Mnet has relaunched its famous rap competition show for female rappers, “UNPRETTY RAPSTAR” (2015–), after a nine-year hiatus, with the fourth and final season titled “UNPRETTY RAPSTAR: HIP POP PRINCESS”.
And no, it’s not a mistake: this new season aims to blend hip-hop and pop to form a female hip-hop, focused group from its 40 participants, half from Korea and half from Japan.
The concept marks a clear shift from the show’s original format, which focused on fierce competition between female rappers. Yet the essence remains the same, according to SOYEON of I-DLE, returning to the series as host and judge after participating as a contestant in the third season in 2016.
SOYEON stated at a press conference in southern Seoul on Wednesday before the premiere:
“This is a very different show from previous seasons of ‘UNPRETTY RAPSTAR’. But the core characteristics remain similar.”
She emphasized that, although “UNPRETTY RAPSTAR: HIP POP PRINCESS” follows an idol-audition–type format, the dynamics and traits of the contestants differ significantly from other typical K-pop audition programs.
This difference mainly comes from the fact that participants are required to actively engage in the creative process, from writing their own rap verses and styling to designing choreographies.
The format reflects the show’s original mission: highlighting the skills and musical talent of female rappers rather than their appearance, hence the title.
“In other audition programs where I’ve been a judge, I focused a lot on charm and star qualities. But this time, since it’s ‘UNPRETTY RAPSTAR’, I told the contestants that their skill will be the first and most important factor,” SOYEON said.
The four mentors, or “head producers,” of “UNPRETTY RAPSTAR: HIP POP PRINCESS”, include SOYEON, GAEKO of DYNAMIC DUO, Japanese choreographer RIEHATA, and singer-actor TAKANORI IWATA.
Head producer JEONG MIN SEOK stated:
“Our ultimate goal is to debut a group that fuses hip-hop and pop. The title reflects our desire to maintain competitions based on talent and to showcase honesty and confidence from the participants, which defined ‘UNPRETTY RAPSTAR’ in previous seasons.”
“UNPRETTY RAPSTAR: HIP POP PRINCESS” is a Korea-Japan joint project between CJ ENM, which operates Mnet, and the Japanese agency HAKUHODO. The two companies founded a joint venture, Chapter-I, and the show serves as the inaugural project for this venture.
Show officials emphasized that the final group will be very different from anything the industry has seen before.
“It will be essential for participants to tell a story that resonates with young audiences in both Korea and Japan,” said HWANG GEUM SAN, supervisor of the “UNPRETTY RAPSTAR“ project at Chapter-I.
The number of members in the final group has not yet been decided. International fan voting, opened Monday, will be considered starting from the third episode, according to Mnet.
“UNPRETTY RAPSTAR: HIP POP PRINCESS” will air at 9:50 PM KST on Thursdays on Mnet in Korea and on the streaming platform U-Next in Japan.
Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source: Mnet
