By Nadine Kam I
The YG Treasure Box saga finally came to an end four days ago, when the entertainment company finally revealed the last six of it’s new boy group lineup.
We thought it was the end in late January, when the lineup for the seven-member group was revealed. On Jan. 27, I wrote that I wished YG would introduce a second group, particularly to debut Mashiho, the Japanese trainee who proved so deserving on its TV competition.
To my relief, Mashi was the first member named to the second group, which has been dubbed Magnum. (Stupid name.) Like the last few members of the prior group, the announcements of the members came days apart, prolonging the agony of fans who wanted to know whether their faves had made it.
please see my post from Jan. 27.
I was rooting for another Japanese trainee, Keita, but as days passed, it seemed like it wasn’t going to happen because he is a rapper, and two other rappers had been named.
In the meantime, many were rooting for the “Silverboys,” the oldest of YG’s Korean trainees, who were part of the company’s A-Team, including Lee Byoung-gon, Kim Seung-hoon, Park Ji-hoon and Kim Do-young. The latter two made it, and in the aftermath, Byoung-gon and Seung-hoon left the company.
failing to make the Treasure teams.
They are already 19 and 20 (20 and 21 in South Korea) and the sad reality is that ideally, debuts will come at or before age 18, so the company can make money off the boys for a full decade before they are required to enter the military. Contracts are generally for seven years, so 21 would be the absolute cut-off age.
Sadly, Keita didn’t make it either, and I wonder what his future holds as a five-year trainee.
The 13 members will debut as Treasure 13, then break off into subunits of Treasure and Magnum as needed. I am thinking Magnum may have been created to appeal to the Japanese market because the group is split evenly into three Korean members, and three Japanese.
? Watch: Keita (in red shirt) performing with Haruto, who made it to Treasure 7.