. 27th), Kim Jungmin (prev. 36th), Moon Garam (prev. 34th), and Jiang Zedong (prev. 32nd). Jiang Zedong takes 30th place, and delivers an emotional speech about his desperate to advance further into the show. The 30 survivors and 10 contestants bid farewell to each other, with Jaewon breaking down in tears after both of his other labelmates got eliminated while the surviving RK Entertainment trainees embrace after Lee Sangwoo failed to make it to the top 30.
6	Episode 6	April 17, 2025
In a surprise appearance, Park Sungwoo visits the 30 surviving contestants and announces their second mission, the Position Group Battle, in which two teams will compete against each other in different categories. The songs for the Position Group Battle are revealed to be: "Pinned By The Monster" by Kyler Kim and Park Junmi versus "SNOB!" by Lady Ruby, Shin Wooseong, and Takamura Sukima for Beat (Rap), "Igloo" by Kiss of Life versus "Samurai" by WARRIOR for Groove (Dance), and "Drowning" by WOODZ versus "T.B.H" by QWER for Melody (Vocal). The members of the winning teams will receive a bonus of 25,000 votes, with the first place in each receiving a grand bonus of 50,000. Won Heeun and Mochizuki Kozue of Randomize and LUNIVER serves as a Special MC for the round. The performances aired this episode are the Melody (Vocal) performances, as well as one of the Groove (Dance) performances. MELODY - "Drowning" - Team "Drowning", consisting of Choi Jaewon, Ren Nguyen, Adam Guo, Kim Yeonbin, and Jiang Zedong, delivers a rock-heavy and strongly emotional performance of the song. During the rehearsals, Jiang Zedong communicates his desire to make it to the next round, in which Jaewon's leadership skills shine as he helps Jiang choose a part that will emphasize his vocal skills while assisting the others in singing the parts that they chose. Jaewon's high notes and adlibs towards the end of the song lead the crowd to burst into applause, cementing his position as the show's best vocalist. MELODY - "디스코드 (Discord)" - Team "Discord", consisting of Kim Sooil, Dong Shunyuan, Kim Sungwon, Park Wooseok, and Heo Youngmin, delivers a sweet and heartfelt confession to the audience with their performance of the song. During the rehearsals, Sungwon takes the initiative to lead for the first time, making sure that all of them get equal shine in the performance. Park Wooseok decides to compete for the Center, and eventually takes it as nobody objects. However, Wooseok's voice cracks during the actual performance, while Sungwon showcases his vocal potential to its fullest, receiving the most cheers in the end. GROOVE - "Igloo" - Team "Igloo", consisting of Vincent Lim, Watanabe Reiji, Song Gyujin, Anthony Takayama, Kim Jongyoun, and Oh Insoo, is in high spirits after being able to choose such a viral song that can highlight their powerful sides. Watanabe Reiji, being able to communicate with both the Korean and foreign members, takes the leadership role immediately and choreographs alongside Gyujin. However, conflict begins as Gyujin volunteers to be the center of the performance, with Reiji, Insoo, and Vincent later feeling like Gyujin's cute charms do not match the killing part. Gyujin expresses feeling upset as he had already practiced, but empathizes with the lower-ranked contestants, and asks Kim Jongyoun if he wants to be center as he felt like his mature visuals were the most fitting for "Igloo". Jongyoun expresses that he doesn't want to be given the center out of pity, but decides to take it anyway.
7	Episode 7	April 24, 2025
The remaining three position battle performances are aired this episode: GROOVE - "Warrior" - Team "Warrior", consisting of Bong Seongri, Song Wonchan, Nam Hyunwoo, Ahn Mingyu, Won Hyunjun, and Kim Youngjae, undeniably has a stacked lineup, but an amusing issue arises at the start when leader Won Hyunjun finds out that most of the group doesn't know the song, which was released in 2011. The six watch live stages of the original song, and choose to stay faithful to the Medieval concept of the song while incorporating contemporary dance moves. Bong Seongri is elected center, while Wonchan and Hyunjun serve as main choreographers. During the initial rehearsals, Kim Youngjae makes major mistakes, which is pointed out by Wooseong. Youngjae breaks into tears off-stage, leading members to hug each other and Wonchan chanting that with their teamwork, he believes that all of them will survive to the next round. BEAT - "SNOB!" - Team "SNOB!", consisting of Han Dohyon, Seok Jeongseong, Han Donghwa, and Hong Heonbo, is filled with the show's best rappers. However, their equal playing field means that they will compete against each other for the killing parts. BEAT - "Pinned By The Monster" - Team "Pinned By The Monster", consisting of Hong Jaehyun, Benjamin Castro, Leonardo Chen, and Kim Jeonghoon, initially starts out struggling as they feel the pressure that comes with going against a group of competent rappers. Most of the members do not consider themselves to be main rapper material, with two of them not being fluent in the Korean language.
