MANILA, Philippines – P-pop idol JL Gaspar is among the winners of Kpop idol survival show Universe League, and will be part of the nine-member global boy group AHOF (All-Time Hall Of Famer).
The Universe League winners were announced during the final episode broadcast live on Korea’s SBS late Friday night, January 24.
JL, a member of P-pop boy group PLUUS, was the only Filipino who qualified to join the competition. He obtained the most number of votes – 3,168,841 – in the finals.
JL’s group, Team Rhythm, won over the two other teams — Team Beat and Team Groove — in the final global fan vote where a total of 12,743,374 votes were cast from 200 countries.
Team Rhythm’s other members who will be part of AHOF are Steven from Australia, Chih En from Taiwan, Zhang Shuaibo from China, Daisuke from Japan, and Park Juwon and Seo Jeongwoo from South Korea. They are joined by Cha Woongki of Team Beat and Park Han of Team Groove — both the top picks, based on the final global fan vote, in their respective teams.
Universe League is the male counterpart of SBS’ Universe Ticket survival show, where Filipinas Elisia Parmisano, Gehlee Dangca, and Filipina-Korean Jin Hyeon-ju were selected to be members of the K-pop girl group UNIS.
A total of 42 contestants from South Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia, and the Philippines were chosen from thousands of Universe League applicants from around the world. This was later trimmed to 21 finalists.
In Universe League, the 42 contestants were drafted and traded into three different teams mentored by different K-pop artists: Team Groove, Team Beat, and Team Rhythm — which JL is a part of. The teams competed in a series of missions to showcase their performing abilities, and eventually secure the “PRISM Cup” to debut.
The Team Rhythm directors are WayV’s Ten and Yangyang, BTOB’s Changsub for Team Groove, and GOT7’s Yugyeom and singer, songwriter, and producer EL CAPITXN for Team Beat.
Consistent favorite
JL was a consistent favorite in the show, receiving praises from both the team directors and his fellow contestants, as well as global fans, for his performances.
Speaking after the announcement of the winners, JL fought back tears as he thanked his supporters for making his dream possible. He said in Korean that he was worried when he left for Korea to join the audition show, but was happy to receive so much “love and attention” when he got there.
After thanking Team Rhythm directors Ten and Yangyang, he said, “I love my friends, especially my new family, AHOF.”
JL was the only “three-pick” contestant or sought by all the team directors to be part of their group during the first team draft.
The show, which premiered on SBS on November 22, 2024, ran for 10 episodes.
The new boy group will be under F&F Entertainment, the agency of girl group UNIS formed through Universe Ticket that aired from November 2023 to January 2024, and debuted in March 2024. If the same timeline is followed, AHOF may debut in a few months.
JL is a member of the six-member P-pop boy group PLUUS. The group debuted under SBTown in 2023 with the three-track mini album PLUUS +.Y.M. Some of PLUUS’ top hits include “Shining Star,” “Amigo,” and “Missing You.” – Rappler.com