Universe League Episode 9

The Results Satisfied Me, But Votes Alone Shouldn't Decide Everything

It was a bit predictable, especially for Team Rhythm. I'm not saying they didn't deserve the votes—it just would have felt more objective if the rankings had also been based on professional judges, alongside the on-site and global votes. A combination of judges + on-site votes + global votes would have been much fairer.

That said, even if professional judges were added, I can confidently say that JL, Park Han, Cha Woongki, Steven, and Park Juwon would still have made the lineup. To me, these five are the pillars of AHOF.

I'm just not as sure about Chi En and Seo Jeongwoo. They're both talented, but I feel that their popularity played a huge role, especially in Jeongwoo's case. He was still relatively inexperienced, and throughout the show, I didn't really see a standout skill that truly amazed me (I actually noticed that even Changsub never seemed impressed with him—or is it just me?).

As for Shuaibo, he's a bit different. He's both talented and popular, but aside from his facial expressions, I'm still trying to figure out what his defining strength is—the one skill that puts him on the same level as the five I mentioned. For example: Han for vocals, Juwon for dance, Steven for rap, and JL for overall stage presence.

Anyway, I feel sad for the trainees who remained in the locker room. They all deserved a chance to debut. I wonder if some of them have debuted elsewhere or found success in other paths. Regardless, they were all amazing.

One thing that disappointed me was that the directors didn't scout Li Zhinuo, especially Yugyeom and EL CAPITXN. I could understand TenYang and Changsub since they already had a pool of talented trainees to choose from. Zhinuo is incredibly talented and one of the all-rounders of Team Rhythm. He caught my eye as early as Episode 3, and after "Prison," he became one of my favorites. This guy never made a single mistake throughout the performances despite the language barrier. He sang and rapped with incredible stability, and his dance skills were top-notch. I still can't believe he received a yellow card.

I also found out later that Zhinuo was actually quite popular. He wasn't at first, but I think viewers gradually realized how strong of a performer he was. He ranked 9th overall, higher than Jeongwoo and every Team Groove member except Park Han. I think what held him back was his lack of screen time and star factor.

Looking at the final lineup, it was already obvious who would dominate the stage. Even before I became an AHOF fan, the outcome felt quite predictable.

Personally, I think the evaluation criteria should have been:
- Professional judges (vocals, rap, and performance)
- On-site audience votes
- Global online votes

Relying too heavily on votes alone can easily turn the competition into a popularity contest. Fortunately, most of the popular contestants in Universe League were genuinely strong performers. That's probably why I still consider it one of the survival shows with the strongest pool of contestants. The finalists weren't chosen based on visuals or popularity alone—they had the talent to back it up.

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