In 2020, HYBE joined forces with Mnet for the show I-LAND to find BELIFT LAB’s newest boy group.
The poster for “I-LAND”
The result of the show was the creation of ENHYPEN, and they have become one of the most well-known and most loved K-pop groups.
The members of ENHYPEN
Yet, there were many talented trainees who narrowly missed out on a chance of debuting.
One of the contestants was Daniel.
Former I-LAND contestant Daniel
During the show, he caught the attention of fans for his boyish charm and visuals.
[Video could not be displayed]
But also impressed netizens and the judges with his talent, including a duet with now ENHYPEN member Sunoo as they covered “Save ME” by BTS. Although Daniel made it to the final 12, he wasn’t able to make the debuting lineup for ENHYPEN.
[Video could not be displayed]
[Video could not be displayed]
Following his elimination from the show, it was rumored that Daniel left Belift Lab and joined Pledis Entertainment, and clips were posted of Daniel attending class at Hanlim Arts School. Yet, the former contestant has also kept fans updated on social media, and netizens are shocked at how much he’s grown and matured since the show.
Yet, one photoset has netizens mixed as they’re not sure how they feel about Daniel “growing up” in the way he’s posting. Recently, Daniel shared another set of photos, and there’s no denying that he definitely isn’t the young 14-year-old from the show.
| @kyuded/Instagram
Yet, netizens were shocked when the next two photos showed Daniel dropping his pants slightly and then almost to the floor.
| @kyuded/Instagram | @kyuded/Instagram
In the comments, it seemed as if netizens weren’t fans of the photos as they shared their reactions to Daniel “dropping” his pants in the comments, and many didn’t seem to want to see it.
Others found it hilarious and loved that Daniel was basically just living like any normal teenage boy who is 18.
We said drop the album not the pants pic.twitter.com/aWUUt8Auy5
— 렌 ★ best w2e listener (@haosren) April 16, 2024
idk about yall but I am absolutely enjoying kim daniel doing whatever the hell hes been doing iland been over for YEARS let that show go
— bri #CHELLATEEZ ❦ (@britheminaj) April 16, 2024
he def not debuting as an idol coz this def will make a soc med managing team have a stroke pic.twitter.com/CVDNhpesCG
— fei ★ (@dongkyuist) April 16, 2024
Many are hoping Daniel will release music soon, but even though I-LAND was so long ago, it’s not surprising that fans are shocked at how much he’s grown.
