Shining Solo

With the rarity of idol-produced content including the opposite gender due to K-pop fans placing themselves into parasocial relationships with the idols they support, Shining Solo sparked displeasure from such fans in Korea prior to its airing, expressing: "It makes no sense for an idol to appear on a dating show" and "I don't necessarily wish to see an idol with someone of the opposite gender".^[17] Its first episode earned a rating of 0.5% (based on Nielsen Korea) due to its late time slot and the domestic fandoms' reaction;^[17] however, its virality in Korean community sites piqued favorable reviews from the public^[18] recording a viewership of 1% by the sixth episode.^[18]

Shining Solo was commended for breaking walls within the industry and setting an exemplary method to display boundaries in idol fandoms. It particularly attained positive response from the international audience.^[18][19] Its success in Japan allowed the series to expand on eight additional streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime Video.^[20]

Shining Solo ranked first on Lemino following its premiere and received warm reception, quickly spreading by word of mouth.^[21] It recorded the highest daily viewed content amidst all K-pop variety productions in its history,^[21] and soon ranked first for four consecutive weeks,^[22] maintaining a high amount of views on the platform.^[20] In Korea, the show received attention on social media after it aired, and found success in Taiwan and Thailand competing against local content.^[23] Shining Solo ranked first on Thai OTT platform OneD's entertainment category for four consecutive weeks,^[20] and seventh in its overall category by the third week.^[24] In Taiwan, the series placed first on friDay Video's entertainment category.^[20]