8	Episode 8	May 1, 2025
The second elimination round commences, in which only 20 people will advance to the Concept Battle Round. Prior to that, another special segment titled the Spotlight Olympics takes place, in which the 30 contestants engage in rounds of arm wrestling, dodgeball, and Rubik's cube solving in exchange of prizes. Kim Jeonghoon, Kim Jongyoun, and Hong Jaehyun are declared the winners of the competition. During the third elimination round, shocking rank changes take place, with Han Dohyon, who was previously in the top 7, dropping to 17th place. The first place candidates are revealed to be Nam Hyunwoo and Choi Jaewon, with the former taking 1st place. The candidates for 20th place are revealed to be Kim Sungwon (prev. 18th), Seok Jeongseong (prev. 27th), Adam Guo (prev. 19th), and Park Wooseok (prev. 20th). Kim Sungwon takes 20th place, surviving to the next round. The contestants bid farewell to each other, with the three surviving Picture Music trainees looking depressed after Sooil didn't get in, while Benjamin runs to his fellow Southeast Asian trainees Adam Guo and Ren Nguyen, with the three of them having a group hug as Benjamin sobbingly promises he will advance to the finals for them.
9	Episode 9	May 8, 2025
The Concept Battle Round commences, in which the 20 remaining contestants were will be divided into four teams who will each be performing an original song. The four songs are revealed to be the dark and edgy "Oh My My", mature and sensual "Ms. Doctor", pure and saccharine "I Will Always Love You (IWALY)", and the emotional and nostalgic "In The Same Place, Same Time". The contestants are sorted into the different concepts that their fans voted them in, but a problem arises when "Oh My My" and "Ms. Doctor" both have over five members, forcing them to kick out multiple members. Song Wonchan and Leonardo Chen are kicked out of "Oh My My", while Anthony Takayama is kicked out of "Ms. Doctor". Leonardo joins the "I Will Always Love You (IWALY)" team, while the other two join "In The Same Place, Same Time". MC Yujin and the three mentors are responsible for overseeing each of the four teams, checking their progress and meeting with the producers to record their songs. Team "Oh My My" - Two contestants, Kim Jongyoun and Watanabe Reiji, actively compete against each other for the center position due to their equally strong charisma. Watanabe Reiji is ultimately voted as the group's center, while Kim Jongyoun chooses to be Main Vocalist. On the sidelines, there is underlying tension between Song Gyujin and the rest of the group, as Gyujin feels bad about his twin brother Wonchan getting kicked out. Gyujin had offered to leave the group as he knew Wonchan perfectly fit the concept, but they wanted to keep the former in as he had popularity that could give the group a chance to win first place. The performance goes well, but Jongyoun almost trips during the second chorus, causing concern from the mentors. Team "Ms. Doctor" - Hong Heonbo volunteers to be the center for the performance as he feels qualified to do the killing parts of a mature performance, but Kim Youngjae pitches his interest in being the center too, showcasing an equally sexy charisma during the practice. Youngjae is supported by the rest of the group, and Heonbo instead immediately moves himself to the main vocalist, still having flashbacks from his experience during the first mission. However, he confesses that he feels anxious that the other members dislike him, as they seem to have a competitive spirit against him despite being a group. "Ms. Doctor" performance receives a lot of hype from the audience, with the contestants screaming at Seongri unbuttoning his shirt. Team "I.A.L.Y (I Will Always Love You)" - During the rehearsals for "I.A.L.Y (I Will Always Love You)", the pre-selected members are worried about Leonardo Chen, who seems out of place. He admits he was excited about performing "Ms. Doctor", and struggles to adapt to the bright and cheerful concept. Choi Jaewon and Kim Yeonbin fall ill during rehearsals, leaving only three of them able to practice the next few days. The five worry about being able to polish the performance on time, but they are successfully able to perform perfectly for the rehearsals and the actual stage, causing vocal mentor Yong Hwa to cry in the former event. They hug each other backstage, emotionally exclaiming that they did it and that their stressful nights were worth it. Team "In The Same Place, Same Time" - Perhaps the most challenging song to execute due to its equally challenging melodies and choreography, the five members spend the first few hours awkward. Song Wonchan offers himself to lead in practicing the dance and Dong Shunyuan eagerly pitches to be center, but nobody feels confident to take the main vocalist role that has nothing but difficult parts to sing. Sungwon eventually takes the position, wanting to prove himself, but throughout the practices, he starts to strain. During