Since YG Entertainment (hereafter “YG”) released “Final Battle,” which was performed by Team A and Team B in the rookie boy group debut project “Who Is Next: WIN” (hereafter “WIN”) on October 28, the album has topped iTunes album charts in four countries. The album is ranked at the top of iTunes charts in Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Vietnam despite the fact that the group has not debuted yet. It is off to a good start in the USA as well, coming in at 62nd place. In Japan, the press was quick to respond. One of the six largest sports newspapers in Japan already did an in-depth coverage of Winner and how the rookie group was formed.

Chinese-speaking communities are just as excited. The final battle of “WIN” that aired live on the largest Chinese video Web site Youku recorded 2 million views with as many as 30,000 viewers connected to it at once. Youku channeled all ten episodes of “WIN” and each episode received 1.2 million views on average. After the live broadcast, Team B climbed to the top of Weibo’s keyword search rankings numerous times thanks to their fans.   

Even fans in Russia uploaded videos of their dance cover of Team B’s performance in the last battle, showing that the popularity of “WIN” has gone beyond the borders of Asia. Team A, hailed as the winner after three battles, will prepare for their debut on the big stage.