Mnet "Produce X 101" is the fourth season of Mnet series of "Produce" and it is no doubt that this season had gained a lot of interest from the public as well as K-Pop lovers.

The end of "Produce X 101" also marks the start of X1. However, their debut did not come smooth as there had been many instances where netizens and fans of trainees who did not make it into the debuting team commenting on the transparency of the voting system.

Some demanded the delay of the debut, some even asked for an investigation on Mnet regarding the votes received during the live broadcast. It was even reported that a politician from Bareun Mirae Party had demanded an investigation for the alleged rigged voting by Mnet.

Kpopmap has compiled the run down and here is what had happened ever since.

#1 Huge popularity prior to debut of X1 

Even before their debut, X1 had made their name known on "Billboard Social 50" and "Emerging Artists" at number 6 and 11 respectively. They are the very first K-Pop group to land a spot even before their debut, proving the interest in them from fans all over the world.

X1 Official Twitter

X1 debuted on Aug. 27 at Gocheok with their debut mini album "비상 : QUANTUM LEAP". You can check out Kpopmap's exclusive review and photos during their debut press conference too.

#2 Record breaking album sales and 11 consecutive wins of 'FLASH'

For a rookie group that had just made their debut, selling over 520,000 copies of their albums is a very big deal. In just a week's time, fans had purchased more than 520,000 copies of "비상 : QUANTUM LEAP", making them the best selling K-Pop idol rookie group to date.

X1 Official Twitter

In addition, they have also won number 1 on music shows consecutively for 11 times!

#3 Cancelled 'Subway' CF deal 

Seeing previous groups that were formed from the "Produce" series, each of them received tons of love calls and commercial deals upon debuting. However, this is not the case for X1 due to the controversies and rumors of the show being rigged.

Many companies are cautious about using X1 as their product models. With that being said, 'Subway' was supposedly said to use X1 as their model but the deal eventually fell through.

#4 Appearance on various TV shows and attendance of "KCON in Thailand 2019"

Despite a small bump at the start of their debut, members had also appeared on variety shows such as "TMI News", "Idol Room", "Let's Have Dinner Together" and so on.

X1 Official Twitter

They are not only popular in Korea but also overseas! Recently, X1 were seen attending "KCON in Thailand 2019", greeting fans from who have been waiting for them.

#5 Authorities confirmed "Produce X 101" votes were rigged

On Oct. 1, a breaking news by Korean media, CBS No Cut News, shared that the police had confirmed that the final lineup of X1 had been switched.

CBS No Cut News

According to the report, it was said that 2 or 3 trainees were pulled out from the final lineup and other reports from various media later shared that the truth will be released soon.

#6 Search and seizure on entertainment companies, Mnet PD booked

Things are escalating more and more as it was also reported later that day that the police had conducted search and seizure on entertainment companies namely Starship, Woollim and MBK Entertainment.

Dispatch

Starship had also released a statement saying that they will fully cooperate with the investigation of the police.

Adding on, Mnet PD was also booked by the police regarding the rigged voting for "Produce X 101".

#7 Teaser video of MBC "PD's Note" regarding "Produce X 101" released

Later at night on Oct. 1, MBC released the teaser for their upcoming episode of "PD's Note" on Oct. 15.

MBC

Seeing the teaser, many viewers were surprised to see that MBC had decided to touch on the topic of Mnet "Produce X 1o1". With that being said, keywords such as 'X1', 'rigged voting' and so on trended online, causing a sense of confusion and panic for many people.

#8 Father of participant of "Produce 101" Season 1 and "Idol School" spoke up

For those who have been watching survival programs of Mnet such as "Produce 101" and "Idol School", you might recall female trainee, Lee HaeIn. She is one of the well loved trainees by many on the show and many found it a pity that she was eliminated especially on "Idol School".

With that current situation of the controversy of "Produce X 101", her father had decided to upload a long post, conveying the message he had wanted to do for a long time.

Mnet

He shared about how the broadcasting station had made Lee HaeIn signed a contract prior on appearing on the show. Even after she was eliminated it was said that she had received love calls from other companies but decided to wait due to the debut promise offered by the broadcasting station and other participants who were eliminated too. It was said that she was supposed to debut later in October.

Lee HaeIn Gallery

However, during the long wait, her father noticed the lack of response and communication from the company and the poor treatment to those trainees who were promised with a debut. Needless to say, the debut did not happen and Lee HaeIn was revealed to have only finally terminated her contract earlier in summer this year.

Because of the amount of time wasted, he felt wronged for his daughter and noticed how much she had suffered during this entire period especially with the unfulfilled promise.

#9 X1 to continue schedules as usual 

With the amount of news breaking out, it was reported that Swing Entertaiment had mentioned that X1 will continue their schedule as per normal. X1 was noted to have done a pre-recording for their appearance on JTBC "Runway" on Oct. 2.

[🔊] 191002 런웨이브 사전녹화/본녹화 팬클럽석에 참여하시는 원잇 여러분께서는 사진 속 장소 (JTBC스튜디오일산 앞)로 인원체크 10분 전까지 모여주시기 바랍니다.#X1 #엑스원 pic.twitter.com/cNQWWeTmRN

— X1 (@x1official101) October 1, 2019

Although it is unsure what is going to happen next, there are various comments about the current situation on many online communities coming from fans as well as netizens.

Hopefully, everything would be settled and more official releases will be updated soon.