"What are they thinking"- Fans react as Boys II Planet's mention of 'Alpha' sparks group name concerns ahead of the show broadcast

BOYS PLANET is returning with another season, titled BOYS II PLANET or BOYS PLANET 2. The Mnet K-pop survival show has garnered attention from fans and viewers following the announcement of the new season, but concerns about the upcoming boy group's name and concept have also been raised among netizens.

The show brings together trainees from South Korea and other countries, who compete with each other to reach the final line-up and make their debut in a new boy group. In the first season, the show introduced the nine-member boy group ZEROBASEONE, consisting of trainees who were selected for the final line-up.

This time around, 160 trainees from South Korea and China will participate to make a 14-member boy group. Meanwhile, the production team of BOYS II PLANET described the trainees and the new group using the keyword “Alpha.” Some fans correlated this with the fictional genre of Alpha/Beta/Omega, which depicts the hierarchy among humans, placing “Alpha” at the top.

Former and potential viewers of the show expressed their worries, as they did not find this idea exciting. Many seemed concerned that the name of the group may also be related to the same keyword, as they turned to social media platforms like X to share their thoughts about BOYS II PLANET’s description of the trainees.

"Im actually ctfu what are they thinking," a fan said.

"I think maybe they're hinting at the fact that some of the trainees are already from Gen Alpha (post-2010), which is why they're using that word. That's my guess!" one fan added.

"They're gonna be called A1PHA, and the explanation is going to be related to Alpha Centauri," an X user speculated.

"Watch the name just be Alphaz," another user wrote.

Netizens continued to raise concerns, noting that a similar concept has been used by other K-pop groups and Asian bands.

"I’m so sorry to tell you mnet but the alphas concept is already taken by XG and &team. you’re gonna have to sit this one out honey," one X user commented.

"In Thailand there was a 'survival' show called Project Alpha and the group that debuted is called LYKN so nothing surprises me anymore xD they were divided in two groups Alphas (only 4) and Betas (the rest of the contestants)," another fan noted.

"Omega x, &team, xg and zb1 already exists. how many more abo/wolf-coded groups does this industry need," a netizen mentioned.

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About BOYS II PLANET: Korean and Chinese groups, release date, mentors, and more

Mnet's BOYS II PLANET, the sequel series following BOYS PLANET and GIRLS PLANET 999, has unveiled some major changes in the format of the show, with two programs for the different groups broadcasting simultaneously. Notably, the trainees will be segregated into two groups: Planet K for South Korean trainees and Planet C for Chinese trainees.

While the survival show's Planet K program is set to premiere on July 17, 2025, another date for the release of BOYS II PLANET's C program is set to be July 18, 2025. Furthermore, an exciting line-up of mentors has also been announced. K-pop stars like Hyolyn, ZEROBASEONE’s Sung Han-bin and Zhang Hao, Kep1er's Xiaoting, and more have been confirmed to join the show.

BOYS II PLANET ‘K’ & ‘C’ mentor line-up:

• Lee Seok-hoon (Vocal Mentor for ‘K’)
• Kinky (Dance Mentor for ‘K’)
• Kany (Dance Mentor for ‘K’)
• Kim Jae Joong (Mentor for ‘C’)
• Jrick (Dance Mentor for ‘C’)
• Kep1er Xiaoting (Dance Mentor for ‘C’)
• Lim Han-byul (Vocal Mentor for ‘K’ & ‘C’)
• Hyolyn (Vocal Mentor for ‘K’ & ‘C’)
• Baek Gu-young (Dance Mentor for ‘K’ & ‘C’)
• JUSTHIS (Rap Mentor for ‘K’ & ‘C’)
• ZEROBASEONE’s Sung Han-bin (Special Idol Mentor)
• ZEROBASEONE’s Zhang Hao (Special Idol Mentor)

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The destiny of the seven final trainees from both planets will be decided through BOYS II PLANET. Notably, seven Korean trainees and seven Chinese trainees will come together to form a new global K-pop group.