The fourth season of the Produce 101 series, Produce X 101, aired from May 3 until July 19, 2019, and resulted in the creation of X1. Of course, the group was sadly short-lived due to voting manipulation, and each of the 11 members of X1 went on to pursue their own careers instead.
But have you ever wondered what happened to the 9 runners-up on the show, the contestants who were eliminated in the 12th and final episode of the show? Some of them have gone on to debut in boy groups that, ironically, have had longer careers than X1, while others pursued solo careers or acting instead! Here is what we know about where all 9 of these former contestants are now.
1. Kim Minkyu
Minkyu represented Jellyfish Entertainment during his time on Produce X 101, and ended up placing 12th overall, arguably the most frustrating spot to place because he was so close to being a finalist. After the show completed, he returned to his label as a trainee, and in August of the same year, he became the first male model for beauty brand Banila Co.. He ended up modeling for numerous magazines and other brands as well, including DAZED, NYLON, and Grazia.
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He kept busy with his fansign events, Nineteen, Minkyu, during the remainder of 2019 as well, was cast to host the SBS program Pink Festa, and in December of that year, he won the “Hot Rookie Award” at the First Brand Awards 2020. In 2020, he was chosen as one of the hosts for The Show alongside Juyeon (THE BOYZ) and Sihyun (EVERGLOW). His most recent activity was when he made his acting debut as the male lead in the web drama Pop Out Boy!. He also has a personal Instagram account that boasts 1.7 million followers!
2. Koo Jungmo
Jungmo represented Starship Entertainment during his time on Produce X 101, and placed 13th overall on the show. Afterwards, he returned to his label as a trainee for several months until March 2020, when it was announced he would be debuting in the upcoming boy group CRAVITY.
The group debuted on April 14 with the mini-album Season 1. HIDEOUT: Remember Who We Are, and they have since released two other mini-albums and two full-length studio albums! Jungmo’s position is as the group’s lead vocalist and visual.
3. Lee Jinhyuk
Jinhyuk represented TOP Media during his time on the show, and ended up placing 14th overall (though in reality, he placed 11th, but due to the show’s rule of their final “X” position, he came 14th). He was already a member of UP10TION under the stage name Wei prior to being on Produce X 101, and returned to the group after the show completed. He also debuted as a solo artist in November 2019 with the EP S.O.L and title track “I Like That”.
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Since then, he has gone on to release three more EPs: Splash! on June 30, 2020; Scene26 on April 5, 2021; and Ctrl+V on October 18, 2021. He also debuted as an actor in 2020 in the drama ON AIR – Secret Contract, and later also took part in the four-episode series Check Out the Event. His most recent work is for the upcoming 2022 K-Drama Why Her, in which he will play a supporting role. He also has an Instagram account with just under a million followers!
4. Song Yuvin
Yuvin had a pretty extensive career before he even appeared on Produce 101, on which he represented his label The Music Works and ranked 15th overall. He’s a former member of the group MYTEEN, which disbanded in August 2019. He has also appeared on different variety shows as well as acted in some dramas, and made his acting debut all the way back in July 2016 in the K-Drama Age of Youth.
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After his time on Produce X 101, he returned to his label and ended up debuting in the duo B.O.Y in January 2020 alongside fellow contestant Kim Kookheon. Unfortunately, they have also since disbanded as of April 2021, and at that time, Yuvin’s contract with The Music Works expired and he left the label due in part to his military enlistment (which he is currently completing). He also has an Instagram account which has nearly half a million followers!
5. Ham Wonjin
Wonjin represented his label Starship Entertainment during his time on Produce X 101, where he ended up placing 16th overall. Afterwards, he also returned to his label alongside labelmate and fellow Produce 101 contestant Jungmo, where he remained a trainee for several more months.
Like Jungmo, Wonjin also ended up debuting with CRAVITY! His position is as the group’s lead dancer and lead vocalist, and his career with the group is going strong.
6. Keum Donghyun
Donghyun represented his label C9 Entertainment during his time on Produce X 101, on which he placed 17th overall. Unfortunately, he was also a contestant who should have placed higher — 8th, in fact — and was a victim of the voting manipulation that led to him placing lower instead.
Fortunately, after he returned to his label and continued as a trainee for a couple more years, he debuted with the boy group EPEX in June 2021! His role is as the group’s main dancer, rapper, and center, and EPEX has so far released two EPs — Bipolar Pt.1: Prelude of Anxiety and Bipolar Pt.2: Prelude of Love — and their third EP, Prelude of Anxiety Chapter 1. ’21st Century Boys, is set to be released on April 11!
7. Hwang Yunseong
Yunseong represented his label Woollim Entertainment during his time on Produce X 101, and ended up placing 18th overall. He returned to the label as a trainee once the show was complete, and took part in the company’s ongoing W Project which was intended to showcase Woollim Entertainment’s trainees.
In September 2020, it was announced that Woollim Entertainment would be debuting a new boy group, and revealed that Yunseong would be a member of the new group. He ended up debuting as the leader, main dancer, and vocalist of DRIPPIN on October 28, 2020 with the mini-album Boyager, and they have since released two other mini-albums as well as a single album!
8. Han Sejin
Sejin represented his label iME Korea during his time on Produce X 101, and ended up placing 19th overall. Prior to being on the show, he was already known as an actor and even had his own brand, Marimong, which specializes in plushies!
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Since being on the show, he has starred in several more K-Dramas, including Love Alarm, Oppa Will Date For You, A Piece Of Your Mind, Mr. Heart, and most recently, the 2020 BL K-Drama Where Your Eyes Linger. He also has an Instagram account, which has just under a half-million followers!
9. Tony Yu
Tony represented his label HONGYI Entertainment during his time on Produce X 101, where he ended up placing 20th overall. He returned to his label afterwards as a trainee, and not much was heard about him until he was announced as a contestant on the Chinese survival show Youth With You 3 in December 2020.
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In February 2021, he terminated his contract with HONGYI Entertainment due to their claim that he had not been given approval to appear on the show. He ended up leaving the show anyway in April of that year, apparently because of a scandal involving his parents’ alleged illegal businesses as well as people questioning his nationality. He does have an Instagram account, which has just over 300k followers, but he hasn’t been active on it since November 2020.
source https://www.koreaboo.com/lists/produce-x-101-now-runners/
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