The Influencer premiered its first four episodes on Netflix, introducing a massive cast of 76 online idols. Initially fooling contestants into thinking he's the reality show host, "Asia Prince" Jang Keun-Suk re-enters and takes the stage as The Influencer's 77th running competitor.
In a Sea of Online Celebrities, Jang Keun-Suk Rises to the Top of The Influencer
The cast of the newest Korean reality series on Netflix, The Influencer, shot down longtime singer-actor Jang Keun-Sun after the premiere episode.
Considering that in the sea of online influencers, Keun-Sun is the only actual celebrity in real life, the participants found it unfair that he's on the running list in the first place.
However, since the reality show is all about online niche influencers, Keun-Suk declares himself to be a "newbie influencer", counting him in the game.
Upon joining, his collar indicated the number of his subscribers being 623,000, whereas his current total of Instagram followers is up to 646,000 with his 9-month-old YouTube channel having gained 255,000 subscribers, which is no match to those who accumulated 2.4 million.
For the uninitiated, the total number of subscribers would indicate the winning prize the 77 participants will split with one another by the end of five rounds in The Influencer.
Their total cash prize would depend on how many likes and dislikes votes they'd get after each round from their competitors. In this case, Jang Keun-Suk found himself lucky.
While his 29 dislikes from his contenders put him in the number 1 spot for "Most Disliked" in episode 2 titled Influence, the show reminded contestants that the first round is all about elimination.
And the catch? Dislikes and likes votes are counted as upvotes for their place on the top. At least for the first round. Those who failed to get their name on the top 30 have to exit the competition.
Keun-Suk surprisingly still found himself ranking in the top 3 overall in the first round, since his 29 dislikes and 12 likes gained him 41 points.
According to Keun-Suk, he considered himself a "first-generation influencer" given his background experience and success as an actor and singer. But his contenders noted, "Isn't he more of a celebrity than an influencer?"
The 37-year-old award-winning K-Drama actor is best known for his works, KBS2's Love Rain, SBS' You're Beautiful, and his longest drama SBS' The Royal Gambler 2016.
However, he believes in the advantage of his newfound experience of topping the "Most Disliked" list, as he "can handle criticism pretty well" and that it is "good to be in [the] first place no matter what", in the context of being able to stay in the game.
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The first 4 episodes of The Influencer are streaming on Netflix, leaving the last 3 slated to stream on August 13.
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