the rehearsals, the entire team makes significant mistakes. Anthony Takayama and Kim Sungwon are particularly criticized for their unstable vocals, and Sungwon walks off backstage crying as he feels frustrated in himself. The five members, despite all feeling down, decide to hold an urgent meeting two days before the final performance. Sungwon decides to step down from his position after discussions, and Benjamin, despite initially never seeing himself as main vocalist material, volunteers for the role and practices day and night for it. In the end, the performance was a massive success, receiving the loudest applause of the night. The crowd starts screaming "Encore!", causing all of them to start tearing up while doing their ending fairies. The rankings are announced to the contestants towards the end of the episode, with "In The Same Place, Same Time" winning by a wide margin with 220 votes. Each of the five members will receive a benefit of 45,000 votes, with Benjamin Castro receiving an additional 35,000 benefit as he received the most individual audience votes, to his shock. Benjamin uses his speech to wish that all four teams get to perform on Rankdown @ MBS, despite the initial mechanics that only the winning team gets the broadcast benefit.
10	Episode 10	May 15, 2025
Leading up to the third and last elimination round before the finals, the 20 contestants are seen engaging in quality time with each other. Veteran singer Park Minjun hosts a therapy session in which they each share their current feelings and mental state in the show. Some open up about suffering from low self-esteem, homesickness, and fear about the future. Park then offers each of them a box of positive comments from netizens, bringing a lot of them to the verge of tears. They also get the opportunity to attend a workshop on modeling and television hosting, each hosted by experts in the entertainment industry. At the elimination, the effects of the vote bonuses kick in, with all members of the "In The Same Place, Same Time" team making it to the top 12. Kim Jongyoun and Dong Shunyuan appear in the top 7 for the first time. Hong Heonbo and Song Wonchan compete against each other for 1st place, with Heonbo ranking 1st for the first time, leading him to deliver an emotional speech. The 12th place candidates are revealed to be Anthony Takayama, Bong Seongri, Won Hyunjun, and Kim Youngjae, with Anthony Takayama securing the last place to the finals. The confirmation of the top 12 candidates lead to the announcement of the Debut Evaluation, where the two final songs "Looking For Miracles" and "To My World" are revealed.
11	Episode 11	May 22, 2025
The finale begins showing the 12 contestants' audition tapes, and their confessional interviews, which were partially teased on YouTube. In the interviews, they are particularly asked about a dream they want to fulfill as a debut member. Watanabe Reiji wants to go on a world tour; Choi Jaewon wants to write songs for the group and serenade the audience; Song Gyujin wants to be the host of a music show; Benjamin Castro wants to do fan signs where he can have heart-to-heart conversations with fans, and Dong Shunyuan wants to collaborate with his favorite foreign artists. For their final activity, the boys go on a well-deserved retreat, where each boy has been tasked to write a letter to each of his 11 peers. They read their letters while conducting a campfire, leading to an exchange of tears and words they wish they said before. In the end, they go on a group hug, in which they proclaim that no matter what the results, they are all proud of each other for making it this far into the competition. The live show commences, in which the 28 eliminated trainees join the 12 finalists for a final performance of the signal song. The current contenders for 7th place are revealed to be Nam Hyunwoo, Song Wonchan, and Anthony Takayama, encouraging viewers to keep on voting. The preparations for the final two songs are aired, alongside the performances, in which Anthony Takayama serves as the center of "Looking for Miracles" while Ahn Mingyu fronts "To My World". The boys are then seen recording a final R&B song titled "Let's Meet Each Other Again", in which Benjamin Castro was voted by the trainees as the center. Voting later closes, and the debut lineup's name is revealed to be Anomii, with a planned concept of "a young man's introspection and navigating a fragmented world." The first four members of the lineup are revealed to be Nam Hyunwoo, Kim Sungwon, Song Gyujin, Choi Jaewon, placing 6th to 3rd and confirming their debut. Hong Heonbo and Benjamin Castro are called up as the top 2. Announced to have been voted number one in over 30 countries, Benjamin Castro is announced as 1st place. The contenders for 7th place are revealed to be Anthony Takayama, Song Wonchan, and Ahn Mingyu. Gyujin is seen appearing visibly on the verge of breaking down, fearful about the idea of his twin not debuting. It was then announced that the final spot for Anomii had gone to Wonchan.

