Tan Binh Toan Nang "on fire," audiences comment "Vietnamese show is like a K-Pop stage"

Under the guidance of All-Round Producer SOOBIN, the 11 members of the Promoted Rookie Team entered the First Performance, facing off against the "monster" group 8TURN from South Korea.

Audiences are overwhelmed by the greatly invested production behind international-standard performances

From the very first moments, "Tan Binh Toan Nang 2025" demonstrated the class of an international-caliber music program. Instead of having established artists, the show offers something different with its main casts being "rookies" who have endured 100 days of relentless training to build a good foundation with the expectation of representing "a new generation of young artists, skilled in arts, English, and with upstanding communication and conduct," like what a comment from an audience member suggests.

Supported by a professional production team, the names behind numerous top-tier stages recently, such as: Stage Director Dinh Ha Uyen Thu, Music Director SlimV, Lighting Director Long Kenji, Art Director Vi Khang, and Director of Photography Tran Quoc Vuong,... every performance, footage, and camera angle were pure spectacle, produced with great care to deliver an overwhelming sensory experience, true to the standard for stages on international music programs.

General Director Dinh Ha Uyen Thu: “I will create stages for you to enjoy, elevate your growth to a new height. The stage does not need to be complicated, when every simple aspect blend together, it will be sensational.”

All-Round Producer SOOBIN: “I want a generation of talented and potential succeeding artists in Vietnamese Showbiz. SOOBIN will be someone behind the scenes encouraging, inspiring, and finding the path for them.”

In episode 1, the Promoted Rookie Team performed the opening number "Đã đến lúc" (It's Time), remade to better suit the group's color, and the official competition entry "Exposure," produced under the direction of Training & Development Director Hyuk Shin. Meanwhile, 8TURN's opening number "Leggo" and competition entry piece "Walk it out" truly created explosive moments on stage.

At the First Performance Stage, we begin with the international group 8TURN from South Korea. This group is no strangers to big stages, professionals with skilfull team performance, having taken 3rd place when competing in the Road to Kingdom - a famous competition for boybands in South Korea. This 8-member group officially debuted in January 2023, which means they belong to Gen 5 of K-Pop. Gen 5 (the 5th Generation of K-Pop), emerging since 2023, is the ones to reshape the playing field with distinct characteristics, marking a new chapter for the Korean music industry. Within less than two years after their debut, the group has set impressive milestones in sales and performance quality, reached 100,000 sales in album sales, and a 2025 World Tour all over major cities in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

8TURN's performance of "Walk it out"

With the "Walk it out" performance, 8TURN received 630 points, setting a tough Reference Point. Vietnamese audiences coudln’t help but to acknowledge: "The Korean fellas dance so beautifully, rhythmic like the pulse of jellyfish tentacles, both beautiful, relaxing, and rhythmically graceful."

Facing 8TURN's impressive achievement and formidable capabilities, SOOBIN and the Rookies devised a tactical plan to best leverage each member's strengths. This aimed to show respect for the opponent and their skill-level, but as this was the first “battle”, this also helps preserve the confidence, high spirits, and daring-to-engage, daring-to-compete attitude of the Top 11.

The explosive K-Pop style "Exposure" stage by the Promoted Rookie group

"I want them to start seeing this seriously, to understand that we are entering a battle for survival - a battle to win a debut spot in a group, they must learn to get used to the pressure from the audience, stage, lights, sound, and even the rules," SOOBIN emphasized.

The Rookies lineup met with 'painful defeat' to a K-pop idol group

Tan Binh Toan Nang takes up the stage with their performance "Exposure", competing at 100% the challenge level, delivering an explosive, visually stunning, and sonically pleasing performance.

The program's international exchange competition format is briefly understood as: the international group will always perform first in the Performance Missions, and the audiences’ vote for them will be the "Reference Point" used as a benchmark to meassure the level of the Promoted Rookies.

The program uses the international groups' voting scores as the Reference Point because this is the guidelines so the audience can have the appropriate standard for group performances, and it also sets a clear target for the Promoted Rookie Team to strive to achieve. Each time they choose a challenge level is a time the Promoted Rookie Team is forced to review and assess their overall development, both as individual and as a group.

Despite raves from the audience “so lit, no different from an Mnet stage," Tan Binh Toan Nang is still met with an early defeat right at the start. This was quite a shock, but also a valuable lesson for the Vietnamese Rookie Team.

"This journey of yours is one that is hard to come by again; this is a great opportunity. We must add great value to the production of our country's music - that is a mission I think any artist wishes to accomplish. We must always carry the thought: we are Vietnamese, making Vietnamese music, and we want to reach out to the world," All-Round Producer SOOBIN affirmed.

"It will be a big lesson, a rather painful blow to the thoughts of the Top 11 members, making them feel the need to try much harder, to know where they stand and what they still need to work on every day," Cuong Bach shared.

This defeat is not just the outcome but also the most realistic measure for the "idol group" standard, forcing the rookies to look back at themselves, know where they stand, and strive even harder to achieve the "all-round" title they are pursuing.

This is only the first round; the journey ahead is still long with many things to adjust and improve. This fair judgement from the audience is the most accurate measure and assessment for the Rookies.

Despite failing in the first round, the stage quality of Tan Binh Toan Nang still left a strong impression. The proof of great effort in the professional stages somewhat eased the disappointment and affirmed the potential of young Vietnamese talents.

"This day has finally come...", "Just like a professional Korean show", "Let them debut now, nothing to wait for", "Thought I was watching Mnet or KBS", "Top-tier showdown. So surprised by these Vietnamese rookies with only 100+ days of training..." were audience comments upon witnessing a K-Pop standard boy group model appear on a Vietnamese stage for the first time. After 12 hours on air, the program reached 1 million views - an impressive number for new faces.

The program is currently entering the Promoted stage, broadcast on VTV3 at 20:00 (8:00 PM) every Saturday and 20:30 (8:30 PM) on the YeaH1 One Youtube channel, and is officially available on the MangoPlus entertainment application.