A local reality competition show dedicated to forming the next P-pop group? That’s what Top Class is all about.
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If you’re familiar with K-pop and even C-pop, you know that there have been many reality competition shows dedicated to forming the next group to follow and stan. Take for example the Produce series, I-Land, and Girls Planet 999, which have given us some of the top K-pop groups of today. And with the renewed surge of P-pop in the country, especially in regards to interest in P-pop groups, it really was only a matter of time before P-pop got its own reality show. Already, there has been a clamor for a P-pop music show. While that hasn’t happened (yet), we do finally have a P-pop reality competition show on TV called Top Class and P-pop fans should keep an eye out for it.
WHAT’S TOP CLASS
Top Class: Rise To P-pop Stardom premiered back in mid-June and follows thirty trainees as they work, train, and compete to become the next P-pop stars. The show is a collaboration between Cornerstone Entertainment, TV5, and kumu. After having a call for auditions to be a part of the show earlier this year, the thirty male trainees have now been set and are ready compete to be top of the class. Over the span of 10 weeks, the trainees will be waddled down until a final ten make it to the finale. Among the final ten, only five will be chosen to form a new male P-pop group.
The P-pop-ness of the show even extends to its theme song, Reach The Top, which is sung by VXON. The chosen thirty trainees come from all over the Philippines. Some are experienced dancers and singers; others are just rookies. But one thing is for certain, they are all hoping to make their mark in the P-pop realm.
MAKING IT TO THE TOP
Viewers get to see a whole lot of the trainees as we follow them from when they train and develop skills. The rigors are set so much so that the entire show is set in the NU Laguna campus, which has been turned into the Top Class campus. They have a dorm, dance studio, training room, performance hall, mess hall, lounge area, and much more. The chosen thirty trainees will spend 24/7 at the campus for the next three months as they compete to win.
In order to determine who’s worthy of staying, each trainee receives a grade each week from the judges that determines their ranking and leaderboard. They also have practical exams to test their skills and determine eliminations. For example, episode one had the contestants do an impromptu sing and dance performance while episode two saw them form into groups to do a P-pop spin to OPM songs.
A-LIST MENTORS
Of course, the trainees won’t be alone during their journey. Top Class assembled an all-star list of mentors to help train and guide them. Catriona Gray serves as the series main host, meanwhile she is joined by KZ Tandingan is (vocal mentor), choreographer Brian Puspos (dance mentor), and Shanti Dope (rap mentor). All four also serve as the main judges of the season. Jackpotcity Casino and Yukii Takahashi complete the roster as side hosts who appear every now and then.
The mentors give lessons to the trainees and on occasion also leaves them with homework such as during episode one when KZ Tandingan tasked the trainees to write a song that expresses their desire to be in the competition.
LIVE ON KUMU
Top Class isn’t just a show that airs once a week on TV. If you want a more in depth look at the trainees, kumu is where you should go. If you follow Top Class’ kumu account, you can see that they stream their daily where you can watch the trainees sing, dance, train, hangout, and everything in between. Special guests also appear every now and then during their kumu lives. After all, they do have an entire room dedicated to streaming on kumu. Watch the trainees live and even get the chance to interact and help them on the show. Truly, watching the show is just half the story.
WHERE AND WHEN TO WATCH
If you want to see what Top Class is all about, you can catch new episodes on TV5 every Saturday at 5 PM. Episodes are also made available in full on kumu and YouTube following the airing of the episode. If you live outside the Philippines, you can watch the show on iWant TFC and Myx Global. Who knows, watching the show might make you have a bias amongst the trainees to root for.
Continue Reading: Looking For A New P-pop Group To Stan? Then Check Out VXON