Rankings

First voting round

	Episode 1	Episode 2		Episode 3		Episode 5
1	Song Gyujin	Song Gyujin	(=)	Song Gyujin	(=)	Song Gyujin	324,415	(=)
2	Nam Hyunwoo	Song Wonchan	1	Hong Heonbo	1	Hong Heonbo	255,372	(=)
3	Han Dohyon	Nam Hyunwoo	1	Song Wonchan	1	Choi Jaewon	210,963	1
4	Song Wonchan	Hong Heonbo	2	Choi Jaewon	4	Song Wonchan	196,773	1
5	Vincent Lim	Watanabe Reiji	2	Nam Hyunwoo	1	Nam Hyunwoo	176,773	(=)
6	Hong Heonbo	Ahn Mingyu	4	Watanabe Reiji	1	Ahn Mingyu	153,220	1
7	Watanabe Reiji	Han Dohyon	4	Ahn Mingyu	1	Han Dohyon	146,991	3

Second and third voting round

	Episode 8			Episode 10
1	Choi Jaewon	554,221	2	Hong Heonbo	680,472	7
2	Nam Hyunwoo	520,113	3	Song Wonchan	677,213	1
3	Song Wonchan	511,220	1	Benjamin Castro	632,444	4
4	Ahn Mingyu	493,217	2	Song Gyujin	572,114	1
5	Song Gyujin	480,362	5	Kim Jongyoun	482,220	7
6	Bong Seongri	453,204	3	Dong Shunyuan	438,679	5
7	Benjamin Castro	420,671	6	Choi Jaewon	415,663	6

Final result

#	Contestant	Points	Representative	Last Rank
1	Benjamin Castro	2,134,200	Independent	3
2	Hong Heonbo	1,084,327	Bedlam Entertainment	1
3	Song Gyujin	854,263	Independent	4
4	Choi Jaewon	830,471	484 Company	7
5	Kim Sungwon	754,263	Picture Music	8
6	Nam Hyunwoo	716,201	TOKDO Artists Mangement	9
7	Song Wonchan	632,415	Independent	2
8	Anthony Takayama	462,139	DREAM Entertainment	12
9	Ahn Mingyu	352,634	Picture Music	10
10	Watanabe Reiji	231,777	Navy Entertainment	11
11	Dong Shunyuan	195,032	UKIYO Entertainment	6
12	Kim Jongyoun	177,208	BM Nation	5

