MNL48 Terms and History
Contents
Introduction
This page includes all the terms used up for the audition system up to the announcement of the 1st Generation members and the history of MNL48.
History
MNL48 was announced on March 26, 2016 along with two other international sister groups TPE48 and BNK48. On May of the same year, a fan-meeting was held in Movie Stars Cafe at SM Mall Of Asia to solicit ideas from the fans regarding topics such as merchandise, costumes, and even the price of the theater tickets.
The MNL48 Plus App was launched on December of 2016 to coincide with AKB48 Team 8's visit for the "60 Years of Philippines-Japan Friendship Celebration". The app - which has been previously leaked- suddenly went live hours before Team 8 held a Fan-Event in Movie Stars Cafe (also the first official AKB48 fan event ever to be held in the Philippines).
The audition period, originally planned to last for a few months, was indefinitely extended until the partnership between Hallohallo Entertainment Inc and Philippine media giant ABS-CBN was announced on September 21, 2017. From then on, the audition will be co-produced by the two media outfits with a segment in the network's noon-time show "It's Showtime" running from January 20, 2018 to April 2018.
The audition was re-launched last October 14, 2017 with a Nationwide Registration and Audition Tour culminating in a Grand Registration and Audition on December 2 and 3 at the ABS CBN Compound which was graced by another Team 8 visit.
A total of 4,134 aspirants auditioned to become one of the first generation members of MNL48. The Top 200 was unveiled on January 20, 2018 and underwent a panel interview which consists of ABS-CBN executives and HHE President Paolo Kurosawa. The Top 75 were unveiled a week later on January 27, 2018 and the voting restarted and all votes set back to zero. The top 10 by the end of the week will perform in "It's Showtime" Saturday.
The competition will conclude on April 2018 with the announcement of the official members during the MNL48 General Election.
Terms
Online Voting
Marking a departure from standard 48 Group, MNL48 decided to use a voting system for their auditions. Unlike other sister groups, the MNL48 Members will be voted via the MNL48 official website or mobile app. A supporter can download the app, register an account using a valid email, and then verify it through a verification number sent via SMS. HHE also plans to use the app as a venue for the fans to receive latest announcements, official fan club invitations, the fan’s General Election ID, as well as for making theatre ticket reservations.
The online voting garnered much controversy among fans who felt that MNL48 is deviating too much from the standard set by AKB48. However, the hosts of the MNL48 Online Update, the Hashtags, has repeatedly assured fans and supporters that all systems and mechanics being used has been approved by AKS Inc.
Online Update
MNL48 aired its first Online Update episode last December 3, through its official Facebook page where they feature random hopefuls, discuss concerns raised by supporters and contestants, and announce updates about MNL48 and more.
Weekly Rankings
Each week, starting from February 3, 2018, the Top 10 with the most number of votes for the week gets the chance to perform on It's Showtime.
Week 1 |
Week 2
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Week 3
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Week 4
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Week 5
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Week 6
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Weekly Eliminations
Starting from February 17, 2018, every week there will be 5 girls that will be eliminated from MNL48. The weekly Top 10 are safe from the eliminations.
02/17/2018 |
02/24/2018 |
03/03/2018 |
03/10/2018 |
