This article is part of an ongoing series covering MNet’s reality talent show, PRODUCE 48. Check out the recaps of Episode 1 and Episode 2 right here on LWOS Life.
The suspenseful ending to Episode 2 got revealed in Episode 3 when trainees got their second letter-grade evaluation. This evaluation held significance over the past ones since this one determines stage placement for the TV premiere of Produce 48, performing “Pick Me (Nekkoya)” on the Korean music show M! Countdown. In this episode, we also got to see the aftermath of that performance and the next task that trainees were given as we soon enough will be in our first stage of eliminations.
Produce 48 Contestants Make Their First Formal Performance
Trainees Transfer From First to Second Grading
Episode 3 began with heartbreak as we saw many A rank trainees fall from their stardom down to lower ranks. Among them were Kwon Eun Bi, who was the leader and oldest in the Woollim group. She fell from A to C. She was defeated by this, saying that she let down her group. The biggest drop in rank was Jo Yu Ri, who went from A all the way down to F. She ended up being the mystery person teased on the last episode who went from A to F.
On the brighter side of things, Yabuki Nako rose above, going from F to A. Honda Hitomi also joined the premier group. Goto Moe got moved out of the F class, not because of her singing or choreography, but instead because she had the energy that they wanted from a trainee. For this part of the show, and for many more parts to come, there were a lot of tears. Chiba Erii, the most scolded of the F class, remained in the F class for this episode, continuing her struggle. Yamada Noe, who has for two weeks in a row been voted into the top 12 for her cute personality, saw a drop from C class to F.
A Group Needs Its Leader
The significance of rank weighed heavily on the competitors. When it came time to perform the title track for the show, the F class only got to dance off stage, being shown at the end of the music video. Before the shoot happened, A class members were given the chance to have the biggest spotlight in the video. Center got the most attention in the video, even with a stage for them rising at the end.
Trainees were given the opportunity to perform their own choreography/lyrics for the song Pick Me, to be voted on by lower class trainees. While Lee Chae Yeon was spotlighted as an impressive performer, it came down to Miyawaki Sakura and Lee Ka Eun. In a very reality TV style, they both tied in votes. As a tie-breaker, they made everyone vote again (which doesn’t really make sense since they voted the tie, but regardless). After the re-vote, it was Miyawaki Sakura who was chosen to lead the group in the performance of the song.
Music Video Fallout
Surprisingly, the show did not really showcase much of the shooting of the music video. You would expect there to be more trouble/drama at the biggest event on the show yet, but it looked almost as if it breezed by. The segment showing the music video shoot was shown for no longer than 5 minutes. During that time, we saw a heartbroken Noe crying offstage. She was supported by her peers greatly.
Before the recording happened, the trainees met Lee Seung Gi, the host for the show. He mentioned that a few members left the show before this shoot. For those wondering, Tsukiashi Amane, Uemura Azusa and Umeyama Cocona did. This never really got mentioned up until now. Everyone seemed flustered by Lee Seung Gi’s presence in the room since he is a superstar. They never showed the full performance on the show, but it is worth checking out.
The Next Task
Once the recording was wrapped up, the show moved right on to the next task. For this assignment, the contestants were packed into a conference room where they met with Lee Seung Gi once again. He said that this evaluation would determine who stays and leaves the show. Everyone got drafted into groups who would go up against other groups performing the same song as them. In each match-up, whoever wins gets 1,000 extra votes apiece next week. Each team has a captain that picks the members.
The most notable group out of all was Lee Chae Won, Motomura Aoi, Kim Min Ju, Kim Cho Yeon and Kwon Eun Bi, led by Miyawaki Sakura. Throughout the episode, people liked to call them the Avengers since they so many big names in one group. After groups were selected, the show had a race to a wall that had many songs on it. If a group was able to bring a sign back, they got that song. After 8 groups got the song that they wanted, they got to pick the group that they would go up against.
For a lengthy portion of the episode, we were shown the preparation for the songs. More now than ever, the language barrier between Japanese and Korean trainees showed. Luckily for Da Hye’s group, she was able to play translator. Every group had to select a leader and someone who would be the center of the group.
Head-To-Head Competition
Another stage was built at a music show type of venue where a crowd was let in to watch the performances. The performances were graded by the live crowd. We only saw one song performed on this episode, with the rest coming in next week’s episode. This week was a cover of the popular song, “Love Whisper” by GFriend. The first group (Wang Ke, Muto Tomu, Son Eunchae, Nagano Serika, Yamada Noe & Ichikawa Manami) were noted for their good facial expressions while performing. The crowd seemed to really like them, as well as the performers backstage. The group got emotional afterward because it felt like a bittersweet moment to them.