Missions

Stage 1: The Sorting

Performance			Performers
#	Original artist	Song	Contestant	Grade
1	RIIZE	"Love 119"	Ahn Mingyu	★★★
			Bong Seongri	★★★
			Kim Sooil	★★
			Kim Sungwon	-
2	JNR503	"None of Juvenile"	Kim Yeonbin	★★
			Dong Shunyuan	★
			Kang Mino	★
3	Stray Kids	"S-Class"	Seok Jeongseong	★★
			Jeong Taeil	★★
4	Won Taehyun ft. Won Kyungjun	"Primé"	Ren Nguyen	★
5	SEVENTEEN ft. DJ Khaled	"Love, Money, Fame"	Watanabe Reiji	★★★
			Won Hyunjun	★★
			Vincent Lim	★★
6	Diavolo ft. SOLVIZ	"Leather Sprinter"	Han Dohyon	★★
			Kim Jongyoun	★★
7	THE BOYZ	"The Stealer"	Hong Jaehyun	★★
			Kim Youngjae	★★
			Lee Sangwoo	-
			Heo Youngmin	★
8	NCT Wish	"Miracle"	Song Wonchan	★★★
			Song Gyujin	★★★
9	ENHYPEN	"Bite Me"	Anthony Takayama	-
			Han Donghwa	★★
			Kim Junghwan	★
10	Randomize	"Better Off Alone?"	Benjamin Castro	-
			Adam Guo	★
			Leonardo Chen	★★
11	TXT	"Deja Vu"	Bang Daesung	★
			Choi Jaewon	★★★
			Kim Hyunbok	★
12	Big Bang	"Bang Bang Bang"	Jiang Zedong	-
			Kim Jeonghoon	★
			Moon Garam	-
13	EXO-SC	"On Me (Sehun solo)"	Chun Seojun	★
			Yoon Jisoo	-
14	PLAVE	"Dash"	Oh Insoo	-
			Kim Jungmin	★
			Park Wooseok	★
15	Alaina Castillo	"Pocket Locket"	Nam Hyunwoo	★★
16	Jungkook	"Standing Next To You"	Hong Heonbo	★★★

Stage 2: Signal Song Performance

Star Tier Re-Evaluation Results

	Before Re-evaluation	After Re-evaluation
★★★	Ahn Mingyu Bong Seongri Watanabe Reiji Song Wonchan Song Gyujin Choi Jaewon Hong Heonbo	Ahn Mingyu Watanabe Reiji Hong Heonbo Song Wonchan Song Gyujin Kim Youngjae (▲) Park Wooseok (▲)
★★	Kim Sooil Kim Yeonbin Seok Jeongseong Daniel Yoon Jeong Taeil Won Hyunjun Vincent Lim Han Dohyon Kim Jongyoun Hong Jaehyun Kim Youngjae Han Donghwa Leonardo Chen Nam Hyunwoo	Bong Seongri Kim Yeonbin Seok Jeongseong Won Hyunjun Han Dohyon Kim Jongyoun Adam Guo (▲) Chun Seojun (▲) Jiang Zedong (▲) Nam Hyunwoo Yoon Jisoo (▲) Hong Jaehyun Vincent Lim Han Donghwa
★	Dong Shunyuan Kang Mino Ren Nguyen Heo Youngmin Kim Junghwan Adam Guo Bang Daesung Kim Hyunbok Kim Jeonghoon Chun Seojun Kim Jungmin Park Wooseok	Choi Jaewon Anthony Takayama (▲) Jiang Zedong Vincent Lim Lee Sangwoo (▲) Jeong Taeil Dong Shunyuan Kim Junghwan Kim Jungmin Kim Jeonghoon Heo Youngmin
NO STARS	Kim Sungwon Lee Sangwoo Anthony Takayama Benjamin Castro Jiang Zedong Moon Garam Yoon Jisoo Oh Insoo	Benjamin Castro Kim Sungwon Ren Nguyen Kim Hyunbok Kim Sooil Moon Garam Kang Mino Bang Daesung Oh Insoo

Stage 3: Girl Group Song Battle

The name in bold symbolizes the center of the performance.

