2013–2014: Pre-debut and formation

Prior to the group's formation, group leader B.I featured on MC Mong's 2009 song

"Indian Boy". He performed with MC Mong at the 2009 SBS Dream Concert, as well as
on You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook. Group vocalist Ju-ne also made a pre-debut appearance
aged thirteen on the SBS variety show Star King. He also competed on SBS's K-pop
Star in 2011.[1][2] On January 3, 2011, B.I and Jinhwan joined YG Entertainment as
trainees, as did Bobby a week later. The three trained together for a year and formed the
basis of what was to become "Team B". On April 18, 2012, Ju-ne and Yunhyeong joined
Team B, followed by Donghyuk as the sixth and final member on November 5, 2012.
[
citation needed]
In 2013, B.I, Bobby, Jinhwan, Ju-ne, Donghyuk, and Yunhyeong competed as Team B on
the Mnet reality survival show WIN: Who Is Next, competing against other trainees in
"Team A" for the chance to debut as a group. The program involved three rounds of
performances and public voting, after which Team B eventually lost to Team A, who
debuted as Winner.[3] During the program, Team B released two singles: "Just Another
Boy" and "Climax". The members of Team B appeared as backup dancers in Taeyang's
music video for "Ringa Linga".[4]
In June 2014, Team B appeared in the reality survival program Mix & Match, a follow-up
to WIN: Who Is Next. The aim of the show was to determine the final lineup of iKon,
According to YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk, the group's name derives from the
intent to become an 'icon for Korea', hence the 'K'.[3] While Bobby, B.I, and Jinhwan were
confirmed members, the remaining members of Team B competed against three new
trainees; Jung Jin-hyeong, Yang Hong-seok, and Jung Chan-woo, who had previously
appeared on Korean television as a child actor.[5][6] It was reported that 150,000 fans
applied to attend the final performance of the show, and before the announcement of
iKon's official lineup, YG Entertainment's blog server crashed. The final lineup contained
the three remaining members of Team B, with the addition of Chanwoo.
Following the programs success, the iKon members held fan meetings in Korea, Japan,
and China. In September, approximately 40,000 Japanese fans applied for 2,000 tickets
at a fan meeting at Osaka Tojima River Forum, while more than 50,000 Chinese fans
applied for their fan meeting in Beijing. The program was aired on December 29, 2014
on the CS channel in Japan.[7] On December 15, 2014, iKon performed as the opening
act at Bigbang's Japan Dome Tour 2014-2015 X.[8] On January 28, 2015, Billboard listed
the group as one of the "Top 5 K-Pop Artists to Watch in 2015". They were the only
group on the list that had yet to debut.[9]