The second group (Yabuki Nako, Yoon Eunbin, Kim Nayoung, Aramaki Misaki, Kurihara Sae & Kang Damin) seemed to struggle in their practicing stage. Clips were shown of them being scolded for not having synchronized dancing. They were less emotional leading up to the performance, but also seemed to struggle more. Misaki was very good with the high notes in the song. Leading up to the performance, the broadcast showed Na Young in a supportive, almost teacher-like role for her group. Team 2 won with Yabuki Nako absolutely tipping the scales for her team.
Results for Love Whisper – GFriend
| Team 1 Member | Votes | Team 2 Member | Votes |
| Wang Ke | 28 | Yabuki Nako | 330 |
| Muto Tomu | 52 | Yoon Eun-bin | 42 |
| Son Eun-chae | 88 | Kim Na-young | 32 |
| Nagano Serika | 22 | Aramaki Misaki | 30 |
| Yamada Noe | 106 | Kurihara Sae | 18 |
| Ichikawa Manami | 38 | Kang Da-min | 36 |
| Total | 334 | Total | 478 |
Ranks Barely Change
In the rankings this week, we did not see much change in the top 12. Everyone who was in the top 12 last week is still there. Outside of that were some changes. People who got screen time, even for a bad reason, were the biggest movers this week. The nature of a show like this is that some people just won’t get screen time for their whole tenure in the show. It’s not fair, but it’s just how it is. Next week we (hopefully) see all of the other groups perform their songs and see their votes based off of the live audience.
Biggest Movers:
- Kim Cho Yeon (+38)
- Son Eun-chae (+32)
- Honda Hitomi (+25)
- Lee Ha-eun (+25)
- Chiba Erii (+15)
Full Rankings After Episode 3
| Contestant | Evaluations | EP 1 Rank | EP 2 Rank | EP 3 Rank | Difference |
| Lee Ga-eun | A->A | 5 | 1 | 1 | – |
| Ahn Yoo-jin | B->A | 2 | 2 | 2 | – |
| Miyawaki Sakura | A->A | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 |
| Jang Won-young | B->B | 3 | 4 | 4 | – |
| Kwon Eun-bi | A->C | 25 | 3 | 5 | -2 |
| Goto Moe | F->C | 16 | 8 | 6 | +2 |
| Choi Ye-na | A->B | 7 | 6 | 7 | -1 |
| Takeuchi Miyu | A->B | 39 | 11 | 8 | +3 |
| Wang Yi-ren | B->C | 11 | 7 | 9 | -2 |
| Lee Chae-yeon | A->A | 29 | 10 | 10 | – |
| Yamada Noe | C->F | 45 | 9 | 11 | -2 |
| Matsui Jurina | B->B | 4 | 12 | 12 | – |
| Shiroma Miru | B->D | 9 | 22 | 13 | +11 |
| Jang Gyu-ri | B->F | 6 | 14 | 14 | – |
| Miyazaki Miho | D->D | 17 | 16 | 15 | +1 |
| Yabuki Nako | F->A | 14 | 27 | 16 | +11 |
| Kim Si-hyun | B->A | 15 | 13 | 17 | -4 |
| Jo Yu-ri | A->F | 10 | 19 | 18 | +1 |
| Kim Min-ju | D->C | 13 | 17 | 19 | -2 |
| Takahashi Juri | B->A | 20 | 29 | 20 | +9 |
| Heo Yoon-jin | C->F | 19 | 15 | 21 | -6 |
| Honda Hitomi | C->A | 30 | 47 | 22 | +25 |
| Chiba Erii | F->F | 27 | 38 | 23 | +15 |
| Iwatate Saho | B->D | 46 | 24 | 24 | – |
| Kojima Mako | C->B | 12 | 23 | 25 | -2 |
| Ko Yoo-jin | C->A | 24 | 34 | 26 | +8 |
| Lee Si-an | C->D | 8 | 18 | 27 | -9 |
| Na Go-eun | A->A | 36 | 20 | 28 | -8 |
| Murakawa Vivian | F->F | 28 | 31 | 29 | +2 |