#	Artist(s)	Song	Team name	Contestants	Rank	Bonus
1	Babymonster	"Sheesh"	SNACK	Watanabe Reiji	2nd
				Han Dohyon	1st	+ 20,000
				Seok Jeongseong	3rd
				Kang Mino	5th
				Moon Garam	4th
2	ILLIT	"Cherish (My Love)"	구름이 (Gureumi)	Song Wonchan	1st	+ 20,000
				Heo Youngmin	2nd
				Oh Insoo	3rd
				Kim Jeonghoon	5th
				Won Hyunjun	4th
3	aespa	"Armageddon"	Venom Heart	Park Wooseok	3rd
				Choi Jaewon	1st	+ 20,000
				Anthony Takayama	2nd
				Yoon Jisoo	4th
				Bang Daesung	5th
4	FANC:Y	"Flex (Time To Impress)"	Flexiboyz	Kim Youngjae	1st	+ 20,000
				Lee Sangwoo	3rd
				Kim Junghwan	4th
				Chun Seojun	5th
				Kim Sooil	2nd
5	Le Sserafim	"Crazy"	Le Grandeur	Hong Heonbo	3rd
				Ren Nguyen	5th
				Kim Sungwon	1st	+ 20,000
				Dong Shunyuan	4th
				Benjamin Castro	2nd
6	IVE	"Baddie"	MINE	Ahn Mingyu	2nd
				Adam Guo	5th
				Han Donghwa	1st	+ 20,000
				Kim Hyunbok	4th
				Jeong Taeil	3rd
7	Rescene	"Love Attack"	반짝이! (Banjjaki!)	Song Gyujin	1st	+ 20,000
				Jiang Zedong	4th
				Kim Jungmin	5th
				Bong Seongri	3rd
				Kim Yeonbin	2nd
8	DREAMSCAPE	"Motivation"	SCREAMSCAPE	Nam Hyunwoo	1st	+ 20,000
				Vincent Lim	5th
				Hong Jaehyun	3rd
				Leonardo Chen	4th
				Kim Jongyoun	2nd

Stage 4: Position Battle

The name in bold symbolizes the center of the performance.

Team	Artist(s)	Song	Contestant	Votes	Benefits
Beat	Kyler Kim & Park Junmi	"Pinned By The Monster"	Hong Jaehyun	225	+25,000
			Benjamin Castro		+50,000
			Leonardo Chen		+25,000
			Kim Jeonghoon		+25,000
	Lady Ruby, Shin Wooseong, & Takamura Sukima	"SNOB!"	Han Dohyon	175
			Seok Jeongseong
			Han Donghwa
			Hong Heonbo
Groove	Kiss of Life	"Igloo"	Vincent Lim	197
			Watanabe Reiji
			Song Gyujin
			Anthony Takayama
			Kim Jongyoun
			Oh Insoo
	WARRIOR	"사무라이 (Samurai)"	Bong Seongri	203	+25,000
			Song Wonchan		+25,000
			Nam Hyunwoo		+50,000
			Ahn Mingyu		+25,000
			Won Hyunjun		+25,000
			Kim Youngjae		+25,000
Melody	WOODZ	"Drowning"	Choi Jaewon	276	+50,000
			Ren Nguyen		+25,000
			Dong Shunyuan		+25,000
			Kim Yeonbin		+25,000
			Jiang Zedong		+25,000
	QWER	"디스코드 (Discord)"	Kim Sooil	124
			Adam Guo
			Kim Sungwon
			Park Wooseok
			Heo Youngmin

