A survival show is a reality show and competition that typically features over 100 trainees from a variety of companies, who then compete in singing, dancing and more to showcase their skills. They begin with auditions where contestants are selected based on their performance skills (e.g., singing, dancing, rapping), followed by rigorous training and various challenges. Contestants face eliminations through judges' scores and public voting until a final group is formed. The remaining contestants debut as a new KPop group. Examples of groups created through survival shows are TWICE, BIGBANG, and Enhypen.
The alternative means of forming a group is through entertainment labels selecting the top performers from their own set of trainees. All decisions regarding the formation of the group are made solely by the agency. Usually, trainees have trained for multiple years before they get selected as idols but is not fully guaranteed to be debuted. Examples of groups created through this model include TxT, Seventeen, and Black Pink.