| Kim Chae-won | B->B | 21 | 21 | 30 | -9 |
| Kim Do-ah | A->C | 31 | 25 | 31 | -6 |
| Muto Tomu | D->D | 23 | 28 | 32 | -4 |
| Lee Ha-eun | A->A | 51 | 58 | 33 | +25 |
| Bae Eun-yeong | C->B | 18 | 30 | 34 | -4 |
| Park Seo-young | C->D | 34 | 26 | 35 | -9 |
| Motomura Aoi | D->B | 37 | 42 | 36 | +6 |
| Kim Cho-yeon | A->C | 68 | 75 | 37 | +38 |
| Jo Ga-hyun | B->B | 65 | 36 | 38 | -2 |
| Shitao Miu | D->D | 41 | 45 | 39 | +6 |
| Nakanishi Chiyori | D->C | 22 | 37 | 40 | -3 |
| Kang Hye-won | F->F | 38 | 40 | 41 | -1 |
| Asai Nanami | F->D | 26 | 41 | 42 | -1 |
| Park Hae-yoon | A->D | 59 | 35 | 43 | -8 |
| Wang Ke | B->D | 92 | 33 | 44 | -11 |
| Murase Sae | D->C | 32 | 43 | 45 | -2 |
| Yoo Min-young | A->B | 86 | 32 | 46 | -14 |
| Kim Min-seo | C->C | 62 | 39 | 47 | -8 |
| Kim So-hee | C->B | 48 | 44 | 48 | -4 |
| Lee Yoo-jung | C->C | 33 | 48 | 49 | -1 |
| Nakano Ikumi | D->B | 43 | 53 | 50 | +3 |
| Hwang So-yeon | A->A | 91 | 46 | 51 | -5 |
| Matsuoka Natsumi | F->C | 35 | 55 | 52 | +3 |
| Son Eun-chae | C->B | 95 | 85 | 53 | +32 |
| Kim Soo-yoon | C->C | 58 | 51 | 54 | -3 |
| Mogi Shinobu | F->D | 44 | 59 | 55 | +4 |
| Yoon Hae-sol | B->D | 40 | 50 | 56 | -6 |
| Choi Yeon-soo | D->F | 47 | 52 | 57 | -5 |
| Kim Na-young | C->A | 55 | 63 | 58 | +5 |
| Sato Minami | D->F | 57 | 66 | 59 | +7 |
| Park Min-ji | B->B | 49 | 56 | 60 | -4 |
| Jinny Park | C->F | 52 | 49 | 61 | -12 |
| Shin Su-hyun | D->F | 42 | 57 | 62 | -5 |
| Hasegawa Rena | D->F | 61 | 54 | 63 | -11 |
| Kim Hyun-ah | B->B | 67 | 72 | 64 | +8 |
| Yoon Eun-bin | B->B | 54 | 68 | 65 | +3 |
| Aramaki Misaki | F->F | 50 | 61 | 66 | -5 |
| Imada Mina | D->C | 53 | 64 | 67 | -3 |
| Lee Seung-hyun | B->C | 66 | 60 | 68 | -8 |
| Oda Erina | C->F | 56 | 67 | 69 | -2 |
| Kim Da-yeon | B->B | 60 | 65 | 70 | -5 |
| Park Chan-ju | C->D | 85 | 70 | 71 | -1 |
| Tanaka Miku | F->C | 63 | 71 | 72 | -1 |
| Kato Yuuka | C->B | 71 | 73 | 73 | – |
| Jo Yeong-in | B->C | 74 | 62 | 74 | -8 |
| Kang Da-min | B->A | 70 | 74 | 75 | -1 |
| Nagano Serika | F->F | 72 | 81 | 76 | +5 |
| Shinozaki Ayana | F->F | 72 | 81 | 76 | +5 |
| Kim Da-hye | A->C | 80 | 89 | 78 | +11 |
| Park Ji-eun | C->F | 77 | 70 | 79 | -9 |
| Hong Ye-ji | B->F | 76 | 76 | 80 | -4 |
| Kurihara Sae | F->D | 73 | 84 | 81 | +3 |
| Naiki Kokoro | D->C | 75 | 82 | 82 | – |
| Asai Yuka | F->D | 69 | 80 | 83 | -3 |
| Ahn Ye-won | F->F | 82 | 88 | 84 | +4 |
| Alex Christine | B->C | 88 | 86 | 85 | +1 |
| Jo Ah-young | C->B | 83 | 78 | 86 | +12 |
| Ichikawa Manami | F->C | 79 | 83 | 87 | -4 |
| Han Cho-won | D->B | 64 | 79 | 88 | -9 |
| Choi So-eun | B->C | 87 | 92 | 89 | +3 |
| Won Seo-yeon | C->F | 81 | 77 | 90 | -13 |
| Jo Sa-rang | B->F | 89 | 90 | 91 | -1 |
| Lee Chae-jeong | C->C | 96 | 94 | 92 | +2 |
| Kim Yoo-bin | B->D | 90 | 93 | 93 | – |
| Tsukiashi Amane | F->F | 78 | 91 | LEFT | SHOW |
| Uemura Azusa | F | 93 | 96 | LEFT | SHOW |
| Umeyama Cocona | F | 94 | 95 | LEFT | SHOW |
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