The Origin – A, B, Or What? () is a 2022 survival program created by IST Entertainment in association with its parent company, Kakao Entertainment, and Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It aired on MBN, Kakao TV and 1theK YouTube channel on March 19, 2022, every Saturday at 18:00 (KST) timeslot for eight episodes. In the finale on May 7, 2022, the show announced the final 7 members who would debut as ATBO.
Background and concept
On February 6, it was reported that IST Entertainment, home to male idol groups Victon and The Boyz as well as female idol group Apink and Weeekly, is making their first boy group under the new company name in the first half of the year.
On February 10, It was announced that IST will be forming their boy group under a survival program titled, The Origin – A, B, Or What?. It will be jointly produced with Kakao Entertainment and Sony Music Solutions. The show will consist of 13 contestants.
On February 22, IST announced that the premiere date was postponed from February 26 to March 19 due to some trainees who tested positive for COVID-19.
Cast
The show is presented by Park Seon-young. Meanwhile, the judges, dubbed as "balancers", are:
Jay B
Minzy
Sungkyu
Kwak Yoon-young
Hwang Kyu-hong
Guests
The Boyz (Episode 3) Jay Park (Special Balancer, Episode 6–7) Apink's Bomi, Hayoung (Special Balancer, Episode 6–7) Victon's Sejun, Subin (Special Balancer, Episode 6–7)
Contestants
Color key:
Profile
The ages of all contestants are presented in accordance with the international age system as of Episode 1 (March 19, 2022).
Missions
PR Balance
Teams were formed prior Episode 1. There are two rounds to this mission.
The Death participant from the losing team will be eliminated. Both teams' Aces received the benefit to lead and form the teams for the next mission.
Color key
Winning team
Leader
Ace
Death
Leader & Ace
Concept Balance
Teams were formed in Episode 2.
The losing team, with the exception of the Ace, and the Death participant of the winning team will be eliminated.
Like the previous round, the selected Aces also automatically led and formed the new teams for the next round.
Color key
Winning team
Leader
Ace
Death
The ace card of the losing team exchange fates with the death card of the winning team making Ryu Junmin part of the saved members and Won Bin on the run for elimination.
Survival Balance
This mission was given to eliminated contestants in order to reverse their elimination. The participants were given 30 minutes by the Balancers to prepare a performance.
The chosen two Death contestants by the Balancers will be fully removed from the show.
Color key
Death
Final Balance
Battle Round
Teams were formed in Episode 5. Performances were shown on Episode 5. Results were revealed on Episode 7.
The winning team will receive 100 points for five members. Each Ace will receive a bonus of 100 points, giving the victorious team's Ace total of 200 points. The winning team's Death trainee will earn no points, while the losing team's Death trainee will incur a 100-point deduction, putting them at a disadvantage.
Color key
Winning team
Leader
Ace
Death
Origin Round
In this round, the live audiences voted for each trainee individually. They can vote for multiple trainees, but they cannot vote for the same trainee multiple times. Each Balancer selects which trainees receive the Ace card, which is worth 50 points, and the Death card, which deducts 50 points.
points were not shown for the eliminated and final two members (Yang Donghwa and Kim Yeonkyu).
Episodes
Episode 1 (March 19, 2022) The show opened up with a performance of "Run", which is the signal song by all 13 contestants. The judges, known as balancers, were then introduced. The concept of the show was then explained by the MC Park Seon-young. It was also revealed that one member of the losing team will be eliminated.
For the first round, called the PR balance round, Team A performed "Mic Drop" by BTS while Team B performed "Hala Hala" by Ateez. Following each team's performance, the balancers voted for the best (Ace) and worst contestant (Death) of each team. The on-site audience then also voted for the best team performance with Team B winning the on-site voting. However, the final result will be decided through a combined points system.
Episode 2 (March 26, 2022)
Episode 3 (April 2, 2022)