I just wanted to put all my thoughts in one place for now, because I was overwhelmed with a Lot of Feelings after I watched the finale and wanted to address a lot of things I saw people talking about on forums, social media, and here :) I was actually very, very happy with the results, even though some of my top picks didn't get in, because it was never about that for me! I was disappointed, to say the least, to see the reactions w/ international fans (even though it was sort of expected) because the reactions of Korean/Japanese fans sort of lined up with what I thought. 

Why are people pretending IZONE is untalented? That's the most important question on my mind. I know people are still in shock with the results but some of the questions being thrown around, like "who's going to sing?" and "who's going to dance?" make zero sense, personally. When some people talk about "talent," they mostly seem to be talking about Chaeyeon & Eunbi being in the lineup, and I agree! Chaeyeon's gentle leadership/strength, her obvious talent in dancing, and her ability to get along with everyone makes her an amazing addition to the group, and Eunbi's level-headedness, leadership/talent and hidden variety skills makes her a great addition too, and I'm sure everyone's happy to have those two in the group!

That being said, I find it unfair that people are being biased against the other girls. Come on, we all see what they're capable of! We watched all the episodes!! Why is everyone so angry suddenly? The group has visuals upon visuals (which is good for brand rankings, CFs, and is generally very important for girl/idol groups, whether we like it or not), lots of candidates for leader, a good center who was absolutely born to be an idol, an amazing variety line, a vocals line, a dance line (mostly led by Chaeyeon), and a very consistent image, which is very important to an idol group. All the girls just FIT each other, and they ALL fit the group. They looked like one group already, during that first group hug when Chaeyeon was announced #12, and everything is so cohesive. I LOVED the debut evaluation songs (best songs these season!) and I really wish they could debut with those songs, because I think they killed it! and the girls definitely fit both concepts!

This entire group is absolutely full of talented people. You really can't change my mind about this. Yuri has already proven herself to be a strong main vocal, and does well on stage every time. She has this really strong, unshakable mindset that I admire! Yena is great at variety (I think THIS is more important than singing/dancing, in some aspects, honestly!) but she's also a dynamic performer with lots of quirky charisma. Sakura has an attractive aura with lots of stage presence when she's performing (she just pulls people in), she's competitive but gracious, and on top of that, she's a very fast learner! Hitomi always stood out for her clean, neat dancing and her reliability on stage, and Nako –– the queen of likability, ugh! –– can hit high notes with ease and is obviously useful vocally (she's also a good dancer, I don't think enough people talk about that!)

Chaewon is extremely talented! Don't tell me she's just a visual! She has such a pretty, clear tone when she's singing, and she's been slowly climbing the ranks since her ITNW performance –– she has a really pleasant voice and expressions and demeanor! Yujin had such a bright, positive, open personality at the beginning of the show, but she was clearly affected by all the hate she's been receiving! Still, she's so stable on stage (I know some of you refuse to see that, tbh) and her voice is so clear and charming! I know Hyewon is controversial (she's been my #4 pick since the beginning) but I admire her selfless ability to put the group before herself continuously, and I especially admire her ability to be smart and versatile and adapt and weasel storylines out of the editors! She's really smart, if you guys didn't notice, and she's a big, big team player! And Minju! She's kind and hardworking (she had a whole arc in Episode 2 about working hard and staying up late... but no one seems to care about that, huh?) and she's been improving every round. She's a stable performer that people overlook just to fit their narrative! 

My fixed pick and the girl I voted for for months is Wonyoung, because I saw something in her that others apparently didn't when I first watched her Very Very Very performance –– she was born to be an idol, her expressions are natural, she's enthusiastic and energetic about performing, and the way she speaks so graciously and intelligently about ranking so high warms my heart every time. I know she's young, but please let her do what she wants! She knows what she wants, and you have no right to stop someone from achieving their dreams, even at a very young age. It's her birthday and all of you are attacking her because you really have nothing else to do, huh? She wants to perform on stage, and she obviously feels the pressure from ranking so high, but Wonyoung's never lost her head about anything, even though her emotions must be all over the place right now! Wonyoung handles everything so well, she has radiant stage presence, and she won fair and square! Wonyoung is really popular in Korea so the outrage from I-fans who are older than her is irrelevant. Her win is undisputed.

Also: I get that people don't love her as center right now, but this weird argument about people ualizing her has got to stop. Wonyoung's been popular since day one (like since her PR video) and her VVV fancam went way more viral than her StS fancam (like I first started to really pay attention to her since VVV) and she literally can't be this popular unless she has the support of both female and male fans, esp. female fans. People just seem to ignore that she has a lot of female supporters? Please. The girls that both guys and girls support are Chaewon, Wonyoung, and Sakura, off the top of my head.

Does no one remember everyone being angry about WANNA ONE and IOI's top 11? Guess what, a lot of people HATED their lineup at the beginning. No one can be truly satisfied. If you've been here since the beginning, you must know what happened during the finale –– so I'm confident that IZONE will succeed and carve out a brand-new legacy for this series! the debut evaluation songs gave me a lot of hope –– DON'T tell me that all these girls can do are "cute" concepts, when we all know how versatile ALL TWELVE are after seeing ALL of their performances, and don't bring them down just because you're angry! My #2 pick was Miru, and I'm VERY upset about Kaeun not getting in –– it still doesn't sit well with me –– but honestly, when I tried to imagine other girls getting into this group, I just couldn't see it. I'm sorry, but I couldn't! I think this lineup is perfect as it is because they all work well with each other and they have the skills to back it up!

So, you know what? Can everyone stop being so negative, the lineup actually has so many skilled and well-fitting people who've done nothing but their best throughout. Yes, there are trainees who deserve better, there will ALWAYS be those people, but there isn't room in this industry for all 96, so stop stomping on those who did well throughout this show! I'm excited to see what comes next, I really am!