Stage 5: Creative Concept Battle

Concept	Song	Production team	Points	Result	Members	Votes	Bonus
Dark and Edgy	"Oh-My-My"	Takamura Sukima (Lyrics), Nicxlette (Music)	141	Main Vocalist	Kim Jongyoun	28
				Vocalist 1	Watanabe Reiji	11
				Vocalist 2	Jiang Zedong	12
				Main Rapper	Won Hyunjun	6
				Rapper 2	Song Gyujin	84
Mature and Sensual	"Ms. Doctor"	Won Taehyun (Lyrics), Yuuri (Music)	148	Main Vocalist	Hong Heonbo	101
				Vocalist 1	Kim Youngjae	13
				Vocalist 2	Vincent Lim	8
				Main Rapper	Han Dohyon	11
				Rapper 2	Bong Seongri	15
Pure and Saccharine	"I.A.L.Y (I'll Always Love You)"	Samika (Lyrics), Chae Dahee (Music)	200	Main Vocalist	Choi Jaewon	67
				Vocalist 2	Nam Hyunwoo	90
				Vocalist 3	Ahn Mingyu	23
				Vocalist 4	Kim Yeonbin	11
				Vocalist 5	Leonardo Chen	9
Emotional and Nostalgic	"In The Same Place, Same Time"	Miok (Lyrics), Hyun Sookyung (Music)	230	Main Vocalist	Benjamin Castro	121	+ 75,000
				Vocalist 2	Kim Sungwon	43	+ 40,000
				Vocalist 3	Dong Shunyuan	19	+ 40,000
				Vocalist 4	Song Wonchan	30	+ 40,000
				Vocalist 5	Anthony Takayama	17	+ 40,000

Stage 6: Final Performance

"Looking For Miracles"	Kim Sungwon	Main Vocalist	Choi Jaewon	"To My World"
	Benjamin Castro	Vocalist 1	Reiji Takayama
	Hong Heonbo	Vocalist 2	Nam Hyunwoo
	Dong Shunyuan	Vocalist 3	Ahn Mingyu
	Song Wonchan	Vocalist 4	Song Gyujin
	Anthony Takayama	Vocalist 5	Kim Jongyoun

Controversies

Contestant scandals

• Unfortunately, numerous contestants on the show had scandals or problematic actions uncovered on social media and forums, significantly affecting their public perception and popularity throughout the show:
  • Old SoundCloud tracks by trainee Han Dohyon (BM Nation) revealed him using offensive racial slurs in his verses, with the biggest call-out Tweet reaching over 15,000 likes. Furthermore, he was also accused by Korean fans of underage drinking and engaging in fights in bars, with his ranking going from top 7 at the start of the show to being eliminated at 18th place in the finale.
  • Photos of trainees Ahn Mingyu (Picture Music), Seok Jeonghoon (Thick & Drip Records), and Won Hyunjun (Navy Entertainment) with their ex-girlfriends were dug up and reuploaded on Korean gossip websites, with Hyunjun's being taken almost right before the application period of Into The Spotlight. Furthermore, wildly intimate texts of Chun Seojun (Independent) with a former partner were leaked on Twitter and became subject to memes and ridicule from audiences of the show.

Aftermath

• The seven winners of Into the Spotlight went on to debut as Anomii on August 4, 2025 with the extended play (EP) Do You Even Know What True Love Is?.
• Some eliminated contestants debuted in or joined other companies and groups:
  • Park Wooseok (23rd), Oh Insoo (30th), and Kim Jungmin (33rd) will debut as part of CNF Entertainment's upcoming boy group in September 2025.

Navigation

Heonbo Benjamin Jaewon Hyunwoo Wonchan Gyujin Sungwon
2025
EPs	Do You Even Know What True Love Is?
Singles	"Horn On My Head" · "We're In This For Life" · "Pink Pony Club" · "Sour Love (Toxic)" · "Fall of a Fine Voice"
2026
Studio album	The Big Small Things In Life
Single albums	Ongi 온기
Singles	"Fake & True?" · "Try Me Now"
2027
Studio album	Live For The Applause
Filmography
Filmography	Into The Spotlight
Miscellaneous
Writers and Producers	SYNTHIA · Kwon Janghun · Byun Yanbin
Choreographers	Shin Wooseong
Collaborators	Aaron Cho · Won Heeun · Park Minjun · Heera